Recently, I had the chance to sit down with a a few of the members of Atlanta-based Metal band, Collapse of the Empire. They’re gearing up for The Battle for Summer Slaughter Tour 2014 this coming weekend at the Masquerade and have several surprises for 2014. Check out the interview with Michelle (Vocals) and Kelsie (Keys/Synth) Hargita and Lee Bradford (Guitar) below!
CK: So guys, what made you form Collapse of the Empire? Other than just being musicians–why do you go for the sound you have?
MH: Well, when we first formed in 2009 our neighbor was the guitarist. Lee joined probably about two years ago and we took some time off to write and change up our set a bit.
LB: The sound we go for isn’t the sound we always get in the end. We throw around genres–deathcore, electronic, progressive. It’s really a collaboration of bands we listen to with our own style. I write stuff similar to the Swedish metal I listen to then send it over to Jordan (Drummer) who adds some syncopated patterns and we make it all djent-y and send it over to Kelsie.
MH: That’s a perfect way to describe it. The combination of you and Jordan writing groovy bits and then adding Kelsie’s writing.
KH: The keys add such a different vibe to it. Like how we could add epic, almost power-metal sounds to what we create. I feel like a lot of our songs sound different though, so it’s hard to really peg down a genre for us.
MH: You throw around those keys though. When we played with Trivium her intro was super classical and was eerie with all of the smoke.
CK: Speaking of that show with Trivium–is there some EDM influence? There were glowsticks flying around and-
KH: There’s definitely some EDM influence. We’re trying to add more of an electronic style to our sound, especially with “The Browning.”
LB: I was actually kinda skeptical about the glowsticks at that show. I mean, glowsticks at a metal show? I didn’t think it would work.
MH: Yeah, I figured fans might look at us like, “what the hell is this?” But, I See Stars and other metal bands like that can pull it off. And apparently it really worked.
CK: Michelle, what’s it like being the front-woman of a metal band with your sound?
MH: I’m self-trained. I was just always into the music and was kinda messing around when I figured out how to do this. I’ve had plenty of time to mess around with my vocals, to really experiment. I’m most comfortable with my highs, but I also have a good low range, so it just works for me.
CK: What direction are you guys heading in this year?
KH: We just met our merch goal and we’re looking to get a Southeast tour going when we can work it around our work schedules, you know?
LB: We’ve also got plans to record a full-length sometime in February. Ten or eleven tracks, and get it released with some killer artwork later this year.
MH: Plus, we’re hoping to win the battle of the bands and play Summer Slaughter this year. So realy, our main focus is going to be touring. In addition to partying. We do that. We’re all about Fireball, but… we’re still trying to find the one.
CK: Guys, thanks so much! It’s been rad, and best of luck to you all at the Battle of the Bands. Anything else we should know?
MH: Yeah! Check out our video for “The Final Message” on YouTube, and connect with us on Facebook, for sure!
