New England metal outfit Aversed are set to release their new album entitled Erasure of Color on March 21st. The band’s founding member/guitarist Sungwoo Jeong spoke with Metal Express Radio about their upcoming album, bringing in their new singer Sarah Hartman, building a strong following throughout New England, and more. Check out the chat below!
Metal Express Radio: Your band, Aversed are set to release a new album entitled Erasure of Color on March 21st, what can you tell fans about the upcoming release?
Jeong: The record was recorded in a cabin we rented out in northern Vermont 20 miles south of Quebec in the dead of winter. This is our first record with vocalist Sarah Hartman and expect to hear us pour our hearts into these songs with new found glory.
MER: How was the writing and recording process having this being your second full album, as well as your first time writing and recording a full album with Sarah Hartman on vocals?
Jeong: Fortunately the writing process has not changed much since the first LP, Impermanent. The songwriting primarily consists of me (guitar/songwriter) and Jeff Saltzman (drums) in a live rehearsal room setting where ideas flow and come naturally. I myself, am always writing music in my daily life so I will often bring ideas to Jeff and a song will come quite naturally. As for the addition of Sarah, that was quite a natural process as well. All the songs were pretty much finalized in the writing process by the time Sarah came into the picture in May 2021. That’s rather good timing. She immediately fell in love with the songs and started working on vocals and lyric ideas. Jeff and Sarah ended up writing the majority of the lyrics and it turned out killer.
MER: You’ve released two singles from the album, do you feel like these songs represents the album well?
Jeong: “Cross to Bear” and “Lucid Decapitation”. I think “Cross to Bear” is actually the perfect album representation. It has gut-wrenching downpicked guitar riffs, anthemic chorus, Gothic atmosphere and a soul-bleeding Guitar solo with a climactic bridge. It’s the perfect song.
MER: What do you see as far as plans for you and your band after the album is released?
Jeong: The ultimate goal is to tour to support this album and I think we can expect that in the summer time. I hope to bring this band to the national touring circuit asap.
MER: Is there anyone that you hope to tour with and why?
Jeong: There are so many bands in mind but the immediate one is Oak Ash & Thorn, Xoth or Fallujah. These are bands that have put out revolutionary music in the past few years that I listen to on a regular basis and learn a lot from. There’s really no shortage mindblowing music being released these days and it’s pretty inspiring for us.
MER: You’ve developed a huge following throughout New England, and have had some extensive touring all without any major support, you were just recently signed, so how has it been to see your hard work pay off?
Jeong: We have been a band for quite some time now with our first record having come out in 2016 and have definitely worked hard to be where we are but we are still an infant in the band life cycle. The goal is to really break into the national touring circuit and become a respected name and recognized as a force to be reckoned with. I really believe in this band and that our music will truly stand the test of time.
MER: How would you describe the music scene throughout New England?
Jeong: Well where do I even begin? So many powerful bands have formed in New England extending their reach to become an international band. Revocation, Final Gasp, Morne to name a few. There are Metal and Hardcore shows almost every other day here from national tour packages to local dive bar shows. I would describe the music scene here to be extremely vast, fluid and ever expanding. It’s a beautiful thing really.
MER: You’ve played some bigger festivals such as the RPM Festival, and have headlined some of your own shows in clubs, what do you see as the differences between playing festivals as opposed to clubs?
Jeong: I’d say at a festival, you can have a wider reach to people who may have never been exposed to your music before because there are newer people there to watch other bands but it’s always nice to win them over and earn yourself a new fan.
MER: What are your hopes for your band’s future?
Jeong: To really break into the national and eventually international touring circuit. I want to tour with my favorite bands that I look up to and hopefully become other people’s favorite bands!
MER: What have been some of your favorite memories since the formation of the band?
Jeong: My favorite memory is probably recording this record in the dead of winter in a cabin in Northern Vermont in middle of December. That was such a spiritually exhilarating time for us as a band to spend time isolated from the world to create what would become this record. Besides the music, we cooked every day, drank beer, played in the snow and goofed around for almost a whole week. It was quite wonderful.
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