PYRRAH
ACCORDING TO CHRISTINE, THEIR VOCALIST, SHE LIVES 10 MINUTES AWAY FROM JET'S HOMETOWN, MISSISAUGUA. BUT IS THIS REALLY IMPORTANT? PYRRAH ARE A DEATH METAL QUARTET WHO'VE JUST RELEASED AN EP, 'ETERNAL CREMATION', AND WOULDN'T MIND PARTYING IN HAILNDKILL'S CRIB.
Is your band name supposed to be synonymous with fire?
Dave: The band name does not have anything to do with fire. The name is actually derived from a Greek myth, which is similar to the well-known story of Noah's Ark. Similarly, the myth involves a great flood, leaving few survivors who are left to repopulate the Earth.
Christine: The name in the myth is actually Pyrrha (the h and the a are in the opposite order) and it's pronounced a little differently. For a little while, we had our name spelt the same way, but in the end, we decided to change it because this spelling seemed to make more sense. Just thought I should also add that the lyrics for our song Human Debris is derived off of this myth.
The band has an EP, "Eternal Cremation". Is that a beautiful woman choking a vulture on the cover?
D: The cover is actually a picture of a woman holding a skinned goat.
C: I took this picture at Nuit Blanche 2007 in Toronto (it's an all night art festival). The woman is performance artist Jesika Joy (jesikajoy.com). She was walking around in a wedding dress, holding this skinned goat (yes, it's real) who was meant to be her lover; it's a performance dealing with the idea of forbidden love.
Are you the type of band who sings about personal ‘issues' or tackles themes for different songs?
C: No, we do not sing about personal issues. Most of the songs are about gore, torture, killing, etc. Often, Dave will give me an idea from a story he's heard (usually from Greek mythology) and I will add in all kinds of gory details.
Who does most of the writing among the four of you?
D: I wouldn't say one of us does most of the writing. George (guitars) and I write the music together, Christine writes all the lyrics, and Dave G (drums) writes his parts based on the song structures that George and I give him. Most of the writing takes place when we're all together.
How long will it take before a full-length release from you guys comes out?
D: We're not really sure about that at the moment. We're actually just about to release our EP so we haven't given this much thought yet. New material is in the works, but a full-length release may be a little further down the road.
Let's move to a bit of history here. What brought all four of you together under Pyrrah?
D: The band started when I met George at the end of high school. We jammed with a few friends, played a few covers together and eventually began writing our own material. Once we began writing our own material, we became more serious about the band. We went through several lineup changes with many different vocalists and drummers. Christine found us by answering one of our ads and we met Dave through a friend of the band.
Hey Christine, you have a nasty voice. When did you start growling?
C: I started growling about two years ago. July 11th, 2006 to be exact. It was at the Sounds of the Underground 2006 show in Toronto - kind of came as an accident as I was cheering for In Flames during their set. I've since worked a lot on my technique, improved my range and learned the breathing techniques which work best. I had some help from vocal coach Melissa Cross (www.melissacross.com) who has also worked with the vocalists of Lamb of God, Arch Enemy and many others.
Do you ever sing clean, even in private?
C: Only in private.
Are girls fronting death metal band just a gimmick or something that's going to be around for a long, long while?
D: They shouldn't be considered a gimmick, choosing a vocalist is always based on ability. In our case, Christine was the best vocalist to try out. After her first time jamming with us, George and I pretty well made our decision. I'm sure female growlers aren't a gimmick or trend and I'm sure we'll see many more of them in the future.
In connection to the last question, how much do you try to escape the hype?
D: There isn't too much we can do. I just hope that people can focus on her ability and not just her gender. We would rather hear people say "Christine's got an awesome voice" than "Christine has an awesome growl for a girl".
What has the band learned so far about the music business?
C: Well, I guess that what we've learned is that connections and networking are really important. We've also learned that finding a good drummer is a fucking bitch and that if the rehearsal studio looks shady/ is a shit hole, to go elsewhere.
What does George think about Lenny Kravitz?
D: Some funny questions here, hahaha. I was actually expecting that most of the questions about the members would be related to having a female vocalist as well as a black lead guitarist. As far as what George thinks about Lenny Kravitz, he is not really into his style of music but recognizes that he is a talented musician and respects him in that sense.
How about his thoughts on God Forbid?
D: I'm actually surprised that neither Suffocation nor Hendrix were mentioned. George is not into the metalcore genre but does think that God Forbid are great musicians and a great band. He admires their guitar work but does not consider them an influence.
What sets Pyrrah's two David's apart aside from the instruments they play?
D: We are into a lot of the same bands so I guess I'd have to say some personality differences. I'm sure the other members consider me the hard-ass of the band, always giving them a hard time for things like showing up late. I've also been told I'm more talkative and always need to be told when to shut up. The other Dave's pretty much the opposite of these things. That and I'm sure he can drink much more than I can, haha.
Do you play the bass with a pick or fingers?
D: Always with my fingers. As much as I look up to Justin Chancellor, I can never bring myself to use a pick.
How much of a bad ass drummer is David G?
D: Well, he can play blast beats and thrash beats endlessly and does a great job on both. That's pretty much all you need in a death metal band, hahaha. Actually, he can play some nice grooves with good rhythm, he adds a lot of different influences to our sound and is a good all around drummer. Together we make a good rhythm section and he's the best I've worked with so far.
The band (from l to r): Dave G, Dave W, George, Cristine
Tell me about the scene in your area.
D: It's not bad. Unfortunately, I find it's really dominated by metalcore and bands that have only slight metal influences. Though, there are still some very good and very talented death and black metal bands from Toronto and many of them put on great shows.
C: I have to agree with Dave, but I'd add that there are also far too many emo/hardcore bands that like to pretend that they are metal. An odd thing that I've come to notice about the Toronto metal scene is that everyone seems to be connected somehow. As a friend of mine put it, "it's like we're some weird inbred family or something". Maybe it's like this everywhere, I don't know. For example, I found the band through a random website (I thought that I had no prior connections to them) and it turns out that they were friends with some girls that I went to school with. Then as we were looking for a drummer, one of the guys we had for a while was friends with one of those girls' boyfriend's band. I could go on, but it gets kind of confusing.
Would you happen to know where Missasaugua is?
D: Yes we do, Dave G. is actually from there.
C: Mississauga is about ten minutes walking-distance from my house.
If you'd bother to, you can find Filipinometal.com's webmaster in that town. Look him up, his name's Jet. If you ever meet him, say ‘hi' from HailndKill will ya?
C: Sure! Any idea around where in Mississauga he is?
When not rehearsing or working on your music, where does the band hangout?
D: We go to some concerts together, mostly downtown Toronto. Me and George always find a way to drink together, mostly downtown Toronto as well.
You guys like to drink and party?
D: Yes and yes.
C: I'm under-age and not cool enough to get invited to parties (just kidding). Seriously though, who doesn't like to drink and party?
You've been awesome, many thanks and good luck to all of you. If I offered Pyrrah a couple of shows here in my house with all expenses paid, are you guys game?
D: Definitely.
C: Hell yeah!
STAY HEAVY
by HailndKill Added on Apr 2, 2008 |
