Art of Dying is a Canadian rock band that has been around for more than 10 years now, consisting of: singer Jonny Hetherington, bassist Cale Gontier, guitarist Tavis Stanley and drummer Jeff Brown.
The band is currently in the process of releasing their new album this summer. Drummer Brown talked about how much he enjoyed working on the new record.
“We worked really hard on it,” said Brown. “We could have banged another Vices [and Virtues] out. We literally had over eight songs we could have come to the table with. At the end of the day we just realized that, with our new producer that we pretty much wrote a whole new record.”
The new album is going to have 13 tracks, and all of the songs off the recently released Rise Up EP will be on it.
“They can expect a heavier record [with] a lot more riffs,” said Brown. “It’s going to be an album you and listen to front to back. Every song is completely different, but it has a common trend throughout the whole body of work. They’re going to know it’s Art of Dying. Even some songs that are slower tempo, they’re still really heavy. Then there’s songs that are super fast that have punk rock tempos.”
The band recently played the Rock on the Range Festival in Columbus, Ohio, playing alongside Linkin Park, Rise Against and Slipknot, among many other big name acts in rock.
“People were there waiting to see us, even though we haven’t been there in a couple of years,” said Brown. “Everybody was stoked and I thought we put on a really killer show. Those festivals are huge and have a lot of bodies, so you just get so jacked before you hit the stage.”
Brown and the band enjoy playing shows in America and in their home country of Canada equally.
“They’re both great in their own way,” said Brown. “There’s some venues you go to where the people are super stoked but the crowd is a lot more quiet. Then there’s some markets where the venue is very similar but they’re going absolutely berserk. You just don’t really know what to expect.”
Being together for more than 10 years is great for any band, and doing anything else was never an option for Art of Dying because they always believed in what they were doing.
“All the blessings that have happened along the way, I think, have been a result of both hard work and a bit of luck,” said Brown. “There’s a lot of great bands out there that don’t get an opportunity. We just truly love hanging out with people in the business and we’ve made lots of friends.”
The band’s major label debut, “Vices and Virtues,” really helped their progression in the business. They also have to thank DIsturbed guitarist Dan Donegan for a lot of their achievements. He phoned the band out of the blue.
“We were in Toronto for Canadian Music Week and Jonny’s phone just rang; I was actually walking beside him,” said Brown. He listened to their material he received from a radio DJ and asked if there was anything he could do to help. Following that life-changing phone call, Donegan asked the band if they would want to hit the road with them months later.
“We actually ended up going out with him on three different tours,” said Brown. “The first tour we went out on was with Five Finger Death Punch and they were on their first single, “The Bleeding,” so it was really cool to watch them grow. Then we went out with us and Halestorm. That spawned our first record deal and we haven’t really looked back since.”
Brown gave advice for up-and-coming bands on how to continue the consistency to achieve musical success. He said to surround yourself with people you trust and working hard always helps.
“You have to get out there, you have to fight and you have to give it your all,” said Brown. “If you’re not, there’s another band that is. There’s going to be many many shows that suck [and] there’s going to be many shows that are awesome.”
“You’re going to go through amazing times and really tough times and you just have to stick it out. A lot of people will tell you, people that are possibly close to you, ‘Hey, why are you doing this?’ but you keep going. You just never know when your break will happen. It will be when you least expect it.”
The band is very excited to thankful for all the support everyone has given them since their return and are going to get to as many outlets as they can.
“I think that we’re going to be out for probably two to three years on this record,” said Brown. “We’re just glad to be back and really proud of the record. People shouldn’t be shy, they should come out. We always come out after the show and meet our fans at the merch table. We’re not one of those bands you just see on stage. Get to the show and we’ll rock out together.”
This post is courtesy of Corey Kleinsasser
What are your thoughts of Art of Dying and their new record? Comment below.
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