Costa Rican metal band Shadows Decay blends thrash and groove metal in their EP Agent of Chaos. We discussed the inspiration, challenges, and themes behind their latest release.
1. "Agent
of Chaos" is your latest EP—what was the inspiration behind this title and
the themes explored in the six tracks?
The EP’s name
comes from the song that shares the same title and it is inspired by the comics
character known as the Joker. The song talks about how we now live in a world
full of chaos as a result of bad decisions we’ve taken as a society. It
explores how we are making entertainment out of death and war to a point that
becomes an amusement and laughter to the media and people.
2. Your first
single, "Falling of Mind," was recently released with a lyric video.
Could you tell us more about the creative process behind this track?
Although we just
recently released the lyric video and track, this song was written almost 9
years ago, back when we had our friends Esteban Montoya on the guitar and
Eduardo Cerdas as a bassist. Many of the Riffs in “Falling of Mind” came from
the mind of Esteban and during our rehearsals we noticed they perfectly matched
with the Lyrics written by Nacho.
3. Shadows
Decay has been around since 2008, and you've undergone a transformation from
Preoptic Distortion to Shadows Decay. How did this change influence your sound
and identity as a band?
PD was our first
version, it had been tangled with our high school and our friends from them. We
wanted a name that could grow further than that.
4. Costa
Rica’s metal scene is growing steadily. How has the local scene influenced your
music and style over the years?
The Costa Rican
crowd is tough, mainly in the city; and changing our sound to match the demand
while maintaining our influences and sound has been essential. When we started,
we were just a Thrash Metal band and our shows were in the outer towns of the country
or underground venues in the city where there’s not much exposure. The bar has
been set pretty high as there are great artists and bands with a lot of talent
emerging every day. This caused us to evolve, explore new sounds that resulted
in a sound very similar to what’s known as Groove metal, it wasn’t on purpose.
5. Your music
is clearly rooted in old-school thrash metal, drawing influence from bands like
Slayer and Metallica. How do you balance paying homage to these legends while
crafting a sound that's distinctly your own?
Great question!
To be honest, we think that nowadays the variety of music, genres and bands is
huge and standing out from everyone else is very difficult. That same variety
is created by having these legends as an influence, taking what you like the
most from their music and incorporating it to your own sound. Also, we now have
technology that allows us to explore and play with different sounds and combine
them to your liking, while keeping bigger bands as role models.
6. The
tracklist of Agent of Chaos includes
powerful titles like "Bringer of Death" and "Pseudo
Suicidal." Can you give us some insight into the themes and lyrical
content of these songs?
“Bringer of
Death” is an analogy of the media as the Grim Reaper, very much like is
suggested by the artwork created by Carolina Dittel of DreamlikeVisions Design.
We are lost in dump scrolling in social media, fake news, dumb influencers, war
and crime transformed into entertainment through news channels, etc. We’re
basically paying attention to the wrong things while death may be coming our
way.
“Pseudo Suicidal”
is a somewhat personal song that talks essentially about mental health. It
depicts two versions of the same person dueling between negative, depressive
thoughts that could lead to self harm; regardless of the method (self
flagellation, substance abuse, etc).
Additionally, it explores the idea that this is more and more common in younger
generations.
Disclaimer: At no
point we want to normalize negative or suicidal thoughts, but this song is a result of using music and metal as an
outlet for this thoughts. This should serve as an example of the importance of
talking to someone and seeking help when you feel like this.
7. What was
the most challenging part of writing and recording Agent of Chaos, and how did the band overcome any obstacles during
the process?
About the song:
The most challenging part of “Agent of Chaos” was to be able to match the
lyrics to the music. The lyrics’ metric is high and the song is fast paced. It
has become the most challenging song not only to be written and recorded but to
perform as well. Practicing until you painfully sweat is what helps in this
type of scenario. No pain, no gain.
About the EP: We
endured a lot of challenges, mainly losing the recording files halfway and two
band members leaving the band. The return of our good friend Daniel Solano to
the band helped us reunite and gather enough strength to finish the record and
move on more alive than ever.
8. Thrash
metal is known for its aggressive energy and fast pace. How do you channel that
energy into your live performances, and what can fans expect from your upcoming
shows?
It’s tough for an
artist to perform complicated fast paced riffs and rhythms while providing an
entertaining performance to the fans. Constant practice is what allows us to
enjoy the aggressive energy of our music in live performances. We’re inspired
by local bands such as Heresy, Nostoc, Pneuma and Inner Sun, to name a few.
This coming November 8th we will be presenting our EP and sharing the stage
with bands like Innate Dissension, Dekonstructor and Overshock (recently
nominated for the local ACAM awards). They are all titans of the Costa Rican
Metal scene that inspire us to become better performers.
9. As a band
that’s been in the scene for over a decade, what advice would you give to
younger thrash metal bands trying to make a name for themselves?
Be persistent on
what you believe is the right path and seek for more experienced mentors and
role models. Rehearsals are the most important thing, when you should give your
maximum effort. This is not only to practice but to bond with your bandmates
and create memories. It’s easy to get stressed over how difficult it is to make
it in the industry and leave things unfinished. If you love what you do, define
your goals and plan ahead, things will happen.
10. With Agent of Chaos set to be released soon,
what are your plans for the future? Can fans expect more music or tours in the
coming months?
We have almost 5
years of music in the making that has never been released or even played in the
studio. We want to keep the momentum of this release and get more people
interested in our music, tours will be coming. Special thanks to our colleagues
and friends at Phosphorus Studios who have been a pillar guidance in our latest
growth.
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