10 Quick Ones with RYAN VANDERWOLK of DEATH RATTLE – October 2017

According to a recent press release: “New Hampshire-based groove-thrash band DEATH RATTLE released their brand new sophomore full-length album, Volition, October 20. The album is available now via Big Cartel. The band hit the road with The Convalescence,Wings Denied and Shaping The Legacy! In anticipation of the album’s release and tour kickoff, DEATH RATTLE have revealed a third single from their album, entitled “Sentenced to Hell”. Listen to the punishing track now via New Noise Magazine.” We get guitarist Ryan 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?

We feel that Volition is a complete metal album. Everything on this album just came naturally, albeit with a lot of hard work. This release took a lot longer to put together. Mostly because of outside and internal issues. We really had to fight to get this album done. We did  rip apart a song that was on the Man’s Ruin album called “Vicious Cycle”. We rebuilt it in a way where we throughout the original had potential to be a great song but didn’t fully achieve. That song is now “Unfinished Business.”

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

For me it was the discovery of 80’s Metallica. I thought the guitar work so Incredible that it inspired me to what to play, Trey and Kevin have the same story. Chris and Jimmy were just interested in music since they were very young.

3. Who would be your main five musical influences?

Pantera, Lamb of God, Soilwork, Tool, and Down.

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

This is an extremely difficult question because there are so many. I guess the standard would be to have a vocalist jump on a song so I would love to have Randy Blythe From Lamb of God, Or Dez Fafara from Devildriver. They are favorites of ours. Joe Duplantier from Gojira is also a favorite of ours.

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

Death Rattle is some straight up American heavy metal. We are generally a groove metal band with touches of Death metal and thrash.

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

Playing music live is the best part. It’s also awesome to create something for others to enjoy. Traveling and making friends is really a blast as well.

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?

Chris and Jimmy spent years in the kitchen for a living so they have a propensity to whip up awesome food on the regular. Everything is a team effort. When we are on tour we are super tight on space so we have to do the best we can. Chris is always the type of guy to grow out the acoustic even though he is the drummer.

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

I would love to be involved with football on a coaching level. It is my biggest passion outside of metal. We all collectively really love animals and if we could contribute more to rescuing animals that would be a great joy.

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”?

The thing about the past is that it’s over, it’s never good to focus on it. We’ve done some things wrong and done some things right. The idea to always do the best we can moving forward. One thing I would definitely not recommend is recording an album over an extended period of time. This presented many problems that we know to avoid in the future.

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?

Pantera recorded Far Beyond Driven in a tiny little house in Nashville TN. That album went on to be the most aggressive metal album to ever make #1 on the charts. That album is a monster in the metal world, and to me is a masterpiece. I would have LOVED to sit in on that process and see what it was like.

DEATH RATTLE LINKS:

OFFICIAL SITE

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

Category: Interviews