Depravity seemed to be kind of like a concept album, will your new album be like that?
Andy: You could call Depravity a concept record. You can call TMOHAH a concept record as well. I guess I just hate the term even though it makes sense. I feel like I’m trying to sound artistically snobby when saying, “Our new record is a concept album about…blah blah”
But yes, to answer your question, this record is the product of a general and concise thought from all the members of PLEA. It is merely a tale of “wolf in sheep’s clothing.”
How is working with Joey Sturgis?
Andy: Working with Joey is by far our favorite experience in all of our many years of recording in all of the bands we have been in. We had such a good experience when recording Depravity and we were so happy with the product that it only made sense to come back. Joey really understands how to put down in a recording what’s in our heads. He takes all of our ideas and finds a way to make them happen or tells us how horrible of an idea it is if it is in fact a bad idea. Ha-ha.
Will it be as heavy and violent sounding as Depravity, or will it be more focused on the lead guitar like A Critique, or a combination of both, or something unexpected altogether?
Andy: This will by far be the heaviest record PLEA has written. We are excited about every song on this record. We all are proud of Depravity and think its a decent record but there literally isn’t a song on this record that I don’t like or we as a whole don’t like.
This is definitely more of a rhythmic record than our previous releases.
How did you come up with the album title?
Andy: We got the name from William Blake’s book “The Marriage of Heaven and Hell.” The book deals with some of the same themes that our record as a whole is about. The title of his book perfectly fit with the concept of this record.
Do you have any plans to make some videos for the album?
Andy: We will be filming a video for this record as soon as the single has been decided. We are leaning towards one song right now as the first single but we’ll see how Joey’s input on the record changes that.
When do you plan to tour to promote the new album?
Andy: As we are unable to officially announce our next tour right now, we can tell you that we will begin our summer touring at Cornerstone Festival this year. But be on the lookout for us at select spot dates and summer festivals before then.
Having such a successful sophomore album, where do you go from there to try and create something new and fresh but still have something that won’t stray too far from the sound of Depravity?
Andy: That’s a hard spot to be in. You want to move on and progress as musicians and as a band but you don’t want to put off your fans by putting out a record that’s a 180 from your previous release. We somewhat made a move like that from “Critique” to “Depravity”. Those two records couldn’t be farther from each other. Most would think those two records were released by two different bands.
The move from Depravity to TMOHAH isn’t as drastic. It’s similar in style and sound but just a better written record. We hope that we are showing a growth in maturity in song writing with the release of each record. I feel like this record is maybe what we were trying to capture with Depravity. This record is for sure heavier than Depravity but i think it is a more well rounded record as well.
We’ll see what the rest of you all think on July, 6th.