Northless
1. What are your top five albums that were released in 2014? (In order 1-5)
- Today Is The Day - Animal Mother
- Crowbar - Symmetry In Black
- At The Gates - At War With Reality
- Cannibal Corpse - A Skeletal Domain
- Yob - Clearing The Path To Ascend
2. What band did you discover in 2014 (can be a brand new band or an older band) that had an impact on your life? What made them significant?
This is where I’m gonna sneak in another awesome record from 2014, which is Yautja’s newest offering, Songs of Descent. I was familiar with them before from when Northless was booking a tour and we had talked about playing with them in Nashville some years back. I also love that their name is nerdy, as it’s the name given to the alien species from the Predator movies. What really has attracted me to them is that they don’t sound like most other bands out there right now. They’re pretty angular and proggy, while still being heavy, and having as close to an original sound and style in their genre as I’ve heard in a long damn time. I also hear a subtle and perhaps unintentional Morbid Angel influence in what they do, which is rad because Morbid Angel’s first 5 records rule. Awesome drumming, too. Best live show I saw all year!
3. How will you remember 2014? (In terms of music)
It was the best of times, it was the blerst of times.
4. What can we look forward to from you in 2015?
Northless has a lot of shit coming out next year. Look for split releases with Primitive Man, North, and Before The Eyewall, all hopefully out sometime in 2015 on various labels. We’ll also be releasing a new 7” (or possibly 10”) via Triple Eye Industries, a new label based in our hometown.
5. What records are you looking forward to most in 2015?
I find myself constantly looking forward to new music from Primitive Man. They’re putting out the darkest shit right now, which I’m into. Hopefully they put out a lot of new shit next year!
6. What trend will you forever associate with 2014 in music?
Bands that were long broken up, who are reuniting possibly for monetary reasons (but hopefully because they’ve rediscovered their passion for the music). The return of nu metal. The rise of Djent (which is basically just nu metal played in odd time signatures). Bands that say they combine black metal and shoegaze, which are really just bands trying to sound like Deafheaven (who themselves just co-opted Weakling’s sound, essentially). Excessively paraphrased explanations of musical trends from yours truly. Oh, and a significant increase in the amount of grindcore elitism, for some reason. Can’t we all just blast together without being dickheads to each other?
