Interviews: They Shall Be Heard

On this new occasion, we have had the opportunity to interview the Metalcore band They Shall Be Heard from the USA. Check out the interview and follow the band on their FACEBOOK PAGE.

1. Where did you get the idea for the band name, you planned it or came out just like that?

The idea for the band name came from our lead guitarist, Alec. When he was 16 (11 years ago) he worked at a community college library. One day he was putting some books away and one of the books was titled "They Shall Be Heard' and he instantly thought, "That is an awesome metal band name". He stashed it away for years, but always wanted to make a band or music project with that name. 11 years later we tried it out and it just worked out. It actually ended up being a very fitting name for us because all we wanted to do was make some music and put it out there for someone (anyone) to listen to.

2. Why did you want to play this genre?

It is a genre that the 3 of us all grew up listening to. We all absolutely love jamming and messing around with metalcore. We each have full time jobs and personal lives so this is a side project hobby for us. When we first sat down to start making music we set a standard for ourselves that we weren't going to be able to write technical melodic death metal or anything like that cause we simply just don't have the time to do so.

3. Did you know each other before the band was formed?

Tyler and Alec have been best friends since they were in the 7th grade, but have known each other since kindergarten. Alec and Ronny actually met in college in an attempt to make music. Ronny put an ad out on the Internet as a drummer looking to make music and Alec found it as a guitarist looking for a drummer. It just so happened they both knew each other without realizing it. They went to the same college and were studying the same degree. They even had a class or two together. Once the three of us all got together we realized we were extremely similar in music and interests so it just worked out. To put it all into perspective with a time frame we are all almost 30 now. Ronny/Tyler are roommates and Alec/Ronny work together.

4. Each band member favourite band?

Overall this is a hard one to answer between the three of us. In reality, it changes pretty often. As we get older and the music around us changes, so do our tastes. Alec's favorite band of all time is Salt the Wound. Tyler's favorite band is The Black Dahlia Murder. Those are some of the first bands the two of them grew up constantly listening to and just couldn't stop. Ronny is a big Dance Gavin Dance fan.

5. Who or what inspires you to write songs?

Really just ourselves and wanting to make music. Ronny and Alec have been jamming together for quite some time. Even going as far as traveling 8-10 hours to meet up and do so. So, there is some history in a few of our songs. Ultimately, it is just us meeting up and having fun. We kind of just go with it.

6. Where was your last gig?

Ronny's last gig was in the town we all live in now in Flagstaff, AZ. Alec's last gig was in his and Tyler's hometown of Lake Havasu City, AZ. Unfortunately, we haven't got to play a show together as They Shall Be Heard. We are hoping that might be on the agenda for TSBH 2020.

7. Where would you like to act?

Literally, anywhere!

8. Whom would you like to feature with?

We would feature with just about anyone. Just to be on tour in general would be a life time dream for us no matter how small or how big the tour is. It'd be a absolute honor to share that experience with others. We'd love to do it with small time bands just like us or heavy hitters who tour the world. It'd just be a bucket list type thing for us to even go and do.

9. Whom not?

Honestly, anything goes.

10. Any of you has ever suffered from stage fright? Any tip for beginners on how to beat that?

I think you'd be a liar if you said "no" to the first part of this one. It's just part of the experience. Only tip we can think of is to get up there and be confident in yourself. Own your music while you are playing it. It's all about having fun.

11. What bands have inspired you the most?

Salt the Wound, All Shall Perish, Enterprise Earth, As Blood Runs Black, The Devil Wears Prada, A Day To Remember, It Dies Today, Wage War, Upon a Burning Body, Job For a Cowboy, Fit For a King, Emmure, and etc etc. Honestly, this list could be endless. We are almost 30 years old and have all been actively listening to metal, metalcore, deathmetal, deathcore, and etc etc since we were 12-14 years old.

12. What's the weirdest thing a fan has ever asked you for?

N/A - we are so new and small time, not sure we even have fans haha

13. What do you think of your fans?

If they are out there, all we can say is they just seem to be fans of music and the overall progression of it. They can hear the potential behind something like a rough self produced DEMO EP. I think that says a lot about being open minded and accepting of music.

14. What do you think of our site?

Breathing the Core is an awesome website and concept. It's a great way to share music in a community that is overall hard to do so. Metal bands and so many of it's sub/micro genre's struggle to get their names out there. Luckily, with the Internet and websites like Breathing the Core it is getting a bit easier to do.

15. Something add?

We are three musicians making up about 6 different musicians worth of instruments. This is one of the reasons we haven't been able to play any shows, yet. We are just getting started though. There is more TSBH to come in 2020. Thanks!