A Dirty Dozen with JACE and PAUL from THIS IS ME BREATHING – March 2026

According to a recent press release: “Formed in 2014, This Is Me Breathing have spent the past decade carving out their place in the modern deathcore landscape. After solidifying a permanent lineup in 2019, the band began honing a sound that merges relentless heaviness with dynamic groove and intentional songwriting. A road-tested force since 2015, they have toured across 29 states, racking up thousands of miles and sharing stages with genre heavyweights including Lorna Shore, Beartooth, Chelsea Grin, Spite, Boundaries, Distant, Ingested, Bleeding Through, Traitors, and Crown Magnetar, among many others. With the upcoming album Serenity In Suffering, the writing process challenged every member to push beyond previous limits. The result is a fully dialed-in and fine-tuned release that raises the bar for the band both musically and emotionally, positioning it as their most complete and punishing work to date.” We get Jace and Paul 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?

Jace: all of the little influences we dabbled in there that are pretty overt.  I personally included riffs or certain drum parts that are heavily influenced by Korn and Limp Bizkit.

Paul: I think this release represents us as whole more than anything we’ve done previously. We’ve pulled from a lot of different influences over the years and I think this is the most “true to us sound” we’ve captured in recording.  As far as nuggets there’s a lot of soundscapes across the record that I think will take a few listens to really appreciate.

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

Jace: What got me into music as a musician, was first listening to Story of the Year and learning their material (actually auditioned using one of their songs).  What really got me into wanting to pursue it, was Every Time I Die.

Paul: When I was super young my older brother showed me rock music for the first time. It was probably  3 doors down or some other alternative rock band at the time that really caught my attention. I also remember seeing Lamb of God’s “making of sacrement” documentary and that made me go “I have to do this.”

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

Jace: So I really got into The Chariot and went to see them at a venue here and the lineup was Kills and Thrills, Letlive, The Chariot, and Every Time I Die.  To say that the show changed my life, is an understatement.  Every Time I Die’s album Ex Lives really shaped my musical tastes and writing.  Also, I started listening to Deftones in high school that also shaped my musical influences.

Paul: I would have to say the first time I heard “Eternal Refuge” by Whitechapel.  The idea that anyone could make those noises with their voice fascinated me, and I knew immediately thats what I wanted to do.

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

Jace: Josh Scogin.  Dude writes amazing music and his vocals are phenomenal.

Paul: I would love to have Randy Blythe from lamb of god on a track.  I took a lot of ques from his vocal style and I would love to share a track with him.

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

Jace: I’m an avid film buff.  I on average, I see 10-15 movies a month. I’m also a die-hard Chelsea FC (English Premier League) follower as well as all things professional wrestling.  I also spend a lot of time playing video games.

Paul: Magic the gathering is probably my biggest pass time. Im a huge nerd, so any type of nerd activities Magic, Warhammer, D&D all that stuff.

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?

Jace: We’re mainly deathcore with influences of Slam, Nu-Metal, and death metal.  Not a cringe comparison, but we got an apple review forever ago that said we sounded like Miss May I.  One, at that time, our songwriting ability was nowhere close to their sound and two, Miss May I’s guitarist (Elisha Mullins) is now one of our producers.

Paul: Abrasive, loud and cathartic. I never really take much offense to comparisons as im usually a fan of the bands we get compared to.

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?

Jace: Paul definitely is the one that cooks if we aren’t ordering food.  I’m usually the first on the road at the bar lol.  Our Bassist Nick will bust out the most random acoustic songs, if not for him I’ll start playing The Yeah Yeah Yeahs or Silversun Pickups.

Paul: I am usually the one cooking in the group. I love making food for the guys. Jace is usually the first one at the bar, followed by me and Nick doing a shot of whiskey at every bar we go to. I would say none of us are “singalong” guys. But if we had one it would be Nick.

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

Jace: I got a VIP opening to Ramsays Kitchen here in St. Louis and Gordon was there.  Starstruck is an understatement; what a handsome man!

Paul: I was most recently star struck meeting Brooke Reeves from Impending Doom when we opened for them last year.  Having listened to him since I was in my early teens it was a huge headtrip meeting him and just chatting about music. Absolute gem of a human being.

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?

Jace: The best part for me, is to be able to express what I’m feeling through our music and on stage.  Its also nice that someone else enjoys something you made up on your own. Well, my NBA dream ended when I was around 14 (still enjoy playing basketball), but now it’d be to be a paid film critic.  Even though Id worry that it’d become work and kill my film love.

Paul: The best part for me is being on stage.  When you’re up there letting loose and the people are with you, there’s just nothing like it. Its the best therapy anyone could ask for.  My dream job outside of this would be owning a hobby shop and being able to work with all the nerd shit im passionate about.

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?

Jace: We havent had a ton of interviews, but I always wanted to discuss us personally as the music questions feel surface level.  I’m tired of answering “It’s screamo?” from people that aren’t familiar with metal.

Paul: We havent done a ton of interviews at this point, so I’m pretty open to talking aboit anything. As far as questions I’m tired of answering, “How do you do that and not lose your voice?” Has to be up there.

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?

Jace: We self released our EP Gomorrah and it didn’t get any traction.  It was a big step up for us and not a ton of people heard it.  Outside of that, I’d day some early lineups set us back with overall goals and where we want to go.

Paul: Definitely the release of our sophomore EP Gomorrah. We weren’t very savy to marketing or promotion at the time of release.  I still think there are a lot of great moments on that record, but sadly I dont believe it got the momentum I believe it could have.

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?

Jace: Korns self titled.  Changed the game and the writing was way ahead of the early 90’s.

Paul: Going back again to Sacrament by Lamb Of God. Its my favorite record of all time, and the documentary surrounding its creation is what made me want to be a musician in the first place.  The creative process around that whole album seemed amazing, and I wish I could’ve been a fly on the wall during some of those sessions.

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Category: Interviews