Review Fix Exclusive: Q & A With Scent of Remains Lead Guitarist Herb Himes

Review Fix chats with Scent of Remains Lead Guitarist Herb Himes who talks about their debut album, “Under A Blackened Sky,” as well as their creative process, goals for 2014 and what they need to do to get the notoriety they feel they deserve.

Together since 2009, the band has shared the stage with with many well-known metal acts like Fear Factory, Hate Eternal, Devil Driver Watain, Static-X, Green Jello, Davey Suicide, 9 Electric, Kobra and the Lotus and Straight Line Stitch, but are now ready to dominate the stage by themselves.

Review Fix: The band’s musical formula is super intense. There’s so many different things going on, yet a distinctive flavor remains. How have you guys put this band’s sound together?

Herb Himes: It’s something that has, honestly, just evolved over time. We’ve never sat down and said, “We need to sound more like this or that, etc.” It’s just happens as we write. We all have so many different influences, and when everything is put together our sound just comes out. That being said, we do pay a great deal of attention to the small details and really focus on dynamics – a tension/resolution sort of thing in the music. Every song evolves differently, and we focus on what the song really needs the most – often stripping or simplifying to only the elements that get the emotion or idea across. I’ve said before, we don’t care about showing off individual talents or technical prowess in our music. It’s about the song, and making it memorable.

Review Fix: What do you believe is the standout song on “Under A Blackened Sky”?

Himes: You’re gonna make me choose only one? I’m gonna cheat… I think the chorus hook and From Ash We Rise is really strong, and grabs people. Wakefield certainly “stands out” from all the other songs on the record — I mean it’s all acoustic, and shows a different side of SoR. We like writing the acoustic stuff. Personally, Parasite and BTK are my favorites to play live because of the intensity. So…there’s four songs for you.

Review Fix: What song on the album do you think could slip under the radar for some listeners but they shouldn’t miss?

Himes: Maybe Parasite. It’s toward the end of the record, starts slow and builds into something completely different. It’s a very dynamic song and the end gets really intense. I think it showcases lots of the things about SoR that make our sound what it is.

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

Himes: It’d be cool if it’s remembered as the album that established us as a metal act that’s here to stay. Our real launching point into notoriety in the metal world.

Review Fix: What did you learn about yourself as a musician during the creative process of the album? How will it affect you moving forward?

Himes: I learn something new about music every day – it’s the gift that keeps giving. The creative process of this album was a total team effort and we’ll continue to work that way.

Review Fix: How is are band’s live performances different from their studio work?

Himes: You should expect the same quality performance you get on the studio work with a live passion and energy added on top of it. Personally, I may improve a bit on some of the guitar solos depending on how I feel on a given night – something, for me, that comes from being a blues- based player. We have a lot fun playing live, and Michael is a great front man – he’s a funny guy, so there’s definitely some humor brought into the mix.

Review Fix: What are the band’s goals for 2014?

Himes: Tour, tour, tour and write, write, write. We want to push UABS and get out in front of as many new audiences as possible and continue working on the new material we already have for the
next release.

Review Fix: What do you feel you have to do, as a band, to accomplish your dreams in music?

Himes: Stay grounded, focused, keep having fun and always remain professional. The music speaks for itself.

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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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