Author: Ani Carlson
Photos: Ani Carlson
Not too long ago, we took to social media (Reddit, Twitter, and Instagram) to request fan questions for the up and coming hardcore/metalcore group Varials. We compiled the responses into one interview; this is the outcome.
•How did Varials form, and what gear did everyone start out with?
Sean and James formed the band back a few years ago after getting sick of college they were at together. Back then Sean was using a Lugwig kit and James had a head that he made himself out of a Bugera combo amp haha. When I started playing with them I was using an Orange Dark Terror head
•How did the composition of In Darkness come about?
We started writing for it in 2018 and had a bunch of demos. When we got to the studio early the next year we realized we weren't happy with most of those demos and decided to start almost from scratch. After about two weeks in the studio we had 32 demos to pick from, and narrowing what was actually going on the record was one of the hardest things we had to do in the studio. Very happy with what we chose though, especially when looking back at the ones that didn't make the cut.
-Will there be a Varials/Darius Tehrani collab in the future?
Would be sick! We loved touring with Spite; Darius is a great dude and performer. Would love to collab and tour with those guys more.
•Will you ever play Abacus live?
We did play it one time at our record release show for Pain Again. I love that song but i doubt it will ever get played in the near future. I look at that song the same way I look at "Save Room" from In Darkness. They are a part of our sound, a way to give the listener something different to take in while listening to one of our records. A song that gives the record depth and a little more atmosphere. Our live show is a bit of a different story. We like to keep it heavy and crazy the entire time, and I don't think that song fits our vision in that way right now.
•Tuning and string gauges?
Drop F for Pain Again songs. I use a 74 Gauge for my low F and 13-56's for the rest (omitting the 56)
Drop B for most of the In Darkness Stuff. 13-56 gauge with a wound 26
I use D'addario strings only
•What bands influenced In Darkness and the change of sound?
Personally I took a lot of influence from early Architects especially Hollow Crown, and BMTH's Suicide Season. Along with Underoath's Define the Great Line and Lost in the Sound of Separation. All of these records were huge for me when I was younger, and I still find myself revisiting them frequently now. They're all criminally ahead of their time and individually carry a specific vibe. Not bands, but I took a lot of influence from video games as well especially Resident Evil and Silent Hill.
•How did your tour with Spite differ from tours you've done in the past? (What have you learned from previous tours that helped you in your latest?)
This was our first tour as direct support to a headliner so we knew we had to really bring our A-game not only performance wise but on a personal and professional level with the other bands. I think we've learned that making a connection with all the people on the tour, and trying to be friendly and helpful goes the longest of ways. Being cool and vibing with everyone makes it all just so much better and I felt that we had that with everyone on that tour. It was really awesome. We've done a few tours where the whole package just seemed like one big friendly unit and those are always my favorites.
•What is on the cover of your album "In Darkness"?
It's a girl in a bathtub haha, everyone was debating it when it came out, it was great
•Was the album "In Darkness" meant to be a concept album?
It has loose concepts in that it's supposed to deal with heavy emotions and the stages of grief at times. That's more on the lyrical side. For me as someone who primarily does instrumental writing I wanted it to feel cohesive like a story without needing an actual narrative. I think certain sounds and consistent tone/feel plays a large part in making something sound like there's more to it than just songs. That's why I mentioned earlier that I took influence from video games. Silent Hill and Resident Evil have a very heavy and brooding atmosphere to them. I wanted to capture that on a record and make it something special for myself. For me it was all about making the listener feel like they were trying to escape a threatening and mysterious situation. Some friends of mine and I joked at one point that "Splinter" was when you horrifically die in a last stand type situation, "Love Machine" is like The Seam from Death Stranding (if you don't know what that is Youtube it), "Save Room" is the respawn/checkpoint, and "Death Song" is you going back to fight the boss with nothing but a poorly sharpened pencil.
•What made you go back to producer Josh Schroeder for "In Darkness"?
We love Josh not just as a producer but as a friend, and I think that's what made us go back. He just has a way of getting creativity and productivity out of us like no one else has. We enjoyed making Pain Again with him and we knew round two would just be better. Also, he shares a love for a lot of the same video games as I do so getting the album to the way I just described was so cohesive with him that I barely had to even tell him what to do or what to make things sound like. It literally just happened as we went along.
•Which musical artist/band would you most like to tour or work with in the future?
Bring Me The Horizon
•What is your favorite song to play live?
I Suffocate or South of One
•Do you feel the sense of community in the hardcore scene is different from that of another genre such as pop punk? How so?
Honestly I'm not entirely sure. I've never been really into pop punk or around any of those bands much so I can't really speak on it's difference.
•What's been the strangest place you've visited while on the road? Weirdest experience?
Probably the tiger truck stop in Louisiana. It's a gas station that used to have a real tiger named Tony. He died but they still have the cages and pictures of him everywhere. It's insane. Weirdest experience probably was our last tour w Spite getting canceled because of Coronavirus. It was so weird being on tour during that and just playing until we literally were forced to stop touring and go home. Felt like I was in a virus movie haha
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Website: https://varialspa.net/
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