Having released two studio albums’ ‘Regret is for the Dead‘ [2016] and ‘Pyres‘ [2019] the band are furiously working on their third studio opus with aspirations of taking huge steps outside of their comfort zone and venturing into a creative horizon.
In the meantime, the Dundalk four-piece have revealed details on the release of ‘Unspoken‘, an instrumental version of ‘Pyres‘, which is due for digital release on December 15th.
We spoke to the guys about their decisions to release an instrumental version of their second studio album…
OD – Not many bands’ decide to re-release their albums as an instrumental body of work. Can you tell us about the decision to do this for ‘PYRES‘?
JAY – [Drums] – So… funny story (maybe not for Roni though)… One time back when gigs where are a thing, Roni fell sick and simply couldn’t play a show we were due to play that night.
We didn’t want to cancel, as we had accommodation and all other arrangements/logistics in place so Ger [Bass], Shane [Guitars] and I got in the car and did the gig without our trusty front-man.
We played an instrumental set and it went down really well! It’s the only time we’ve ever done that, and since then I’ve always thought it would be really interesting to release some of our songs in an instrumental form to give the listener a chance to create their own meaning in the music alone.
OD – When you hear the album back now in this impression, do you get a totally different perspective on it?
JAY – We’re all fans of instrumental music but in WTB I’d say that Ger and I are the most avid listeners of post-rock/instrumental bands like the amazing God Is An Astronaut, Long Distance Calling, Russian Circles and ASIWYFA, I loved getting to experience the album this way.
We put a lot of heart into writing and recording the album and we really feel that the instrumentation stands up on its own. There are some really special moments where the album shines as an instrumental piece, and we’re very excited for people to hear it in this form.
OD – Would you ever consider doing this for ‘Regret…“?
JAY – Right now, I don’t think so. We’ve been working on writing a new album for the past while and following the release of ‘Unspoken‘, that’s where our energy will be totally focused.
OD – Of all the tracks on ‘Unspoken‘ which one do you prefer the most and why?
JAY – For me it has to be “Shallow Sleep“. The song that just doesn’t stop grooving! It’s perfect for putting on in the car, at the gym, or when Christmas shopping and you need to drown out the dreaded Christmas music!
OD – If you could ask any band to do the same thing and release an album from their discography as an instrumental body of work, who would it be?
JAY – TesseracT and their album “Polaris” from 2015. Some of the most beautifully written songs of the last few years. I’ve still found myself listening to on repeat 5 years later.
OD – We see that you are doing an ‘end of year‘ merch blow out [see graphic below]. Will there be fresh new merch on offer come the new year?
JAY – Yes that’s the plan. The last few lines of merch have gone down really well. We have some stock still available but it’s going fast. Thank you to everyone who has picked some up and don’t worry, you’ll hear it here first when we have a new line available!
OD – Since the lockdown, what albums have you found yourself listening to most or have you been refraining from listening to other bands’ music because you’re all deep in the writing process for the new album?
GER – It’s always a “damned if you do and damned if you don’t” thing in terms of listening to lots of other bands when you’re trying to write new music. Obviously, you want to be inspired but you don’t want to be influenced too much by other artists. We’re listening to a lot of the artists that we’ve always listen to but standouts would have to be KoRn, Bring Me The Horizon, Parkway Drive…
OD – Speaking of which, how is it all coming on and how many tracks would you say are completed by now?
SHANE – Due to the current situation we’re all experiencing, and not being able to gig, we’ve been given well needed time to really dig deep into the direction we want Words That Burn to go in.
We’ve been experimenting with different elements and we think we have found the right path. We have over an albums’ worth of new material, so we are just trying to finalise each demo track before we take them into the studio.
With all this time we have been given we have been able to really dive into new areas that we would not have thought of exploring before and we are very happy with the direction we are heading now.
OD – If you were to describe the sound of the new material now, what could you most compare it to?
RONI – It sounds like Words That Burn but with a lot more focus. Gun to the head and we have to compare to other bands (which I hate doing)? I’d say if you put Parkway Drive, Bring Me The Horizon and Korn DNA into a test tube, then mixed in a tonne of hooks and it somehow magically spawned something, it would probably sound like our new record.
In saying that, it doesn’t sound like any of those individual bands, cos that would just be silly trying to sound like someone else, but I guess they were the bands we spoke about most when discussing dynamics etc.
The new record is very powerful from musical and emotional perspectives. We’re only coming to the end of the demo stage and it already sounds like a completely different animal to anything we’ve done before & to what’s out there at the minute.
Pre-Save ‘Pyres – Unspoken‘ via this link and be in with a chance to win some killer Words That Burn merchandise.
For more information on Words That Burn, please click here.
Oran O’Beirne
www.overdrive.ie 2020
Photography – Down The Barrel Photography © 2020
