It's been roughly two years since the official inception of The Confession, a band originally started (by some members) as an In Flames cover band. Over the course of two years, these So-Cal-based boys have hit Warped Tour, shared the stage with Bullet for My Valentine and caught the ears of M. Shadows, vocalist of Avenged Sevenfold and producer of Requiem, The Confession's first full-length album. Requiem, which some are sure to write off as an Avenged carbon copy, is ripe with dirty rock and roll swagger. It's an album that proves there are musicians out there who really want to be huge. "That's the goal of any band," says vocalist Taylor Holland Armstrong, "They want to sell out arenas."
We recently caught up with The Confession during their stop in Milwaukee, WI while on tour with Megadeth. Yes, Megadeth. It seems like quite an accomplishment for a quintet to guys ranging from 20 to 23 years of age. Perhaps it is all about being in the right place at the right time or not what you know, but who you know!
Popular Underground Magazine (PUM): So tell me a little bit about this tour. You already mentioned [before the recorder went on] that it's been a little bit of a different crowd so far.
Taylor Holland Armstrong (THA): I think it's good. I think we're growing up as a band. Sometimes you get shit talked while your playing and other bands fold or they don't rock out as hard. I think we've had that happen, but you play through it and make it a better mix because not everyone is going to like you. I can't say enough about being on tour with Megadeth. The guys have been really cool. Just sharing the stage with them, in a metal band, is something you thought you'd never do. It's fucking amazing tour.
PUM: It just seems amazing to me because you haven't been around that long right?
THA: Like two years.
PUM: And you're on tour with Megadeth.
THA: Yeah.
PUM: That's fucking crazy.
THA: (Laughs) Yeah.
PUM: I heard some people bickering in the front row, but overall has the response been pretty good?
THA: Yeah, overall, it's been pretty good. You're always going to have people that don't like you. I really like making fans that are older. Older metal dudes that are like, "I really like the dueling guitars or the fucking drums." It's always a sense of accomplishment; winning over a dude that grew up on Megadeth, Metallica opposed to someone who grew up on Atreyu, Avenged Sevenfold or what ever. We've heard like, "You guys aren't fucking metal," and it's like there's many different types of metal. Just because we don't scream and we're not a thrash band it doesn't mean we're not metal.
PUM: That was going to be my comment, your demographic is somewhat different. Like the whole Avenged Sevenfold thing. Speaking of Avenged, M. Shadows (lead vocalist of Avenged Sevenfold) produced your record. How did that all come together?
THA: We had a mutual friend sponsored by a clothing company named Hurley. He worked at Hurley and he was friends with the guys in Avenged Sevenfold and we had a demo out on Record Collection and ended up giving it to Matt [M. Shadows] and I think at that point Matt was looking into producing. We saw it as a great opportunity and he came out to one of our shows at a local venue and was like, I really like your guys sound, I know you have a full length coming out and so we decided to do it. We knew there would be some negative effects from it, like trying to ride their wave or whatever...
PUM: Have you heard some of that?
THA: Yeah, some people might disagree, but I don't think sound much like them. I can see similarities, but he was an amazing producer and I don't regret working with him. He's a fucking rad guy.
PUM: How was he as far as some of the technicalities? Did he give you freedom?
THA: He gave us a lot of freedom. He was like, "It's your band, do it your own way." He would help out as any producer would, but he let us run with our ideas.
PUM: What are some of your influences? Like, growing up, what were you listening to?
THA: I listened to a lot of Stone Temple Pilots, Alice in Chains, older rock because my dad likes older rock. Zepplin, the Doors, great bands like that. I was always drawn to the lead singer with the amazing voice and the great stage presence. Aerosmith is probably my favorite band. Our rhythm guitarist and bass player are into European metal like Arch Enemy and In Flames. Our lead guitar player goes back and forth. He was in music school so he definitely has the classical love of guitar, but also he likes rock bands just like everyone else. Our drummer just [likes] anything. It's an eclectic mix.
PUM: What's one band that you've toured with that you have learned a lot from?
THA: Fuck, on this tour, just watching [Megadeth], still doing this and still the loyal fans, it's something for us that's like, "You can never give up." We learned a lot in terms of professionalism from Avenged Sevenfold. They are professional guys. They do their shit right and clean. Bullet for My Valentine was also a great tour. Those guys are amazing. You pick up things from different bands, whether it's your live show or how to run a tighter ship.
PUM: Topically, on Requiem what are some of the things you're drawing from when you sit down to write lyrics?
THA: Regular shit you go through in life. Getting your hear broken, friends, fucking up. There was a lot of drug references in that album because I was going through rehab right after we made the album so that was a big thing on that album.
PUM: You said you were going through rehab after recording the album. How was that segueing...
THA: For some reason, during the album, I was very focused and I didn't let my drug of choice get in the way. Afterwards, I had to fill my time in some way. I went back and it was hard. It was hard doing it to the band, to a tour, but I needed [to get clean]. I'm better because of it. I'm a better singer and a better friend.
PUM: How do you preserve your voice when you're on tour?
THA: I've learned some basic vocal warm-ups. I would love to go to an actual vocal coach. I usually do a warm up at least 30 minutes before [a set]. I drink a lot of water. Usually, we drink all night and I wake up all dry, plus I smoke. You try to drink light eight bottles of water throughout the day before we go on. After we play I'll do a warm down. I really have no fucking idea what I'm doing.
PUM: Have there ever been any shows where you've gotten up there and gone, "What the hell am I going to do?" Like in terms of your voice?
THA: Not yet. Knocks on wood. We've only been a band for two years. I know it's something that is very crucial that I need to find out more about.
PUM: What are your goals? Obviously, you're on tour with Megadeth, I would think that's huge, but as a band what are your goals.
THA: We just want to keep making amazing music. Obviously, that's our favorite thing, getting in the studio and writing. I think with any band, we want to fucking play arenas, like the heroes that we look up to. We'd love to sell out an arena. To fucking sell out an arena, I could sit back and be like, "Okay, I'm fucking happy."
PUM: What's next for you guys?
THA: We come home, we have two weeks off and we'll make up a different set. I'm not sure if we're going to get that Avenged tour, maybe we'll do a smaller club tour.
PUM: You guys did a little bit of Warped Tour this past summer. What was that like for you?
THA: Warped Tour, I think it's a great tour for some bands and no so good for other bands. We love the experience, all the bands hanging out, but it's not our favorite tour we've ever done. It is a must. It gets you ready. If you can do Warped Tour, you can do any tour. We did it in a van and it's grueling and you're driving every day and you're sleeping in the van. It's a must and it's a fucking phenomenal tour, it's just not our favorite.
PUM: If someone walks up to you and gives you $50, what would you do with the money?
THA: I'd probably buy food because I'm fucking starving right now and buy the boys alcohol and get fucked up.
By: Adam K. Zakroczymski III - Senior Editor / Founder
Buy Requiem by The Confession at:
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