1- Hello, thanks for answering to our questions. What are you guys currently up to?
Hey!  You’re welcome.  Thanks for your support.  We’re currently promoting our new EP that was released by Xtreem Music, titled Shores of Oblivion.  In addition, we’re breaking in a new guitarist who is doing remarkably well.  Our hope is to be ready to play live shows by March or April at the latest.

 


2- First off, could you make some history of the band?
Sure, Killing Addiction has been around for quite a while.  We formed under that name back in 1989, although the guitarists (Chris Wicklein and Chad Bailey) and I had already been playing in bands together for several years.  We were the first death metal band in this area and also among the handful of death metal bands in Florida at the time.  It was a pretty exciting time for the genre, because everything was still new. Although we have a few intro recordings that did us well, the one that really gave us the most recognition was our debut full-length titled Omega Factor, which was released on JL America records.  Since its release, it’s sometimes described as a cult death metal recording and sometimes as a minor classic of American death metal, which is pretty cool. Killing Addiction was inactive from about 1994 until 2006.  The arrival of the internet and social media were things that contributed to the decision to pick up where we left off.  Since 2006, we’ve released a few recordings and started playing live shows again as of 2013.  Our 2014/15 recording When Death Becomes An Art really solidified our current sound, and it was a great stepping stone for 2016’s Shores of Oblivion. Unlike many bands who’ve been around as long, we’ve retained the same four members for nearly our entire career.  Chris York, our drummer from back in the day, didn’t return until 2013, and Chad passed away in September of last year.  So, taken as a whole, we’ve spent the majority of our lives creating music together and being friends.

 

3- How could you describe your sound?
We’re old school death metal.  Some of the things that set us apart from a lot of what’s written by bands nowadays is that we don’t focus on speed, and we have a significant, noticeable thrash influence from our early days.  Writing music that grooves is more important to us than being the fastest or the heaviest band.

 

4- What are the band’s main musical influences?
Although there are plenty of American death metal bands we like, there are really only a few that had a direct influence on how we play and write music.  Most of our death metal influence comes from UK bands, and then there are the thrash bands that influenced us as well.  We’re sometimes compared to bands that didn’t influence us at all, but the ones that did are bands such as Carcass, early Napalm Death and Bolt Thrower, Atheist, Death, Morbid Angel, Possessed, Autopsy, and thrash bands such as Slayer, Kreator, and Sacred Reich. My main vocal influences are early Napalm Death (Lee Dorian on KA_GroupPhoto2016(1)Mentally Murdered), Bolt Thrower, Carcass, Kreator, Atheist, and Immortal.

 
5- How is the feedback for your new album being?
The feedback and reviews for Shores of Oblivion have been great so far.  Almost all of it that I’ve seen has been very positive.  We’re pushing the first track, Engine of Ruin, as the promo track, which was voted Song of the Week by one review site.  Based on what’s been said, part of the appeal is that this recording sounds more like some of our earlier material – more of a traditional old school death metal sound.

 
6- And are your personally satisfied with the final outcome?
Definitely.  I think this is by far our best recording in every respect – music, lyrics, production, and CD design work.  It’s in the same neighborhood as the previous recording, but we were able to take what we did on that one and further perfect it on Shores of Oblivion.  Although we all contributed to making it what it is, I think it’s only fair to spotlight Chad’s creative contributions and the production expertise of Ray Helton.  If either one of those guys had been absent from the recording, it would have been a fundamentally different result.

 

8- How has the production process for your new release been?
Most of what we did this time was what we did on the previous recording, but there were a few changes, and we spent far more time in the studio for Shores of Oblivion.  We started the last week in February and completed in early August.  The guitars are all Marshall tube amps this time – double mic and double track for both guitars.  So, that’s four tracks which have slightly different EQ to fill in the range of guitar frequencies.  We’ve gone back to including more guitar solos.  For a while, we eliminated solos from all of what we wrote.  That’s one more element which makes Shores of Oblivion like our roots. For me, the part that is the most work is always writing the lyrics.  I think lyrics are often the most neglected component of songwriting, in most genres, and, of course, some people who write lyrics simply aren’t good lyricists.

 
9- And how do you use to work on the songwriting?
We usually come up with ideas individually and then arrange them together.  Chad did the vast majority of our writing, but after he showed us what he wrote, we’d either refine that idea or keep it as it was and collectively contribute other parts. Making each song distinct is important, because we don’t want to be one of those bands where, after you’ve heard the first three song of their album, you’ve heard everything there is to hear.  A song’s intro is one of the most important parts.  You should be able to know what song is playing as soon as it starts.  I’ve heard some albums where if I didn’t know the track number, I wouldn’t know what song was playing. We don’t really intend to be cutting edge or redefining death metal when we write.  At this point, it’s very difficult to do anything original at the genre level.  However, what’s true is that music doesn’t have to be original, in that sense, to be good.  Our goal is to expand our own style and do things differently as a band, regardless of whether or not we change the genre. On Shores of Oblivion, I think we did successfully head further in the direction we’d started on When Death Becomes An Art.  They’re both still within the style we established when we formed, but the songs are better structured and more mature.

 

10 – Finally, what are you near-future plans?
For now, we’re mainly concerned about getting back up to speed after the loss of Chad.  Once we’re able to do that, we’d like to play shows to support Shores of Oblivion and add some new merchandise.  We already have one new song completed, and will continue to write, but it’s too soon to say when we’ll be back in the studio.  However, there are plans for a limited-edition tribute CD to Chad, either a special pressing of Shores of Oblivion or perhaps an anthology of Killing Addiction songs, and then Xtreem Music is also scheduled to reissue Omega Factor this year.

 

11- That’s all from our side, thanks again for taking your time to answer our questions. If you now want to add some final words; feel free to do it.
You’re very welcome and thank you as well.  It was fun!  We would just like to express thanks also to the continued support from the fans, bands, promoters, and everyone who helps keep the scene going.  Get in touch with us online and come out to the shows – we love meeting and hearing from everyone!  Cheers!
https://www.facebook.com/killingaddiction/
https://killingaddiction.bandcamp.com/
https://twitter.com/KADeathMetal
https://www.instagram.com/killingaddiction.official/

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