Bryce Kain, singer/songwriter and founder of A Fallen Mind, knows what he wants and is not afraid to go out and get it. I respect Bryce and his band mates, Jessica, Heather, and guest guitarist Grayson, for pursuing a career in a "chew you up, spit you out" industry because they're following their dream, doing what makes them happy. We should all be so gutsy and lucky. We should all also have such great taste in music, drawing influences from bands like Type O Negative, Minor Threat, and the Misfits. Bryce and AFM have certainly garnered a spot in my rotten little heart, minions.It's not just their influences, their cool. horror-themed website, or their fuck you attitudes that speak to my rotten little heart, my little miscreants. It's their music! With driving dance songs like "The Hand That Feeds" (a Nine Inch Nails song, which in my opinion is better than the original), "WTF," "God is an Atheist," or the deep, full-bodied sound of "In Black Flame," you are sure to find a favourite to fit most moods. Personally, I love the album Pain Addiction and find myself listening to it over and over, never tiring of that melodic, resonant sound that's reminiscent of old Type O. Pain Addiction is truly a thing of dark, gothic beauty.
Make sure to give ALL of the links at the end of this post a visit. Especially the one to their trippy website - their are even games on it!!!
Lili's Lair: What were the defining moments, when you decided that this was the kind of music you were going to do?
Bryce, AFM: When I started A Fallen Mind back in 2008, it was a mix of gothic and rock music. The farther I went with AFM, the heavier the sound has gotten. It was like we went from Type O Negative to Slayer. That kind of thing. The new album we're working on now (Oddities and Obscenities) is about as heavy, or heavier, than our second album (The Human Error.)
I got involved in the type of music we're doing now over the years, starting at probably around the age of 15. I was intrigued by this thing called "heavy metal" my friends were talking about and I bought a White Snake album. Mostly cause the cover of the album had a naked chick on it. Sadly, I wasn't really that impressed by the music, but I kept listening to it anyway. Then I met a guy who introduced me to Danzig, The Misfits, Minor Threat, Slayer, Pantera, and so on. I was pretty hooked by what I heard from Danzig and the Misfits and my fandom grew as I got older. Later I was in a goth band in West Virginia and the guys there introduced me to Type O Negative, which blew me away. It was a style I'd never heard of before. And as things went along I also got into White Zombie, then Rob Zombie.
Two albums that stand out the most as for the type of music I wanted to do, and do now, are Danzig's Blackacidevil album and Type O's October Rust. I have mad respect for the work both bands did prior to those albums -- especially John Christ's guitar work -- but when I heard those two albums, that was it. I knew the definitive direction I wanted to go in.
Lili's Lair: What event led up to you deciding that music was going to be your career?
Bryce, AFM: I have always liked music and playing and being in bands and stuff. At one point, probably when I was 16 or 17, I was trying to put together a band where I was on the drums. This guy came over and jammed with me on his guitar while I was wailing away on the drum set. Problem was, I sucked at drums. He kept cringing and I finally gave up after about an hour's worth of trying to impress him. Soon after he asked if I had ever sung for a band before, which I hadn't, and he invited me to try out for his band as a singer. He had heard me pull off a Pantera scream and sing like Slayer and Metallica so he was interested to see if I could do the same for his band. I tried out, got the spot, and we jammed.
Eventually we got a gig at a local flea market and played a few songs. People weren't that impressed, but we kept going anyway. I mean I was a 16 year old with a band full of 14 and 15 year olds. How good could we be, yeah know? We eventually got to a couple cover songs, which were by the Misfits, and the crowd just went ape shit. I mean it went from people standing around going "ho hum" to "YEAH!!!!!!!" and slamming together in a massive mosh pit. It was insane! And at that moment, as I watched all the fun and the havoc, that is when I knew that I wanted to do this for the rest of my life.
Lili's Lair: Who would you say have been your biggest musical influences?
Bryce, AFM: Musically would be Rob Zombie, Type O, Nine Inch Nails, Danzig, Rammstein, the Misfits, Sam Hain, System of a Down, Metallica, Slayer, Pantera, and bands of that nature. I'm always finding new influences and inspirations.
In life, probably my mom and dad. My parents encouraged me to pursue my passions, and my mom has always been very supportive and practically a saint, but my dad and I had kind of a volatile relationship. Plus I watched him work hard at a job that didn't really seem to give much of a shit about him and he seemed so unhappy. That spurred me to pursue what I wanted to do with a lot of driving force and anger. And I did so relentlessly, promising myself that I would never settle for a life where I was miserable.
Lili's Lair: What is the driving force behind the themes in your songs?
Bryce, AFM: I started out with A Fallen Mind doing spooky, horror related stuff. I was into vampires and lycanthropes and the occult for a long time so that was a lot of what I wrote about. Over the years, though, the stuff I have written about has taken precedent over the style of music. I decided to turn more towards exorcising my inner demons and writing about things that angered, upset, or frustrated me. The Human Error has a lot of "FUCK YOU" in it. Pain Addiction, our first album, is more sexual and dark. The new album is grittier, harder, and darker. So I guess a mix between the first two albums.
Of course we do have our kooky side. Songs like "God is an Atheist" are fun to do. Kind of a Slayer type song with a punk attitude. Also had a lot of fun putting together our heavy metal version of "Wheels on the Bus." And on the next album we have a couple of songs that are funny, like "Tits & Gasoline" and the long titled "Piranhas and Other Poor Choices for Oral Sex." Lots of hard rock and metal mixed with a "We don't give a fuck" attitude.
Lili's Lair: What path do you see your music taking in the next several years?
We're still an unsigned band, so being on a record label would be nice. Touring would be nice, too. We have fans all over the world who would like to see us play. If we have to continue to remain indie, I'm ok with that, too. More money in my pocket anyway and more creative control over my stuff. So I guess I only see us kicking ass and eating chicken wings. Oh and worshiping Santa Claus. That's important, too.
AFM offers free downloads and streaming on their website, so make sure to check out all these links and give them a "Like" on Facebook.
Band website: www.AFallenMind.com
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/a-fallen-mind/id380853106
Official Amazon store: http://www.amazon.com/A-Fallen-Mind/e/B006M5XFUY
Youtube: www.youtube.com/afallenmind
Facebook: www.facebook.com/afallenmind
Straight to the point. Good to have honest music once in a while.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely Mike!!
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