Your Spirit Dies - Sound In The Signals Interview
I recently had the opportunity to interview Brandon of Your Spirit Dies ahead of the release of their new EP. We discussed the band’s origins, writing and recording their EP, ‘Our Saints Drown In Ash’, choosing “2000 Needles” as a single, filming the music video, vinyl variants, and more. Check it out below.
First, thanks for the interview.
Of course! Very stoked to do this!
Can you tell me how you formed the band for those who may be unfamiliar? How did you initially become interested in music?
Well, I (Brandon the vocalist) didn’t form the band. I came in a little later. I know that Mike and Tyler (guitars) were at a Roseblood/Divided Life show one night in Columbia, SC and sparked up the conversation about getting a late 90s/early 00s Metalcore project started. They got Keagan (bass) and Matt (original drummer) and then myself a couple of months later! Damian, our current drummer, came on board in November 2020. I think we all have a similar background in how we came up musically. We all grew up in the “Bible Belt” so we were all exposed to most of the “Christian” metalcore stuff. Shout out Zao from which we got our name.
Your EP ‘Our Saints Drown In Ash’ will be out December 2nd. Can you tell me about writing and recording the EP?
Writing for this EP was strenuous for sure. After releasing our first EP “The Process of Grief,” we played three shows and then the pandemic hit. So we were pretty halted as all bands/musicians were. We decided over that time that we would focus on writing a new EP as essentially a re-introduction of the band. Something we could actually tour on pretty heavily. We’d basically just lock ourselves in a room on weekends doing pre-production. For recording, we recorded with Greg Thomas at Silver Bullet in Connecticut and Greg pushed us to our absolute limits. It was excruciating, but very fucking rewarding. We came out as better musicians because of him for sure.
You released “2000 Needles” as the single for the EP. Did you always know that would be the single?
Honestly no, because the “industry” standard isn’t to release a four and a half minute song as a single, but we were all super proud of this particular song. When we were in the early stages of writing it, I think it was everyone’s least favorite, but as it came along, it just turned into a beast of a song that I feel like showcased everyone’s talent extremely well. Plus the lyrical imagery was fun to portray within the video.
Do you have a favorite lyrical or musical moment from the song?
I’m very proud of this song lyrically. Greg pushed me to really step out of my comfort zone with vocal placements. Shit was hard, but when it clicked it just felt right. There’s a few moments that I really dig in it, but I love the ending breakdown with the vocal trade off and the final line “God won’t hear me” referencing back to the intro.
You also released a video for it. What was the video shoot like and who came up with the concept for it?
I think we shot the video in two sessions, the first session being like 15 hours in a hot ass building in the dead of summer. It was honestly hell haha. Robbie at Angle Media killed it though. We went to the place and scoped everything out and started rushing a storyline the day before we started shooting. We had brainstormed a bit before actually meeting up and shooting, but most was on site and just kind of impulse. We’re an independent band and obviously don’t have a crazy budget, but all in all I’m so stoked on how it came out.
Do you find creating videos more fun or more stressful? Why?
Honestly, for myself both equally. In the moment it fucking sucks. You’re tired. You’ve played the same song 1,000 times over, but afterwards when you see the final product, it just makes you feel happy and accomplished.
You also have a vinyl pre-order coming up for the EP. What can you tell me about the packaging? Do you have a favorite variant?
Oli at The Coming Strife has been an absolute pleasure to work with. One of the best dudes who 100% gets us and our sound. We’ve got an alt cover that is sick and super limited and we’re doing a mystery variant that not even we know what it’s going to look like. All of the variants match the artwork (done by Triple Dog Studios) and I can’t wait to see what they look like in person.
Thanks for taking the time to answer the questions. Do you have anything else that you would like to add?
Of course! And thank you for having us.
I’m not great at this kinda thing, but if anything, don’t sleep and make sure to give this record a listen. I’m confident you’ll be able to hear every bit of sweat, tears and love that went into making it. Excited to see what it brings for this band in the future.
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