Interviews: Broken Trinity

On this new occasion, we have had the opportunity to interview the Blackened Doom Metal band Broken Trinity from the USA. Check out the interview and follow the band on their FACEBOOK PAGE.

1. What’s the story behind the name Broken Trinity, and how does it connect to the themes of Challenges of Gods and Mortals?

Broken Trinity was named after my frustration with religion, Christianity in general. I've suffered much at the hands of its people and their general hypocrisy. After dealing with my own family's delving into a fringe sect of Christianity, needless to say, I had had enough! I started delving heavily into Earth's history at the request of a high school friend of mine; he told me I would start to see the parallels between the earliest history of man and the religions that sprang up.

As to the album's title, I didn't plan it all from the start. After all the songs were written and I looked back, I noticed all the songs but one, had a very obvious thematic running through them. Challenges, obviously. Not just mortal challenges, but Odin, as we know, suffered many trials and tribulations to gain knowledge. Many of these themes are recurring.

2. Was this album carefully planned from the start, or did it evolve organically over the six-year writing process?

Well, believe it or not, nearly all the tracks were written practically from the get-go. The very first show we ever played showcased 5 of the 6 tracks on the album, with the exception of 'Oblivious To Decay,' which was written a few years after that first show. We didn't play our first show until we had enough material for an album and live shows, though in reality, this album should have been finalized at least 2 or 3 years ago! But thankfully, we developed many different techniques for recording and mastering, many of which were realized by Ray later on through FL Studio, which enhanced some of the later recordings greatly.

3. Your sound blends blackened, doom, and progressive elements. What drew you to this fusion, and how did you refine it on this record?

When I first started out, you have to remember it had been almost a decade since I left Hallows Eve, and later on Victim Nine. I had been listening to bands like Draconian, Forest Stream, and "Songs Of Darkness, Words Of Light" by My Dying Bride and KNEW that I wanted to combine black and doom metal. However, unlike MANY of the "blackened doom" bands of that era, there were VERY few that were doing blackened vocals and cleans simultaneously (save for Bulgarian blackened doom band Darkflight, which I will talk more of below), and very few singers that could pull this off (especially live!) When I started fleshing out my ideas to Sean and Ray, they added things that I hadn't even thought about! And of course, with 'Offspring Forged From Deathless Souls,' just about every element we had ideologically we threw in there, including my love of traditional 80's metal (which I grew up on) and the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal.

4. How did the current lineup come together, and what does each member bring creatively to the band’s overall vision?

For years, I had been telling Sean I wanted him as a band member. Years, lol I do mean a few decades! It wasn't until I met up with Ray (who had been a member of Atlanta's death/thrash hit squad Murder Van) that things started rolling. You see, Ray wasn't JUST a bass player; he is also a very talented guitar player who had ideas in spades just sitting on the table. Of course, in Murder Van, Ray was relegated to bass duties. Once Ray jumped on board, Sean basically said, Fuck it, I'm in too and here we are. Sean had done a very unique mixture of melodic death and black metal almost, what, two decades ago with Ground: Xero, and now is doing more industrialized metal mixing death and black metal with the industrial vibe in Soniq Armada. Groundbreaking stuff to be sure!

Ray and Sean wrote very well together. You should have seen that very first session, I threw out a doom melody and the three of us crafted 'Robes Of Purple And Gold' in FOUR HOURS. That song is still one of the masterpieces of our catalog; even non-metal fans love the guitar work and the overall vibe. Ray really honed his skill in FL Studio, creating the instrumental "Muninn's Descent," which goes perfectly right into 'Culled By Odin's Hand." Ray wasn't really much of a doom metal guy, but he wrote most of the doom metal passages in 'Satanic Propaganda' and 'Culled...' It astounded me what an amazing writer he is, for not being totally versed in the doom metal genre. Of course, now we've gotten him into bands like Shape Of Despair and Officium Triste (one of his favorites). Believe it or not, had Ray stuck around, we were going to experiment with some blackened D-Beat crust punk in the mix. We are certainly going to miss Ray's songwriting approach!

5. This album dives deep into Viking lore, spirituality, and mythic storytelling. What inspired these themes, and how did they shape the songwriting?

Personal discovery and deep intellectual thought. When I ran Vibrations Of Doom Magazine for 32 years, one of the things I was passionate about was showcasing the extreme emotional depth that metal has always had in spades. From icy Nordic black metal to gothic doom and death metal, there's so much energy and fire in here. My disdain for organized religion caused me to go further, and something about Norway and the gods of the land really awakened me spiritually. Then I started discovering some of the modern-day spirituality that gave me more answers than over three decades of religion EVER could. These three themes (religious history, Viking legend and lore - i.e., the wisdom of Odin and his trials, and modern-day spirituality) are easily interwoven. There are many gods in the pantheon of Norse legend and lore, but for me, Odin is the one I identify most with. A lover of poetry, and an endless thirst for knowledge, which I see in myself and my own path.

I must say, of course, as a sort of "disclaimer" that religion is a VERY personal thing to each and every one; this incessant preaching from the "bible belt south" infuriates me. Most Americans sadly don't think that anything happening outside their borders matters; they are annoyingly ignorant of world history, and they fail to realize that for thousands of years, the world has watched many empires and their gods rise and fall. The first civilization on Earth was pagan. If the Christian god allows no other gods but "him," then where was he during the thousand years or so reign of the Sumerians? Why did "god" not end pagan worship in the Egyptian empire?

6. Can you walk us through your songwriting and production process for this album, especially working with Sean Morrissey, Ray Adriano, and Alex Parra?

It's not really a certain structure that we have. Songwriting was much different when we started out, and when we added a few other members. Production happens at Broken Trinity HQ, i.e., the practice space. Sean could give you more info on the equipment used and whatnot. We started out playing to a drum machine, and I HIGHLY encourage every band to try it out. Drum machines don't make mistakes, and they will teach you more about timing and tempo. Plus, the added benefit being if you play live with a drum machine, when you go to make videos, you can use the audio from your actual CD's or cassettes or digital, and it will sync up perfectly...

7. What’s the story behind using a “fictional” drummer, and how does that choice fit into the band’s identity?

There's really no "story" behind it. We had a drummer at one time, but remember, we started out with a drum machine. Atlanta is drastically short of good drummers, and most of the great ones are already in four or five bands. Our previous drummer, Tristan Payne, who is now in Cemetery Filth, spent his time behind the kit for a few other bands.

As you may know, if you do some research, many European bands who utilize a drum machine credit their drums to one "Angelo Sasso." This was a running joke reference to the mighty Running Wild, who credited their "drummer" as such starting with their "Victory" album. You can definitely tell something is a little too perfect with the drums. Rock 'N' Rolf, Running Wild's band leader, swears that's an actual drummer's name, but the rest of us aren't buying it! We are actually the first American band to credit the drum production to Mr. Angelo, and it's fitting for me because "Gates To Purgatory," the very first Running Wild album, was one of my earliest discoveries of 80's metal back in the day. If we do ever utilize a live drummer again (and there is the possibility that Tristan will join in again for bigger shows), it is a MUST requirement that they play live to a click. This is how our recordings were set up, structured, and played to, so we need to keep continuity.

8. Do you have a favorite track on the album, or one that best represents what Challenges Of Gods And Mortals is all about?

That's a tough one. 'Robes...' and 'Culled...' are among our earliest tracks. We play out so infrequently that there's no song I don't really want to play live... Except for maybe 'Straw Boss.' Lyrically, I'm in a different place now than I was when I wrote the song; it's a little too personal, though I know people have suffered in this way from people who force authority on people when they actually have none. I would have to say it bounces around from 'Offspring Forged From Deathless Souls' to 'Satanic Propaganda,' to the only unreleased song we have to our credit, which is 'Diamond Hands, Diamond Blades.'

9. You’ve already seen strong fan support and major engagement. What has the reaction been like so far to the release?

Well, believe it or not, we're kinda isolated down here in Atlanta. Since we play out so infrequently, I don't really know how the rest of the Atlanta scene feels about us or our music. There is definitely some gatekeeping going on, or so it seems. I'd like to be removed from all that; we all need to work together. Everyone who has heard our stuff has loved it, and it seems like most of the most intense press has, like it always seems in metal, come from overseas. We have been getting airplay on stations and magazines in Argentina, Brazil, Italy, and England so far. Then again, the album has only been out for 3 months or so, so it's still too early to tell... We got an Encyclopedia Metallum review, and they gave us an 80... Which, upon second glance, after reading the review, it seems that the score is a little low for how they praised the album. But then again, I spent 32 years reviewing bands' albums, so I am a little slanted in that respect.

10. Where was your most recent performance, and how do you plan to bring this album to life in a live setting?

We thought about actual performance costumes and such, though it's usually just us and my two warrior spiked helmet clad skulls... Since we do need a few more members to round this thing out, we do what we can live with, and it's definitely a challenge... Ha ha pun intended!

11. If you could take this album anywhere in the world, what stage or festival would you most want to play?

If we can make it to Wacken... We would probably have it made. We have yet to play any major festivals, and I dunno if that will change here and in the future. 70,000 Tons Of Metal would be great; Sean has already attended the thing two or three times now! Also, some of the festivals locally here in the U.S., I would love to do, especially Frost And Fire, Maryland Death Fest, and Tennessee Metal Devastation Fest, are all U.S. festivals we would love to play. Getting to do ProgPower would be an honor as well since it's in our backyard! We'll play anywhere, but I think our greatest success would come from playing out of town/out of state...

12. Which artists or bands would you love to collaborate with in the future?

Draconian, Forest Stream, My Dying Bride, Emperor... Actually, what started my approach to Broken Trinity, some may not know this, but "Challenges Of Gods And Mortals" is not the first album I ever appeared on. Blackened doom metal band Darkflight from Bulgaria; I recorded clean vocals for about half that record! I have been a fan of Ivo's for at least a decade and a half; that guy is one of what I'd consider the top 5% of amazing musical composers EVER. His last three albums behind "The Hereafter" were amazing: if there was a benchmark for great material, I'd want to make sure I was living up to what I'd term Darkflight standards. That collaboration changed my entire life as far as lyric writing goes; I have about three pages of lyrics LEFT that I didn't use for the album. It was a year when my father died, I lost my job of almost ten years, and my live-in girlfriend of five years walked out on me. When Ivo gave me the first song he wanted me to collaborate on, it was entitled 'Giving Up!' The universe handed me the outlet, no, the vehicle to vent all my pain and sorrow. I don't remember to this day writing 3/4 of what I wrote, and I channeled some amazing things into those words. Thankfully, Ivo let me write my own lyrics for what I sang. Hopefully, I can get Ivo to contribute some guitar work to my next album, and yes, I would be on the next Darkflight record in a heartbeat if Ivo needs it!

13. Are there any artists or trends in metal today that you intentionally steer away from?

We place our attention where it matters. I guess I have a slight disdain for death metal, though there are bands I really enjoy, like Deicide (Their first album mainly), Death, of course, Morgoth, Bolt Thrower, Carcass, Amon Amarth (and not just for the Viking influence), and Internal Bleeding. A lot of this is through my own personal experiences. I was bullied a lot when I was younger, and those who ridiculed me for my taste in metal always pointed to the "cookie monster vocals," or that "raugh raugh kill your mom" sort of mentality. Either way you look at it, be it death or black metal, there are a lot of people who, 40 years after metal became insanely popular and went back underground, still won't give it the time of day because of the vocals. And there's very little you can do to change that. I always said even in genres of music I'm not a huge fan of, there are still talented artists in those genres. Obviously, I've always sought out the intellectual approach when it comes to metal because it's SO important that we show people that many metalheads are quite cerebral and songs aren't just about violence and satanism.

14. With such a dense and atmospheric sound, how do you approach translating that intensity into a live experience?

All I can say about this is there's a reason bands like Therion don't bring a 32-piece orchestra every time they play out live. We don't do much in the way of samples and keyboards (save for the intro or effect here and there), and I never wanted this to be a synth-oriented band. But sometimes you gotta roll with what fits and what enhances the music. Live, I like to have some ghastly reverb and delay on the vocals, but it's gotta be ALL ME. Vocal-wise anyway. If I can't sing it live, does it really need to be on record? That was my old world way of thinking. But vocal coaches and teachers said live you wanna sound larger than life... Actually, if you go back and watch the live version of 'Satanic Propaganda' that we filmed in Spartanburg, South Carolina (it's on YouTube), THAT is how I like my vocals to sound live. Mostrous. Roaring. But I'm still performing it.

15. What’s one of the most unexpected or wild fan reactions you’ve had since releasing the album?

I think some people who see us are digging what we do. But you have to remember, Atlanta is not really familiar with blackened doom. I tend to think most people don't know what to make of us; we're not exactly doing anything that would be considered "tried and true." There are a lot of death metal bands and fans, and there are some heavy thrashers, but we don't really fit neatly into either of those boxes. I'm hoping to create a style of metal that not only is somewhat unique but also stands the test of time. When people talk about "blackened doom" bands, I want our name to be the one that stands out. Because we ARE trying to create something unique. Groundbreaking. Although it was supposed to be "black thrashing doom," we haven't incorporated the thrash part... YET...

16. What does your fanbase mean to you, especially after the support shown in the Battle of the Bands win?

You know, a lot of the voting in these things I think are relentless band members voting as much as they can! But I've seen some votes come in when I know no one else was voting. As for a fanbase, I don't think we really have one, at least not an organized one we can put our fingers on. I think we still have a TON of work to do before we can ever say we have a dedicated fan base, especially when you look at the insanely small amount of people that come out to shows we're on. But I think in general, concert attendance, especially for local shows, has gotten smaller and smaller every year. What do I know? Lol.

17. What are your thoughts on Breathing The Core and platforms like it supporting underground metal?

Well, as someone who did it for 32 years myself, and not just that, but being one of the first and world's oldest and longest running, I think journalism is EXTREMELY important for metal to continue on. Still, after Metal Maniacs shut down for good, I kinda saw the writing on the wall. The internet made a lot of printed material seem less important than in decades past, but that underground effort, man. I always wanted to turn Vibrations Of Doom into a printed zine, but seeing as how I never made one thin dime off the magazine for 32 years, I had less confidence in making even a printed zine profitable.

The fact is, the next two decades I think are going to be CRUCIAL for metal. Some of us old dinosaurs are fading away, and my only consolation is that at least the kids are doing their homework and seeing what metal in its infancy used to look like. In fact, the whole reason I started the classic albums section of the website "back in the day" was that there were no centralized sites where you could read about, or even listen to, these amazing 80's metal bands that released 100 or 200 copies of ONE album and then faded into obscurity. People pointed out that I had streaming audio of these bands' songs and albums before Napster. Shit, I COULD have been the Napster. But I was doing this all alone, no help and no support from ANYONE. For 32 years, Vibrations Of Doom Magazine AND DOOM Radio were a one-man project. From learning HTML coding in one weekend, doing all the interviews, reviews, and text, PLUS digitizing all the music. There were over 1600 full-length titles you could listen to IN THEIR ENTIRETY on the site. Everyone wanted the music for free, though, and I think in some ways I was one of the ones who led to the downfall of the music industry. Not intentionally, of course, but streaming was, to me, like the Blockbuster Music of the internet, where you could HEAR what these bands sounded like.

18. What’s next for Broken Trinity after Challenges of Gods and Mortals?

Well, after lengthy delays, one of the songs I mentioned earlier, 'Diamond Hands, Diamond Blades,' is going to be part of an experimental EP release entitled "Odin Places #WallStreetBets." It's going to be an interesting release, as once again storytime commences and we see the Viking warrior from 'Culled By Odin's Hand' in a more modern-day setting, looking for riches on Wall Street. If you were into that whole GameStop phenomenon, then you're already ahead of the game. There are two more songs we hope to do, maybe a cover, and then we have the EP... Beyond that, I have to start fleshing out what may end up being our second full-length, "Exalting The Anima Goddess." If not second, then third. And I wanna hopefully see us on a record label somewhere!

19. Anything else you’d like to share with the metal community?

Lol, I've probably said too much! Make sure you check out our videos, as we're pretty proud of them, especially 'Offspring Forged...' that we actually star in and the concept for 'Oblivious To Decay,' a song we wrote for the comic book series we appeared in! Thanks for your time, and we hope people are digging our tunes...

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