"Alas, tyranny has chained the human mind - and it is our duty to bring liberation"

Alas, Tyranny are the BOMB! Outside the novelty of having a chick doing these angelic vocals amid the band's punishing death metal, the quintet are a force to be reckoned with on all levels, from thematic originality to songwriting chops. They're one of those bands you hoped were more famous because their music elevates them above most by-the-numbers amateurs who clutter every scene. If you're intrigued by music equal parts Kataklysm, Dimmu Borgir, and The Project Hate MCMCXIX, Alas, Tyranny are the soundtrack to your escape (excuse us, In Flames). Speaking to us about his band, the lovely Katie, and being a pharmacist-to-be, singer-guitarist Matt Parsons delivers the goods with extra helpings of pizza.

AM: Bands like yours restores my faith in the rejuvenative powers of the underground metal scene. If it weren't for groups that had the ambition and skill that I hear on your debut album, then there wouldn't be a future worth looking forward to. How long have you guys been together?

Matt Parsons: It's a bit of a story - I was the main songwriter for my first band Sacrosanct back in high school, and when Sacrosanct broke up I had a ton of song ideas that I wanted to work on. Lacking a band, I just programmed drums and played all of the guitar, bass, and keyboards. This formed the first demo (released in summer 2007) of what would become Alas, Tyranny. I guess you could say that is when the project started. I recorded and released the self-titled demo in January 2008, and the two demos received so much interest locally that I was able to form a band to play the songs live. We played a couple of shows, but I disbanded the live act over the summer to focus on recording and writing for the debut full length CD. I had a ton of technical problems, which pushed the release date back an entire year almost. Now we have a very solid live line up which is unfortunately coming to an end this summer when Katie (vocals) and Joey (bass) move away.

AM: The band has been around for almost four years. What has kept the five of you motivated to push your music farther and farther?

MP: Coffee, mainly. Vodka has played a good part, too. And you can't forget the unadulterated hatred at the current state of the world and humanity.

AM: I just love the name. Alas, Tyranny. It's original and memorable. Where did "Alas, Tyranny" come from?

MP: The band's name was originally "The Matt Parsons Band". I got the idea from Devin Townsend, but "The Matt Parsons Band" just doesn't have the same ring to it! The second demo I made was titled 'Alas, Tyranny' and to me it was a very concise way to declare my enemy. When you look at the world, you see the tyrannies of politics, religion, and military might, all of these things destroying and holding back the beauty of human potential. If it weren't for these things the world would be a tremendously better place. Alas, tyranny has chained the human mind - and it is our duty to bring liberation.

Or something like that.

AM: When did female vocals become a crucial part of the Alas, Tyranny "sound"?

MP: I take a huge influence from classical music, and one of the best parts about classical is that different instruments and different timbres can be used to personify things. 'Domination Liberation Purification' is a concept album about the struggle between good and evil, but also between weakness/apathy/the victim-mentality and ambition/strength/perseverance. I felt that evil was best represented by the demonic roaring I did, and that strength was best represented by my black metal vocal style. For good, I envisioned an ethereal, pure, and innocent voice, which Katie delivers perfectly.

AM: Give me a solid backgrounder on your 'Domination Liberation Purification' album. Where did you guys go to hammer out the songs and write lyrics? And what studio did you go to?

MP: I wrote and recorded everything at my apartment. The power metal vocals were done by Johnnie Walker (guitarist for The Third Edge) at his place in Texas. Not particularly exciting or glamorous, but hey! That's how it went.

AM: Was this the first time in the studio for all of you?

MP: Hehehe... This wasn't my first time recording. This was the first time Katie has ever recorded in this setting though she has had experience recording in a choral format before.

AM: Your album is near-perfect, which is all too rare for a debut. I say "near-perfect" because if there's anything I'd like to hear changed, it's the occasionally weak mix. The alternating male/female growls, while attractive, also seem uneven. Are there any wrinkles on the album you'd want to iron out on your next release?

MP: Well, thanks!! I really appreciate the compliment. I have to take all the blame for the weak mix. I had finished writing the CD in November of 2008 and had everything recorded except for a few vocal lines for the better part of six months. I was so tired of working on and hearing these songs that I rushed the mix process rather than give it the time it deserves. Part of this was that I had set deadlines for myself and I continually missed them, and this added a lot of stress and resentment to the project. And the other part was that I was dealing with a ton of technical issues. And now, listening back, I hear a ton of things I'd want to change, mainly evening the vocals out, pushing myself to record better vocal takes on some of my parts, cleaning up the guitar tone a bit, etc...

For the next CD, I've got everything pretty much set - no more hardware issues, all my software is working without problems, and I'm going to treat my room so I can mix much better before I start mixing/recording. The next CD will have a much better mix, this is certain.

AM: I want you to "sell" your album to our readers. What would entice the casual metalhead to give your album a try? Who would most likely dig its many layers of complexity?

MP: In as few words as possible, it has got something for everyone, and everything for some people. If you love blackened death metal that will just tear your face off, the first three tracks on the disc are excellent. If you're more on the prog/power side of things, skipping to track four might be the best thing. But I wrote the CD as an opera/symphony - the entire album tells a story, and while the songs are all complete in and of themselves, they are best experienced as part of the whole album. Music scholars divide music into two main camps, art music and popular music. I would consider 'Domination Liberation Purification' art music.

AM: I really gotta hand it to you, 'Domination Liberation Purification' is a professional piece of work and deserves - to garner you guys a lot of recognition. Who has given 'Domination Liberation Purification' the most positive reception so far?

MP: ice-vajal.com gave us a 9/10 review! There hasn't been much reception at all yet, as the CD only came out last month.

AM: By the way, who is distributing the album? Where can we go to purchase a copy?

MP: Cdbaby.com, or direct from us. You should be able to download our CD from any of the major online music retailers, but if you download it from us we'll give you a better price AND additional content! This is a low bitrate version of the CD, but it'll download really quickly and you can decide for yourself if you want to pay for the $5 320kbps download or the $10 CD.

AM: Let's now move on to mundane fare. Top of the agenda is the hardware the band uses? Care to introduce us to the "weapons" in Alas, Tyranny's "arsenal"?

MP: The guitars used were an ESP Horizon NT-II with a DiMarzio Evolution, and an Edwards E-FR-120GT with a DiMarzio X2N. The bass was a Schecter Stiletto 4 string with EMG HZ pickups. Vocals were a Shure SM7b. Everything was recorded into an RME Fireface 400 and mixed with Reaper. All guitar amp tones are completely digital, and its a blend between Nick Crow's 8505, LePou's SoloC, and TSE X30.

AM: How would you describe the group dynamics between the five of you?

MP: Scott shreds the shit out of the guitar, Joey shreds the shit out of the bass, Beaver annihilates the drums, and Katie sings those beautiful vocal lines. I'm really lucky to be supported by such talented and dedicated musicians. We all get along fairly well, for the most part. (Though we do have our fair share of drama!)

AM: Is it sometimes hard for Katie to be just one of the guys or is she just as gross as the rest of you?

MP: Hahaha! Katie's actually a really classy girl - her appreciation in black metal notwithstanding. She usually rolls her eyes and laughs to herself when I or the rest of the band get drunk and engage in hand-to-hand combat to establish and defend our masculinity.

AM: Tell me all about the places you've played concerts in.

MP: We've played several notable venues in the Athens and Atlanta areas! The Local in Marietta is a kick ass venue, and I really need to give a "shout out" to Sir Hoyt at Pathfinder Promotions - that man can put together an amazing show, with a very solid lineup of great bands, and he really knows how to treat the bands right. He is one of the only promoters I've worked with that not only cares about the bands and the shows he runs, but also the long term health and vitality of the local AND regional scenes. Atlanta has a really great metal scene now and I would put a lot of that on Pathfinder. We played Heaven stage at the Masquerade, and that was fun... And a few hole in the wall venues in the Athens area too.

AM: Worst moments onstage?

MP: Oh man! We've got a few of these, hahaha! Way back in 2008, in the first live incarnation, we played a show at this dump called The Go Bar, and we were totally mismatched with the rest of the bands. It was a bunch of indie pop bands and us, and the venue owner was some emo kid. We got done playing one of our heavier songs and according to friends he was CRYING because the music was too heavy for him.

More recently, we were playing a show at this Peruvian restaurant in Athens. The PA ended up being a pair of subwoofers that were vastly underpowered, so you couldn't hear anything the vocals or symphony was doing. We started playing 'Prometheus' and right at the really heavy part near the end of the song we ended up blowing a breaker that took out power for the bass stack, Scott's guitar amp, the lights, and the PA entirely. Luckily my guitar amp was still working fine, so we finished the song.

AM: Are there times when some of you aren't getting along? When things are getting rough, what pulls the five of you together?

MP: Matt: Threats of violence usually work pretty well. Actually no, everyone gets along for the most part. Everyone is very civil and professional, it's a great environment to play music in.

AM: What else is happening in your lives aside from the band? Me, I'm still stuck in college, even if I'd just love to quit and pursue journalism full time. What happens when one of you is late for band practice?

MP: We're all in school too - Joey and Katie are graduating in May and will be leaving the band to pursue their careers. I'm in college pursuing a pharmacy degree, while Scott and Matthew Beaver are in high school (proof that age has nothing to do with talent!). We're all kept busy with non-music stuff, so we're pretty understanding when someone can't make it to practice.

AM: Let's add a more personal dimension to this interview. Below are a series of phrases that you'll have to answer honestly. This is actually a 19th century parlour game popularized by Marcel Proust. Ready?

My character.

MP: I usually play sorcerers.

AM: The qualities I admire... In a man.

MP: Honesty, integrity, and intelligence.

AM: ...In a woman.

MP: The same thing.

AM: What I like about my friends.

MP: The same thing? Hahaha!

AM: Principal defect.

MP: I waste far too much time.

AM: Dream job.

MP: Pharmacist! If I were more intelligent I'd do biochemical research.

AM: Idea of bliss.

MP: Happiness is the mind's reaction to successfully achieving your goals and realizing your standards and ideals.

AM: Biggest misfortune.

MP: I consider everything in a positive light. Pain and other negative emotions are fuel for inspiration and an incentive to improve. I suppose in the grand scale of things, that I found Katie and her PERFECT voice for what I want, and that she will be moving away and unable to perform anymore for the project is pretty damn unfortunate.

AM: Famous person I'd like to be.

MP: I really don't think there is anyone else on Earth that I would want to be.

AM: If I could live in another contry, it'd be...

MP: Finland, Switzerland, or Japan.

AM: Favorite color.

MP: Blue... How boring, right?

AM: If I were an animal, I'd be...

MP: I have always held a great admiration for the majesty of the bear. Sometimes I wonder what the world would be like had bears evolved sentience instead of apes.

AM: Favorite artists.

MP: Visual or musical? Visual: I am honestly completely uncultured, but I do like Salvadore Dali. Musically, you can just look at my Last.fm!

AM: Favorite authors.

MP: As cliche as it is, I really like HP Lovecraft. Ayn Rand's nonfiction is very inspirational for my music. I really don't read enough non-technical material to have many favorite authors unfortunately.

AM: Favorite names.

MP: Names... I have always liked the names of the great Russian tsars, almost entirely by coincidence - Alexander, Catherine, Nicholas...

AM: What I hate most.

MP: Deception, irrationality, and idiocy.

AM: My role models.

MP: Alexander the Great, Aristotle, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Nikola Tesla.

AM: Historical figures I admire.

MP: Basically the same thing, really.

AM: Historical figures I loathe.

MP: There are too many to count or list...

AM: The military campaign I like most.

MP: As an ardent opposer to military adventurism, I find that I only like wars that one nation fights for its own liberation. The American Revolution is probably the best example.

AM: A talent I'd like to have.

MP: I wish I could sing in tune!

AM: How I'd like to die.

MP: In defense of my ideals or my loved ones.

AM: My soul's condition.

MP: Nonexistent.

AM: The faults I can accept.

MP: None, really...

AM: My motto.

MP: "Kick ass and don't give a shit!"

AM: Which member of Alas, Tyranny has the broadest taste in music? Any walking metal encyclopedia's among you?

MP: Katie likes all kinds of genres, from black, death, symphonic metal to earlier stuff (renaissance, baroque, classical, etc.), even some hip hop and pop music. Joey likes black metal, Finnish melodic death, and punk music. I'm a big fan of classical/romantic/modern symphonic music, and most forms of metal. Scott and Beaver both like progressive metal foremost, but they also really like black, death, etc.

AM: Thanks for the time Alas, Tyranny. If I ever drop by a concert of yours, who's gonna buy me a pizza?

MP: Good sir I can buy as many pizzas as you require. Thanks for the interview!

Interviewed by Migual Miranda.

03/29/2010 18:03