Chad Bowar: You've had some member changes since your first album. Introduce us to the new guys and how they came to join the band.
Adam Warren: We have two new guys, both on guitar. They are Nick Conser and Devin Shidaker. Both of them were friends of the band before they joined. We had known them from previously playing with both their respective bands, touring and/or playing shows locally.
How has your sound/style evolved from Depths to Contagion?
We continue on with the general sound and style that is Oceano, yet we've improved it. I feel Contagion is taking our writing and music to the next level. Contagion is a more aggressive, straightforward and faster album than Depths.
Was the songwriting/recording process any different from your debut?
Things were a little different. We had less time to write a major chunk of this album, as Nick and Devin were still fairly fresh to the band. While attempting to write Contagion, we were well into touring, so that was a challenge. Unlike Depths, though, every member had the chance to contribute something to each song. The last album was more of a mixture of some previously written songs, and then some newly written ones upon our signing to Earache. We all had our hand in creating Contagion one hundred percent from scratch. I feel it made all the difference.
Describe the concept of the album and what inspired it.
The concept for Contagion is based on my subtle obsession with classic and contemporary zombie films and bio horror based novels and movies as well. The concept stems from the irony of the multiple "outbreak" scares that constantly occur over the years and it plays on that scenario with the possible conspiracy of the government creating and exposing the population to a virus to satisfy their own personal gains to reach a specific global agenda. All in all it's a modern day social commentary taken to the furthest and most metal of extremes.
How was the video shoot for “Weaponized”?
The video shoot went amazing. Kevin Custer was the director and he was a pro. We spent more time driving aimlessly around the streets of New York than we did in the studio filming. So things came together very quickly and efficiently. Can't wait to see what other people think of it upon its release.
Why does deathcore get such a bad rap?
I don't personally call ourselves deathcore, but if that's what people and our peers tag us as, I'm not gonna bitch and moan either. Our style of metal seemingly gets a bad rap because of its being a derivative of death metal. Purist and die hards ultimately see the genre as a phase, or trend within the scene. To some extent I do agree, yet this does not stand for every band of our said sub-genre.
We get treated like the illegitimate sons of death metal because we're young, something new, and are expected to be another flash in the pan. I feel the weaklings of our kind have already been weeded out. Oceano and other similar bands of our type are still around for a reason, and deserve more respect for the success they've earned thus far.
What are your upcoming tour plans?
What we have coming up next is a headline tour called "The Contagion Across the Nation Tour" which serves as our album release tour. It's filled with all the up and coming young bands of our scene that are really gaining some ground, so I feel the name fits it well. We then have some down time, and following this we will head over to the West Coast for another headlining tour. Plans for a European tour shall follow that, which is something we surely are overdue for.
You're known for very intense live shows. What's the worst injury you've suffered on stage?
I have a history of minor knee problems which come from sports back in the day. On our last headline tour I had a minor tear in my ACL. Consequently, I had to play the remainder of that tour limping around on stage wearing a knee brace.
What's the craziest thing that's happened t you on the road?
No one will probably believe this, but screw 'em. My entire band and I saw UFOs while driving through Arizona. We have video footage of it as well. It was a pretty wild experience!
What’s the dumbest thing you’ve said on stage?
I like to keep things interesting at times when addressing the crowd, so at a show in Atlanta (given the history of the south) I did a pit call out before one of our most mosh worthy parts along the lines of "Avenge Slavery." Everyone on the tour got a good kick out of that.
What’s the strangest thing you’ve been asked to autograph?
I've oddly enough signed a lot of weird crap lately. I think a few days ago takes the cake, as I was in a tattoo shop after getting some work done. A fan of Oceano was in my midst, and asked me to sign his arm. Being quite accustomed to signing random appendages I thought nothing of it, but offered him the alternative to have a poster I had on me signed instead. (Yes, I carry posters and promo stuff around at all times just in case). He then insisted on me signing his arm as he was getting my signature tattooed on him. Now that's crazy!
What was your last, “Holy crap, I can't believe I'm playing here, or playing with this band or meeting this person, etc.” moment?
Touring with half the bands we get the opportunity to do so with is a humbling experience in itself, as I've been a fan of most of the bands we play with since even before I was doing much musically, or ever thought I'd be doing something at this level. So I'm very grateful to share the stage with everyone.
How did you come to fill in for Chelsea Grin on a recent tour?
The Chelsea Grin dudes I met before either of us were too known in the metal scene. We played a pretty packed show in Michigan and I have been a fan of them since even before that day. So periodically I made sure we kept in touch and stuff as I had faith that they'd get to the level they're at, and bigger. So having us both respectively being fans of each other's work, I feel it was a good matching.
Essentially they just hit me up and asked, since their vocalist's jaw was broken and had to have it shut for a while. Since I was free, and the tour I filled in on was headed to my favorite place to go ever, Canada, it was a no-brainer. It was an awesome opportunity and I had loads of fun. Every night we were intoxicated to some degree.
How's the metal scene in Chicago these days?
The Chicago/Illinois metal scene is an odd one, to say the least. It seems to have a lot of slumps, and bands tend to come and go, sometimes faster than they were created. But things always seem to resurrect itself with the younger generation of metalheads making their way up, and beginning to support the local shows which usually leads to newer and more ambitious bands rising. We don't have the best or biggest following for heavy music, but the ones that do exist keep things alive even during the down times.
Are you a fan of any of the Chicago sports teams?
I never was a big sports fan when it came to being a spectator. I grew up and was raised a Chicago White Sox fan though. Southside pride!
What's currently in heavy rotation on your CD/MP3 player?
Right now, Impending Doom's There Will Be Violence, The New Maroon 5 album, Chiodos' Illuminaudio and The most recent Usher release. I'm all over the place musically.
