Dead To Fall

By: Aviva Sieradski

Reeling in a morass of introspection and contradiction, Dead To Fall bases its second release, Villainy and Virtue, on the psychic dichotomy of humanity through an intense blend of Swedish metal technique and hardcore barrage.

Dead To Fall’s lineup consists of vocalist and main lyricist Jonathan Hunt, main guitarist and songwriter Antone Jones, who writes and records with Dead To Fall but doesn't tour, guitarist Logan Kelly who plays in the touring band (and is considered to be part of the band), guitarist Matt Matera, bassist Justin Jakimak and new drummer Tim Java.

Notwithstanding the September release of their followup to their first LP, Everything I Touch Falls To Pieces, Dead To Fall have been pretty busy as of late. A few months ago they wrapped up PETA 2's Compassion over Fashion Tour in Europe with Remembering Never, Most Precious Blood and It Dies Today. They just finished the Bastard Set of Dreams tour with metal act The End. Currently, they’re wreaking havoc throughout Europe with Martyr A.D. and The Haunted. And once they get home they'll tear up Canada and New York along with Cephalic Carnage.

Between the demands of this hefty agenda, Jonathan Hunt finds time to answer some questions:

Blistering.com: I notice you really delved into the whole Villainy/Virtue concept (and on your site, you get the same screen if you click on either Villainy or Virtue, just with different colors). What sparked your interest in the concept?
Jonathan Hunt: The concept happened more as an accident, then on purpose. We wrote the song Villainy & Virtue near the beginning of the song writing process, and noticed that as we moved forward with the record, all the songs sort of fit into place around that one; both lyrically and musically. The feeling of the music switches in-between darker and lighter sounds and keys, and lyrics follow suit to a certain extent. I always try to write lyrics based on what emotions I feel after listening to the music for the song. The website was based off of the artwork for the record (done by Paul Ramano - workhardened.com) which shows both Villainy & Virtue.

Blistering.com: "A virtuous mind dreams what a wicked man does" - why do you think so? It seems you think the villainy and virtue are two sides of the same coin (if I'm correct). Why?
JH: Our culture has, from the day we are born, taught us that there is some sort of evil within all humans, and that we should for our entire lives fight it off. However, I think that those things that flaw us from perfection are what make each individual different. We should embrace our flaws/imperfections and realize why we are the way we are. They are equal and important parts of our humanity. A virtuous mind is constantly blocking and defending, while what our culture would call a "wicked" man is free to think clearly.

Blistering.com: Your lyrics indicate a lot of soul-searching, whether within yourselves or within humanity as general. What did you find, so far?
JH: That is a very good question. I find that the best inspiration for my lyrics is myself, and the life I live. Sometimes it does a lot of good to just simply take a step back from whatever situation you are in, and act as if I were looking from an outside perspective. I think each song has a different inspiration/meaning, so it is hard to classify all the lyrics under one broad view. I would have to say that I have realized for the most part there are a lot of outside forces attempting to drag us down, and pull us away from what we truly love.

Blistering.com: Who's the main lyricist? (haha - who's depressed? What's going on?)
JH: That would be me. I would say from one record to the next my life is in a different place. On EITFTP the lyrics were a lot more negative, and less thoughtful. On Villainy & Virtue I think there was more of a balance with negative lyrics and positive lyrics, which I guess goes along with the concept.

Blistering.com: Why do you choose to concentrate on more introspective topics than something else?
JH: I cannot write about things I know nothing about, and the thing I know the most about is my own life. There are a few songs on this new record that delve a little into our disgust for pop culture and its blandness, and lack of creativity. For the most part however, it's introspective.

Blistering.com: You don't fall into any specific brand of metal. You have elements of all types. What bands do you mainly draw from?
JH: This is always the toughest question. Everyone in the band listens to a completely different style of music. I guess musically we draw a lot from the Swedish death metal scene, but at the same time draw from the American Hardcore scene. I don't know if I can name specific bands to which have influenced, I guess every major metal band along the way has made some sort of mark on our style. I think that because our tastes are so diverse, our songs are fresh and not identical. From one song to the next on V & V you can hear quite a few differences.

Blistering.com: What was the influence for those movie score like sound bytes on the album?
JH: Our old drummer Evan made those. We used those to try and tie the album together a little more to keep up with the concept of Light/Dark; Villainy/Virtue. They were mainly used to bookend the song ‘Blood Of The Moon with a little bit lighter sound. [END]