The Birthday MassacreLe 18/09/2010

interview de M Falcore du groupethe Birthday Massacre, réalisée par e-mail, suite à la sortie de leur album pinsAndNeedles chez Metropolis Records







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2° Do you feel a major evolution in your music for the new album Pins And Needles which be out in September?



I don't think it's a radical departure from our sound and style, but it is a progression from our last record. The major difference I've noticed this time around is everyone I talk to about the album has their own favorite song. Opinions on this album are very polarized.

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3° You always have your sweet touch, as a dark part in your music. How do you keep this thin balance not to fall in the darkness or in too much pop music? Do you work a lot in rehearsals for this?



We spend a lot of time working on the songs. Sometimes we spend too much time and we miss our deadline, but we think it's really important to give the songs time because the way you perceive them changes as time goes by. There's no formula for creating a perfect balance between heavy and melodic because it's so subjective. We adjust to taste.

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4° You tour a lot, when did you create the 11 songs of the new album? And did you record all the songs? Did you use the same recipe?



We started writing the songs in between tours, but we didn't seriously start writing a cohesive album until November of 2009. Rainbow and I moved our studio into the small town we grew up in and wrote and recorded most of the music there. Then we moved back to Toronto in February and worked on the lyrics and vocals with Chibi. We try to write music by feeling instead of numbers. When we get together this is the music we come up with. There's no recipe that we're conscious of.

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5° Did you give yourself some challenge for the new songs (more technical, more emotional…)



We try to step a little outside of our comfort zone when we write. For this album I wanted to create our own ambient sound effects instead of sampling from movies or whatever. It lends the album a personal feeling for me. And the other challenge was to step up our production quality. We spent a lot more time programming drums and recording guitars on this album. It sounds a lot better to me than our other records.

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6° Where did you record the album? Who choose this studio, and why?



Rainbow and I grew up in a small town outside of Toronto. There are so many distractions in the city and we knew we had to escape in order to get the album done on time. So we packed everything up and moved back to our small town. It also came as a great inspiration to work there because the familiar surroundings draw up old memories from childhood which always help us stay positive when being creative.

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7° A special remembrance about the recording time?



One night we worked very late and when I left the house that night I saw a family of deer in the front yard. It was strange because they didn't run away, they just stood very still and stared at me for a long time.

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8° A word about some tracks (main source of inspiration for the creation, meaning of the lyrics…):



- In The Dark

This one started with the heavy guitar riff at the beginning, and it was temp named 'Rabid' just because it was so heavy. The lyrics usually come last, and sometimes they change the meaning behind the music. The song is about a disintegrating relationship and that theme brings a melancholy sadness to the music which compliments the heavy passages nicely.



- Shallow Grave

This song started out in a much slower tempo, but was sped up later to make it more of a dance song. Lyrically it explores the themes of infamy and romance that come through tragedy – that sometimes only success comes through death.

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9° What is the track from the new album you like the most to perform as a musician? And why?



It's hard to pick one, but I like performing Control because it has so much energy, and the crowd picks up on that energy. It's one of the highlights of the show.

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10° Did you already choose a track for a video-clip?



Yes, we chose 'In The Dark' for the video. It was a good choice because it has the classic TBM themes of contrast which I thought would work well in a visual context. And we really wanted to show the band performing this time, and the heavy parts worked well for that.

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11° Who choose the artwork of the new album?



Vincent Marcone made the artwork for Pins And Needles, and he did our last album too. He has a strong visual style that works well with our own. You can get a good impression of his work at MyPetSkelleton.com.

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12° Will you perform in France soon?



The closest we'll be to France this year is the United Kingdom in October. So, if you're a hardcore fan you'll have to travel there. But, expect us to announce a mainland Europe tour in the Spring.

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13° A word you would like to add for your French fans?



I really miss France and it has been too long since our last visit. Now that we have our new record finished we can finally make plans to see you again. If there is a particular city you'd like us to play in let us know on our myspace page.

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14° Our special “last question”: If you had to choose between eternal life and to be ubiquitous, what would you choose?



I think eternal life would become slow and boring, so I'll take ubiquitous. Just imagine all the things you could get done in a day.

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