www.facebook.com/disillusioneffect
From: Morgantown, WV
Sounds like: Metal
1. How did you get started with music and how did you develop your sound? Who thought of the name “Disillusion Effect” and is there any meaning behind it?
DE was formed when Jimmy Rhodes and Bob Immel from former Morgantown metal band Diabolus recruited greenhorn and longtime friend Chris Rabideau for vocals. In the midst of local band Plagues of Man breaking up, DE finalized the original lineup by adding drummer Jacob Miller. Miller was the final piece in forging a new project that was going to emphasize the incorporation of several styles of metal music. The name was formed while imbibing delicious alcoholic beverages and wanting the name to reflect what we were wanting to embody musically as a band. Heavy metal is surrounded with negative stigmas and our end goal is to not only win over the minds of fellow metal heads, but also get the people who don't really listen to heavy music bobbing their heads, whether they were aware of it or not. We were eclectic in background and taste so ultimately we decided to throw in whatever worked for each song. In an era heavy on emphasizing sub genres, we didn’t want to get pigeonholed into a sound and wanted the music to come together more organically. In the end DE is a relentless metal band with heavy doses of grooves, thrashy riffs, pummeling death metal percussion, while trying to reign in melodic and funky elements.
2. What do you want listeners to take away from the "Behold The Inevitable Beast" album? What's the word on new music?
BTIB was a collection of our best material at the time. With a focus on trying different things, we wanted to create a brutal buffet of songs and see how it turned out. In the later stages of writing the songs became more progressive, with tracks like “Conduit” and “Behold the Inevitable Beast” really illustrating that style. We liked how with this progressive direction we could open it up even more and make each song its own heavy metal stew. That direction would take hold going into writing the follow up, a concept album entitled “Achluophobic.”
3. What can people expect from your live show?
We pride ourselves in putting on an energetic, yet technical performance. One should expect sweaty dudes, excessive head banging, and off putting banter in between songs that tends to be filthy in nature.
4. What's your favorite track to play live?
We have a song we’ve been playing live from our new album called “Parable of Black” and that track makes me feel like I’m going to snap my own neck. It’s a hell of an opener and I like to see the crowd’s reaction anytime we bust out something new.
5. Who are three bands you’d like to tour with?
Unearth, Pantera (if former bands are on the table), At the Gates, and Cattle Decapitation.
6. Any crazy show stories?
We tend to run into our fair share of violent outbursts, drunkenness, and debauchery in our time as a band but what sticks out to me actually happened at our last show. There was a dude up in front pressed up against the stage who had a puppet. He seemed to be having the puppet sing along and/or talk shit on us, and head bang while we were playing. It was hilarious and quite frankly kind of distracting when you’re gearing up for the breakdown and you look over and a puppet is like “Oh Shit!” I was told later on that evening that the puppeteer had confessed to a friend to being featured in several underground pornography publications. Unfortunately it was undetermined if the plush character was involved.
7. What’s your take on the current state of Metal?
PLAYING HEAVY MUSIC IS A FINANCIAL BLACK HOLE!!! Joking, kind of...but getting rich definitely isn’t in the cards. You can be smart and make your band able to financially stay afloat but it’s really tough. Truthfully you have to be in it for the right reasons and that simply is the passion for it, your heart better be in it or you’re never going to last. What’s sad is to see the subgenre prejudice spiraling out of control, rather than checking out a band individually people take the lazy route and identify the band by their subgenre (which in my experience is neither fair or accurate) and cast them aside because you don’t like deathcore, djent, or whatever. Listen to what sounds good, it’s music. Music production also seems to be trending in a direction where the songs have lost their soul, the humanity element. It all sounds way too clean and overproduced with drums and vocals sounding robotic, I often wonder how a lot of these acts are going to translate over to a live show and more often than not, they don’t. I hope a more organic approach comes back to the production aspect of recording records.
8. What’s the current music scene like there in West Virginia both locally and state wide?
The metal scene in WV is small and a bit of an outcast in a state that loves bluegrass, country, and classic rock cover bands. Venues willing to have bands that play aggressive music seem to be drying up left and right. I understand the liability surrounding some kid getting ninja kicked in the face during a mosh, but it sucks when you’re looking to book a gig. But in spite of that, bands have come together and united for the well being of the collective. We really try to pull together our resources and put together shows people can get excited about.
9. What’s your take on legal/illegal music downloading?
It’s a necessary evil. On one hand I love to stream music on Spotify or Youtube to preview a new band or album I’m trying check out. But I love to buy physical copies of albums because I love the artwork, reading the lyrics while listening along, I really like to collect that shit. But I think if you’re a true fan of a band you have to financially support them, by purchasing merch or just by attending a show. Get your ass out there and represent. It doesn’t take a lot of resources to support an independent, local show. Go out and see one sometime.
10. What’s next for Disillusion Effect?
Our second full length, a concept album entitled “Achluophobic” which the subject matter will revolve around the darkness that exists in the layers of our lives. We’re going to be launching a Kickstarter campaign to help fund it, looking forward to providing some cool stuff for our backers to get involved. Our second music video with 1.618 Productions, and ultimately looking to play a bunch of places we’ve never played before. Bottom line, our goal is to hit the road hard in 2017 after the release of the new album.
11. Any shoutouts?
Jay Hannon at 7 over 8 studios, John and Curt over at 1.618 Productions, our graphic artist Dan Smolira, photographer Matt Rough, 123 Pleasant Street who keep having us back time and time again and allowing us to film our first video in a club that means so much to the underground scene, to all the great local and regional bands we have the honor to share the stage with, and our friends and fans who have been incredible supporting our project through the years.
