Can you tell us a little bit about the album artwork for Ex-Mortis and how it ties in with the lyrical themes on the EP?
Dylan Newhouse: This band has been trying to find our true sound for a while now and we still may not have found it. [laughs] The album artwork is supposed to represent burning the chapters of the past to make way for the future, which is Ex-Mortis. Lyrically it ties in because we talk about themes of overcoming struggle, with things such as divorce, suicide/death, anger and more. It’s about letting go of the past. If you hold onto the past forever, you’ll never progress as a person.
What was the biggest challenge you’ve faced as a band so far and how did you overcome it?
DN: I still don’t think we’ve faced the biggest challenges yet. As of right now, probably learning to compromise on certain ideas, because within this band we all listen to different styles of music. A lot of us even listen to a lot of different styles of metal. During the writing process we’ve struggled with trying to find a middle ground where everyone is happy with the overall sound of the record. We always come together live and kill it as a band and are the best of friends, but in the writing process we’ve had our ups and downs. [laughs]
If you had to give up music, what would you do to be creative?
DN: Honestly for me, I’d probably write poetry or something. I love writing and I’ve always felt like I was decent at it. I’d never wanna give up music but if I did I’d probably do poetry.
What is the overall message you’re hoping to send out into the world through your music?
DN: Don’t give up, and stay true to yourself. We all go through crazy things in this life, but everyone has the ability to overcome it.
What are your favorite lyrics you’ve ever written and why?
DN: In this band I think we can all agree the lyrics to our song “House Of Glass” are really touching and angry at the same time. We really like how that one came out. Also our song “Holdfast” is a very vocally driven song with very deep lyrics in my opinion.
If you had to cover any album in its entirety, what would it be and why?
DN: Probably something like “Ashes Of The Wake” by Lamb Of God. That album has always been an all-time favorite of ours.
You’ve had some amazing opportunities to share the stage with bands like The Black Dahlia Murder, Miss May I, Wage War, just to name a few. Who would be on your dream tour lineup?
DN: Dream tour for us, would be us, Miss May I, Parkway Drive, and Lamb Of God. Those bands shaped our sound and we love their music. I think we’d fit very well with them overall.
Aside from your tour this month, do you have any future plans or upcoming projects that you’d like to share with our readers?
DN: After this tour we will be doing a lot of weekend runs over the summer in different states. We have a couple more big shows that we are hopping on that we can’t announce just yet. Except I can disclose that we will be opening for Volumes, Upon A Burning Body, The White Noise, and more in Amityville, NY on May 29th which will be two days after we get back from tour. We are aiming to do another tour this fall, and we have already begun writing new music and are hoping for a spring/summer 2019 release.
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Upcoming Tour Dates
5/19 – Gainesville, VA
5/20 – Fayetteville, NC
5/21 – Atlanta, GA
5/23 – Chicago, IL
5/24 – Warren, MI
5/26 – West Allis, WI
5/29 – Amityville, NY
Purchase Ex-Mortis plus band merch HERE.
Photo courtesy of Big Picture Media
