Interviews: Weapon Of Pride

On this new occasion, we have had the opportunity to interview the Stoner Metal band Weapon Of Pride 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 plan it or come out just like that?

We were originally called Subcontra. It is a really low octave and thought it was unique so we ran with it. We held onto that name for two years and just a month before we were ready to drop our debut music, some jazz band out of the midwest released music under the same name and grabbed streaming verification for the name before we did. We were bummed and scrambled for a new name quickly to meet our expected deadline for music release. We kinda just had an opportunity fall into our lap one night in the few days to follow. The studio we recorded in is in a rougher part of town. One night our producer was working on our debut EP and heard a bunch of commotion outside. He went out there to find his street was shut down by cops. Drones were flying overhead, you could hear the dogs and one of the cops got on a megaphone to speak to one of the residents that neighbored our studio. The cop said something along the lines of "we know you're in there, if you don't come out peacefully we're going to send the dogs in and they will hurt you, so surrender your Weapon of Pride and come out now." Apparently, his girlfriend threatened to leave him, so he held her hostage at gunpoint. As far as I know, the situation was resolved without injury. We actually ended up getting that incident recorded on video. We stripped the audio and put it as an introduction to our EP Retribution we released a few years back. Go check it out!

2. Why did you want to play this genre?

Black Sabbath. We were just learning our craft in high school and we were pretty much a Black Sabbath cover band that played in our dad's garage for the neighborhood. It was the one shared band we all loved, and my vocal range was good for covering Ozzy. But personally, old-school metal and hard rock always resonated with me from a very young age. When I was 7, my mother took me to the mall and let me pick out anything I wanted. I found a Kiss record, Destroyer, which became my first real and connected exposure to music. In the years following, you could find me roaming the house singing the lyrics to Iron Man.

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

Weapon consists of two brothers actually (Bassist/ Vocalist: Ryan, and Guitarist: Logan). It did not start out that way though. Logan, our current guitarist, was pretty young when I started this journey in high school. He watched us practice those first few years and decided he wanted a piece. Logan would lock himself in his bedroom every day and just riff it out until he felt comfortable coming to me (Ryan) to audition. So we were actually a four-piece for a while consisting of classmates. Eventually, our original guitarist Darrin got busy with life and fell off. Now we're back to being a three-piece, but greatly a family project today. I met our current drummer at my place of work and we became friends quickly after due to our shared love for music and involvement in bands over the years. I ended up joining his band Postal Scam, an Indie/ Garage Rock project. Check them out! It was just recently that he joined on as our (Weapon of Pride's) drummer as well, and I couldn't be more excited about it.

4. Each band member's favorite band?

That's a super hard question as I have bands for different moods. Mine (Ryan, bassist/vocalist) would probably have to be Mastodon or Down. I love Mastodon's diversity from album to album. Down is just an awesome pairing of southern, stoner, and groove. Logan's (guitarist) would have to be Baroness for how articulate they are while still maintaining the catchy hooks. Adam (drums) appreciates Queens of the Stone Age because they constantly change their sound while managing to still sound like themselves. They're also very tight together and live as a band.

5. Who or what inspires you to write songs?

It probably depends on what we're jamming on the most when we hit the studio. If we're on a prog kick, you'll get odd-time signatures in our songs. If we're hyped up on Slayer or something (like for their farewell tour a few years back), our songs end up being more thrash-infused. At the end of the day, it still sounds like us, but we get inspiration from our musical heroes every day. And it's always changing.

6. Where was your last gig?

Our last gig was opening up for Swedish Stoner band Firebreather at the Yucca Taproom in Tempe, Arizona. We've been in the studio working on our new album since and are excited to debut some new material on our Spring run!

7. Where would you like to act?

Our dream gig is to play at Psycho Las Vegas. It's an annual stoner metal festival, and it would be such a great exposure for us. Truly a great opportunity to play alongside some of our biggest influences.

8. Whom would you like to feature with?

In my opinion, The Atomic Bitchwax and The Sword have a great complementary sound to ours. Unfortunately, the Sword called it quits pretty recently, but should they ever grace the stage again, we'd love to open for them.

9. Whom not?

We're down to play anywhere, anytime, for the right crowd. But for relevant exposure though, right? I can't say there's any rock or metal band in particular that we wouldn't like to play with, but the stoner lineups seem to make the most sense for us.

10. Have any of you ever suffered from stage fright? Any tips for beginners on how to beat that?

Absolutely. Part of the reason I don't sing without my bass guitar in hand is I honestly don't know what I'd do with my empty hands (que the Ricky Bobby memes). We all have on and off days, but Logan and Adam Are both great live performers who really enjoy the gigging side, where I really get my kicks in the studio and the creation process.

11. What bands have inspired you the most?

Black Sabbath. Funny what learning all of a band's catalog will do (Ozzy era, up to probably Sabotage). More recently we've really been hooked on Baroness. We've kinda of gone a more progressive stoner route away from the skater and desert stoner stuff, not that we don't still listen to that on the daily too.

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

We played an all-ages show when we were students ourselves, and were asked for alcohol in return for "favors." We declined for many obvious reasons.

13. What do you think of your fans?

I like to be personable. We couldn't do this without their support and it's all just a big fun party to me, where everyone is invited. My whole goal as a musician is to connect with people. From the clothes I wear, to the way I interact with people at gigs. We're all grinding, regular people. I like to quote Phil Anselmo; "It's not the clothes that play the music, we do." When I was 15, I got to see Korn and Avenged Sevenfold live. The live concert atmosphere was so cool and the drummers were just tearing it up on stage. That night I decided I wanted to partake in music seriously. As a fan, I was moved and inspired with a new and very real purpose. It is my dream that someday I could inspire other kids to find their purpose and learn to express what they feel. Fans are people who become friends after a few drinks and a musical conversation. At least that's how it is at this stage in our band's career.

14. What do you think of our site?

Dope content! I can't tell you how awesome it is to discover platforms like "Breathing the Core" that support the up-and-coming. Past supporting us directly in interviews, y'all are an awesome resource for us to find other bands on a similar journey appreciate their new music, and find ways to connect with them.

15. Something to add?

Hope y'all enjoy our new record "Taking Over." We're already gearing up to release new content soon; an album, music videos, tour dates.... If you liked "Taking Over" please find us and follow us on socials and Spotify, save our music, etc. We really could not do this without your support. Huge thanks go out to "Breathing the Core!"