Please give your name and duties in the band.
Dan: My Name is Daniel Williams. I play the drums.
Chris: Chris Ruby. I play guitar.
TDWP has been around since 2005. Can you give us a quick history lesson on TDWP?
Dan: In the beginning, it was more just a hobby thing. Me & our key player (James) originally wanted to start a band that sounded like Still Remains or Emery. Eventually we found Chris, who plays guitar, so he had more of a say on what we’d sound like. We didn’t really go the Emery way, but more like Underoath.
Chris: We Actually played a few shows as a 3 piece band. Keyboard, Drummer, Guitarist.
Dan: We had fill-in bassists. Eventually we added Jeremy & Andy to the band. Mike followed shortly after. We started doing some touring in 2007 (Sounds Of The Undeground) as a full band. We’re now up to 4 full-length albums & a concept EP coming soon.
Chris: We’ve never had a member change. We started the band, set our goals of what we wanted to be doing as a band, & strive to reach those goals.
What is the meaning (if any) behind the name “TDWP”?
D: Google it!
C: That’s our standard answer. We get asked a billion times. Haha!
Was there ever a legal fight between yourselves and the makers of the movie/book?
D: Surprisingly no. We expected to eventually get sued, but I guess you can’t.
C: I don’t think the people backing us (label, management) would have let it go past a certain point if it wasn’t all good from the beginning. The movie actually came out after we had started the band. We thought it was a random book of the shelf, so yeah we got screwed!
What is the number one priority/purpose of the band?
D: As a band, we all have a message that we try to convey. We are a christian metalcore band, so we obviously have christian lyrics & a message behind the band. Something in common we all stand for.
C: And the whole point of being more successful in the band, is to have a larger audience to spread our positive message. Everything we do in the band is to better the band. The bigger & better the band does, the more people we get to share a positive message with.
D: All bands have a message to spread. Whether it’s about politics, religion or a war. Whatever it is, it’s people that are writing music, telling a massive audience about the things they believe in that much. Ours just happens to be a positive message. Others have a negative message. To each their own, that’s all I have to say.
You’ve recently announced that your new album will be titled “Dead Throne”. What is the meaning behind the title?
C: Neither of us really write the lyrics.
D: Mike writes the lyrics. I’m pretty sure the general theme on the album is about love loss & anti-idolatry. We have lyrics on the last album that talk about similar things, but I think Mike really wanted to pound that message on this album.
What sort of things will you be doing different on this new album as opposed to your previous albums?
C: All the song titles are serious song titles. There is a lot more music packed into one album. It’s 13 full, real blast songs. No interludes or intro/outro tracks. We worked with a new producer, so everything is much more calculated & thought out (in a good way). Its not sterile. It’s not all chorus/verse/chorus/verse, but there will be some chorus/verse/chorus/verse. It’s not a predictable album. He (producer) trimmed the fat out of the songs. Upon that, we’ve just been growing as musicians & even growing as music listeners, studying stuff that sounds cool & just been able to push what TWDP as musicians have done. Every aspect, in my opinion has grown. The album is faster, heavier, meaner, more emotional.
D: Everything MORE!
How did you like working with Adam D? Which of his previous works do you enjoy the most?
D: I love everything he’s done with Killswitch (Engage). I also really like Horizons by Parkway Drive. As far as metalcore goes, I think he’s got that style down. Definitely a good choice.
C: Everything as far as recording was standard. He was just a perfectionist. He just did what he knows. Biggest thing he did for us was make the songs sound much better. Turned out exactly like we wanted it to.
Is there a meaning behind the logo for Dead Throne?
C: The isn’t really a meaning at all.
D: It’s not even a logo for Dead Throne, much as a new band logo. We wanted something you could draw easily, sketch it if you are bored. Something easy that looking at you can be like “Oh, that’s TDWP!”. So, we don’t have to write this huge, long name anymore. Just tag the symbol & people will not exactly what it is.
C: We went through a few different ideas/versions. We couldn’t really do “TDWP”. We have the new text logo. The symbol is so we don’t have to write the whole band name anymore, just put up the logo & people know.
When can we expect the next single from Dead Throne to be released?
C: I think there will be another song release soon somehow, before the album is out. Not exactly sure how it’ll be released, its not really gonna be pushed as another single. It’s more gonna be like “Here a really cool metal song, check it out”. I think we are gonna release a more metal song before the CD comes out.
Will their be any guest vocals on this album?
C: Yes, but we cannot announce who it is yet. I’m gonna let Mile officially announce that to our fans, because he’s super proud of it. It’s really cool, a friend of ours. He sound really mean & pissed off. When I heard it (his guest vocals), i though “That sounds insane!”. It’s pretty cool!
Being from Ohio, it’s safe to assume that you’re Cavs fans. How do you feel about Lebron James now that he’s gone?
D: Umm, I don’t really keep up with basketball to be honest. I live in LA now.
C: The assumption that we’re Cavs fans is incorrect. That’s about 4 hours away from us. In our area, it’s mostly either college football or college basketball. Jeremy & Anthony are Bengals fans though.
What is your favorite album of the year so far?
C: I really like the new Death Cab (For Cutie) album, it’s a different genre. I don’t really know what’s been released this year.
D: I got an album a few days ago, Together/Apart by Grieves. It’s a really good hip-hop album.
What is one major positive and one major negative aspect about the current state of the music industry?
D: A positive is that if your a musician & you like getting your music out to fans, it’s a lot easier to get it out to an audience quicker. The negative is that, with such a easy way to get your music out there, we are bombarded with lots of bad music.
Thanks for taking the time to stay in touch with your fans at Indie Vision Music. Is there anything else you’d like to add to this interview?
C: Normally we just say that you to everybody for even caring about our band. knowing who we are & listening to our music. Also, I’m really pleased with the new album, so check it out when its released.