From COVID Creativity to Cosmic Riffs: The Astral Prophets’ Musical Journey

0:19 This is the Pipe Man here on the Adventures of Pipe Man W4CY radio. And once again, I'm going to the great musicians of the North. There seems to be a lot of them up there. And, uh, I love this band. They have some cool music and we're going to talk about it right now. So let's welcome to the show. Terry, how are you? I'm doing fantastic. It's halfway through the week. It's the last Wednesday of the week. So that's always good to know. Nice. And so you are the Astral Prophets. Now there's a bunch of them, right? There's a bunch of us. Yes. I originally started with me and Celine, old drummer, Scythia.

1:03 We missed just playing music. So we were like, hey, let's just get together and jam. Well, what bands do we like? Well, we like Clutch. We like Grand Magus. Let's just jam some of these songs. So we pulled AJ in. And then we started writing our own. And then it just tumbled into COVID, sadly. So we were all geared up. We had our first show, I think, March 1st. 6th of 2020, and then next week the world shut down. It was like, come on! So everything changed up, and we've been rolling through members, and here we are just about to release our first full-length album. Eight songs, comes out October 30th, so next Friday.

1:45 Nice, and so maybe you don't even realize it, and COVID was a blessing. Because maybe the lineup would have not been the right lineup. had COVID not happened and who knows what would have happened. Yeah, exactly. It gave me a lot of time to sit and write because I got stuck at home. I think I've said that on a couple other interviews is that if I'm working from home, all it takes is, Oh, a quick break. And I just reached behind me for my guitar. You can see it right here. And I just go diddly diddly D just like 15 seconds. And then I put it down and then I pick it up again and go diddly diddly D and put it down. And if something sticks, well, maybe that's a good song. So it was like writing in 15-second intervals just to see what sticks. And then you finally get that riff and you go, okay, I'm going to take this and then build on it. And some songs that you're going to hear on this upcoming album were written like that.

2:38 So I think we just released Power of the Rift. That was written like that. And the opening song, Target Locked, was definitely written in between Zoom meetings. I love that. But I also, I've been saying all along, that if you're going to take one positive out of that COVID lockdown, is it allowed, like we were going to get the best music ever out of it because it allowed artists to jump off the hamster wheel and create again, you know, because you're living this life of, you know, go, go, go, go, go. And so many artists, they just keep doing the same thing and they're not even sure that's what they want to be doing, you know. And so it gave artists to say, wait a minute, how do I want my music to sound? Right.

3:28 Sadly for me during COVID, my workload didn't stop. It just kept going. I'm used to working from home on the road from my phone, laptop. So it just didn't stop. There you go. And it is funny, you know, you and I, we've had a couple of postponements of the interview, but I think it's rather appropriate because I, I basically was covering a show last night and one of the bands playing in the show was Star Set. So I kind of looked at as being related. So maybe as I do my recap for that concert last night is when this interview will air.

4:12 You know, because it. Kind of goes hand in hand because you are of... Now, I have to ask you because I haven't seen you guys live. Tell us about your live show. High energy, for one. This new show coming up, we're going to try out some new things. We'll see. But the stage, get up and you've got the photo behind you is what we wear on stage. And then I'm always looking how to make a better live sound. So we've gone digital. A lot of bands are going digital these days where we just bring up the brain. We call it brain, plug it in, boom, go. of our own inner mix. And now my next step is looking to see how to attach a light show to that. But man, that is moolah. So I kind of went in between.

4:59 Instead of programming a light show, I programmed a video show because we just do left and right click track backing tracks. So you just attach it to a video, have it projected, and we'll see if it works. So look out for the live footage after next Friday. And I hope it works out. I put a lot of effort into it. And it's going to be really cool. It's like a live visualizer, like what DJs use. I love that though. Cause I find a lot of bands are doing that nowadays, you know, like one band that does it very brilliantly is bring me to horizon and they use lights too. But you know, the show that they do in the background is like ultra cool.

5:39 And then, you know, like. Last night, the headliner was breaking Benjamin and they had, like some cool video in the background that was like rolling through all their experiences at shows and stuff like that so so i i think. It's kind of cool i was just talking to a band. Today also that they like to get like the they they like to get the the artist likes to get the audience involved yeah as part of making these videos for the videos but you know so so it's like instead of having like your professional video being made, that's made for MTV or much music that doesn't even play music anymore. It's like, okay, all these people are, you know, already out there in the audience and everything. And so let's just have them do it. Cause they're already filming it anyways.

6:40 Yeah. Yeah. We've got a professional videographer for next Friday and I'm hoping to get lots of footage cause I'll take, I'll take your advice and then I'll make one of our new visualizers for another song and incorporate all that live footage. That'd be really neat. So, so what was the impetus to the whole concept of this? What, what happened in your life or what ha what, What made you think of the whole concept of the Astral Prophets? It was trying to get as far away as folk metal as possible. Because when me, Silly, and AJ wanted to form a band, we did not want to be tied to the old city of name at all.

7:24 So it was like, what's the farthest thing from swords and sorcery? Well, in space right right it was like let's just go with that um so and if you listen to the music you can't hear any of that folk metal influence in there at all we don't even gallop man there's not even a song that gallops because i was like anything that could even someone go aha there's a little bit of folk nope got rid of it can't have it just riffs straight four four i don't think there's any six eight or three four any kind of swing oh no i'm not Not swing. There are songs that are swung, but like in the rock and roll style. And yeah, I just didn't want to be kind of pushed into that box because I felt like that was really limiting my creativity.

8:15 I just, I don't want to do that anymore. And I'll talk to anyone's ear off about it is that eventually if you're in a folk metal band, I call it the dichotomy of folk metal. You're either super serious or you're super silly. There's no path. And now I was kind of writing, I was like, well, okay, we have to pick one. And it was like, we could, I love playing those, like just get so smashed drunk songs, but also haven't really, we want to be. Taken as a serious musician. And it was like, I don't want to, I just want to play rock and roll with heavy riffs. Right. Just kind of. And I think we read that line really well. We're heavy enough to be considered metal. But we're not so metal that it's not going to exclude the people that like rock and roll.

8:58 So, and I think that's, that's what makes metal so big nowadays. It, instead of separating from rock and roll, I mean like, listen, it's all rock, right? You know, like every bit of it's rock. So why try to separate yourself from it? You know? And then you never know who's going to become a fan, you know? Like I, Again, using Bring Me Horizon as an example, they've went off the path so much that they've built a bigger fan base than ever, but they're still loyal to their old fan base, too. So it's like the best of both worlds.

9:41 We've got to get a fan base first. It's 100 people. Woo-hoo! We're getting there, though. The singles have been well-received, so I'd say we're picking up momentum. Once you do those live shows and show them what you're made of. And like, I i definitely think they need to check out this album because i think the music is badass and and i love what you were saying before too you know because as an artist you don't want to be stuck in a box number one and you don't want to do the same crap over and over again. No no definitely and this album does touch all points. And I think that we had just had a review done by metal temple. And if you read it, he has his finger on the pulse.

10:24 Exactly. Like we'd come out of the gate, just driving. And then we dip, then we come back up and we dip and we come back up and level out. It's this perfect roller coaster of an album that keeps you excited the entire time. And it doesn't sound like I, it doesn't sound like anything. That's not the right thing to say. Um, We were asked, I think, when we were getting ready for all this PR, it was like, what bands do you sound like? And all of us went, I don't know. What bands do we sound like? Do we sound like Metallica? A little bit. Do we sound like Guns N' Roses? A little bit. Do we sound like Amaranth? Well, I've never listened to Amaranth. How do I sound like a band I've never listened to? Stuff like that, right?

11:07 See, but I love that too, because to me, I would never ask that question because I think a band should sound like themselves. Agreed. You know, and that, especially nowadays, because what I've found a lot nowadays, especially within certain parts of the genre is like, they use this formula to make metal and metal was never a formula. It was experimentation, you know, and even within a certain section of the genre, you know, The bands didn't sound the same. Like you mentioned Metallica. You take the big four of thrash. They don't sound like they're from the same exact genre.

11:47 No, but it's all thrash. Yeah. I mean, of course they're all metal, but could you pin them all to be sounding the same? Not even close. No. You know, and I think that is important, especially nowadays. You have to sound unique. So like my answer, if I was a band and a press person was asking me questions, and let's say I was your band, I would say, oh, I think we sound like the Astral Prophets. Yeah. Because I'm a little bit of a wise-ass in that department. I appreciate it. But yeah, you want to sound like yourself. You take bands, okay, take a band like Led Zeppelin. Can you imagine if somebody asked them that?

12:34 No, they're Led Zeppelin. They're Black Sabbath. That's who people. You want to be the ones that the other bands are asking that question to. They say, you're the band they sound like. One day, I hope. There you go. I think it will happen because one thing I've learned through interviewing a lot of Canadian bands is, man, you guys are all the greatest freaking musicians, man. I credit it to you know, having to be in 40 below weather, you know, like what else are you going to do? But, you know, practice your craft, you know, and just like you said, with the guitar right there, you listen, I played guitar while I was younger. I played drums. I played guitar. I was never dedicated enough to get beyond sucking. And, and, and, and it was like, Okay, so like Randy Rhoades was my idol.

13:39 And then I found out he practiced eight hours a day. I'm like, fuck that. I've got other things to do. Exactly, man. And so like, I think that is the key. The great musicianship is every great musician I ever know, their instrument is always with them. Yeah. Sometimes just nonstop, like drummers, they're drumming on everything all the time. In their cars. I'm bad for that. I drum in my car. I'm not even a drummer. I'm just... Yeah, I do that too. It's funny because I did play drums and I did play guitar that when I'm in my car blasting the music, I might confuse people if they're in the car because I go back and forth from air drums to air guitar.

14:24 Depends on what car this dog is. That's what. That's why, okay, when I learned how to drive, we learned how to drive with our knee. Steer well down, the knee doesn't steer, you know, and there you go. But, yeah, so tell us a little bit more about this album, what you want the listeners to know, and how they can get the album, check out the album, and check out everything else you got. Well, to start with your last question, it's going to be available 8 a.m. on October 30th on Spotify, Apple, Bandcamp, and YouTube. So take your poison there. We do have physical CDs. We just got them in yesterday.

15:13 Nice. I haven't had a physical CD since 2018. I was like, oh, real music, physical media. Right. So, yeah, that's exciting. I would like to get. Vinyl printed one day. I've got quite the record collection record player downstairs. I got to fix it. It's broken. But the album is, I want to say, beautifully done. Give it to Jeff Black, who mixed and mastered it. I did all the recording, majority right here. And it's not like. A $ 1, 000 studio. It is literally mom and pop shop in here, just barely making it work. But it worked really well. Well, that counts.

15:55 Yeah, so when you listen to it and it sounds this giant, it's like you guys can do it if you've got the right patience and equipment at home. You can make it work. The album is super riff-driven, awesome melodies, awesome harmonies. It's not your typical metal album. It sounds fantastic. I remember we got the Masters back. We were like, oh, man. Definitely play it with a big subwoofer because I made sure to make the bass just stick out like a sore thumb. Being the bass player, I was like, I am not turning the bass down at all on this mix. Mostly because I pointed Jeff towards two bands. One of them is called Eastern High and the other one is Molly Baron. And they've got two albums that just have this insane low-end bass mix. And I said, I want to sound like.

16:44 This, right? Without taking away from the other instruments. You just have to have this low... foundation and the entire album has that. This is awesome. Rock solid foundation. And then everything's put on top of it and perfect puzzle formation. You're going to go for a ride. It doesn't let down until song five, where you finally get a breather. Right. And then it picks back up and it's really tough to pick my favorite song. I think the best sounding song is world eater. That one came from the back. That was like the song that didn't got like the least amount of love. And then all of a sudden it came to the very, this song's amazing. It happens a lot. I know it does.

17:26 I was, it was very surprised. I was like, I think that's like my favorite song. Yeah. But I, my true love is definitely the hyper drive it inside the hyper drive. So it's a song that flows into an instrumental of itself. And that song just doesn't stop even live. When we get to the time for the guitar. So I look over at Harley, the other guitar player, and I was like, Oh God. Oh, we made it. Oh, I can sit back and relax. And it's the same thing on the album. It doesn't stop. That song just doesn't stop. And then you get this awesome instrumental chill out where we just groove, you know, there's that riff. I had that riff in my arsenal since I think 2019, I wrote.

18:06 This riff and I was like, this is really cool. And I kept trying to use it in the song. It didn't work. Tried to use it in the song. Didn't work. Tried to use it in this song. Didn't work. And if I was going to do it, this one, And I made it work, and I said, that's not enough. I have to do it in another song. So the whole ending of the song, we just made the separate song, and it's the last song of the album. And it's that one riff that just keeps playing over and over again, and it's fantastic. I love it. Got a nice phaser on the bass, and it just grew with a cool guitar harmony. And the album just chills out as you slip inside the hyperdrive and go off to Cosmos Unknown. So... A couple of things I have to say about what you said.

18:47 One is that I love what you said about the bass. So what that tells me is this album does not sound like injustice for all. No, it doesn't. I love that album, but my God. Where's the bass? Exactly. Exactly. And then, uh, also even the titles, uh, the title song title signal and single from the album even. Features Jeff black too. So, So that's pretty cool. You have him part of the production, but also part of the song too. Oh, yeah. When we created that song, AJ was like, I think we should get Jeff to do dueling guitar solos here.

19:27 Oh, yeah, that sounds awesome. Let's get that done. And that was one of the last things to come in. It was like, oh, that sounds amazing. So now I have an idea for a U.S. tour for you. Oh. Okay. Especially based on what you said at the end going into Hyperdrive. Okay, so I don't know if you're aware of this up there in the north, but there's somebody who launched a brand new metal band at Riot Fest this year. Oh. And he's 95 years old. Oh, I know this. And.... It's Captain James T. Kirk.

20:08 I was on the back of my head. Yeah, it was William Shatner. So how cool would that like to go on tour? It's like you got you guys as this like. Cosmic metal band and him as the space traveler. Yeah. Right. That would be really cool. Yeah. I would love to do, I haven't toured since, oh, 2018. My last tour was to the States, so it has been a while. Oh, my bones are getting old, but we're going to try and put a tour together, just small Canada. And then if the traction holds, you know, a US tour, if we can get the visa, if everything calms down between our.

20:57 Two countries, it would be nice. Yeah, good luck with that. Yeah, I know. It was difficult trying to get visas back then. I can't even imagine what it's like to get it now. You know what's funny about that? I just saw an article the other day that your country made it easier for U.S. citizens to get citizenship there. My wife is from the U.S., so I know how to immigrate people, actually. I just have to marry them. Right. Well, there you go. But there's apparently they loose. They made it much more lenient. Your government made it much more lenient for us to get citizenship. It's like I think that's like the ultimate screw you to, you know, the guy in charge over here.

21:45 Hey, come on over. It might be cold, but come on over. What is funny about that is years ago, like 2016, when he first got elected over here. I did this bit on my radio show because part of my radio show is like shock jockish and I did this bit with my co-host and I said to her, I'm like, hey, did you hear what he did now? And I said, so basically he said that he was going to and it had to do with because people then They were talking about, oh, if he gets elected, they're going to leave to Canada. And I said that he was going to start. Oh, little did I know what was going to go on later.

22:41 But I said he was. The first country ever or the first president ever to start a war with Canada because we're pissed off because you guys are taking all our people over to Canada. And she bought into it hook, line, and sinker, which tells you the state of how our country is right now anyway, because that's exactly what happens. I can say whatever I want, and one side or the other side will believe it. They won't even check it. Such the world we live in, right? I know, right? So, you know, I don't know. I saw that article.

23:22 I'm like, huh, that sounds interesting. And then I thought about the coldest time I ever had in my life. And I've been like up to the North Pole. I'm from New York and New Jersey originally. But the coldest I've ever been in my life was Niagara Falls. Oh, I bet. On New Year's Eve. But it wasn't even that cold. It was just wet. Well, that was the part of the problem. You know, I have a friend, she's up in Calgary and she's always inviting me to come up there. And I'm like, I don't think I'm coming up during the winter. Sorry. It's not too bad because my wife is from Florida, right? Oh, yeah. That's where I'm at. Yeah. And so she was really worried about what the winters were going to be like in Calgary. And I said, well, you know, if you had to pick anywhere else in the prairies, this is probably the best spot to get it.

24:09 And even when it hits, you know, colder than Mars, like minus 50 here. It only happens for like a little bit. You get that cold snap. And she's like, well, how do people get to work? It was like, you don't, you just like the city shuts down. Like you're like the essential services will run. And you know, as long as it's not windy out and you're bundled up, you're okay. Your car probably won't work unless you have a garage. And she she's used to it. Now she's like, I, she prefers the seasons compared to the, super hot, super cold of swamp past the AC every day. Oh yeah. I hate that shit. Like I always said, I never really wanted to be here and I always, and now I ended up stuck here, but I always said, man, I missed the change of seasons, but.

24:58 It's beautiful fall right now. It is what you get used to too. Cause like, I'm not really as used to the cold anymore, but you know, the thing is the cold isn't what's bad. You mentioned what's bad. It's when the fricking wind kicks up. The wind and the wet. Yeah. Oh my God. That's horrible. You know? So I could imagine 40, 50 below, and then you have like a, a big wind thing going on. Yeah. Yeah. That's no good. They're not calling for too much snow this year, which it's going to be a mild winter, I think, which is yay. Okay. Which means droughts next year. Boo. Right. Right.

25:38 See, I like the snow because it usually warms up the snow, but I like it for the first couple of days. I don't like after the snow where it gets freezing cold and it gets dark and ugly and frozen and stuff like that. But like I'll take snow over freezing rain any day of the week, to be honest. Agreed. I've seen awful things in Montreal when they get the freezing rain, right? Snapping power lines, trees. We don't get that here. Black ice. Black ice. Well, we'll get black ice, but not like they get it out there. Yeah, exactly. The one thing, I wanted to point this out because I don't know if you know about this, but I've explained it to the wife, is the pressure headaches you can get in Calgary because we can go from minus 40 to zero degrees in a matter of 48 hours.

26:26 And it will knock you on your ass if you're susceptible to pressure changes. Oh, yeah, that makes sense. It's like a. Bad case of allergies. All of a sudden, you're like, what is wrong with me? And you're like, oh, it's 10 degrees outside all of a sudden. And yesterday, it was, you know, minus 40. Right. Insane temperature swings here. Yeah, and see, that's something. Like, I love the UK a lot, too, because I do a bunch of festivals there. But I can't deal with the bipolar weather. My thing is... So I remember once I went. To Chicago, it was 70 degrees. It was beautiful out the next day. I'm walking out of the hotel in shorts and I'm like, Oh shit. And it was, it was 20 degrees the next day. And this was in the middle of June, the end of June.

27:14 Okay. And I'm like, yeah, no, I'm not down with living in a place that you can't depend on it not being 20 in June. You know, like, like when it's winter, I'm. Okay with it. It's supposed to be cold when it's summer. No, get the hell out of here. Yeah, no, it's like that here. If you, if you leave the it's, if it's the summer and you leave without a hoodie or sweater, you're making a mistake. You always got to have one because the moment the sun goes behind the clouds, boom, it'll be 30 degrees during the day. And the moment the sun dip full of the horizon, because we're up so high, I forget what our elevation is. We're up really high. It just immediately cools off.

27:55 So yeah exactly so yeah everybody's got to check out your album invasion october 30th go check out everything though and uh let let's let's push this band into space people do it well thanks a lot for making us great music and thanks for being on the adventures of pipe man. Thank you very much i appreciate it everyone stick around october 30th actual profits invasion it's your Years Thank you for listening to The Adventures of Pikeman on W4CY Radio.