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| w/ Tyler Solnosky |
| Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: The band recently added another label, which was Metal Blade to contribute in the handling of the release along side Iron Clad Recordings. What lead to the decision to have Metal Blade involved in the distributing of the release rather than remaining solely with Iron Clad and having them work the release amongst themselves? Tyler Solnosky: I'm not sure what the deciding factor was. Trevor signed the deal with Metal Blade in November of 2004 and we didn't sign our contract until February of 2005. I know he waited to give us our contract until the deal with Metal Blade was signed so that he didn't have to rework our contract, but I imagine that the distribution that Metal Blade has and the popularity of the label had something to do with it. Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: For a first album with support, does Feel Like Hell meet your expectations or do you wish you had done something different now that the release is finished? First albums can be tough. Tyler Solnosky: Overall, we are satisfied with Feel Like Hell. There are a few older songs of ours on there because we decided to put pretty much everything we had written at the time on the record, so some of the songs don't represent us quite as well as others. I think the production of the cd came out great though. We're totally satisfied with the overall tone and quality of the cd. Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: Feel Like Hell is an interesting title to choose... what from within the band prompted this name as it is also a phrase commonly used when one expresses not feeling too great? Was that the intent? (Laughs) Tyler Solnosky: That wasn't really the intent of the name, but it is how it came about. We had just got done writing a couple of songs and our friend came up to our practice so we could demo the songs on his 4-track. Someone was like 'Joe are you hung over or something, you look like shit' and he was like 'I feel like hell' and feel like hell just happened to go with the lyrics of one of the songs we just finished. When it came time to name, the cd Feel Like Hell just sounded good and we all agreed that that was one of our favorite tracks on the record. Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: The band hails out of South Carolina yet if someone were to hear your music without reading the bio they would swear you originated from Sweden or Germany. You have a lot of Euro influence in your music, which sounds great. With that said, would you agree and what do you consider the defining element of your music that sets it apart from the rest? Tyler Solnosky: I definitely agree. We all love Euro metal. I think that’s where we all get a lot of our influence from musically. Bands like Carnal Forge, Hatesphere, Dew Scented, Dimension Zero, and The Haunted and so on. Those dudes can shred, but we are also into a lot of American metal too like The Black Dahlia Murder, Darkest Hour, Lamb Of God, All Shall Perish, Suffocation etc... Therefore, I guess the defining element in our music is just the blend of fast Euro thrash with heavy American metal. Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: Since this release will be many people’s introduction to The Classic Struggle, is it representative of where you’re coming from and particularly where the band is heading? Tyler Solnosky: Well about half of the songs were written with our older guitar player Austin and half were written with our current line-up. I think since our current line-up we've found more of a nitch as a band and the songs are structured better. Not to say we don't like the older stuff at all, but I think the current songs and line-up represent us and the direction we're going better. Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: When writing for the album, where did the band draw its inspiration? Tyler Solnosky: Musically we draw our inspiration from growing up listening to the bands mentioned before, but still adding our own touch to the music. Lyrically Tim draws inspiration from things we face everyday as a band and also things he goes through himself. Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: How do you feel The Classic Struggle has grown since previous releases? Tyler Solnosky: This is actually our first release, but we are learning and growing a lot already since the release in August. We have been together for about 3 1/2 years, but we are still new to being a signed band with a debut release out. We're tighter now than we've every been from touring all year and have matured a lot as a band so I think our future song writing and future albums will definitely be a step up. Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: Will the band be re-releasing any previous albums or perhaps going back into the studio to re-record to make them available now that you have the label support? Tyler Solnosky: Well like I said, this is our first release and it’s pretty much all the songs we have written as a band. The writing of all the songs was a long process because we lost a guitar player in 2003 and did not really do anything as a band for about 4 or 5 months until Jason joined up. We did have demos in the past, but it was just older recordings of a few songs that are on Feel Like Hell. Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: As a drummer, you have excellent chops! Are you self-taught or a studied musician? Tyler Solnosky: Thanks very much. I'm a little bit of both. I started playing snare drum in concert band in the 6th grade and took lessons on that, so that gave me a head start on my chops and rhythm. But about 6 years ago I dropped concert snare and picked up a drum set, so I'm pretty much self-taught on that. Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: The band is currently on tour as we speak. How’s the tour been going thus far and do you feel the band is being well received? Tyler Solnosky: The shows have been great on this tour. It's the best tour we've done yet besides our van problems. We've had to cancel the last week of shows because we've been stranded in Southern California, New Mexico, and Texas from constant van troubles. We're back on the road now though and have about two more weeks of shows left with The Knife Trade. But, I think that we've been well recieved over on the west coast, especially for our first time being out there and hopefully the shows keep doing well for the rest of the tour. Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: To say the band is good is an understatement. I’m definitely going to make it a point to attend and cover your show when you guys tour the NJ/NY area. Thanks again for the interview! With that said, do you have any final words for The Metal Web!? Tyler Solnosky: Thanks and go check out Feel Like Hell in stores! OFFICIAL SITE "THE CLASSIC STRUGGLE": http://www.theclassicstruggle.com HOME |
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