Review Fix Exclusive: Q & A with Deathpoint’s Mike Labate

Review Fix chats with Deathpoint drummer Mike Labate, who discusses the band’s sound, inspiration, their new album, “Sinister” and goals for the future. Melodic metal with tinges of Tool and In Flames, Labate also discusses the band’s creative process and his favorite song on the album.

Review Fix: How was the band formed?

Mike Labate: The band was formed several years about simply by a bunch a friends getting together in a basement to start jamming. We were only kids back then, but we’ve grown together and become the musicians we have today.

There have been a few lineup changes along the way, but since the addition of Tom Emmans roughly six months ago, the lineup has become the most solid and secure its ever been.

Review Fix: What are the members inspirations and how does it help them with their sound?

Labate: Every member has different inspirations yet we all have so many in common with each other. Bands like Lamb Of God, Devildriver, Dreamshade, Tool, Tesseract, In Flames, Soilwork, Slipknot are all large influences of ours and probably a reason why we sound the way we do. We all have a great desire for groovy riffs, big choruses, and beautiful melodies so writing together with many of the same influences has become an interesting and satisfying process.

Review Fix: How would you describe your sound?

Labate: Melodic, groovy, and metal. We don’t give into trends or fads that seem to float around the metal scene every once in a while. We write the exact kind of music we’d like to hear. We don’t change sounds or songs to pander to any particular sub-genre of metal. We just love giving people something to bob their head to and some epic melodic parts that really stick with the listener long after the song is done.

Review Fix: What makes the band different?

Labate: I think we really know what we do well and we stick to that. We don’t go beyond our abilities to try and make things crazy, because you have to be able to play what you write live just as well as you can in the studio. That being said, we’re always pushing forward to become better musicians on a daily basis so you can hear the evolution of the Deathpoint sound from album to album quite easily. We’ve already begun writing the next record and we can hear the development of our sound in the demos alone. It is sure to be another big step for us as we move forward as a band.

Review Fix: What song on the album is most indicative of your abilities as musicians?

Labate: I would say “Condemned To Suffer” would be the most challenging song musically to play from “Sinister,” but that being said, I feel like “For Your Eyes Only” is the song that is really all encompassing. It covers every single aspect of what we want this band to sound like. Its melodic, heavy, fast, punchy, and filled with hooks. It really is the exact sound that we’ve been going for.

Review Fix: How are your live shows different from your studio work?

Labate: On the record, you don’t get to see the stage presence that Tom Emmans has. His demand for crowd involvement and mannerisms on stage take our live show so far beyond just the music. Its more than just a concert. Its live entertainment and its something we’ve been working very hard on the past little while. Entertaining the crowd with stage presence while staying accurate to the record is what we’re all about.

Review Fix: What are your long-term goals in music?

Labate: We all want to be career musicians. Its the highest goal of ours. With all the positive steps we’ve been taking over the past few months, we really feel like it is a possibility. The response to the records, the new fans every day, the media attention, etc etc has all lead us to believe that we can do this if we really buckle down and give it everything we have.

Review Fix: How do you want this album to be remembered?

Labate: I want this album to be remembered as the album that no one saw coming. The album that you only had to hear once to know you needed to have it. The album that makes you bang your head on every single track and that every single song has “that part you’ve been waiting for.” I believe that if any metal head gives this record a chance, they’re going to love it. That’s what I want this album to be remembered for.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14230 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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