Review Fix chats with While She Sleeps’ guitarist Sean Long, who discusses their new record, “Brainwashed” and the creative process behind it. One of the UK’s top up and coming metal acts, Long lets us know what makes the band tick and what their goals are as a group.
For more info on the band, click here.
Review Fix: What was the development process of “Brainwashed” like?
Sean Long: A rough ride with a positive twist. With all the ups and downs regarding Lozs throat surgery, it made it somewhat difficult to get a firm hold on what we wanted to do at some points. But as we’ve discovered with this record is that a firm hold and steady writing isn’t what you always need to make the creativity flow. It needs fluidity, so with the negative sides to the throat situation laid a positive ailment for personal writing/trust within the band. With time running thin we had to leave a lot of the vocal writing up to Mat and Loz after I had finished most of the musical side through out the steady process over two years then towards the end got more focused. Leaving them to do this big part of the record without most of the band as they needed their space, is not something we wanted to do but still happened. Within in this laid a great creation from different points of the group called ‘Brainwashed’
Review Fix: What do you think makes you guys different?
Long: We like to just make music what we actually like and connects to us on an emotional and personally Level. Doing this, we know that it then resonates quite different to that of someone who say writes for the sake of money or to fit a particular scene. This we hope makes us different or at least honest.
Review Fix: How do you guys like playing in the states? How are the crowds different?
Long: It’s really cool because it’s like starting a band from scratch again. No one really knows us so it makes us new underdogs which are such a great place to be. It drives you to do the best you can and also is a breath of fresh air to really try and see if we can make friends and introduce people to our vibe and our ways.
Review Fix: The video for “Four Walls” is awesome. What inspired it?
Long: It was just a spark of inspiration out of nowhere that then gets us all involved to crests an idea. I’m glad you like it! We wanted it to be “classic” and not recyclable, I hope we did that.
Review Fix: How was the song written? Is there a story behind it?
Long: There is. I’m always the one to start writing first as I never really stop. So after I had quite a bunch of material I still had no input from anyone else. One day I and Mat met up half way between our houses which are about 10 minutes walk each up this dirt track in a field. We meet at a tree pretty much half way and sit. He has a vocal idea which was “saints go marching..” And I Had the kick in and Chorus. That one meet was the start of the “focused writing” and the start of our first song from the record.
Review Fix: What’s on the band’s musical bucket list?
Long: Keep doing this and hopefully help people, make them feel good, make them grow up in school buzzing of our tunes just like we did when we were at school.
Review Fix: How does it feel to be a part of “Razor and Tie”?
Long: It’s really amazing, it still takes a while to know that people have got such faith in us so far from home. It’s so mind blowing and I am very homered to be part of Razor and Tie.
Review Fix: Bottom Line, why should someone listen to this album?
Long: Same reason you do anything. As this life is very precious and from me telling you this now as a slight leaning towards saying yes, listen to us. I would like you to try our legacy out by listening to our music. If you like it. You are now part of what we do and we can grow as a positive movement.
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