Interview @ 6/19/11
Applaud The Impaler have been making their mark slowly but surely in the grind scene. With gutteral vocals and crushing music, ATI will more than likely be on the news 6 years from now from some kid blasting their music at their grandmother's house, grandmother croaks, and some white, yuppie mother who worships Al Gore's wife will try to sue the band. Of course, the band will win the case and ultimately will only gain more promotion from it all. Yeah, I am aware that's a bold future telling story, I am a world renowned psychic. Deal with it.
Ridge: So what's the history behind Applaud The Impaler? What other bands were you guys in before ATI?
Corey: Applaud the Impaler formed in early 2008 by Guitar players Corey Millett and Will Larkin, Bass player Gino Millett, and former drummer Mattlock Lopes. After weeding out and going through many vokillists, Zack Lashure was added to the ATI arsenal. We were all in local bands that had quit around the same time (Nothing Sacred, Prayers for the Dead, We were Gentlemen, R.O.N.K.) and since we all knew each other and we were all very dedicated about writing brutal music and making a name for ourselves, we all said, "hey, why not... lets do it". After putting out a demo and doing some serious recordings, Mattlock Lopes quit the band and we brought on the drummer everyone in the 757 scene wanted, Joey Glover. We then were picked up by Unique Leader Records and put out an EP titled "Anthropophagi" that finally put us on the map after so much hardwork. After doing some touring and more writing for our debut album, guitar player Will Larkin left the band and Ryan Carmichael quickly joined and became yet another strong weapon in the ATI arsenal. We are full throttle and ready to bring some intense music to our friends and fans.
What's the story behind the name? How many albums, demos and EPs does your band have?
Naming the band was the hardest thing to do! Harder then writing the music. Applaud the Impaler was actually named by our former drummer Mattlock. Everyone in the band was constantly coming up with names that somebody didnt like or names that were just completely retarded... like Raygun. haha!. One day Mattlock called guitar player Corey and was like "dude I got it... Applaud the Impaler! Ya know like Vlad the Impaler!?" At first Corey laughed and shunned it off like every band name that was put on the table, but then it was like hold up, thats actually really cool. So we went with it. In all, the story behind the name was just a spurr of the moment thought that ended up defining our music... brutal.
So far we have put out 1 demo and 1 EP. The first demo was a few songs quickly put together with various singers we eventually weeded through until we found Zack Lashure, our now vokillist. The "Anthropophagi" EP was released on you Unique Leader Records, and it featured brand new songs with Zack and our new drummer Joey Glover.
What's the overall theme or message with your lyrics?
Zacks writes all of his lyrics to match the aggressive feel of each song. Every song gives off a certain vibe and feel, and Zack connects with that and writes what he feels the music is portraying. Every song lyrically is different, but every songs music and lyrics will equal each other in brutality. We strive hard to bring forth a completely crushing musical and lyrical balance. None of our songs are pretty, so you won’t hear pretty lyrics. None of the lyrics so far have been theme based, maybe in the future we'll have a themed album or something. Not sure yet.
What was your first song? Do you guys play any covers?
The first song we ever wrote was called "Bone Meal". It was a quick 2 minute banger that got us in the groove of writing music together. It was cool and fun to play, but nothing we'd want to put out to represent Applaud the Impaler. We've done a few covers for fun. One Halloween we dressed up as Slipknot and covered “Disasterpiece.” We're always jamming other tunes at practice, like the forever fun songs of Pantera. It’s always good to step back and and have some fun playing something else, especially when writing. It gives everyone a fun break from the intense and sometimes stressful writing sessions.
Who are your biggest musical influences?
Each member of the band has their own wide variety of musical influences. It's crazy to sometimes hear what one another might be listening and inspired to. As far as what each member brings to the table with their outside influences for the writing process and complete sound of Applaud the Impaler, we are all highly influenced by Origin, Beneath the Massacre, Cannibal Corpse, Dying Fetus, Trigger the Bloodshed, Nile, and many other great death/grind/slam/gore acts.
What bands would you like to tour with in the future?
Of course it’s always a dream to tour with your favorite bands. We'd all love to do that, but we'll tour with anybody who’s ready to have fun and crush some skulls on stage!
Random Question - What's the meal and drink of choice for you guys? Are you another vegan death metal band?
Haha, no we arent a Vegan band. Corey can eat a steak raw and uncooked. If it was legal, he'd probably eat people! Busch beer, Jager, Crown Royal, and water are our drinks of choice. While on tour, we tend to grub down on healthier foods and the sometimes here and there greasy delicious foods. It is very important to stay healthy during tour with what you eat. It keeps you moving forward and able to perform top notch. Not eating right on the road will get you sick quick. We all love trying different food in the places we play too. It makes for good memories.
Do any of you guys have any other projects you want your fans to know about?
Currently nobody in the band are involved in any other projects. Every member is completely dedicated to Applaud the Impaler
Are you guys currently in the process of making another album? If so, what is the title of it and when will it be released?
We are in the process of writing our debut album on Unique Leader Records. We plan to hit the studio at the end of 2011 to bring a 10-13 track, crushing album for all of our friends and fans. There is no title for this album at the moment.
So what's the overall message of Anthropophagi EP?
The overall message was just to bring to the table a completely brutal EP to get our feet in the doors in this hard music business. And with great perseverance, it's happening. We wanted to make everyone realize that we are legit, focused, and serious to make this band a lethal weapon in today's music scene and not just another band who forms, plays, and just quits. Music is our passion, and with "Anthropophagi", we feel like we've started to portray and make people realize that this is our passion and that we won't stop or halt by any means. We were very lucky to have been picked up by Unique Leader Records. They've been awesome to us. We can't wait for them to hear what we have brewing up.
Any shout outs you want to give?
Always! Our fans come first. Without you all there would be no us. You keep us moving strong with your endless support and dedication to this band. We are forever in debt to you. Unique Leader Records for the tremendous opportunity at a childhood dream and for putting us on the map. All the bands we've shared the stage and crushed skulls with and all the people who have in some way helped Applaud the Impaler. It truly means the world to us.
Any last words for your fans and people who don't know about you guys yet?
Just keep helping spread the word of Applaud the Impaler. We are all on this ride together. We'd love to have the opportunity to come throw down and party with all of our friends and fans. It's what we feel like we owe in return for their support. Keep it guttural and PARTY ON!
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