METAL PULP AND PAPER: Hello Matt, so glad to be catching up with you. Thank you for taking the time to answer some questions for Metal Pulp And Paper. We appreciate it.
For the casual reader, the soon to be new listener, it’s time to put your tray tables in their upright position and hold on tight to the armrest. You’re going for a white-knuckle ride with the band All Pigs Must Die. APMD is a hardcore punk supergroup and beneath the skin, as you peel it back, you’ll find members of The Hope Conspiracy, Converge and Bloodhorse making up the heart of the DNA. APMD started out in 2009 in the state of Massachusetts after a drunken party. What else do we need to know about your band APMD? Give it to us point blank.
MATT WOODS: Well, you've got the story of the genesis of pigs' origins pretty close. Fairly humble beginnings. The most tangible piece of information to add is that we became a 5 piece about 2 years ago. I honestly can't believe it's been this long since the band started. Time is a flat circle.
MPAP: Some huge news coming from the APMD camp as well, new material came October 27th. All your diehard fans were probably biting at the bit for this new release called Hostage Animal out on the Southern Lord/Non Believer record label. What can you tell us about Hostage Animal? This is a big release, and it’s already getting some great reviews.
MATT: Hostage Animal is the most dynamic of our releases but also the most efficient. It's far and away my favorite in every aspect possible. I don't read reviews and have no idea if it's a "big" release in the traditional music biz sense. I can say that for me personally, there's been no group of songs that's been more important and I believe that is a feeling shared by everyone in the band and a major factor to our excitement for the album.
MPAP: Bring it to the masses and entice us, how do you get us to listen to it? What would be some of your selling points?
MATT: I am not a salesman at all. The best I can offer is that Hostage Animal is a good soundtrack to mutually assured destruction.
MPAP: Are there a couple songs on it that you’d like to talk about that might make up the backbone of the music on it? Your favorite tracks per se?
MATT: Honestly, I can't pick a favorite. I believe it's best enjoyed as a whole piece. Each song represents an integral part of the whole.
MPAP: The cover of Hostage Animal can be viewed or interpreted in many ways by each person having a different idea. What can you tell us about it? Are there any messages or words of wisdom the cover might represent?
MATT: Historically, the rat king has been seen as a bad omen. That element of foreboding is something we tried to incorporate into the music and I think the cover captures it.
MPAP: Is there anything about Hostage Animal that makes it stand out from your previous two releases, God Is War (2011), and Nothing Violates This Nature (2013)?
MATT: Aside from things I've mentioned earlier, it sounds to me more like "concept realized" versus the other two albums.
MPAP: I found this quote on the internet about APMD, 'It’s said that while holding true to what your band is best known for, you had something new up your sleeve merging some calmly delivered protocols of execution to some unhinged and violent rampages this go around.' Are you open for trying something new musically, or going in a different direction when sometimes it might leave a sour taste in the fans that have been with you from the beginning? Example, White Chapel, Lamb Of God, and Suicide Silence add clean vocals to a some of their newer songs.
MATT: We'll never shy away from trying new things or taking influence from diverse sources but we'll never abandon what we are. The goal of the band is to play music as heavy and aggressively as possible and any 'new' direction would be treated accordingly. That being said, I can assure that you'll never hear goofy clean vocals, china cymbals, piccolo snares, nu-metal, shitty slap bass, moshcore, jumps, kicks, abuse of pitch harmonics, auto-tune, artisanal kale black metal, etc etc.
MPAP: Every band grows over the course of time, how would you say APMD grown since its inception in 2009?
MATT: I think we have gotten better incorporating more diverse influences without losing aggressiveness and trimming the fat from any riff or idea.
MPAP: It was a four-year hiatus since Nothing Violates This Nature came out. How was it decided that it was time to get back in the studio and start writing again? Did it just take that long for everyone to have a break from their main bands and all be able to get together in the same room?
MATT: We are older guys with wives, kids, jobs, other bands, problems etc. Our time is pretty limited and as we get older it seems to move even faster. The riffs, ideas, concepts existed throughout that time frame and evolved as such. It was a matter of having the time to properly write and rehearse the songs. Once we are able to get in the same room we try to work pretty fast. It was nice to go quickly from finishing up writing to in the studio recording and I think it helped with the urgency of the playing.
MPAP: When creating music is it sometimes hard to put aside, what’s been done before in Converge and The Hope Conspiracy? Do you find yourself at times throwing away ideas or guitar riffs because they breathe those bands style and sound and you must start over again to be original?
MATT: Over the course of seven years, three albums, an EP and a couple B-sides, I think we have tossed one thing because it sounded too much like one of our other bands. It hasn't been an issue.
MPAP: When forming APMD in 2009 was it easier to do knowing you had the support of your other bands and there wouldn’t be and angst amongst everyone?
MATT: It's pretty incestuous between all of our bands so there was never any concern that someone would get bent over it.
MPAP: Converge has had many other successful side-project band like the ambient noise of Supermachiner, the experimental sludge of Old Man Gloom, and the hardcore death'n'roll of Doomriders. Why another side-project, there almost is not enough room on the resume?
MATT: I can't speak for Converge but they all love playing music and take advantage of opportunities to do so with people they like personally and are inspired by musically.
MPAP: To sum it all up, to lay it all out on the table, if we were to put APMD under a microscope, what would we find?
MATT: A pile of cordyceps mushrooms, coffee, bourbon, and marijuana.
MPAP: On behalf of myself and Metal Pulp And Paper, I’d like to thank you, Matt, for being a part of this interview. Look forward to what All Pigs Must Die does to finish out 2017 and beyond.
Now that this white-knuckle ride is over, are there any last words for all the readers and your fans worldwide out there?
MATT: Thank you for listening. We are going to try to play as much as we can as soon as we can.
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©metalpulpandpaper
For the casual reader, the soon to be new listener, it’s time to put your tray tables in their upright position and hold on tight to the armrest. You’re going for a white-knuckle ride with the band All Pigs Must Die. APMD is a hardcore punk supergroup and beneath the skin, as you peel it back, you’ll find members of The Hope Conspiracy, Converge and Bloodhorse making up the heart of the DNA. APMD started out in 2009 in the state of Massachusetts after a drunken party. What else do we need to know about your band APMD? Give it to us point blank.
MATT WOODS: Well, you've got the story of the genesis of pigs' origins pretty close. Fairly humble beginnings. The most tangible piece of information to add is that we became a 5 piece about 2 years ago. I honestly can't believe it's been this long since the band started. Time is a flat circle.
MPAP: Some huge news coming from the APMD camp as well, new material came October 27th. All your diehard fans were probably biting at the bit for this new release called Hostage Animal out on the Southern Lord/Non Believer record label. What can you tell us about Hostage Animal? This is a big release, and it’s already getting some great reviews.
MATT: Hostage Animal is the most dynamic of our releases but also the most efficient. It's far and away my favorite in every aspect possible. I don't read reviews and have no idea if it's a "big" release in the traditional music biz sense. I can say that for me personally, there's been no group of songs that's been more important and I believe that is a feeling shared by everyone in the band and a major factor to our excitement for the album.
MPAP: Bring it to the masses and entice us, how do you get us to listen to it? What would be some of your selling points?
MATT: I am not a salesman at all. The best I can offer is that Hostage Animal is a good soundtrack to mutually assured destruction.
MPAP: Are there a couple songs on it that you’d like to talk about that might make up the backbone of the music on it? Your favorite tracks per se?
MATT: Honestly, I can't pick a favorite. I believe it's best enjoyed as a whole piece. Each song represents an integral part of the whole.
MPAP: The cover of Hostage Animal can be viewed or interpreted in many ways by each person having a different idea. What can you tell us about it? Are there any messages or words of wisdom the cover might represent?
MATT: Historically, the rat king has been seen as a bad omen. That element of foreboding is something we tried to incorporate into the music and I think the cover captures it.
MPAP: Is there anything about Hostage Animal that makes it stand out from your previous two releases, God Is War (2011), and Nothing Violates This Nature (2013)?
MATT: Aside from things I've mentioned earlier, it sounds to me more like "concept realized" versus the other two albums.
MPAP: I found this quote on the internet about APMD, 'It’s said that while holding true to what your band is best known for, you had something new up your sleeve merging some calmly delivered protocols of execution to some unhinged and violent rampages this go around.' Are you open for trying something new musically, or going in a different direction when sometimes it might leave a sour taste in the fans that have been with you from the beginning? Example, White Chapel, Lamb Of God, and Suicide Silence add clean vocals to a some of their newer songs.
MATT: We'll never shy away from trying new things or taking influence from diverse sources but we'll never abandon what we are. The goal of the band is to play music as heavy and aggressively as possible and any 'new' direction would be treated accordingly. That being said, I can assure that you'll never hear goofy clean vocals, china cymbals, piccolo snares, nu-metal, shitty slap bass, moshcore, jumps, kicks, abuse of pitch harmonics, auto-tune, artisanal kale black metal, etc etc.
MPAP: Every band grows over the course of time, how would you say APMD grown since its inception in 2009?
MATT: I think we have gotten better incorporating more diverse influences without losing aggressiveness and trimming the fat from any riff or idea.
MPAP: It was a four-year hiatus since Nothing Violates This Nature came out. How was it decided that it was time to get back in the studio and start writing again? Did it just take that long for everyone to have a break from their main bands and all be able to get together in the same room?
MATT: We are older guys with wives, kids, jobs, other bands, problems etc. Our time is pretty limited and as we get older it seems to move even faster. The riffs, ideas, concepts existed throughout that time frame and evolved as such. It was a matter of having the time to properly write and rehearse the songs. Once we are able to get in the same room we try to work pretty fast. It was nice to go quickly from finishing up writing to in the studio recording and I think it helped with the urgency of the playing.
MPAP: When creating music is it sometimes hard to put aside, what’s been done before in Converge and The Hope Conspiracy? Do you find yourself at times throwing away ideas or guitar riffs because they breathe those bands style and sound and you must start over again to be original?
MATT: Over the course of seven years, three albums, an EP and a couple B-sides, I think we have tossed one thing because it sounded too much like one of our other bands. It hasn't been an issue.
MPAP: When forming APMD in 2009 was it easier to do knowing you had the support of your other bands and there wouldn’t be and angst amongst everyone?
MATT: It's pretty incestuous between all of our bands so there was never any concern that someone would get bent over it.
MPAP: Converge has had many other successful side-project band like the ambient noise of Supermachiner, the experimental sludge of Old Man Gloom, and the hardcore death'n'roll of Doomriders. Why another side-project, there almost is not enough room on the resume?
MATT: I can't speak for Converge but they all love playing music and take advantage of opportunities to do so with people they like personally and are inspired by musically.
MPAP: To sum it all up, to lay it all out on the table, if we were to put APMD under a microscope, what would we find?
MATT: A pile of cordyceps mushrooms, coffee, bourbon, and marijuana.
MPAP: On behalf of myself and Metal Pulp And Paper, I’d like to thank you, Matt, for being a part of this interview. Look forward to what All Pigs Must Die does to finish out 2017 and beyond.
Now that this white-knuckle ride is over, are there any last words for all the readers and your fans worldwide out there?
MATT: Thank you for listening. We are going to try to play as much as we can as soon as we can.
©metalpulpandpaper