Dead Hazards shrouds itself in mystery, letting their music speak for itself. Their debut LP Saline blends sludge, punk, and experimental elements, pushing sonic boundaries with unconventional instrumentation and genre-defying songwriting.
1. Dead
Hazards operates under a veil of anonymity. What led you to take this approach,
and how do you think it impacts the way listeners connect with your music?
Hard to say
exactly, why does anyone? I guess we wanted to see if the work can stand on its
own and to detach any personalities from it. Not sure if this makes the
listening experience different; wouldn't want it to become a gimmick for us
though.
2. Your
debut LP Saline blends a diverse range of influences—sludge, folk, rock, jazz,
and more. Was this genre-melding intentional from the start, or did it evolve
naturally during the creative process?
It's
probably not as big a genre mix as advertised, but we did try to use some more
unusual things. When we started writing there was no clear intention to blend
lots of styles and we were just having a lot of fun recording. The fun kind of
brought different stuff in.
3.
You’ve incorporated some unconventional sounds—electric violin, Zippo
percussion, nature ambience, even frequencies from artwork. What inspired these
choices, and how did you weave them into the music organically?
We weren't
expecting to use those things specifically. It's just that some of us were
learning lots about production because we recorded everything ourselves, and
others just had the urge to record something weird. Many such recordings didn't
make it.
4. Many
bands rely on traditional guitar solos, but you’ve opted to replace them in
places with violin processed through heavy effects. What led to this decision,
and how do you feel it changes the emotional impact of the music?
Again,
these were just attempts at experimentation and seeing where it might fit, if
at all. One of us knows the violin, and there was one lying around in the
studio. There was no writing for it though, just playing over the recordings;
some parts we thought were good enough for solos.
5.
Thematically, Saline delves into disillusionment and detachment. Can you expand
on the ideas and experiences that shaped the album’s lyrical and sonic
landscape?
Well these
words may sometimes describe what the songs have in common despite individually
being about different things. I'm sure there's an actual term for this—being
certain about something in the world, only to find out it's not true, which can
sort of 'flip' your reality. That’s sort of a significant part of it I’d say,
but maybe some of the band would disagree.
6. The
recording process for Saline took place over several months, with parts
recorded separately. What were the biggest challenges of this approach, and do
you think it influenced the final sound of the album?
This sort
of production might very well stop parts from connecting in the end, in the
result you’d send to mix. That bothered us. But in our case it could've been
much worse. There was a lot of adapting to each other, and being open to that
helped make the parts connect I think.
7. Your
debut single “Prime” is out now. What does this track represent within the
larger scope of Saline, and why did you choose it as the first glimpse into the
album?
It was the very first song we mixed, which took forever to do. In the end, it kind of set the foundation for the album's sound so it felt natural to make it the first single.
8. You’ve
mentioned that some sections of Saline were arranged like electronic
music—moving parts around until they clicked into place. How does this approach
differ from traditional rock/metal songwriting, and what effect did it have on
the album’s overall feel?
I wouldn't
say we know how to do "traditional" rock songwriting. Sure there's a
common understanding about verses and choruses, and we did write many
pre-choruses, but at the end of the day the moving around of parts really
helped some songs not drag out too much and have more interesting sections in
between parts. I have the biggest respect for people who can write something
from beginning to end without thinking where a chorus should go or how many
bars until that bassline enters. We're not at that point yet
though.
9. With
elements of sludge, punk, and alternative rock, Saline shares DNA with bands
like Pallbearer, Windhand, and Kyuss. But are there any lesser-known or
unexpected influences that shaped the album’s sound?
There
aren't many specific lesser-known bands that influenced the sound. I guess each
of us pulled from anything we had ever heard, whatever made sense during. But I
would mention Helmet, Melvins, Faith No More—these aren't lesser-known
though.
10. You
worked with engineer João Janz to bring Saline to life. How did that
collaboration shape the album’s final mix, and what was the most challenging
aspect of getting the sound just right?
The
recordings were not very good, which made the mixing quite a pain. We had to
use many references and even that didn't help in some songs. Thankfully our
engineer is experienced with such things and was able to find the middle ground
for every song.
11. The
band’s experimental nature suggests an openness to pushing musical boundaries.
Do you see Dead Hazards evolving further in future releases, or do you feel
you’ve found your signature sound?
That I
cannot tell you with any certainty.
12. With
Saline dropping on April 20th, what’s next for Dead Hazards? Any plans for live
performances, visuals, or further explorations into the unknown?
We're not doing live shows right now. But we'll see if we can put together a video or two, liner notes, more artwork. I for one am very excited to return to listening to other people’s music after a long while.
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