| Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: The bands fascination of Rome resulted in your newest release “The Fall of Rome”. When writing for the album, what in particular intrigued the band so much to make it a thesis for the album as well as the cover art and title? Duke Cuneo: The real interest came from my fascination and concern with social and governmental issues in America today. Three of us went and graduated from universities, and I read a lot on the subject. I really felt like there were so many similarities between modern America and Ancient Rome at its early decline. Rome was a republic based on honor, faith, morality, and family. That basis yielded the most powerful, advanced, and affluent society the world had ever known. Unfortunately, the government eventually strayed from the form of government that made Rome great. The people strayed from the faith that their morality was based upon. Rome became a decadent place obsessed with its own entertainment. Eventually the people became lazy, and dependent upon the government to take care of them. The middle class was destroyed. Children and elderly began to be looked upon as a burden rather than a blessing. Euthanasia became a social norm. Babies were often abandoned to die on their own. Family disintegrated. Pleasure became the ultimate goal of Roman society. Eventually Romans stopped repopulating. All of these things contributed to the weakening of Rome, and by the time it fell to Barbarians, it was a mere shell of the great republic it once was. I see a lot of similarities. I don’t think it is too late, but the direction we are going is something to think about. Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: You have been quoted as saying, “there are so many lessons our society could learn from Ancient Rome.” What are these lessons? Duke Cuneo: I think the primary lessons are pretty transparent. The “culture wars” have left our nation divided. I think that is a shame, but if both sides look at where we came from, what brought our nation to the position of power it is today, and what has been happening the last fifty years, we could learn a lot about where we are going if we make an objective unbiased comparative analysis to Ancient Rome. “Those who fail to remember history are doomed to repeat it.” Like I said earlier, I don’t think it’s too late to change things. Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: Being that the band is newly signed, how would you describe your music for the people that are not aware of Winter Solstice? Duke Cuneo: I would describe our music as melodic thrash metal that is influenced by hardcore. We have a lot of catchy melodic guitar lines, as well as heavy breakdowns and thrashy stuff. It’s all pretty up-tempo, and pounding. Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: Is the writing prepared as a collaborative effort because I noticed there were not any credits given on the album for anyone specific for lyrics or music? Duke Cuneo: The writing is very collaborative. Caleb was not yet in the band when we wrote 95% of the album, so basically JT and Nate would usually come to the table with some guitar riffs. I do a lot of arrangement, and I wrote most of the breakdowns on the album. Our singer at the time wrote all of the lyrics, with a little bit of input in arrangement from us. Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: What’s the concept behind track 55-23 because it can be interpreted a couple different ways? Obviously, it has the religious aspect to it but I also found hints on sobriety as well. As a for instance, you used the term “One Day at a Time”. Duke Cuneo: The song really is about having a relationship with someone who is struggling to find who they are. In this particular case, as with many of our lyrics, this has a spiritual connotation, but I think a lot of it can relate to a lot of people and their relationships. Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: Tim Lambesis came in on a guest spot for the track To the Nines. How did that come to be? Duke Cuneo: We have been friends with the guys in As I Lay Dying for years. Tim had a lot to do with our decision to sign to Metal Blade Records. We wanted him to be a part of the album. Originally, he was going to produce the record, but because of schedules that didn’t really work out. So we asked him to do some vocals and he was happy to do it. I think the part came off sounding pretty cool. Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: I found the production on this album to be amazing! Did the finished project sound like what you envisioned upon conception of the album? Duke Cuneo: We are very happy with the finished product. We tracked the album in about 14 days, mixing and mastering for another couple of weeks. Andreas Magnusson did an awesome job engineering and mixing the record. We had a definite sound in mind when we went in to record, and I think it came off the way we wanted. Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: You released The Pulse is Overrated on a small label called Harvest Earth Records. Now that you’re signed with Metal Blade, will that album ever be re-released? Duke Cuneo: I don’t think Metal Blade will be re-releasing that EP. It contains songs we actually rewrote and recorded on The Fall of Rome. I know that Harvest Earth is still selling it for the time being though. Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: I only give compliments when compliments are due and I must say you are a phenomenal drummer! How long have you been playing and are you schooled or self-taught? Duke Cuneo: Wow. Thank you so much for that, I really appreciate it. I started playing drums in school. I really didn’t start playing a drum set seriously though until we started this band, especially metal type of stuff. I’ve never really had a drum set lesson, but I try to learn from other drummers whenever I can. Most recently Jason from Diecast who is the most amazing drummer, really showed me some new tricks so be sure to listen for cool stuff on our next album (Laughs). We all try to improve at our instruments pretty much constantly and I think it pays off. Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: What will 2005 entail for Winter Solstice? Is there a US tour in the works for the band? Duke Cuneo: We have actually been on tour since the beginning of the year. We have toured with It Dies Today, Diecast, 12 Tribes, Into the Moat, If Hope Dies, Paria, and Anterrabe already this year. We start a two-week run with 12 Tribes, Since the Flood, and The Acacia Strain on March 18. After that, we have a pretty big tour with As I Lay Dying, Throwdown, and All That Remains that begins April 7th. We will also be appearing at New England Metal Fest, as well as Cornerstone and Sunshine Fest in the summer time. So please check metalblade.com, wintersolstice.net, trustkillshows.com, and wherever else you get tour dates to find out when we will be coming to your town. We will be on tour all year long. Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: Best of luck to the band and I look forward to catching the band on tour. With that said, do you have any final words for The Metal Web!? Duke Cuneo: Thanks so much for the interview; it was a lot of fun. We hope everyone will check out The Fall of Rome, it is in stores now! Also please come check us out when we come to your town on tour, we would love to see you out at the show. OFFICIAL SITE “WINTER SOLSTICE”: http://www.wintersolstice.net HOME |
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