Senior photojournalist Anabel DFlux had the opportunity to pick the mind of Caleb Bingham, frontman of metal act Athanasia. Former member of Five Finger Death Punch, Caleb has been knee deep in his own musical endeavors for over a decade under the name Ascension. However, Ascension has descended and Athanasia has ascended as the band underwent a name change just a week ago. Alongside this exciting news, having just had their newest music video, “Spoils of War” premier on Revolver Magazine, the two had much to talk about.
Hey! Thank you so much for chatting with me today. Athanasia, formerly known as Ascension, recently went through a name change. Can you tell me about this?
Hey Anabel! Yes indeed we did. We came to the conclusion that despite us having operated under that name for a number of years and holding a trademark on the name in the US additionally that it was going to be too hard to properly market and promote a band called Ascension when there are already two other bands with that name currently active around the world, plus a TV show, a video game, and a thousand other things all called “Ascension.” This seemed like a logical way to resolve that issue.
Your first single, “Spoils of War”, was recently released as a music video premiering on Revolver. How did you conceptualize the music video?
Yeah! We were glad to see it get some decent press right out of the gate like it did. The concept for the video was a collaboration between us in the band and Matt Zane. He suggested having a guy tied to a chair being tortured by a chick; then we built it up from there with the kidnapping, military uniforms, war footage, subliminal messages and so on…
What was it like working with Matt Zane on this production?
Matt is a great producer, director, and videographer! Very professional and easy to work with. He has a good eye for light and color and was able to get some great performances out of us in the band with a minimal amount of time and effort. Definitely planning to work with him again in the future!
Are the other songs on the upcoming album similar in story to “Spoils of War”?
Honestly all the songs on the album are pretty varied from one to the next musically and lyrically. I would like to think there is something on the record for fans of every era and genre of heavy metal.
The Order of the Silver Compass is the name of your upcoming LP; how did this name come about?
A few years ago I was visiting my family’s cemetery back home in Ohio. I hadn’t been there since I was a kid. I came upon my grandparent’s tombstone and noticed, of all things, a pentagram and a square and compass symbol both carved into the stone under their names. At this point in my life, I knew very little about the meaning and origin of these symbols and began to research why there were these occult symbols present on my grandparent’s grave. This research led to my discovery of the Freemasons/Order of the Eastern Star and the realization that my grandparents must have been been members of these organizations. Around the same time, I bought my Washburn flying V guitar with the mirrored finish you see me playing in the “Spoils of War” video. I noticed the similarity between the shape of that guitar and the compass symbol used by the Masons and decided to name the band’s record The Order of the Silver Compass, both after this guitar and my grandparents…
Future music video plans?
We would love to do a video for every song on the record ideally. However, as of now, we have yet to partner up with a record label so our budget may not allow for this until we do. As a result, we have picked the top three songs off of the record we would like to do videos for to cover the most ground sonically. Expect those to surface between now and the end of the year!
There are many occult, historic, and literary references very prevalent in Athanasia’s artwork. Tell me more about this.
I am a huge history buff and also love to read just about anything I can get my hands on. I tend to incorporate bits of that sort of thing into the band’s music whenever possible. As far as the artwork is concerned, all credit has to go to the fantastic graphic designer we have been collaborating with named Jorden Haley. We sent him the material and the lyrics, and he took it and ran with it. We barely had any direction or suggestions to offer up once we got the designs back from him. He rocks!
How did you meet your band members, Brandon Miller and Jason West? Tell me more about them. There is quite a unique mixture of past bands going on here, from Five Finger Death Punch to the Murderdolls and Wednesday13.
Yeah I guess between us we have done the modern hard rock/metal thing pretty successfully. Haha! I met Brandon through having produced a former band of his about eight years ago. We hit it off and kept in touch, and then when I moved back to the States, after parting ways with Zonaria, I asked him if he might want to team up with me. In the case of Jason, we met via internet a few months ago. We exchanged some material with each other and both really liked each other’s music and playing. A few phone calls later, Jason agreed to come out and jam with us for a couple days and then joined us for the video and photo shoots we are now currently releasing. It all happened super fast!
What are your long-term career goals?
We want to get this record out as soon as we can find someone legitimate to help us release it properly, be out on the road 9-10 months out of each year playing in front of the largest possible audiences once it is released, and then live in a recording studio the remaining two or three months of each year making follow up records. Repeat process indefinitely. Hahaha!
Are you looking for an independent label deal or a major label deal?
I think both have their pros and cons. We are definitely willing to consider all reasonable offers!
What type of recording process did you use? Who produced your recording?
We went for a very traditional approach on this. We started on 2″ analog tape with the whole band playing live together in the studio, got the final bass and drums down that way, and then transferred to digital for the rest of the overdubs and mix. I produced it myself.
What should fans expect next from Athanasia?
Unparalleled, unbridled, flagrant badassery in the highest degree! Hahaha! Like I said earlier, we should have a couple more videos out before the end of the year. If all goes well, these will help to gain the attention of not only the public but of qualified record labels and booking agencies who can help to get this record out and us on the road supporting it ASAP. The more everyone reading this can help spread the word and promote the band, the sooner we will be able to get out there and play live for you all. Tell everyone about us regardless of whether you love or hate us!!!
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