1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording and release of the new album?
Hey! Alex here from Worth Dying For. Well, it’s a very, very recent record. We just had our release party last Monday (jan 18th) and had an increadible response from our fans and friends. Most of our energy right now is going toward organizing a tour in the coming months and promoting our album. Since we’re self-promoting, that’s a whole lot of time!
2.Recently you have released a new album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?
We named the album Chimaera partly because of our band situation, but mostly because of our sound. We’re releasing Chimaera, a three-headed beast harboring the dark and aggressive side of the band, destabilizing progressive elements and a touch of groove that should trigger the most focused headbanging. If we are to compare Chimaera with our last album, Tears and Ashes, I would say that we’re definitely more focused. Simpler and stripped down when needed, more intricate and technical when relevant. A mature sound, maybe a little less “epic” but more efficient, polished.
3.This is the first album to be released in 5 years, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that time span?
Lots. Of. Things. First of all, we’ve had significant lineup changes. Since the release of Tears and Ashes in 2011, both our lead guitarist and vocalist were replaced with fresh forces. Our keyboard player and founding member stepped down as well and we decided afterward to become a 5-piece, using electronic sequences during gigs. This of course impacted our composition pace, as we had to find quality replacements and rehearse a lot. The whole process of getting the band back on track, composing, recording and promoting our newest release took about 4 years.
4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the newer music?
We decided to go all over the place, lyrics wise. Our vocalist Dave Tweddell has been writing most of the lyrics, with contributions from guitarists Dave Langlais and Alexandre Fisette. Lots of our lyrics tell stories from both a narrator’s perspective and a main proponent point of view.
Our epic two-part song “Demonic Chronicles” relates the events leading to the death of Anneliese Michel, where she’s “bleeding down, down on [her] knees, praying over and over” on which the movie “The Exorcist” was loosely based. “Resolve”, in turn, is about the revenge of an abused woman, who wishes to “break the curse” and “pass it on to you”. “December” is a dark and very personal song about the premature death of a good friend, where we “knocked at your door a plenty of times but, you were gone away”. Hey, we even have love songs, so much for a death metal band! “A Name That You Don’t Know” and “Lost In Brightness”, for example, are very personal songs about failed or could-have-been relationships.
5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Worth Dying For'?
I wish I had something clever to say here. Reality is that we were pretty much geeky teenage boys that listened to the preview of “The Matrix : Reloaded” where Morpheus said “Tomorrow we may all be dead .... isn't that worth fighting for? isn't that worth dying for?” We thought it sounded badass. I guess that now, as we’re almost all past 30 and are fathers, we may have a different take on it. But that’s the true story!
6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?
We had the opportunity of opening for The Agonist back when Alyssa White-Gluz was their lead singer. The ambiance was incredible and the venue almost sold-out. We had a blast. Since then, we’ve had our first gig in years in Montréal at the defunct Café Chaos, a gig that we were headlining. We had no clue how many –if any- people would show up. The venue was once again very decently filled and the audience was completely crazy. One of our best show, for sure. Playing with Protest The Hero was indeed another great experience. These guys are by far the most friendly professional band we’ve had the opportunity to share the stage with. Down to earth and very generous guys.
On stage, we’re the mirror of our music: all over the place, but still coherent. Our songs can be tough to play, so we do have to concentrate on our instruments a bit. However, we try to be as energetic as possible, and no one will ever live a complete life if he doesn’t see our bassist Vincent live at least once!! That’s one crazy dude.
7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the new album?
Absolutely. We’ve just released our album in Québec city and played two gigs in less than a month, one of them with The Agonist again. Now, it’s time for us to spend some time outside of our home town. We want to play in Montréal as soon as possible, and on we’re setting up a spring tour to promote Chimaera. Who knows, we may even cross some borders.
8.The new album was self released but according to the Metal Archives page the band is signed to 'Hellstorm Recordz', can you tell us a little bit more about this?
Long story short, with our significant downtime in between Tears and Ashes and Chimaera, we didn’t have much opportunity to be active. Even though we have a great relation with the mastermind behind Hellstorm Recordz, we had to take some time off to get things back together for the band. We then decided on releasing Chimaera as an indie album. But yeah, we’re most definitely interested in collaborating again with Mr Hellstorm, and you’ll find that out sooner rather than later. Stay tuned!
9.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of progressive and melodic death metal?
We’ve had some nice comments coming from abroad and several album sales as well. However, most of our fanbase really seems concentrated in Canada and the USA for the moment. The life of a band can be a little tough, and we think it’s better to focus at first on your local fans, which will attend your shows and buy merch. They’re crucial, and you can use that support as a stepping stone. Right now, we do have some incredible fans at home, and we’re trying to expand a little bit!
10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
We’ve already composed a few songs and we’re still playing with them a lot. Right now, we feel like we know when a song sounds “worth dying for”-y, which means that we have somewhat forged a distinct, unique musical identity. We’re trying to evolve of course, but we want people to “feel” that our new songs will still be Worth Dying For songs.
11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
Remember when I said that we named our last album Chimaera because of the nature of our band? That’s also because we’re a weird bunch. Some of us listen to pure death / black metal, others to prog rock and power metal, djent, metalcore… but in the end, I would say that the albums we unanimously enjoyed lately are the last Scar Symmetry and Soilwork. I personally enjoyed a lot the new records from Rivers of Nihil, Arcturus, Leprous and Evergrey. Looking forward to the next Dark Tranquillity and Gojira records in 2016!
12.What are some of your non musical interests?
Once again quite diverse. We discuss politics, even though we have some major disagreements. Sports is for sure important, as our drummer Keven is also a pro basketball trainer. And food. Of course, food. Barbecue is Québec national sport (during our 10-days summer) right after hockey!
13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Well, I want to thank you for the interest in our band. And, of course, if anyone has NOT heard out record yet, I’d like to invite you to do so. You can stream the whole album a few times for free over BandCamp, and you can then purchase it for a insanely low price if you like it. Bands need your support, and not only financial support. They need you to be there when it counts. Go to your local shows, get some merch and wear it proudly!
Hey! Alex here from Worth Dying For. Well, it’s a very, very recent record. We just had our release party last Monday (jan 18th) and had an increadible response from our fans and friends. Most of our energy right now is going toward organizing a tour in the coming months and promoting our album. Since we’re self-promoting, that’s a whole lot of time!
2.Recently you have released a new album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?
We named the album Chimaera partly because of our band situation, but mostly because of our sound. We’re releasing Chimaera, a three-headed beast harboring the dark and aggressive side of the band, destabilizing progressive elements and a touch of groove that should trigger the most focused headbanging. If we are to compare Chimaera with our last album, Tears and Ashes, I would say that we’re definitely more focused. Simpler and stripped down when needed, more intricate and technical when relevant. A mature sound, maybe a little less “epic” but more efficient, polished.
3.This is the first album to be released in 5 years, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that time span?
Lots. Of. Things. First of all, we’ve had significant lineup changes. Since the release of Tears and Ashes in 2011, both our lead guitarist and vocalist were replaced with fresh forces. Our keyboard player and founding member stepped down as well and we decided afterward to become a 5-piece, using electronic sequences during gigs. This of course impacted our composition pace, as we had to find quality replacements and rehearse a lot. The whole process of getting the band back on track, composing, recording and promoting our newest release took about 4 years.
4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the newer music?
We decided to go all over the place, lyrics wise. Our vocalist Dave Tweddell has been writing most of the lyrics, with contributions from guitarists Dave Langlais and Alexandre Fisette. Lots of our lyrics tell stories from both a narrator’s perspective and a main proponent point of view.
Our epic two-part song “Demonic Chronicles” relates the events leading to the death of Anneliese Michel, where she’s “bleeding down, down on [her] knees, praying over and over” on which the movie “The Exorcist” was loosely based. “Resolve”, in turn, is about the revenge of an abused woman, who wishes to “break the curse” and “pass it on to you”. “December” is a dark and very personal song about the premature death of a good friend, where we “knocked at your door a plenty of times but, you were gone away”. Hey, we even have love songs, so much for a death metal band! “A Name That You Don’t Know” and “Lost In Brightness”, for example, are very personal songs about failed or could-have-been relationships.
5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Worth Dying For'?
I wish I had something clever to say here. Reality is that we were pretty much geeky teenage boys that listened to the preview of “The Matrix : Reloaded” where Morpheus said “Tomorrow we may all be dead .... isn't that worth fighting for? isn't that worth dying for?” We thought it sounded badass. I guess that now, as we’re almost all past 30 and are fathers, we may have a different take on it. But that’s the true story!
6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?
We had the opportunity of opening for The Agonist back when Alyssa White-Gluz was their lead singer. The ambiance was incredible and the venue almost sold-out. We had a blast. Since then, we’ve had our first gig in years in Montréal at the defunct Café Chaos, a gig that we were headlining. We had no clue how many –if any- people would show up. The venue was once again very decently filled and the audience was completely crazy. One of our best show, for sure. Playing with Protest The Hero was indeed another great experience. These guys are by far the most friendly professional band we’ve had the opportunity to share the stage with. Down to earth and very generous guys.
On stage, we’re the mirror of our music: all over the place, but still coherent. Our songs can be tough to play, so we do have to concentrate on our instruments a bit. However, we try to be as energetic as possible, and no one will ever live a complete life if he doesn’t see our bassist Vincent live at least once!! That’s one crazy dude.
7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the new album?
Absolutely. We’ve just released our album in Québec city and played two gigs in less than a month, one of them with The Agonist again. Now, it’s time for us to spend some time outside of our home town. We want to play in Montréal as soon as possible, and on we’re setting up a spring tour to promote Chimaera. Who knows, we may even cross some borders.
8.The new album was self released but according to the Metal Archives page the band is signed to 'Hellstorm Recordz', can you tell us a little bit more about this?
Long story short, with our significant downtime in between Tears and Ashes and Chimaera, we didn’t have much opportunity to be active. Even though we have a great relation with the mastermind behind Hellstorm Recordz, we had to take some time off to get things back together for the band. We then decided on releasing Chimaera as an indie album. But yeah, we’re most definitely interested in collaborating again with Mr Hellstorm, and you’ll find that out sooner rather than later. Stay tuned!
9.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of progressive and melodic death metal?
We’ve had some nice comments coming from abroad and several album sales as well. However, most of our fanbase really seems concentrated in Canada and the USA for the moment. The life of a band can be a little tough, and we think it’s better to focus at first on your local fans, which will attend your shows and buy merch. They’re crucial, and you can use that support as a stepping stone. Right now, we do have some incredible fans at home, and we’re trying to expand a little bit!
10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
We’ve already composed a few songs and we’re still playing with them a lot. Right now, we feel like we know when a song sounds “worth dying for”-y, which means that we have somewhat forged a distinct, unique musical identity. We’re trying to evolve of course, but we want people to “feel” that our new songs will still be Worth Dying For songs.
11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
Remember when I said that we named our last album Chimaera because of the nature of our band? That’s also because we’re a weird bunch. Some of us listen to pure death / black metal, others to prog rock and power metal, djent, metalcore… but in the end, I would say that the albums we unanimously enjoyed lately are the last Scar Symmetry and Soilwork. I personally enjoyed a lot the new records from Rivers of Nihil, Arcturus, Leprous and Evergrey. Looking forward to the next Dark Tranquillity and Gojira records in 2016!
12.What are some of your non musical interests?
Once again quite diverse. We discuss politics, even though we have some major disagreements. Sports is for sure important, as our drummer Keven is also a pro basketball trainer. And food. Of course, food. Barbecue is Québec national sport (during our 10-days summer) right after hockey!
13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Well, I want to thank you for the interest in our band. And, of course, if anyone has NOT heard out record yet, I’d like to invite you to do so. You can stream the whole album a few times for free over BandCamp, and you can then purchase it for a insanely low price if you like it. Bands need your support, and not only financial support. They need you to be there when it counts. Go to your local shows, get some merch and wear it proudly!
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