Shattering The Underground - A Chat With Canada's Shatterpoint by EC

When thinking of Canada's thrash metal elite one recalls mighty slabs of speed-metal-Hell like Anvil, Annihilator, and the mighty Razor. Who would have imagined that maple-leafed Shatterpoint could create the groove smashing wallop indicative of American bands like Pantera, Machine Head, and modern day Overkill? After releasing a stunning first try effort with "Consequences", an EP of super-charged thrash groove, the band has just released their thunderous debut entitled "Dead Precedence" for New York's Power Play Records. Maximum Metal's EC had the opportunity to chat with Shatterpoint lead guitarist Greg Wright about the group's new record and metal's current state of affairs.

EC - Shatterpoint has just released their first full-length album called "Dead Precedence", available on Power Play Records. The band has been together for a number of years. How does it feel to FINALLY get that first album written, recorded, packaged, and done? Does it feel like you just gave birth to something?

"Nothing is worse then an album where the first song rules, but then each song after that sounds exactly the same."

GW - Yeah it sure does. The album had been done for a while, and there were a few some hold ups with the artwork, so for it to finally come together as a completed package was awesome. It turned out better then I had expected, which is wicked.

Your first EP gained a lot of notoriety in metal spectrums, with some positive feedback and a whole lot of folks waiting for a full record to see just how good this band really is. I personally liked the "Consequences" EP but felt that there was some room for improvement. How different is this record when compared to the EP? What are the strengths of the album?

GW - I think the songs are much more dynamic, and overall this release is more detail oriented. "Consequences" contained songs that were packed full of riff after riff. While this new album has just as many if not more killer riffs, we put more thought into how we were going to arrange the songs. In my opinion this album dwarfs "Consequences" in every way, the singing is much better, the drumming is better, the solos, riffs, etc. The main thing on this album which makes it a complete package is that we put a lot of effort into making sure that each song serves a purpose on the record as a whole. Each song is different than the next. This keeps the record exciting and prevents the listener from getting bored. Nothing is worse then an album where the first song rules, but then each song after that sounds exactly the same. We tried to eliminate any predictability within the songs, which makes it much more interesting.

From some of the arrangements and lyrics I gather a bit of aggression and anger in the writing style. What was the overall mood going into writing this record? Is there any one song here that sort of sums up the theme of the album?

GW - I would say that the song “Dead Precedence” sums up the entire album. The lyrics are very to the point, and basically outline just how fucked this world is over money and greed. That is one of the main themes of the album, and the main theme of the associated artwork.

Who produced the record, where was it recorded, and was the end result the type of sound you were looking for out of the record?

GW - We recorded the CD with Greg Dawson, in BWC studios in Brampton ON Canada. Greg is a genius when it comes to getting the best out of his bands so it was a great mixture. We have worked with BWC studios before so we had a good idea of what to expect. I'm really happy with the outcome of the CD, it sounds crushing and holds its own with CDs that top level bands have been releasing.

I know you guys hit a few shows in Canada last year. Will the number of shows increase with this release and any chance of hitting the red, white, and blue for a show or two?

GW - For sure, we are currently planning a North American tour to help support the new CD, we would love to come on down to the states and rip it up. We hope to be on the road for a good part of the summer.

Power Play Records does a great job with their promotion and you are also backed by Metal Queen Management as well. What type of promotion are you doing right now for the release? Any small market radio play yet?

GW - Yeah, there has been a lot of radio play going on for this new record and we are getting a lot of awesome feed back. We don’t work with MQM management anymore, simply because they chose to focus on just a few acts and we were not interested in a long term commitment. They do really good work, but I just felt that we needed a change. Other than that we have hundreds of CDs being mailed out for review, and airplay all around the world, and as they find their way to their destinations, more good things shall happen.

What do you say to the casual fan who hears Shatterpoint and says this is just standard volume and feedback that sounds like every other new wave of American heavy metal band?

GW - I would say that everyone has their opinion, and that’s fine, in my opinion, I don’t think there is one band out there that sounds like us, from a total package perspective. We have many many influences and are defiantly not out there ripping anyone off, we are just doing our own thing, and hope that people are interested in listening to it. I do think that there are a ton of bands who start out trying to mimic other bands in attempts to piggy back on some of their successes, but that just doesn’t ever work. Good bands are there because they stuck to their own sound and played the music that they wanted to make. That’s all we do, is write music that we want to hear.

Being from Canada what were some of your favorite Canadian acts growing up?

GW - I had many influences growing up, not many of them Canadian. I would say the only Canadian band that I really invested much time in was Annihilaor. Jeff Waters is definitely one of my guitar heroes. Other then that there is a huge list of bands that have influenced us; Pro-Pain, Slayer, Metallica, Pantera, Testament were definitely some huge influences growing up. Right now the new Unearth is rocking my stereo frequently, its fuckin' crushing.

Do you feel that it has actually become harder to promote a heavy metal band and release in today's heavily populated metal market or is it easier because metal is so hot right now?

GW - Well, you can look at it both ways. If metal was dead, everyone would be dogging us, saying that we are kicking a dead horse, where as now that there is a good scene and tons of bands. Its tough because you become one fish in a big sea. No matter how you look at it, a good product and hard work will eventually pay off in the end, and all you gotta do is keep working at it, and pumping out new and interesting music.

Greg, congratulations on the new album. Killer release and one Helluva fantastic kickstart for the band's career. Again, the album is out now on Power Play Records. Readers and fans go grab your copy!!!!

TITLE	DOR	COMPANY	REVIEWER	DATE MADE	RATING
Consequences	2004		Pandemonium55	3/23/2005	-

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