10 Quick Ones with SYMETRIA – August 2017

We get the guys from Symetria to answer our 10 Quick Ones about new music, their influences, and more…

1. Tell us a little about your latest release.  What might a fan or listener not grab the first or second time they listen through?  Are there any hidden nuggets the band put in the material or that only diehard fans might find?

Fernando: For me and I think only me, because apparently nobody else hears it there is a part in the track “All The Same” during the breakdown where I think the wrong chord is played. No one else has heard it but me so it might just be me. Also in the self-titled “Symetria” there is a connection I love to hear between drums and bass.

Kevin: This is our first release as a band and we are very proud of it.  Symetria definitely has the makings of a great heavy metal record.  We have pulled influences from everywhere and turned it into our sound that will have a little something for everybody.

Vince: All the tastes of everything that we have put into our sound to create something that transcends generations and genres.

Blair: I’m a little divided about giving all the little secrets away. I would love for the listener to discover things like that for themselves. I will say listen to the beginning and the end of the album as they tie in perfectly to all that the band is. There are little things here and there that you will hear. How’s this… I will make you a deal, if you hear something, come talk to me and tell me what you hear and we can talk about it. I would love to hear your take on it.

2. What got you into music, and can you tell us about the moment you realized you wanted to be a musician?

James: My dad was a drummer, so music was a big part of my life since I can remember. I actually learned to play drums before picking up a guitar; I was 6 or 7 I think. I loved the drums and still do, but it didn’t feel quite right for some reason. Some years later when an older cousin introduced me to the guitar, I fell in love immediately and I knew I’d found something special that would play a very important role in my life.

Fernando: I would be the moment where I started listening to music, Punk rock and realized that I wanted to share a message through music, whatever the message was, to people like me. Also going to my first shows is seeing people enjoying music written by friends of mine. Also the very first time I was on a stage doing a little improvisation to open a festival and how amazing it felt to hit the strings and feel the floor below me shake.

Kevin: I never had intentions of actually being a “musician” when I first started playing guitar. After seeing some live shows in my late teens/early 20’s, I knew I wanted to be in a band and make music.  First show I ever saw was The Goo Goo Dolls at PNC Bank Arts Center in NJ.  I particularly liked their earlier stuff that was more punk rock than the songs they would later write in their career.  Then one day one of my friends borrowed my car and left some Metallica CD’s in it by accident.  After a few weeks of getting into those albums, I knew that I had to be in a metal band.

Vince: My earliest childhood memories are surrounded in music, and about music. Everything I have ever done has had a soundtrack in my head. It’s not a matter of want, I was born to do this.

Blair: I have always wanted a deeper way to connect to people. My belief is that music was a great way to do that. I feel it is a more primal, yet expressive way of stating something that evokes emotion or relays a message that someone could not possibly do with a conversation. The moment I realized I wanted to play music was when I was a kid, I actually made something that was not horrendous sound; it was not anything that I had heard on any album before. I had actually made something of my own. I discovered the love of creating. I knew I wanted to do that through music.

3. Who would be your main five musical influences?

James: It’s hard to narrow it down to 5, but I would have to first mention Iron Maiden as I have to thank them for introducing me to the wonderful world of guitar harmonies and back to back solos. Next would be Jon Shaffer from Iced Earth, who in my opinion has the best right hand in all of metal, his rhythm playing is just amazing. Another band that influenced me a lot is Death, especially with The Sound Of Perseverance album. It’s some of the best songwriting I’ve ever heard. Speaking of songwriting I can’t forget Mark Tremonti who was one of my first guitar idols and who I consider one of the best songwriters in modern rock. Finally there’s Tierra Santa, a band from Spain who was the final piece of the puzzle in shaping my style of playing.

Fernando: I am not going to place it in order because it’s too hard to put them in order so I’ll just throw them out there: The Misfits, all Ecuadorian bands and artists (punk rock, metal, ska, hardcore), NWOBHM, Classical music and opera, and Los Muertos de Cristo.

Kevin: Metallica, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Slayer, and Rush.

Vince: Overkill, Testament, Slayer, Ugly Kid Joe, and Alice in Chains.

Blair: Warrior Soul, Meshuggah, Gojira, Lamb of God, and Jimi Hendrix.

4. If you could call in any one collaborator to do a song with, who would it be?

Fernando: I would love to have Victor Wooten collaborating with us, though may not be his style, his playing would be a unique mark on our style.

Kevin: I would have to say Rush, because I just want to know how they write their music.  I’m a huge fan of their earlier work.

Vince: Bobby Blitz, he was the first guy I ever tried to impersonate.

Blair: Corey Taylor, in my humble opinion the man has one of, if not the most versatile and talented voices on the planet today. He has a way of making anything sound good and knows how to craft a great song.

5. How would you describe your music to someone who’d never listened to you before?

Fernando: something new yet familiar just like going into the safe unknown.

Kevin: Thrashy and melodic mainly, but different elements mixed in as well.

Vince: Something for everyone, all the greats mixed up and tossed out into a new/fresh sound that will grab the attention of all metalheads, even the ones who don’t listen to anything recorded after 1990.

Blair: A mix of all the best things heavy. It spans generations, tastes, styles and genres.

6. What’s the best thing about being a musician?

James: The best thing is just how powerful music can be. Music, for me, is the ultimate form of expression. One note, one chord, can say so much. Victor Hugo said it best “Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent”.

Kevin: The best thing is being able to create music that gets a great response to the listener. A lot of the feedback we have gotten on this record from those close to us is that they really enjoy listening to it and that it kicks ass!

Vince: Being able to tell a story and share it with the world.

Blair: Being able to create, it almost religious, you start with a thought or an idea, then eventually it is brought to life. From nothing comes something…

7. When the band are all hanging out together, who cooks; who gets the drinks in; and who is first to crack out the acoustic guitars for a singalong?

Fernando: we haven’t had a time like that yet, usually our hangout time is when we’re getting ready to practice. But it’s always good time with the gang.

Blair: Our lives are quite busy, there is not much time for hanging and drinking, we usually use the time together to create and perfect what we do.

8. If you weren’t a musician, what would be your dream job?

Fernando: Pro skateboarder for sure.

Kevin: I would be a teacher.

Vince: I would breed and work with snakes, namely Boa Constrictors.

Blair: Marine biologist. I have always loved the ocean, it is a place that gives me a great source of peace and strength, any work to preserve or educate someone about it would be a dream job.

9. Looking back over your career, is there a single moment or situation you feel was a misstep or you would like to have a “do over”?

Fernando: So far I’m pleased with everything even with mistakes, the only thing I would maybe fix is adding a part to the song “Time” that I added only on live performances.

Kevin: I’m fairly new at this whole thing, so maybe in a future interview I’d be able to answer that better.

Vince: No, everything happens for a reason, and everything I have endured has led me to create what we have created here in Symetria, so no, I wouldn’t change anything.

Blair: I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason, it brought me here. I am thankful for that. I would have liked to go to a formal music college or academy; that would have been great. But the time I would love to take back was the time spent worrying what others thought of my playing and skill. People especially artists are so hard on themselves, they best themselves chasing perfection. That being said I regret adding the additional stress of worrying what others thought of my playing, creative vision and talent level. Instead I should have spent that time enjoying the moment and living.

10. If you could magically go back in time and be a part of the recording sessions for any one record in history, which would you choose – and what does that record mean to you?

Fernando: Maybe the record that got me into playing bass so much: Running Free – Iron Maiden or Sound of Perseverance – Death.

Kevin: I’d have to say Metallica – Ride the Lightening.  I would chose that one over Master Of Puppets only because that is when they started to go into a different approach with their songwriting.  That record from beginning to end, is my favorite Metallica album.

Vince: Life of Agony’s – River Runs Red, so much pain there, it has been my go to since high school when my mind goes dark and scary.  That album has taken the gun out of my mouth.

Blair: Wow. That is a big question. If you force me to pick one I guess it would have to be Obsolete from Fear Factory. It was a means to understand the merging of technology and music. It allowed me to hear complex drum work with haunting melodies and lyrics that tell a message.

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Category: Interviews