www.facebook.com/salemtrialsband
From: Ottawa, Canada
Sounds like: Metal
1. How did you get started with music and how did you develop your sound? Who thought of the name “Salem Trials" and is there any meaning behind it?
As individuals we all started playing music with different bands before we got together and started Salem Trials. All of our previous bands were a similar style and we knew we still wanted to be a heavy band, but our sound is always changing and we have stuff in the works beyond what is released and what is going to be on the debut EP that so far spans quite a few different subgenres/vibes. Salem Trials was one of the many names we tossed around for the better part of 2 years and eventually decided upon, but the name originally came from Jericho (our vocalist) and we all loved it right away. Not too deep of a meaning other than us digging the witchy vibe haha.
2. What do you want people to take away from your music?
We want people to enjoy our music as much as we enjoy writing and playing it. It can be a long process for us because we all hold ourselves to such high standards. Rewriting and reworking parts until it’s just right and we are all satisfied. It can get tedious at times but it’s always worth it when a song makes it through the screening process and we’re all stoked on it. But that being said, at the end of the day we write music we want to listen to, and if other people like it too then that’s a bonus.
3. How would you describe your sound to the average listener?
Our sound is kind of a mix of all of our influences, which cross a pretty broad range of metal subgenres. Jericho brings a more raw and hardcore influence with some spoken word/poetry as well, Zack brings some more upbeat post-hardcore and metalcore structure into the band and Randy and Nick are more on the technical, progressive and ambient side of things. We would consider our genre to be a mix of metalcore and hardcore with ambient/prog influences.
4. Who are three bands you’d like to tour with?
We would love to tour with Kublai Khan, The Contortionist, and Code Orange. Any one of them would be a dream come true to share the stage with.
5. What are your three desert island albums that you'd never get tired of listening to?
I don’t think we could agree on 3 albums for the whole band someone would end up insane or starve their eardrums of “good” music. It’s a continuous battle for the aux cord on long drives. But if I (Randy) had to pick 3 desert island albums, they’d have to be Periphery II, Neil Young Unplugged, Vildhjarta - Masstaden. I’ll probably change my mind tomorrow haha
6. What’s your take on the current state of Metal?
We think the current state of metal is pretty awesome. Metal is always progressing and evolving naturally as new artists continue to push the boundaries of genre and typical stylistic limitations, plus it’s now easier than ever to create your own music and experiment with different sounds as home-recording becomes more and more popular. There’s always that next band to break through and take on a different level of sound that changes the game for the bands that come after. There are so many styles under the “metal” genre that it just keeps growing and reaching out to new people. We’re always stoked on new bands coming out and keeping things fresh!
7. What’s the current music scene like there in Canada both locally and country wide?
We all love our local scene here in Ottawa! We have so many really great bands and an awesome intertwining fan base. There’s always the usual local concert goers and fans you will see at almost every show no matter what night it is or who’s playing. And the way the scene comes together in overwhelming support during times of tragedy is nothing short of inspiring and heartwarming. Everywhere we’ve played we’ve been treated with nothing but kindness and respect, and we hear the same from every band that tours across Canada. We’re lucky to live in such an awesome country and we’re super proud of our metal community here!
8. What’s your take on legal/illegal music downloading?
Downloading music is a crime that we’re almost all guilty of. We all try to support the local and not so local music scenes as much as possible, buying merch and albums and tickets to shows. But back when we were all kids that didn’t have any money or any way to access the music we wanted to hear, we were constantly illegally downloading music and because of that we wouldn’t have been exposed to half the bands we know and love now. So it’s a good/bad scenario. Now we all have Spotify and Apple Music accounts like most listeners these days, and always try to buy albums and merch to support our favourite bands. So we agree that music shouldn’t be free and artists deserve fair compensation for their work, but also acknowledge that even though we were wrong to pirate music we wouldn’t have been able to find the music we wanted to hear.
9. What’s next for Salem Trials?
Our debut EP entitled Misanthropy will be released on August 4th 2019! You can find preorder bundles for digital download, physical copies, t-shirts and wall flags on our bandcamp page (/salemtrialsband). We just released a music video for our second single “Carousel” so check that out it haven’t yet as well! Besides from the EP, touring! We plan to visit a city near you and we hope you are prepared to attend a Salem Trials hearing.
10. Any shoutouts?
Yes! Big shoutout to our good buddy Jaekwon Park from Ottawa heavyweights The Thirteenth Floor! He was a huge help with the recording of our album and is the ultimate drum tone wizard. And at shows that dude is always ready to help even when you don’t know he's there.
