A Dirty Dozen with JORDAN ELGERSMAN from A TYRANTS LAMENT – February 2025

According to a recent press release: “From the gritty, industrial landscapes of Brantford, Ontario, the formidable death metal band A TYRANTS LAMENT has emerged, carving a unique niche in the heavy music scene with their potent blend of technical skill and unbridled aggression. Established in 2019, the lineup boasts the formidable talents of Jordan Elgersman on lead vocals, Andrew Warner shredding on guitar and providing backup vocals, David Hill anchoring the low end on bass, and Kyle Sharpe, a dynamic force on drums and keys. Despite being a relative newcomer to the metal world, the band’s pedigree includes seasoned musicians with deep roots in the genre, having shared stages with luminaries like FIRST FRAGMENT and COGNITIVE. Offerings Of The Inhumane, set for release on January 31, 2025, under the auspices of CDN Records, is a testament to A TYRANTS LAMENT’s journey through musical innovation and rigorous evolution. This album represents a significant chapter in the band’s career, showcasing their transition from the raw exuberance of their early singles in 2020 to a more mature, devastatingly focused sound. The return of Kyle Sharpe to the drums has reinvigorated the band’s rhythm section, providing a solid foundation for this ambitious project.” We get Jordan 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?

I think anyone who is familiar with our material will be surprised that during recording sessions we spruced some of the material up a bit, nothing to crazy of course, just a bit of added flavor. One thing I think we all hope listeners pick up through out the album is the guest spots, each person is a friend of the band and everyone did a killer job!

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

All of us got into music at pretty young ages, influenced by family and friends alike. A few of us have known each other since high school, have played together before and pushed each other further to where we are today.

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

All of us shared pretty early interests in all the same bands, some name like Metallica, Slipknot, Mastodon, Lamb Of God, and many more, eventually discovering bands like Cannibal Corpse, Death, Suffocation, Job For A Cowboy and the Black Dahlia Murder, pushing us even deeper into Extreme Metal.

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

If we were to pull anyone to collaborate with we would probably go with one who is already familiar to us, Nicholas Luck. Nicholas plays with Aepoch and Sentiment Dissolve full time, but when he has the extra time you can sometimes see him on stage with us.

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

To unwind when playing music all of us like to play some video games, a couple of us are into Magic The Gathering, and Warhammer 40k as well. At the end of the day we are all a bunch of nerds.

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?

Usually when describing ourselves with people who have never heard us before we usually give them a list of our influences, primarily bands like Death, The Black Dahlia Murder, The Faceless and Suffocation, the description can vary from member to member though. Not that I’d say I generally disagree just because they don’t know anything else from the genre, but I always get a kick out of it when someone compares us to something like Slipknot, just because that may be the heaviest band they may know.

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?

For cook I would say Kyle our drummer, man knows his way around the kitchen. Not that it would be for sing alongs, but I would say out of all of us the one I see playing on his instrument the most even when no one else is playing would be our bass player, Dave.

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

I think the time most of us were starstruck was when we opened for First Fragment, a band we all listen to and are influenced by, we were on cloud nine that whole show, even with some of the technical issues we had with our equipment to start.

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?

The best part about being a musician I think we all agree on is the music, and being able to share what we create on stage, we love the music we make and we wouldn’t have it any other way. I think without music most of us are pretty happy with where our lives are currently, with jobs that allow us to live our lives outside of them.

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?

Just being interviewed is an honor unto itself, I don’t think any of us have a specific question we would liked to be asked, just that we are asked something as long as its about our music. As far as questions we are tired of answering I don’t think we have been asked enough yet to get sick of any specific one. If in the future you ever interview us again feel free to ask this one again, we may have an answer then.

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?

All of us have a look forward mentality, bad situation or not everything we have experienced has led us to where and who we are today. For us there are no missteps, just one long road to A Tyrants Lament.

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?

I can only speak for myself on this one, but I would say Labyrinth by Flesh God Apocalypse, even just to be a fly on the wall for those sessions. Labyrinth was the first album I had heard by flesh god and at least for me it was life changing and is an album I still listen from start to finish all the time.

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Category: Interviews