We never consider ourselves to be judgmental people, but unfortunately we do have to admit that coming into The Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival we were a bit nervous to chat with the metal musicians mostly due to the tough exterior they present on stage. After our numerous interviews at the festival, our preconceptions were extremely naive. All Shall Perish’s vocalist, Hernan Hermida, pleasantly put us to shame.
All Shall Perish consists of Hermida, rhythm guitarist, Ben Orum, bassist, Mike Tiner, lead guitarist Francesco Artusato and drummer, Adam Pierce. The metal band has undergone several line-up changes, since their formation in 2002. Despite these internal struggles, All Shall Perish still released four studio albums. The group’s latest album, This Is Where It Ends, dropped on July 26th via Nuclear Blast. While on Mayhem, the metal band has been gracing listeners’ ears with these fresh tunes. We give multiple congratulations to All Shall Perish for their musical success, both on tour and in the studio.
With all music pushed aside, Hermida talked to us as if we were old friends, not as media people who were “grilling” him on All Shall Perish news. Not to worry, Shockya readers, we did still get the latest news on the band. We also got the lowdown on Hermida’s other job. Check out our interview below to find that out and more!
How’s the tour going so far?
The tour is going real well. I mean it’s Mayhem, so a lot of people are out here just cause it’s Mayhem. People, who have never heard us before, are really digging the set and they are coming to say “hi” to us at the signings, which is really important to us.
You guys just released your next album, This Is Where It Ends, on July 26th, right?
Yup.
How did you guys celebrate the release?
The previous evening we went to Outback and treated ourselves to a nice steak. We played a show the next day. We played at Club Texas in Auburn, Maine. It was a little bar.
That was an off date, outside the tour?
Yah, with Suicide Silence and Unearth. It was really awesome.
Have you changed up your set list for Mayhem since the album came out?
We’ve been playing three new songs off the new record.
What’s the story behind the album title?
It’s just kind of our way of saying that this is a new chapter of All Shall Perish. There are the new doors that we want to go out through. We’re tired of trying to be experimental. We wanted to attack the metal scene from a heavier standpoint and back to our roots, where we came from.
What separates this album from your three prior ones?
Well, instrumentally we have two new members, adding a new kind of vibe. We added eight strings. We really came at the album with a still very technical aspect, but we also really wanted to incorporate heavy overtones and darkness to the record. Lyrically, it is kind of the same idea. Before we were speaking about a lot of positives, you know “hey change your life for the better, be more aware of what’s going on.” We this album, we are like “I am not going to do this, you guys didn’t listen before, you’re not going to listen ever and the repercussions are coming.”
How do you deal with constant band line-up changes? Do you guys have a special initiation for when a new member joins?
They have to run backwards through a corn field…[Laugh]. There is no real initiation like that. They have to be good musicians overall. They have to really vibe with us as people. These two new guys are probably the last two dudes we’ll ever work with again. I feel hopeful about the new line up. Before we had a couple guys in the band that were real black sheep. We are on to new things and better things.
How has it been recording an album and touring at the same time? Has it been a difficult few months
Well, no because we finished the record about six months ago. We finished writing and recording everything. We usually set up a timeline that roughly draws out six months of our career. So we know what’s coming as far as all that goes. We haven’t been too worried about anything on the release side.
What’s up for you guys after Mayhem?
We are going to be on tour with Black Element in October. Other than that, we got a couple of Southeast Asia dates. We’ve got South America, Australia and Europe then when we get back to the United States, we like to do our US headliner.
You are all over the place!
Yah, gladly!
I read you guys played with Suicide Silence when you were younger. Their album, The Black Crown, just dropped as well. Have you gotten a chance to check it out?
Yah, they gifted it to us way before it released. They are really good friends of ours. We talk on the phone. We go to their shows; they go to our shows. It’s a real family environment. They are the first band I ever went on tour with and we’ve been really close on this tour.
Have you guys influenced each other’s music at all?
We take our influences from bigger bands, but we don’t necessarily disagree with each other’s music. I really love their music. Live, I think that they have one of the most professional stances out of this whole tour. They really dig deep live and that’s something I appreciate about them. But as far as influencing each other’s music, I don’t know.
Do you think your sound has changed since your first album?
Oh ya, obviously. The band started out as a jam band basically. We would get in the studio and just start jamming music. We would sit down apart from each other and would record all of our pieces separately.
Have you guys always record separately?
No, our first record, like I said, was more jamming. We would show up in the studio and do our music.
What’s it like not recording together?
The guitars come together and we write the songs. Then they send it to the drummer and drummer pieces it all together and from there, they send it me and I write the lyrics and vocals. The bass throws in his two cents, while they are writing guitars. That’s really how it is. That’s how you can write all the technical aspects of it. You can sit down and really break it down to each note and how you are going to write it. I prefer that writing, but I think with our next record we are going to try to involve a few more songs with just jamming it out.
So you create the tempo of the song before laying down the lyrics?
Ya, the song is completely written before it gets sent to me. I soak it in for about four to five days. I just am free flowing patterns and ideas then after I got a bunch of patterns screamed out, I come down, write lyrics and just try to fit it into what I’ve been writing.
Has the crowd been responding well to the new tunes?
Ya!
Have you seen a big difference since the album has come out?
Actually lyrically, ya. There’s been a bunch of kids who have been involving themselves in the lyrics and everything. It’s pretty cool. A lot of kids are singing along.
Have you checked out any of the other bands on the tour?
We get to watch Straight Line Stitch and usually the local openers. Today, I got to watch a little bit of Red Fang because they were right across from us. You could hear them and it was nice and clear. I wasn’t too far away either. Usually, I get to hear a little bit of Unearth, while we are signing. In Flames is a band I’ve been trying to catch, but lately I’ve been eating dinner and coming to do interviews.
Have you seen any of the bands on the main stage?
Ya, we try to watch the whole main stage show. There’s a lot to learn from those guys. They are true veterans at this game and we really take from them how to control a crowd and how to really speak to certain people. There’s a difference in every show. It’s really nice to see other singers vibe off of different energy.
Do you aspire to have careers like these bands?
Megadeth is a band I prefer over Metallica. For me, it’s an honor playing with them. Godsmack always takes me back to being 15 years old.
Pretty cool experience to listen to them and now play on a tour with them.
Exactly. This is something I never really foreseen as far as the band we were going to be on tour with. I always knew, I am destined to do stuff like this. Playing a show in front of thousands of people has always been a dream and goal of mine.
How did you first find this is what you wanted to do?
I fell in love with death metal. I fell in love with Suffocation. I picked up their record and dove head first into all of my favorite death metal bands.
Where do you see death metal heading in the future?
There is always going to be an extreme side of music. There’s going to be those people, who decide they want to make a little bit more money and make stuff that’s a little more accessible to the average ear, but there’s always going to be some for musicians who are going to write music for other type of musicians. You know, that’s what we want.
What do you do when you aren’t doing music?
I ride my motorcycle and I work at a nightclub. I really love the scene and working at night. I like to play video games. I like to sit at home. I like to relax.
What kind of video games do you like to play?
I am a big Black Ops fan right now.
Ever want to have your music in a video game?
We just got put onto Rock Band, I think it is. I don’t play those games.
What about a theme song to a video game?
No, I wish! We are not that esteemed yet. We are a death metal band. We don’t get attention from the mainstream.
What’s the future like for All Shall Perish?
We are never going to quit.
What’s the best thing about what you are doing now?
For me, I am not a person that is meant for a 9 to 5 job. This is more or less what I would want to be doing for the rest of my life. I tour with bands. I like working at my club, where I don’t have to wake up early.
Having a job on the side must be a lot!
I love what I do. The club has been home to me. They’ve been a true home to me, so give them back everything I can.
Have you ever played at your club?
Yah, I’ve played at my club. For me, it’s the nightlife. That’s what it’s about.
To wrap up, can you tell me what separates This Is Where It Ends from other metal albums out there?
This, in the band’s opinion, is the best thing we’ve ever done. I know a lot of bands say that, but we’ve sat down and compared it to our other records because we wanted to make sure we weren’t stepping too far out of line with our music. So, we really analyzed this whole record after it was written. To us, it’s one of the best combinations of the band in the beginning and the band now. It’s a good conglomerate of our albums put together. To us, it’s the best thing we’ve put out.
by Lonnie Nemiroff
