When reviewing a band, it’s hard to not draw comparisons to what influences shine through. With Dyed in Grey, hailing from Brooklyn, there are traces from Between the Buried and Me’s aggression, as well as Periphery’s musical wizardry. Their debut The Abandoned Part released last year, but it sounds so fresh that you would swear that it was released yesterday!
Is there an introduction track that settles the listener down with something nice and calm? Yep, I haven’t heard many recent metal albums without that happening. Does the next track bash the shit out of the listener’s ear drums? Not unless they start headbanging hard enough onto the hardest surface close to them.
At only nine tracks, I feel like I’ve been mentally exhausted. How this five piece can create such majestic guitar lines, fuse aggression with a clean edge and how well made this album is are just scratching the surface of how to describe this album. Sure, you can list as many inspirations as you can, you can list how many bands they could sound like, but Dyed in Grey have something that’s so uniquely complex, it can only be comprehended by the individual listener. Listen to their single, buy the album, and then you’ll be as lost for words as I am to explain how good this band is. Because of all this, and more, we are thrilled to bring you Dyed in Grey, our Indie Band of the Week!
First of all, I’d like to say that I found The Abandoned Part absolutely mind blowing. Could you give us some background as to how the band members met, and what made you go down the route of more technical metal?
We’re glad you enjoyed the album, it took us a good four years to get it finished and released to the masses. We like to think it’s been well received by the metal community so far. Our guitarists, Adam and Pete, met in 2009 through the notorious NYC Craigslist classifieds and right away there was an undeniable musical compatibility. Adam and Pete share a creative understanding of progressive metal that rivals their technical abilities. Being huge fans of progressive rock and metal, they wanted to write songs that really pushed the envelope in terms of song structure, arrangement, tonality, and concept. Through some mutual acquaintances they were able to hire famed drummer Travis Orbin (Darkest Hour, ex-Periphery) for the album writing process. His inclusion enabled us to limitlessly create and bring out the true prog-tech feeling that fans come to recognize as the Dyed In Grey sound. Adam and Pete found our lead singer Mark after a painstaking search; he fit right into the blend immediately with his beautiful singing, brutal growling, and poetic and gripping lyrics; an essential mix of elements that helped define our sound even more.
In the early stages of the band we really challenged each other to take it to the next level, grab that passion deep down and develop that unique character. Our bassist Paul was a veteran from the NYC metal scene and he stepped up to the plate to take over serious bass duties. Paul is a maniac on the bass and he’s crafted a special place for himself among the group. Our drummer Shawn answered a drummer wanted flyer we had posted online and scheduled an audition literally the next day. Shawn, a Berkeley College of Music alumni, really blew our minds and got the job almost immediately. He’s such a talented and disciplined drummer, Shawn had no hesitation picking up were Orbin left off and has now completely melded with the sound of Dyed In Grey. We’re really excited with the lineup we have, the brotherhood we’ve cultivated, and what’s in store for us down the road.
The band has a wide range of influences, ranging from BTBAM, to Kansas, and even Allan Holdsworth. How do you feel these influences have been part of creating Dyed in Grey’s sound?
Our influences have greatly shaped our writing style and provided a foundation for us to evolve as the new breed of progressive metal. These bands we’ve listened to our whole lives sculpted who we are as musicians today, and while respecting those that came before, we always strive to break new ground. We try to fuse different ideas from both past and present giving it our own unique spin. All Hail Holdsworth!
Despite having nearly 100K likes on Facebook, you still remained an unsigned band. Does being unsigned let you have more creative freedom than if you were signed?
You know, we’ve contemplated this ourselves but, luckily we belong to a genre that encourages creative freedom. We were drawn to progressive metal because it’s the genre that implores the musician to push their boundaries, strive for the path least travelled, and honestly we refuse to conform or accommodate to anyone’s vision except our own. Getting signed would be great and all that comes along with being a funded and heavily promoted touring act. Though we’ve all shared that dream since we were very young, being signed or unsigned will not be the deciding factor of our future; good old fashioned hard work, original and inspiring music, and the perseverance to follow our hearts will determine the outcome.
All songs from the album The Abandoned Part were recorded by Adam Edgemont at his home studio and all songs mixed and mastered by Mark Wellington at his home studio. What does it feel like to have a DIY approach to making this album?
Do-It-Yourself, words that haunt the home studio magician! (laughs) You can play with a plugin for hours and never settle on what you like – we’re sure many of you can relate. Having a DIY approach benefits a band financially and we enjoy having full control of the creative process, with recording, mixing, and mastering as well. Many of the songs were recorded several times before we felt they were really right on the money. We also have extensive personal catalogs and years behind the console, so we’re very comfortable producing everything from the ground up. And at the end of the day, if it’s sounds good to you, go for it.
Lyrically, the album seems to be rather personal. Are there any messages that you’re conveying to the listener from the songs?
Mark: I’ve been writing for a long time, and as a writer, I believe you express your current feelings and ethics while blending in your intrinsic emotions and core beliefs. Many of my lyrical attributes seem personal because they are life discoveries that we all encounter. They can be a bit esoteric, but my words are from the heart and whether you agree or disagree with the message, my intention is to move you. If you hate it or love it, I’ve done my job. Some of the concepts deal with spirituality/or lack thereof while some are simply portraits of the human condition. We as humans discover this world in very different ways, but the underlying principles are the same and my lyrics try to instigate our fears and encourage our strengths as a species.
Musically, the album is very technical. How did you settle on what goes with a song and what doesn’t?
While the songs are certainly technical, we try to incorporate traditional elements like a straightforward chorus, verses that repeat with some variation, and other melodic themes that come and go throughout the song as well. We never want to be technical just for the sake of doing so but only if we feel it is part of how the song writing process unfolds naturally. Most of our songs start from just a few scattered ideas that all of sudden fit together; you know like you’re sitting on a riff from three years ago and then a new riff pops into existence, all of a sudden there’s a unique match and before you know it a Dyed In Grey song is born.
Dyed In Grey – Filth (OFFICIAL LYRIC VIDEO)
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Which would you say is your favorite song off the album, and why?
Adam: Personally my favorite is the title track “The Abandoned Part” as it is a bit of an epic and really takes the listener on a journey. It’s technical, but has a strong and memorable chorus.
Mark: My favorite track would have to be “Filth” because it was the first song I wrote after meeting Adam and Pete and it was the song that we realized what a great match we all were as musicians. It’s an ode to the traveler from a small town trying to make their way in the big city; the dreamer with a rural upbringing moves to a big city to follow their dreams and is stunned by the differences in people and culture and it changes them to the core.
As a debut, it’s a very strong starter. Have you got any plans to follow up from it soon?
We already have a second EP that is nearing completion that we are very excited and extremely proud of. Like our first record, it has been in the works for a while but we have really taken our time to get it exactly like we want it. We think fans will be really happy with what they hear, but that’s all we can divulge so stay tuned!
What can we expect to hear from Dyed in Grey in the future?
We feel that we are just at the beginning of a long musical career. We want to explore progressive music and even weave other influences like jazz, fusion, and folk into our future efforts. In order to truly be progressive, we feel it is necessary to constantly push ourselves as musicians and songwriters. We never want to release the same record time and time again. We’d like to thank Rock Revolt magazine and all you readers, follow us on our social media sites and never hesitate to reach out to us, we love to hear from you!
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“An Excerpt of Nothing” is inclined to do one or the other, guitars and guns blazing while Mark Wellington growls cut through the sound, with his clean vocals rising above the others, the music almost like a platform to help raise his voice. Switching from a growly/aggressive approach to clean vocals in the chorus is often quite tiresome as it’s something so many bands do, but you can’t be bored of this. Adam Edgemont and Pete Luetzeler’s guitar lines are unique, enough to keep the listeners undivided attention. They’re not so flamboyant in the sense of showing off, but the technicality used is utilised to create solid songs.” Blackened Me” is another great melodic song that has the majesty of a great BTBAM piece, underscored by some great melodic soloing. Let’s not forget Shawn Crowders drumming, and how Paul Loew on bass can keep up with it, I’ll never know. “Filth” brings in a more accessible track, but the band doesn’t sacrifice the sound it’s been building up three tracks before. Brutal, melodic, technical and mindblowing.
“Fields of Govan” adds an industrial sound, another style to fit into the bands catalogue, whilst “Skyload” – One of my favourite tracks from the album – brings in much more technical elements into it, how Edgemont and Luetzeler can pull off those guitar lines is something I couldn’t imagine. Finishing with the title track “The Abandoned Part”, it’s a 7 minute grand finale, going out in style. Just when you thought you couldn’t comprehend how the band have been able to think of the previous tracks, they don’t stop churning out powerful track’s one after the next.
At only nine tracks, I feel like I’ve been mentally exhausted. How this five piece can create such majestic guitar lines, fuse aggression with a clean edge and how well made this album is are just scratching the surface of how to describe this album.
