Track By Tracks: TOTAL RECALL - Always Together (2021)

1. THIRST FOR BLOOD:

We needed to have an opening song for the live set, something quick and dirty that could give the idea of what the rest of the show could bring.

We wanted to write something that could transmit a sense of anxiety and heaviness, with no changes in the tempo or speed and with open power chords as with the tuning we use we were sure it could express the vibe we intended to transmit.

We wrote the song in about 45 minutes and we knew immediately it was the right one for the job. After we heard it with the vocal lines and the lyrics we decided pretty much immediately to place it also at the beginning of the album.

2. SHRINE OF PAIN:

Its the first song we ever wrote, when we were still a 3 piece band. We entered the studio and after tuning the instruments we looked at each other with the typical expression of “and now?”…..

Stef dropped a really old riff he discarded from previous bands and we immediately recognized that with the drop G tuning it sounded way more heavy than ever.

It remains the fastest song of the album may be the most Thrash Hardcore oriented. Something that somehow kind of disappeared from our songwriting.

The only good place to play it is at the beginning of the set.

3. SHRINE OF PAIN:

We wanted to have a bouncy song. A song for the crowd to enjoy and move, something to break the ice. The songwriting was really quick. We put on the table the mid 90’s vibes we all have and we blended them with a modern touch. The pattern was clear, an alternation of palm muting and open chords to create the right anticipation. It was the first time in a very long time that we used a refrain in a song.

4. SEAS OF ILLUSION:

It's probably the first song that really pumped us up. We wanted a song for your daily training at the gym, something easy to listen to and easy to like and feel, and mostly easy to play. 2 steps and breakdowns its a recipe that goes well like Pomodoro and pizza.

We worked hard on the structure though, cause the song was way too long and we needed to make a lot of adjustments, but in the end, we were really pleased with the results. SOI, its one of the songs that will remain in the live set after our new EP will be released. Playing it live is great fun.

5. POISON FLOW:

It's the song we worked on the most. It was difficult to blend all the different styles and subgenres that represent our history as musicians in one song.

In the beginning, it was only another song with 20 different riffs. Something like most of the bands are doing nowadays. Not writing structures anymore but placing one riff after the other.

But for us, it was just not working. We were really close to dumping it and moving one, but in the end, we changed the verse riff with the intro and suddenly all the pieces of the puzzle were in their proper place. The chorus is on the spot and the lyrics were really explicit in expressing our state of mind. From being almost a dump song it became our first single.

6. NEVER AGAIN:

It's the last song we wrote. It was not supposed to go in the album, as we were already in the studio when we finished it. We didn’t even know the lyrics as Andy wrote them on his way back from Australia on the plane. But we just felt that it needed to be in that release. Could have we worked more on it? Probably yes, but at the end of the day, we like exactly as it is and we never thought about arrangements as well. The pseudo solos before the first breakdowns came out in the studio recording. Pigo sang a melody while listening to the track and the producer thought it was a great fit to add something to the song. We transposed the melody on the guitars with the flanger and the game was over.

7. ALWAYS TOGETHER:

It's absolutely the song we are more attached to personally. It was written to remember our missing friend Massy. We wanted to blend into it all the different styles of music he played during his career, and it was not easy. We changed the parts a million times until we found the right balance and the right vibes throughout the all song duration.

It was a painful process, especially when we needed to write the lyrics, but it was kind of therapeutic as well.

Of course, we decided it needed to be the title track and of course, we will always play it live. The video of this song will be released on January 20 2023 for the anniversary of Massy’s death. Every year we release something on this date, this year it could not be anything else than this. It will be the best way to close the circle of this album

8. KNIFE-CUT BRAIN:

It's probably the song with the strongest social message. We do not really speak about social issues but this was an exception.

This song was included in our first EP in 2020 and we kept it exactly as it was for the album. We tried to make some arrangements but they just did not work and we did not want to squeeze something in the song just for the sake of it.

In the end, probably it was the right thing to do.

9. EMPTINESS/DISGRACE:

Probably the most 1998 song we have ever written. It actually started as a joke, a bass line that Pigo played in the studio remembering the 1998-2022 period of our careers. We jammed on it and it actually became a song, with a chorus and everything else. You can recognize that is originated from a jam as the vocals enter after more than 1 minute. Something we would not usually do.

On-tour is still our favorite to close the set cause it makes all the people jump and it works just every time.