Metal Express Radio had the opportunity to chat with Mauricio Liborio and Gordon Tittsworth from Dread The Forsaken. Their brand new album Unbound is available from Nightmare Records. Read on to find out more …
MER:
First, congratulations on your fantastic new album Unbound. This album is an incredible release that combines Traditional Heavy Metal elements along with a very raw, Hardcore sound. This has been a project in the works for over a year, so to start off, talk a little bit about some of the key events that lead up to the album’s release …
GT:
Back in 2008, Mauricio had everything written and just needed a vocalist. At the time, I don’t think either of us really had a clue as to how things were going to turn out. After flying there for the demo sessions in 2008, I knew I wanted to be a part of this full time. From that point, we moved forward with sending out the demos, getting feedback, making contacts, etc. Around September of 2009, Mauricio met Mako, who suggested that we re-record this as the “real” CD. It was at that time I flew back and we recorded the final product. I also had been working with Lance King of Nightmare, who released the previous Images of Eden CD, so I approached him about releasing Unbound, and he was all for it!
ML:
The major thing for me was meeting Gordon, because at the time I wasn’t sure about the type of singer I wanted for the band. When I finally got in touch with him and he decided to travel to Guatemala and record 5 songs, which was all I had at the time, that’s when everything started falling into place. I only had music and lyrics at the time … he was not only the right singer for the band, but he also had tons of experience in the music industry that I didn’t have.
MER:
For readers that want to know more about Dread The Forsaken, can you describe the kind of music to expect from Unbound?
GT:
Dread The Forsaken has a bit of a hybrid sound, mostly a Modern Metal sound along the lines of Disturbed, Mudvayne, Soil, etc., but there also are influences from some of our Classic Metal Roots — Iron Maiden, Anthrax, etc., so it has appeal to fans of several different Metal sub-genres.
MER:
Some might be familiar with Gordon Tittsworth as the lead vocalist of Images Of Eden. How does the sound of Dread The Forsaken differ from that band?
GT:
Dread The Forsaken has a very different sound/style than Images of Eden (IOE). Dread is definitely a heavier, more straight-forward, Metal band, and the vocals are much more aggressive than IOE. Until I did the Dread demos in 2008, IOE had been primarily a Progressive Hard Rock/ Metal band with a sound comparable to Queensryche, Fates Warning, Dream Theater, etc. However, what I gained from Dread has very obviously influenced my writing and delivery with IOE. The new IOE CD, Rebuilding The Ruins (released March 1, 2011), is noticeably heavier than the previous IOE, but still Progressive Metal. I say “still” only because it was written prior to me recording with Dread. As for the future sound of IOE, I anticipate some shift in sound style.
MER:
During the initial stages of Dread The Forsaken, Gordon traveled to Guatemala to lay down some demo tracks for Unbound. Tell fans about that experience …
ML:
I think Gordon has a lot more to say about this than I do, but after emailing each other back and forth, he agreed to do a test version of Darkest Days, which was absolutely great, so I asked him to travel to Guatemala and record with us. He didn’t even know us — I never spoke to him on the phone prior to his trip — he didn’t even know what any of us looked like, but he decided to come down here and it went on from there.
GT:
Wow, not sure where to begin with this. If I had to sum it up in a word, it would be “surreal”. When Mauricio originally contacted me and was talking about flying me there and covering expenses to record, I was a bit cautious only because it seemed a little too good to be true, and I had people try to scam me in the past. As musicians, we tend to build walls after multiple scam attempts and empty promises, so I thought this was just par for the course, but I was dead wrong! Actually, I almost turned it down just due to having a full plate at the time, but I’m glad I didn’t.
Long story short, Mauricio and I did a lot of emailing back and forth about the plans, and I asked all of the questions I could think of to prepare, so I got as comfortable as I could, given the information I had. The rest was basically a leap of faith.
So, I landed in Guatemala in November (2008) with a $100 bill (USD) and a dead cell phone, not knowing what Mauricio or Eduardo Santella (producer) looked like. I was also one of those morons that took French in school because Spanish wasn’t offered at the time, so I couldn’t speak the language at all. I simply followed the crowd to baggage claim, then walked outside into a circle, where a few hundred people were waiting for their families and friends to arrive. I just stood there and scanned the crowd until Mauricio pointed at me and asked if I was Gordon. At that point, I felt totally at ease.
We spent the next 5 days recording, bonding, and hanging out. I got to really live in and experience another culture and I made lifelong friends in the process. It was an absolute musician’s dream come true and the experience of a lifetime.
MER:
How did the tracks evolve during the creation of Unbound?
ML:
This was back in 2008 … I wrote a lot of lyrics, but I didn’t have any experience putting words together. I was just throwing it out there and hoped it sounded right. It wasn’t until we were in the studio with Gordon that he started trimming the lyrics, fixing a few things, basically just messing around with them to fit his style because at first the lyrics were kind of rapped on every song. The music was the same thing. I had a lot in mind and I was very stuck on the vision that I had. However, Mako coming into the studio during 2009 completely changed that. Here came another guy who had a lot of experience and knew the style well enough to tell me what sounded right and what didn’t.
GT:
Once I walked through the studio door in Guatemala during the demo session in 2008, I had nothing really specific in mind other than the lines I did for Darkest Days. I didn’t want to spend too much time nailing down melodies beforehand since it was obvious that this music was much different than IOE and I didn’t want to get too much into “IOE mode” only to change things drastically when tracking. So, Mauricio, Eduardo, and I collectively worked out the melody lines.
Fast forward to 2009 — the “real” CD sessions with Mako in 2009 were pretty intense. I’d have to say they were amazing and I really learned a lot. It didn’t start this way, though. I say this because Mauricio and I were pretty much set on how we wanted the final product to be, but Mako had different plans. He was very adamant about me doing things his way, which didn’t go over well with me at first. On more than one occasion, I was on the verge of telling him how things were going to go because I know how I work best and this was not it, but I swallowed my pride and let him run the show. Mako pushed me further than I had been pushed by a producer before, which I was not used to. He would have me do multi-layered tracks in different “voices”/ tones so that when mixed together, they really created a powerful sound. There were many times when I would bark something into the mic only for him to say, “No, not good enough. Do it this way …” In retrospect, I regret any initial hesitation I had because the final vocal mix was much more than I had anticipated, and far beyond the previous demo recordings. It took me a while to fully understand his M.O., but at the end of the day, it was all worth it. I left Guatemala with one hell of a killer sore throat, though.
MER:
Each track on Unbound seems to portray a very intense and definitive style. What bands have inspired you the most, and how does their music influence your songs?
ML:
For Me, Megadeth, Slayer, Anthrax, Children of Bodom, Warcry … just to name a few.
GT:
I think that the hybrid of our 2 influences (Mauricio’s and mine) really shaped the overall sound. My primary influences (up to the demo recording in 2008) had been bands like Iron Maiden, Fates Warning, Queensryche, Dream Theater, etc …, specifically Progressive Metal. However, my influences and style have drastically shifted since I did the demos. Mauricio and Eduardo Santella (producer for the demos) really pushed me outside my comfort zone, allowing me to tap into a heavier vocal style that I never knew I had. I immediately realized how much more rewarding and fun this heavier, more straight-forward Modern Metal style is than Progressive Metal. With Prog-Metal, I always felt that I had to think too much and that every movement seemed to be a calculated equation of sorts rather than an expression of raw emotion. Since then, I have really shifted my focus from the “clean” Prog-Metal style to a heavier style. I find myself now being influenced much less by Prog-Metal and more by Modern Metal bands like Disturbed, Mudvayne, and Sevendust, as well as other heavier bands like Down, Corrosion Of Conformity, etc. I am tending to think my “Prog” days may possibly be numbered.
MER:
One of the highlights on this album is the track “Darkest Days.” This is a powerful song about dealing with and attempting to overcome an addiction. What’s the motivation behind the lyrics?
ML:
Yeah, I was a heavy drinker back when I wrote that song, and I can’t even remember how I wrote it or how long it took. The only thing that I do remember is that I was really into Absinthe back then and I came up with it while drinking a bottle of King Of Spirits, which lasted about a week.
MER:
Can fans expect tour and festival dates to support Unbound in 2011?
GT:
We really hope so! As of now, our plans for 2011 are to work on the next Dread CD and do some shows in Central America. If Unbound does well (“well” being an open-ended term at this time), we will definitely hit the road and support it. Our issue is that we cannot do anything outside our means, so we’ll have to let time dictate things and see how the chips fall, then assess when the time comes.
MER:
Do you have any final words for your new fans out there?
ML:
Thanks for your support!
GT:
Thanks so much for the great review and the opportunity for the interview. We do not forget those who help us out and support us.
Click the links below to find out more about Dread The Forsaken!
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