And We’ll Put a Happy Little Thrash Right Here
Canadian Thrash Metal act TYMO unleashed their sophomore album The Art of a Maniac on February 5, 2022. In comparison to their 2017 debut Purge & Reset, Tymo promises an album that is heavier, faster, and loaded with more bombastic energy. I caught up with frontman and lead guitarist Tim Tymo (with an brief appearance from 2nd guitarist Nick Schwartz) to find out more about it.
Metal Express Radio: If I knew absolutely nothing about TYMO, how would you describe the band’s music to me?
Tim Tymo: Lyrically and musically our music moves very fast. We wanted to create a feeling of chaos happening all around the listener. We touch on subjects of mental illness, alien invasion, civil conflicts, social media, and substance abuse. We accompany that with fast riffs, shreddy solos, and thick angry vocals.
MER: On February 5, 2022 you released your second studio album The Art of a Maniac. Would you say the new album is similar to your 2017 release Purge & Reset or are there differences?
TT & Nick Schwartz: Our last album Purge & Reset had more of a Melodic Thrash/Heavy Metal sound, whereas the new album has much more of a high-energy sound. The songs are faster, the riffs are heavier, and overall the music is much more technical. Very true to the Thrash Metal genre.
MER: Can you tell the story/background/meaning behind each song…
Tymonicide – A fast instrumental opener to warm the listener up to the band and the new record. It leads directly into the next track “Sanity Clause.”
Sanity Clause – An angry thrasher touching on the subjects of suicide and the journey to hell to relive the pain over and over again. The riffs accompany the vocals in anger and it cuts through the pain like a razor. A fast punch in the face to start off the album.
Mars Attacks – Possibly our new Thrash anthem. Lyrically it’s about the film and the comics Mars Attacks. It tells the story of the Martians annihilating the human race and taking over the Earth. The riffs morph into each very smoothly.
Estrogenocide – One of the groovier and gallopy tracks on the album. Lyrically it tells the story of women taking over the Earth and slaughtering all of the men to create a Utopia. Surviving men are enslaved for their seed to continue the human race.
Age Of Deception – A groovy, progressive, jazz fusion inspired track. The song touches on the subject of social media abuse and how people change once they get behind technology. The human race is now very connected, yet very distant from each other.
The Roy Parson Project – A song with a mix of fast thrash and groove metal. It’s inspired by Roy Parson from the Rick & Morty episode “Mortynight Run.” It touches on the subject of Roy’s journey and the effects of video game addiction. We like to escape real life to find more enjoyment in the virtual world.
War Beneath The Skull – The slowest and most progressive song on the album. A journey through different time signatures and feel changes. It’s a groove fest with some industrial elements. Lyrically it’s about the internal fight that comes with mental illness. Always battling with yourself.
The Art Of A Maniac – The title track of the album is definitely the angriest and most ferocious song on the album. The riffs are fast and will satisfy any thrash metal fan, this song has a little bit of everything from the album. The lyrics were inspired by Art The Clown and The Devil’s Rejects. It follows the point of view of a mass murderer on a killing spree. A full-on maniac.
Alcoholocaust – Our party and drinking anthem. Fast open string riffs that take you on a wild ride. It tells the story of TYMO on tour and partying their way through every town. We wanted to end the album with a bang and we feel this song delivers.
MER: Who’s idea was the Bob Ross inspired artwork and how did you find the artist Andrei Bouzikov?
TT: We came up with the Bob Ross concept as a group. Bob Ross is a nice contrast to the death destruction. Happy little mistakes, the world has ended. We knew right away that we wanted to call the album, The Art Of A Maniac. As soon as we said the word art, Bob Ross popped into our heads. Andrei Bouzikov designed a lot of artwork for our favorite bands. We looked up his website and contacted him, the rest is history.
MER: Purge & Reset was released on Flames to Frost Records, but you are releasing The Art of a Maniac independently. Why the change?
TT: As an independent band, I thought at the time it was a good idea to put our albums under our own label/brand. We named it Flames To Frost after our instrumental track from Purge & Reset. We didn’t see the need to do that with The Art of a Maniac, as it may conflict with possibly getting signed to an actual record label. Definitely not something we would do again.
MER: TYMO formed in 2015, how did you assemble the band members?
TT & NS: The band initially started out as Tim’s solo project, named after his last name. Once the current lineup was formed, we found that we had good chemistry as a band and wanted to work together on new music. Our common musical interests led us down the path of playing faster and heavier, and before we knew it, we were a Thrash Metal band. The band name was already known within the music scene, and we didn’t have the heart to change it. We all knew each other from high school and it didn’t start playing together until our mid-twenties.
MER: What are your touring plans for 2022?
TT: With the Covid restrictions easing, we plan to finally play our album release show in Edmonton, AB. After that, we will be doing a mini-tour of Western Canada and then hopefully get over to Europe to do a tour afterward. We are praying that Covid doesn’t ruin those plans.
MER: Back in November 2021, TYMO shared the stage with fellow Canadians Tower Hill, Riot City, and Striker. Any cool stories from the show?
TT: It felt so good to share the stage with these three epic bands. It was our first indoor show in almost two years. The Starlight Room was packed and the crowd was amazing. It was a good feeling to be playing in a packed venue again.
MER: Back in the summer of 2021, TYMO played the Loud as Hell Festival. Any cool stories from the festival? Any disaster stories?
TT: That was our very first show since Covid, and the entire weekend was a blast. We played the show and camped with other fellow bands. The one disaster was the heat! It was plus 40 [degrees Celsius, 104 degrees Fahrenheit) that entire weekend and the sun was scorching down on us. It was definitely worth it though, we would relive that weekend in a heartbeat.
MER: In the band’s bio it states the six words to sum up TYMO is “A golden shower of thrash metal.” Do you still want to stick with “golden shower” now that the band is starting to gain some notoriety?
TT: We feel that will be our slogan until the very end of time. It captures our humor and what we are all about.
TYMO is
Tim Tymo – Vocals, Guitar
Nick Schwartz – Guitar
Harlen Jacobs – Bass
Marc Durie – Drums
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