If you’re thinking that we are talking about a jazz band, just forget about it… The Big Jazz Duo are heavy, brutal and sound like modern death metal should sound nowadays. With a beast of the album just unleashed, we chase them to get some answers to our questions. By the way, they know who’s the enemy…
Hi guys, congrats on the new effort. How has been the feedback so far? We had an incredible and unexpected positive feedback: online and on the stage. We are extremely and insanely happy!
How did all this musical adventure start?
We – Tom, Pigo, Cios, Simo – were already part of a previous metalcore/easycore band. We moved to deathcore style while recording our first EP Of Imperishable Heroes that is when we first met Joseph, our guitarist. After some time, we decided to work on our debut full-length, we were too much excited and enthusiastic.
Who’s the “Enemy”?
Well, everything and everyone is an enemy. Or maybe, everyone has an enemy within. This is the main concept behind this album, we have to face our true fears and our regrets to find and defeat the enemy, the rotten we keep in our hearts. Writing down this album has been kind of “detoxicating” ourselves from all those things we weren’t ready to face, or just to confess. I can properly say we found our own enemies in this work.
What were the main inspirations before and during all the songwriting and recording process?
We’ve been unexpectedly fast and very inspired during the songwriting, maybe because we talked a lot about the contents of this work and our personal ideas on how to “draw” the things we wanted to show. We just had to concentrate on our deepest feelings, that’s how we worked. Every track is an unknown, fearful step inside an inner world.
The songs are quick and short, but there are so many goodies all over the album. This sort of experimentalism goes directly into the core of genres like djent, death metal and even deathcore, but there is still a sense of melody. Was this frantic, full of groove and brutal sound something planned or just happened?
It just happened, we wrote basically what we had in our minds, the songwriting process took us something like 4 months and it looked like a stream of consciousness: we love melody and in particular Joseph is a huge fan of anything you can label as swed-death, but we like groove parts and mammoth breakdowns… So, the result was this mixture of genres.
Sometimes we feel the need to say that modern metal sounds exactly like this, do you guys agree?
Actually, we don’t like to “tag” what we do as “experimental”, “Alternative”… Neither “Modern”. Let’s say we play some kind of metal music in the 21st century, that’s all. Metal music has changed so much in the last ten years, every band has influences and innovations.
Your video for “Haunted” is quite cool, sometimes reminds me brutal mashup between Gwar, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and the very first Resident Evil (not the movie, the game…). How did that happen and what can you tell us about the vídeo?
Well, first of all we wanted something to be very senseless and funny. [laughs] Even if actually the video does have a deep meaning. We love horror movies, that’s why you can see kinda-creepy scenes in the clip, blood, two-headed monsters and stuff like that. There wasn’t another way to perfectly represent the terrible nightmares, the creatures we fight everyday in our lives: regrets, old faults, lies. That’s all, we don’t want to explain the whole clip, it’s important you get your own interpretation!
The Black Dhalia Murder or All Shall Perish?
That’s a terrible question! [laughs] They’re both two of our favorite band, but if I’m forced to choose… Well… The Black Dahlia Murder, no way. First of all for their “attitude”, then for their tastes in songwriting. I think Nocturnal is one of the best melo-death album ever.
What are The Big Jazz Duo plans for the rest of the year?
Basically playing shows as much as possible promoting the album and well, we have a huge surprise for September/October, so be sure to stay tuned on our media channels.
What have you guys been listening to lately?
Joseph: Cattle Decapitation, Plini, Lorde, Rosetta and Lorna Shore
Tom: Cattle Decapitation, If These Trees Could Talk, Behemoth, Cradle Of Filth, Enya
Pigo: Cattle decapitation, The Black Dahlia Murder, All Shall Perish, Mayhem
Simo: Nightwish, Heaven Shall Burn, Gorgoroth, The Black Dahlia Murder
Cios: This Will Destroy You, Rosetta, Animal As Leaders
Words: Francisco Sousa
The Enemy is out now via Fire Was Born Records