Sloth Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the musical project?

It is my solo doom/sludge metal project inspired by the pace and sheer velocity of the sloth. It's been active for about a year now, and my first album comes out at the end of the month.

2.How would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the album?

If I was to put it into one sub-genre I would say doom metal, but others have described it as post-rock and stoner. It's mostly sludgy/doomy riffs which get broken up by clean sections full of echo and reverb. Sometimes I get distracted and start throwing black and death metal into the mix too.

3.When you have lyrics, what are some of the topics and subjects you cover?

Well the only song with any real lyrics is 'Awaken That Which Lies Amongst The Trees'. It's about a lost traveller stumbling upon an ancient, hibernating giant sloth. He wakes it up and the sloth proceeds to destroy him and then begin its path of destruction across the planet. That last part isn't actually in the lyrics, but it's how I imagine the story to continue realistically. I might do a sequel to this song in the next album.

There are also vocals in 'Nothing But Leaves', but they're mostly just samples of David Attenborough talking about sloths.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Sloth'?

Originally I wanted the music to be more stoner metal than doom. I was brainstorming names with my friend and thought of Sloth and I just immediately knew that was the one. It's the animal embodiment of a stoner! It's one of the seven deadly sins too which gives it a slightly more metal double meaning.

5.With this musical project you record mostly everything by yourself, are you open to working with other musicians or do you prefer to work solo instead?

I've got some loose plans to get a band together so that I can do this live. By 'loose plans' I mean that I want to do it, but haven't made any plans whatsoever. I don't really have the time at the moment, or any of the appropriate equipment.

I feel like making music on my own lets me dedicate my time to the music a lot more than when working with others. I can just sit down and start recording, instead of waiting for three other people to stop talking and scrolling through Facebook. So I would say I prefer recording solo, but if I were to ever do this live it would definitely be with a band.

6.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?

I haven't sent it to any labels, I wanted to release this on my own and see what happened first. I would be happy to record with a label as long as they don't try to get a sloth mascot to jump around on stage with me while I'm playing.

7.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of stoner, sludge and doom metal?

It's been pretty positive so far from the couple of reviews its had, but not many people have heard it yet. We'll see when it releases on the 28th how it's received.

8.Are you also involved with any other musical projects?

Yes, but none of them are active at the moment. Another solo black metal project called Empyreal Blasphemy. I wrote one song for a concept album and never got round to finishing it off because Sloth took over.

9.Where do you see yourself heading into as a musician in the future?

Well I'll definitely be recording more Sloth albums, whether it's in a studio or in my bedroom. I've got plans to record something with a friend or two, but we don't know what it's going to be yet, probably black metal. That should be next year.

10.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

Bongripper, Boris and Pallbearer are the main influences for Sloth. One song which I would say is the root of Sloth is 'Farewell' by Boris on the album Pink. That song changed my life.

Other than that, some of my favourite bands include Nile, Winterfylleth, Municipal Waste and Gojira.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?

Screenwriting and novel writing. Sloth actually started when I hit a wall in the novel I'm writing called 'Jobseekers'. I'm still stuck at that wall, I really should get writing again soon.

I also like football and video games, but who doesn't? Arsenal are my team, so I've got a naturally untrusting nature haha.

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

Just want to do a shout-out to Ra, God of the Sun, for all he's helped me with in my life. And a big thank you to you for the interview.