A Dirty Dozen with ETHAN KAHN and SEBASTIAN DE AVILA from CHAINED SAINT – July 2024

According to a recent press release: “Born in a South Florida garage back in the summer of 2022, Chained Saint’s forthcoming debut album, Blindside, combines the raw, organic riffery of the best old-school ’80s thrash metal with a dash of modern-day brutality befitting the many challenges confronting the youth of 2024. The past and present collide, resulting in modern, metallic maelstrom made by a bunch of kids who play with fire in their veins — and their hands! Comprised of four high school students — Ethan Kahn (17, guitar), Sebastian De Avila (18, bass), Cameron Cottrell (19, drums) and Sean Sterling (18, vocals) — Chained Saint represent the latest generation pushing back with justifiable fury against the harsh realities of an unforgiving world.” We get guitarist Ethan and bassist Sebastian to discuss new music, 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 you put in the material or that only diehard fans might find?

Ethan: With “Animosity” being our first release to the world, it is meant to show the world that this is us, this is what we sound like, and we are Chained Saint. We chose this song feeling it was the perfect fit for that entrance to the music world. There aren’t many little “rewind moments” as I call them in the song, but more of a straight up heavy hitting song.

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

Ethan: The first time I did anything relating to music was when I took violin lessons at around 6 years old, which I wasn’t really fond of. A few years later at around 13 I started to mess around with my brother’s keyboard and started to really enjoy it. Soon after came an interest in music that had me coming back to the keyboard everyday, until after a while that interest led to my brother’s old Starcaster, where I started learning guitar and took off from there. It didn’t take me long after that to realize I wanted to be a musician.

Sebastian: When I was young I was surrounded by music ranging from Kiss all the to latin music artists such as Joe Arroyo. Around that age of 13 I started listening to more rock and metal music and I remember vividly watching the performance of Master of Puppets live in Seattle and just thinking that it was the coolest thing ever. That performance made me realize that I wanted to be on stage playing music.

3. Building on that, is there a specific song, album, performer, or live show that guided your musical taste?

Ethan: I’ve always had a soft spot for 80s classic rock and new wave, so naturally as I started learning guitar I leaned towards learning songs and techniques from that era of music. As I got older I became a real prog head (and still am) and was really into groups like Rush, Dream Theater, Yes, Tool, and all the great musicians that came from those groups. My music taste is always being changed, but instead of replacing new interests with old favorites, I just add it into one big bank of love for music.

Sebastian: When I started playing music some big inspirations for me were Metallica and Guns N’ Roses. Later on I really got into Death and Sepultura which are the reasons that I got into more extreme forms of metal. My musical taste has definitely expanded from when I started playing music but I feel that those two bands were the most significant when it came to evolving my musical taste.

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

Ethan: As a huge Gojira fan I would love to collab with Joe Duplantier, I am a huge fan of his vocal style as well as riffs, and would love to hear his voice over a track.

Sebastian: I’m a big fan of Justice Tripp’s vocal style from Trapped Under Ice and I think his voice on one of our tracks would definitely be sick.

5. What is your favorite activity when out of the studio and/or not on tour?  What do you like to do to unwind?

Ethan: I am a big gamer, so I tend to unwind via video games whether it is after practice or after we would track in the studio. Unwinding as a group, nine out of ten times we usually end practice and go to a store like CVS or Publix and grab food and whatever soda we all think looked the most interesting in the moment, and then head back to my house to talk about music and watch hate5six concerts on my TV.

Sebastian: Usually playing video games with my friends is the way I unwind after being at the studio. As a band we usually go out and get some food and then watch live sets of bands usually from hate5six or 197 Media and sometimes we play some basketball.

6. How would you describe your music to someone who’d never listened to you before? What is the one comparison a reviewer or fan has made that made you cringe or you disagreed with?

Ethan: I would describe ourselves as a mix of thrash with some hardcore elements definitely shining through. There was an instance where a friend of mine compared us to Municipal Waste, which is an awesome band, just not the sort of thrash we were trying to be.

Sebastian: I would say our music is thrash metal with some elements of hardcore sprinkled in. I personally haven’t heard of a comparison that was made that I necessarily disagreed with.

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

Ethan: When we hangout, Sebby is usually the first one to crack out an instrument whether it’s a bass or guitar. Not much singalong moments, kinda just riffing while we talk about whatever the most recent sports news is or any new music drops.

8. When was the last time you were starstruck and who was it?

Ethan: Probably when I saw Drain on their Orlando date. Those guys are so dope and know how to put on an amazing show.

Sebastian: The last time I felt that way was when I saw Mindforce at LDB fest in Louisville. What honestly surprised me was the energy that the band had and how well it translated to the crowd resulting in some of the craziest moshing I’ve seen.

9. What is the best part of being a musician? If you could no longer be a musician for whatever reason, what would be your dream job?

Ethan: I find the best part of being a musician is just being able to make music that I like and that I can throw on my headphones and listen to and enjoy. If I didn’t pursue being a musician, I would probably create a guitar company or try and help out on some tour for a band. Anything related to music would make me happy, I couldn’t see myself doing anything else.

Sebastian: The most rewarding part of being a musician for me is performing live and seeing how the crowd reacts to the music. If I couldn’t be a musician I would probably help book shows for bands or create a clothing brand.

10. What is one question you have always wanted an interviewer to ask – and what is the answer? Conversely, what question are you tired of answering?

Ethan: One question I’d like to be asked would be if I could travel in time and see one group or musician, who would it be? The answer would have to be Michael Jackson. I have been a MJ fan my whole life, and I’ve always wondered what it would be like to experience one of his shows. On the other hand, there aren’t really any questions I’m tired of answering yet.

11. 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,” even if it didn’t change your current situation?

Ethan: I would probably use the knowledge and experience of producing and recording music I have now and go back in time to re-record / add some parts of the record with my current mindset. I absolutely love the way the record came out, it is the perfect recording of our sound and who we were at the time of recording, but sometimes I wonder how much greater I could have made certain aspects with my knowledge and experience from today.

12. 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?

Ethan: I would choose to be a part of the Thriller sessions. The process of writing, producing, and recording that record must have been one of the most legendary sessions of all time in my opinion. I can only imagine being in the room while all the ideas for melodies and hooks that would later sell 70 million copies were being thrown around, and then watching all of it build together into the record it is today. That record means a lot to me as I grew up on MJ, singing every line and every “he hee” meanwhile memorizing every dance move to the Michael Jackson game on the Wii to bust out on family get togethers.

Sebastian: I would definitely want to go back to the studio sessions of Arise by Sepultura. That record was the gateway for me getting into more extreme forms of metal and also was a big musical inspiration for me.

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Category: Interviews