Nevertanezra Interview

1. Can you tell us a little bit about the band for those that have never heard of you before?
Well, I started the band out of a desire to play Heavy Metal over 10 years ago. After hearing Iron Maiden and Metallica for the first time I knew what I wanted to do with my life. I’ve been the sole member since it started because Utah is a shitty place for Metal.

2.How would you describe your musical sound?
A mixture of more traditional Doom/Death Metal with bits of Thrash and Progressive. That’s the best way I can describe our sound.

3.What is the meaning behind the band's name?
There is no meaning to be completely honest. It’s just something I came up with one day. It sounded cool and no one else was using it so I went for it.

4.How would you describe the lyrical content of the music?
Anything and everything really. I’ve written volumes of lyrics about death, depression, mental problems and suicide (you know, the typical Doom fare, lol) but I’ve also written an even larger amount about fantasy & mythology (the other typical Doom fare). The only thing I’m not really keen on writing about is politics. I cannot stand politics in music!

5.According to your myspace page you have been around for ten years, how would you describe your musical progress over the years and what direction do you see the music heading into on future releases?
When I started playing guitar I wanted sound like my heroes, Iron Maiden, Metallica, Judas Priest, etc… I started playing Thrash then I went to a more traditional Metal sound. Then I went to a Gothic style of Metal to Death to Grind. I got really tired of fast music after awhile however. I was never that into Doom Metal of any kind until I accidentally stumbled across ‘Icon’ by Paradise Lost. That was my musical rebirth and that’s when I started writing/playing Doom, Doom/Death Metal. As far as the future of the bands style goes, I plan on keeping this band/project a Doom project. We’ve been discussing doing EP’s in other styles of Metal, but the albums will be Doom. We’re all very big Heavy Metal fans. It’s a genera with a plethora of styles and we love and follow them all.

6.How have fans of doom metal reacted to your musical style so far?
So far the response has been very good, the one hindrance that we have is that we haven’t played live. If we did we’d probably have a better response.

7.What are some bands or music styles that have influenced your music and what are you listening to nowadays?
Heavy Metal is the influence. Period. The bands that directly influence the my bands sound as it stands now are as follows: Paradise Lost, My Dying Bride, Anathema, Avernus, Cathedral, Novembers Doom, Iron Maiden, Mar de Grises, Evoken, Type-O-Negative & Mistress of the Dead. As stated above, our influences are vast but as far as this project goes it’s very specific.
Currently I’ve been listening to more old school Thrash and NWOBHM. NWOBHM has always been my favorite style of Heavy Metal and in more recent years its become easier to get. I’m more or less feeding my ever growing CD collection with good Heavy Metal.

8.Are you satisfied with the results of your newer material and what are some things that you would like to accomplish with your music that you have not been able to do yet?
I am very please with the progress that’s taken place. The new material sounds very different from the EP. It wasn’t an intentional thing it’s just the evolutionary process. It’s heavier, slower and more experimental. What I’d love to accomplish more than anything would be to make a living off of this hobby. I’d also love to play some live shows. My heads not so big as to care if we were opening or headlining but just playing and possibly with our heroes that would be an accomplishment.

9.You have some big names that have contributed to your new material, how did you get in contact with those musicians?
Funny you ask, I hate myspace with every fiber of my being, not so much for what it started as but what it has become. In a nut shell I secretly created an account in order to contact Rick McCoy (Avernus) on how to get my hands on their out of print material. We became friends after a series of emails. I had been recording the EP and needed a vocalist since I can’t for the life of me do Death vox. I asked him, assuming that he’d say no, but he instead said yes and sent me his phone number. I did my best not to fanboy out, you’d have to ask him how I did however, lol. I was living with my sister at the time and she agreed that he could come out. The weekend came we hung out, did the recording and then he went home. I’m sure he was bored to tears since my friends and I are very dull people.
As far as getting Aaron Stainthorpe (My Dying Bride) to do the artwork I just emailed him. After a few emails we made a deal and shortly thereafter I was more than pleasantly surprised with his work. We plan on using him again in the future. I had thought about using him prior to establishing communication, but then just brushed aside the thought thinking that he would be too big or to busy to respond. I contacted him at the instance of another friend Ryan Henry. Ryan was part of the Doom/Death duo Necare and the mastermind behind Funeral Doom titan Reclusiam. I met him through Jayke my other guitarist (a humorous and long story in itself.)

10. How would you describe the metal scene in your home state of Utah?
How do you describe something that isn’t there? Lol! Utah is a great place for punks, hicks and indie fans. If a big act like Poison, Scorpions or Ozzy comes through the long hairs come out of the wood work but none of the people seem to be into the underground or “extreme” bands. There have been a few failed attempts to create or sustain a scene but they’ve been futile at best. Too many elitists and fractured cliques and perhaps generation gaps to give it an honest try. Thankfully the REAL Metal scene has always been international.

11.What are some of your interests outside of music?
My wife and I just bought a house so that keeps us busy. We also got a black lab named Mr. Grimm who’s been a lot of fun. I also like to go shooting, hunting and playing video games. I suppose I’m not too dissimilar from most people.

12. Any final words or thoughts?
Thank you for the interview first of all! Check out our myspace ( HYPERLINK "http://www.myspace.com/nevertanezra" www.myspace.com/nevertanezra ) & if you enjoy what you hear buy a copy.