ROCKET Interviews MUTINY WITHIN

The Metal Den’s Randy “Rocket” Cody has conducted
an EXCLUSIVE new interview with MUTINY WITHIN for TMD’s
ever loyal following of DEN HEADZ all across the globe!

Rocket: First off, congrats on all your recent success. How has the whole experience been so far since Mutiny Within signed to Roadrunner Records?

AJ: One word – Hectic! We’ve been cramming in some shows, writing plenty of songs, and practicing hard. Once our debut is recorded, we’ll feel a little more at ease. But as you’d expect, being signed to a major label is hard work! However, we couldn’t be happier. Roadrunner is a beast of a label and everyone that works there is awesome. We’re excited to enter our first album cycle, we’re definitely in good hands.

Rocket: I imagine you guys threw some kind of celebration party when it was all made official, right?

Drew: Yeah, it was me and Chris just sitting home on the couch with a bottle of unopened vodka. A.J. called us around 4:50 pm to tell us we’re officially on Roadrunner and then me and Chris were drunk by 5:20. Really great even though it ended up with me hovering over a garbage can.

Brandon: Hahaha, it wasn’t much of a party to be honest, but there were lots of drinks going around. We actually also went to the city and had drinks with our manager Johnny G. Besides that, we just went right back to writing more songs.

Rocket: Now why exactly did you guys change your name from Mutiny to Mutiny Within?

AJ: Legalities. We didn’t actually run into any problems, but it’s better to play it safe. It actually worked out to our advantage. Mutiny Within now shows up first in all of the search engines and on youtube.

Rocket: Mutiny Within is going into the studio to record a highly anticipated debut effort in December. Who is producing it and where is it being recorded?

AJ: We’ll be travelling down to Florida to work in Audio Hammer Studios with Jason Suecof. He’s made albums with Trivium, All That Remains, Devildriver, and Bury Your Dead, to name just a few.

Drew: We have heard nothing but good things about Jason, so our time there will be well spent.

Rocket: Do you guys have a title for the record yet?

Chris: Not as yet. I’ve got a lot of ideas right now, but until we decide the final track listing then we can’t really get fixed on a title. I think once we’re into the recording stage and we hear it all coming together we’ll sit down and finalize something. The album deals with a few general themes so I’d imagine it’ll be connected with those.

Rocket: How exactly did you guys find your new vocalist Chris Clancy?

AJ: We started holding auditions in the summer of ’07. Ironically, Chris was the 1st person to try out. I saw a video on Youtube of him recording vocals with his former band, With Intent, and sent a message asking him to audition. We sent him a demo track, he recorded his ideas, sent it back, and we were floored! We were all calling each other on the phone: “Did you hear that scream towards the end?!” “Who the hell is this guy??!!” After completing 5 songs using e-mail, Chris flew over from his home in England to meet us all and rehearse in person. At the end of our 1st rehearsal, he officially joined the band. 3 days later, we played a show with Paradise Lost in NYC in front of some important record labels (including Roadrunner) and band management! Haha, we obviously didn’t waste any time.

Rocket: What can we expect from the new Mutiny Within songs compared to the early demos from this band?

Chris: Over the course of the last 18 months, the band has gone through a lot of changes as we’ve all come together with our different influences. I think fans of “old Mutiny” are going to be very surprised at the guitar work that will be on the album. We feel we’ve gone full circle over the last year and our album will satisfy both old and new fans.

Brandon: I think that the new Mutiny Within songs combine a lot of the different sounds this band has been through. We’ve been through so many different sounds in the past year. We’ve been through our Devildriver stage, our pop structure stage, our In Flames stage, so on and so forth. Right now, we’ve been trying to get many different sounds in the same song, so that everything doesn’t sound so monotone. If something is missing from a certain song, like a certain heavy element or shred-like element or pop feel, then we know that the song is not finished yet. Also, with the addition of new members Jeff and Bill, we have different views on the music.

Drew: We went through many different styles and tried to emulate them. The band has evolved into a central concept of all of our ideas and now we just incorporate every bit of music we love into our songs. So don’t expect anything, and listen with an opened mind.

Jeff: I think the Album will have “Something for everyone”, and I guarantee the new guitar work will walk all over the old stuff. The shred and technicality have been raised.

Rocket: Roughly, when can fans expect the album to be released?

AJ: We’re aiming for a summer ’09 release.

Rocket: Will there be any guest appearances on the record at all?

AJ: Oh, man. Are we allowed to answer this question guys?

Brandon: I would love some guest appearances, haha. Maybe a guest solo from Jason Suecof while we’re there? Haha, not sure man.

Drew: I would love Michael Pinnella (Symphony X) to do some crazy solos with me, haha, one can only dream.

Rocket: I’m sure there’s a lot of jealous people (in bands mainly) that want to see this group fall flat on its face because you have shot past so many thousands of upcoming ‘unsigned’ metal acts around the globe to get this incredible opportunity. Are you feeling more pressure now that you know all eyes are on you?

Chris: Not really. To be honest, if we thought about that a lot then it would get to us. We don’t feel like we’ve shot past the thousands of unsigned metal acts because 6 months ago we were among them. I think it’s the nature of the metal industry to assume that bands “sell out” to get signed and then people turn on them. We just did what we did and it worked out. I know people will be jealous. I was in the unsigned band watching other bands get signed ahead of me. I feel that we did the work as a band that has existed in various forms for the best part of 7 years. People seem to forget things like that. We didn’t just wake up one day and get a call saying “you want a record deal?” We did the work and it happened for us.

Bill: Sure, we’re all feeling a certain amount of pressure while recording this album, but that’s what makes good things happen. If there’s no hype, or no talk about something before its release then there is nothing to look forward too. Everyone in this band performs well under pressure and sure there’s going to be people who hate us and feel we’ve “cut in line”, and honestly that drives us even more. So anyone who wants us to fall flat on our faces…I would like to say thank you for motivating us.

Brandon: I think there’s a lot of pressure on us to make this album kick ass, but I think were all pretty confident we won’t fuck up. There’s a lot of people waiting to here what our album is going to sound like, and I’m sure people will respect whichever direction we decide to take the album in.

Rocket: At this point, what do you think is the biggest misconception about your band?

Chris: I think it would have to be the way people think that we’ve sold out. People seem to think some of the old demos were more technical somehow when in truth the new songs are 10x more intense. We incorporated clean vocals into the songs because we wanted to and we liked the sound of it. We started writing more structured songs because they make sense to us and we love our music. We never consciously decided to do any of this, it just happened this way.

Brandon: That’s so true. People definitely tend to think that now, because, we have clean vocals, we have sold out. But if you listen to the music, it’s heavy and has a lot of shred. You don’t see Madonna with heavy beats and solos if you know what I mean.

Rocket: Not to be a downer, but I understand you guys had some band gear stolen back in November, right? How has the recovery process been going on all of that?

Jeff: Yes, we did have some gear stolen. My custom Jackson Dinky guitar was stolen, along with Drew’s Keyboard. The catch is that the gear was in the trunk of my car, which was stolen! So all in all, it was a very big loss. All of a sudden I was left without a car or guitar. The car was later found wrecked and totaled, but the gear is still M.I.A.

Drew: It was a very unfortunate turn of events for my Keyboard, the poor thing is probably in some pawn shop nailed to a wall. I still have hope though.

AJ: You can find pictures of Jeff’s recovered car in a blog on our myspace page.

Rocket: Do you guys think press releases and internet marketing is important for bands today?

Chris: I think it’s very important. It’s what gets people talking about your band and your music. After we got signed and the press release went out, the hits on our pages really took off. I think it proved to us that people read things and check bands out. The more places on the internet you can find your band, the more places everybody else can find your band.

Bill: Absolutely. When I first started getting into metal, the internet was my source. Whether it was an E-card of a band’s new upcoming album on a record label’s site, or just browsing through metal news web sites such as blabbermouth. The internet obviously has an enormous impact on a bands success because if noone has heard of you than how the hell are you going to sell?

Drew: Anything you can say about the band in a positive and constructive way, is great to put on internet blogs and such. I just found out about the internet and it opened new doors to me, my carrier pigeon just was not cutting it anymore.

Rocket: Mutiny Within has been playing a ton of shows over the past few years. Who are some of the bigger metal acts out there, or say from your ‘progressive metal’ sub-genre, that you guys would be interested in sharing the bill with?

Chris: Personally, I’d love to play with Killswitch Engage, Lamb Of God, on the more progressive front I’d love to play with Bruce Dickinson (his side project), or Scar Symmetry.

Brandon: Children of Bodom would be a fun band to play with. Getting to meet Alexi and having a beer backstage would be sick, haha.

Drew: My favorites would be Sikth (R.I.P.), Symphony X, Children Of Bodom, oh I almost forgot SLIPKNOT!!

Rocket: How do you guys relax in the “off time” when you’re not creating music or playing shows?

Drew: Aside from playing halo 3 ?? Well it’s usually Halo 3 and Call Of Duty 4. Oh and my very outlandish antics. We just do whatever, We make the most out of a situation. Even though we’re, geographically speaking, not in the most entertaining place.

Brandon: Yes, Drew’s antics can be entertaining, haha. Besides that, New Jersey, can be quite boring. Not really much going on here besides listening to music and going to Starland anytime a band is playing. We just saw Symphony X playing there, which was a great show. Seeing Michael Romeo shred on stage is always a good time, he is a sick guitarist.

Jeff: I like to catch as many shows as possible. It’s always good to see other musicians on stage, doing their thing. Other that we usually play Xbox, sometimes when times get rough we will break out the N64, and during desperate measures Monopoly some how finds it’s way on the table. Set it up!

Rocket: What’s the one piece of advice you would give to other young metal groups out there struggling to try and make it in such a crowded scene today?

AJ: Focus!

Brandon: Practice every single day. There’s no easy way out besides sitting down and working out every note. Also, it’s so important, especially if you want to learn to shred. Practicing everything slow is definitely the way to build up speed. Playing with a metronome also helps with timing.

Drew: You have to love the pieces you write, and don’t settle on the mediocre (in your eyes) and have a good philosophy.

Jeff: Keep doing what you love to do. Become the best you can at it, and things will happen for you.

Rocket: As for touring, will Mutiny Within be doing any dates soon or will it all come after the record drops?

Drew: Well the only thing that has been on my mind is playing Download and Leeds festival. I love those crowds, man. If we could tour over there that would be officially be my dream come true.

Bill: After the record drops would be when any type of touring would start. In the mean time before the studio, we’re just pumping out a couple new songs and practicing everyday so we don’t look like idiots at the studio who don’t know what we’re doing.

Chris: I’d hope we’ll get a tour while our album is being mixed and printed up etc. I wouldn’t imagine it’d be too extensive but I guess we’ll see. It’d be nice to get something around March/April though. We’ll be wanting to get around and play our new songs.

Rocket: What’s the best thing a fan of Mutiny Within can do to help promote your music at this point? Do you have a street team?

Chris: At the moment, just spread the word! Tell people we’ll have our album out next Summer and check us out when we tour. We’re hoping to have some shirts come out around Christmas time so grab one of those and walk around in it! Or maybe wait till it’s a bit warmer. We appreciate each end every fan so just being a fan is more than enough for us.

Rocket: Thanks very much for rocking this out with me. I wish you guys the best of luck with your music. Go ahead and give a shout out to the biggest Mutiny Within supporters out there.

AJ: Shout out to our friends and family for their support, everyone at Roadrunner Records, our management, and all of the bands who have helped us with all of their advice and support. Rocket, thanks so much for thinking of us! Good luck to you as well with The Metal Den, talk with you again soon.

MUTINY WITHIN

Is:

Chris Clancy – Vocals
Bill Fore – Drums
Andrew Jacobs – Bass
Drew Stavola – Keyboards
Brandon Jacobs – Guitar
Jeff Stewart – Guitar

LINKS: www. myspace. com/MutinyWithin
http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/artists/mutiny/