The Wring's Nemesis is a progressive masterpiece blending jazz, metal, and rock to tackle societal and personal conflicts. We dive deep with Don Dewulf and Reggie Hache to uncover its creation.
1. Congratulations on the release of Nemesis! How does this album differ from
your previous work, and what were you hoping to achieve musically and
thematically this time around?
Thanks!! I’m very happy with how the record turned
out. I think Nemesis is like a fourth
season of the same show. It incorporates
every lesson of the first three albums and adds some personal growth and
perspective. I think I’m a better
composer and player than I was even a year ago plus I have learned many things
about the recording process and how to get the most from players. I also felt a very different kind of bond
with Kyle and, more importantly, Reggie.
I felt like these guys really cared about the songs, whereas most hired
players tend to be focused mainly on their own performance. When I go into these things I don’t really
have any expectations or goals other than I want to make music that I find
interesting, along with words that have a little bit of weight. I let instinct guide the rest.
2. “Badlands” touches on the polarization of
media and the spread of misinformation. How do you balance addressing such
heavy themes with crafting engaging and enjoyable music?
Music
always comes first. I don’t think about
words until all the arrangements are complete.
The tone of the music gives me an intuitive sense of what words should
complement. Lyrically, I always feel
like I have something to say, and I don’t have any inclination to sing about
chicks or partying! Most of the themes
come from watching the news. Badlands,
The Sword, The Nail and Dark Passenger are all observations of a society in
turmoil, each offering a different view of our collective ‘nemesis’ – media,
war, civil unrest and climate change. On
this album, I also examined some more personal nemesis moments. Before I Disappear is about my own mortality
and is probably the most personal song I’ve ever written.
3. Reggie, your expanded role on vocals, bass,
and keyboards has been praised for adding depth to The Wring’s sound. How did
this shift come about, and how has it influenced the band’s dynamic?
Oh! Hi!
Well, I really love Don’s music, and I wanted to involve myself more in the
creative process this time around. I’ve been singing almost as long as I’ve
been playing bass and Don asked me if I wanted to try to record vocals. I
wasn’t sure at first because the previous singers are all amazing and I wanted
to make sure I could deliver a performance I was happy with. It took me a
couple of test tracks to find my “voice” but in the end it all worked out. It definitely brought a different dynamic as
any change of vocalist would but because I wanted to get involved and push it
farther with Don’s help, I feel we were able to get more details out of my
performance than if we had used a session vocalist.
4. Don, you mentioned that each song on Nemesis explores a different type of conflict. Can you share a
little about the specific inspirations behind songs like “The Sword” and “The
Nail”?
The Sword
is an observation on war. At this
moment, we have significant ongoing conflict in Ukraine, Gaza and all over
Africa. It does seem somewhat
inconceivable that the human species still resorts to murder on a massive scale
to achieve some sort of political end. I
guess it always will – history always repeats.
The Nail is my musing on the civil unrest in previously peaceful
countries, namely Canada and the US.
Politics has become so polarized that we seem to have lost all middle
ground, as well as common sense and decency.
There is no more discussion or consensus; it’s all about power and
conflict and forwarding personal agendas.
Social media has been largely responsible for giving voice to these
elements and helping them gather steam.
I’m not sure where it ends.
5. The blend of prog, jazz, and heavy rock in your music is unique. What
challenges do you face in merging these genres, and how do you ensure that the
final result remains cohesive?
There are a
lot of bands that have successfully mixed many genres – Yes, Genesis, Jethro
Tull, Focus and others started this in the 70’s but they tended to write these
massive songs that could be very hard to digest. I love the idea of diverse styles, but I want
them to be exposed quickly and with the power of hard rock. I very much enjoy the challenge of making it
all work together. For example, in The
Sword, the primary riff is very ‘metal’, the pre-chorus then backs off with
some jazzy progressions and then the chorus is back to metal. I think the contrast makes each part stand
out and be more effective. I spend a lot
of time in the composition phase to make sure that the components make sense,
individually and together. A lot of cool
parts get scrapped because they don’t flow…
6. Your music draws comparisons to bands like
Dream Theater and Opeth. Who would you say are your biggest influences, and how
do you incorporate those inspirations while maintaining your unique sound?
I find
inspiration in a very wide range of music.
I think I was listening to a lot of Steely Dan while I was writing
Nemesis, so there are some references there, but I don’t think they are
obvious. Rush has always been a powerful
presence for me as well as Opeth and Tool, but I don’t want to be a clone of
any of them; I absorb what they do and let that form an atmosphere around me as
I build out the songs. My lexicon of
music and songs is very substantial so I can almost always hear when a new riff
is too close to something else. When
that happens, I either change it or scrap it.
I never really understood the Dream Theater reference, but I think it
comes from the rhythm section and maybe vocal stylings, I’m certainly no
Petrucci! Funny enough, two guys that
have played on Wring records were short-listed to replace Portnoy when he left
DT.
7. The instrumental interplay on Nemesis is incredibly tight yet
free-flowing. Can you walk us through your songwriting process and how you
achieve that balance during recording?
The most
effective tool I have is the demo. I
write the songs and then record all the parts – guitar, bass, keys, drums (I
compose with loops from real drummers) - I even sing! All these things are in rough form but
certainly give a very clear picture of what the outcome should be. The arrangements are all final and everything
is done with a click so when I give the tracks to the right pro, he knows
exactly what to do. There are always
some exceptions and some pleasant surprises, mostly with Reggie. I give him a lot of leeway because I know
that he cares very deeply about the final product.
8. The Lydian forms in the solo for “Badlands”
bring a jazzy vibe to the track. Are there any other standout moments on the
album where you experimented with unconventional musical approaches?
There is
experimentation on every track, and I love that! My overarching goal when writing is to create
something that is ‘new’. Obviously, that
is pretentious, but a noble goal for sure.
I love things that are unexpected and contrasting. Using major tonalities in metal is very
unusual and you have to be careful not to make it sound like Journey! Lydian is a great mode because it has major
characteristics, but the flat 5th gives an unsettling vibe. I also like following one style with another
to emphasize each. An example would be
Welshrats where you have very Steely Dan-ish chord progressions in the
pre-chorus and chorus but in between them is a Lamb of God type thing. Seems strange but it seems to work! Great fun to play.
9. The lyric video for “Badlands” adds another
layer to the song’s message. How important is the visual aspect of your music,
and how involved are you in the creation of these visuals?
I think a
visual element is critical to almost everything these days. I am admittedly very poor at social media so
making some videos to accompany songs is very necessary. Reggie has been massively helpful in creating
the playthrough type videos and my label, Wormholedeath, makes the lyric videos
for me. Of course, I have input on
everything, but I think it’s important to let creative people do what their
instincts and experience tell them. I
have managed to surround myself with great people, so I am rarely disappointed.
10. You’ve mentioned that Nemesis provides a way to enjoy
complex musical styles without being overwhelming. What advice would you give
to listeners new to progressive rock or metal?
Good
question! I think everything has its own
process. Music is very mathematical, in
tempo as well as structure. The human
brain tends to feel most comfortable in 4/4 time, 120 bpm and a I-IV-V or
ii-V-I chord progression. Pro writers
know this, pop artists can sense this and, as a result, popular music is pretty
homogenous! No surprise. But… if a person wakes up one day and wants
to explore something a bit deeper, it’s best to ease into it. If your first metal record is Meshuggah, it
will almost certainly be your last! So,
start with Led Zeppelin; they were probably the first progressive rock band
with major success. Physical Graffiti is
full of clever stuff, same with Presence and Houses. And don’t just listen to the radio hits. From there I would go to Rush. Moving Pictures is brilliant; proggy but completely
accessible. Then try Permanent Waves and
Hemispheres. If those work, you are
ready to try Tool. For metal, start with
Metallica’s Black Album and work backward through their catalog. If you make it all the way to Ride the
Lightning, you can jump to Slayer, Anthrax and Megadeth. I would be negligent if I didn’t mention
Black Sabbath here also. I would start with
the Paranoid album and then consume everything up to Sabotage. After all that, maybe you’re ready for
Meshuggah!
11. The track “Welshrats” has a unique title.
Can you share the story or inspiration behind it?
Weltschmerz
(or the Americanized version – Welshrats) is a term from John Steinbeck’s ‘East
of Eden’ and is loosely interpreted as a vague sense of melancholy that can’t
really be traced to a specific event.
The song is about dealing with that - trying to understand it and come
out the other side. The music has kind
of a laid-back feel until the pre-chorus which shifts into full metal mode
before going into a jazzy chorus. The
music covers all the moods that the theme suggests. I hope so.
12. Looking ahead, what are your plans for
touring or promoting Nemesis further?
Are there any specific goals or milestones you’re aiming for with this album?
The Wring
was an actual band when the first album was released, and we played live to
support it. That was awesome, but
everyone quit just before the second album, so I’ve been using session players
for the last 3 records. I would really
love to play this stuff live again.
Reggie recently moved to Montreal from Vancouver so he’s a lot closer…
maybe we can get something going…
As an unknown artist, I try hard to be less unknown but it’s not easy. Music is pretty much free now so there is no revenue stream unless you’re touring. I work with a publicist (Ashermedia) who is great at getting me in front of industry people like you and I must hope that somehow gets my music to the end listener. I also work with the Wormholedeath label for distribution. They are very supportive and enthusiastic and provide marketing in many global hubs. For me, I basically just try and do something every day to move this along! It’s truly a labour of love.
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