Interviews About Albums: Chasing Titans - Chasing Titans (2022)

In this new interview, we sat down with the New Zealand Metalcore band Chasing Titans to ask some questions about their self-titled album. 

1. What can you say about this new EP/CD?

This is our debut and first official release from the band - we have played a lot of shows around Auckland and have been building up towards this milestone (with a lot of fans waiting for this release), it should have been released sooner, however COVID and the lockdowns did slow us down quite a bit so it feels great that we have finally got this out there and can finally start touring and playing this EP live.

2. What is the meaning of the EP/CD name?

The EP is self-titled - since this is our first release and most people listening to it outside of New Zealand may not be familiar with us, we wanted the music to define the name and what better way to do it than to self-title it! We think our sound is very distinct so when people listen to our music, we want them to think "Hey that's Chasing Titans".

3. Which one is the composer of the CD/EP?

Adrian Govender (guitars/vocals) wrote and composed the EP during the majority of the 2021 lockdown - it was the perfect situation to really work hard on getting the most sonically and lyrically from each song as there were less distractions and being at home so much allowed lots of focus for him. Once we got into the studio with Ben (our producer), we were able to really bring it all together and create the EP as we know it.

4. If you had to pick one song, which one would you pick?

New Depravity is a favourite! It was the last song written and the hardest to play from a technical point of view, so seeing it come together and also how much fun it is to play live will always make it a band favourite.

5. Is there a special message in this EP/CD?If there is what it is?

For us it was important with this EP to show everyone what the band is capable of and also what we are about musically..in terms of us not being just another metalcore band. There are a lot of influences in our EP - everything from Rage Against The Machine and Tool to Travis and The Arctic Monkeys...we all love lots of different genres of atmospheric music and we feel this diverse range really does shine through on the EP.

6. Are there some lyrics that you'd love to share?

"Cabin fever breaks my empty mind, bloodshot fatigue plagues my open eyes, isolation molds a frozen soul, this new normal builds a deep black hole" - I think this sums up the misery felt during those long lockdowns we all experienced!

7. Which inspirations have been important for this album ? Like musically or friends, family, someone you'd love to thank specially?

The series Penny Dreadful had a lot of dark and chilling themes that inspired Adrian and he explored these when composing (he wrote New Depravity based on a character from that series). Huge thanks to our producer Ben Ruegg as well (for being the perfect fit for us and allowing us to create something we are very proud of) and everyone who has helped and supported us in any way, we hope we've made you proud with this release.

8. Something to add?

We will be releasing a music video for Cabin Fever very soon with another video for Vengeance later in the year while touring this EP...we hope you all enjoy listening to it as much as we have making it and we look forward to seeing you all at the shows!