Interview: Drugs Of Faith
We put more rock into this one; tried to push the noise rock angle more. Besides that, our usual set of influences like Killing Joke, Voivod, Napalm Death, a bit of Entombed.
Virginia grind n roll three piece, Drugs Of Faith will shortly be releasing their latest album Asymmetrical, their first full length in many years and it has been more than worth the wait, due to its ferociously precise and grooving grind that will thrill Listeners both old and new. In anticipation of Asymmetrical, Gavin Brown caught up with Drugs Of Faith vocalist and guitarist Richard Johnson, who gave us an insight into the new album and the history of Drugs Of Faith.
E&D: Your new album Asymmetrical is coming out very soon. What is the anticipation like for getting it out there?
Richard: We’ve heard from a few people and seen a few comments online about some anticipation, which I’m glad for. We haven’t had anything longer than an EP in a while. I’m looking forward to people hearing it.
E&D: Do the band feel rejuvenated with this record?
Richard: Well, we hope people like it and that the people that pay attention to us think it’s a proper Drugs of Faith record. Positive feedback I think will give us a kick in the pants, which will be good.
E&D: Lyrically, what subjects do you deal with in the new album?
Richard: There’s general themes like people getting manipulated, about global corporations exploiting people and resources, about the dehumanisation of war, about alienation, and generally about the world going in the wrong direction. There isn’t a lot of positivity, all around.
E&D: This is the first Drugs Of Faith album in almost fourteen years, since your second album Corroded. What are the reasons for such a long wait for the record?
Richard: You know, the lockdowns slowed us down, just like it did a lot of bands. We didn’t have a lot of material ready to go before the lockdowns started.
E&D: What has the reaction to the new material been like so far?
Richard: Not many reviews have come in yet. The writing we’ve seen so far has been thoughtful and knowledgeable, something I appreciate.
E&D: What have been the biggest influences, both musically and lyrically, for Asymmetrical?
Richard: We put more rock into this one; tried to push the noise rock angle more. Besides that, our usual set of influences like Killing Joke, Voivod, Napalm Death, a bit of Entombed.
E&D: How was the experience of recording at Developing Nations with Kevin Bernsten and what did he bring to the Drugs Of Faith sound?
Richard: It was great. He pushed us to get good takes and added a lot of spontaneity with the soundscapes he added in between a couple of the songs. He knows what kind of guitar sound and bass sound we like to go for because we’ve recorded with him so many times.
E&D: It has been twenty years since you released your self titled debut album, does it feel that long?
Richard: It doesn’t. It’s really weird to think about.
E&D: Will you be doing anything to celebrate that anniversary as well as the new album this year?
Richard: We just want to play a lot when the record is out and help promote the record online. You know, the normal stuff!
E&D: What are your main memories of making your debut album?
Richard: Now we’re going back in time. Um… I recorded all of the guitars and we decided the playing was too sloppy and I did them again. I realised that I was hiding behind distortion and downtuning and my playing wasn’t tight. That was a lesson.
E&D: in the bands very early days, was it a thrill having a track on a CD for Terrorizer magazine before the band had released any material?
Richard: We had a demo out and a promo tape at the time, but nothing official. Yeah, that was great.
E&D: You’ve recently re-released your split with Cloud Rat. How was the experience doing that and what has the reaction to it been like again?
Richard: Our copies haven’t arrived in the mail yet. The label, Selfmadegod, talked about doing a repress years ago and didn’t do it, so I figured it wasn’t going to happen, and then suddenly it did, so that was a pleasant surprise.
E&D: Who would you love to do a split with in the future?
Richard: We got asked to do splits by a couple of bands and we also asked another band to do a split, so we need to get on those.
E&D: What are your favourite split releases of all time?
Richard: Good question – I dunno. I’d have to sit down in front of my collection and flip through some records to give you an answer!
E&D: How have your recent live gigs gone and have you been playing a lot of material from Asymmetrical?
Richard: We’ve been playing two or three songs. We played MDF last year, which was great, and have been playing local gigs here and there. The gigs have varied a lot. No complaints!
E&D: You have been playing your cover of ‘Paralyzed’ by Godflesh in your live set. How has that been going down?
Richard: That’s right. I introduce it so people will know what it is, and once in a while we’ll get a compliment from someone who’s a Godflesh fan.
E&D: How was the experience of recording ‘Paralyzed’ in the first place and how do you approach other artists’ songs?
Richard: We enjoyed it and we tried to make it more gnarley than we would approach one of our songs. When we do a cover, we come up with a way to make it a little different from the original, you know, do our take on it.
E&D: What are your favourite ever cover versions?
Richard: Slayer’s Judas Priest cover is a classic. Metallica’s Garage Days Revisited tracks and Garage Days Re-Revisited EP can’t hardly be beat. Edge of Sanity did a good cover of ‘Invisible Sun’. I always liked the covers from the first two Megadeth records. Anthrax did good KISS covers. The list goes on!
E&D: You also covered ‘Sacrifice’ in the past. What songs would you love Drugs Of Faith to cover on the future?
Richard: Well, we’ve been discussing that and the songs and the bands have been changing, but we might have settled on something now. I’d like to cover Killing Joke but we haven’t been able to work that out yet.
E&D: What are your live plans for the rest of the year?
Richard: We’re on the east coast and there was loose talk of trying to go to the west coast. We should do that, and do a lot of weekend runs, you know, two or three shows in a row.
E&D: What Drugs Of Faith live shows stand out for you as the most memorable over the years?
Richard: There’s been a few that were local gigs but had a really good atmosphere and the crowd was really into it. We had a great time when we opened one gig of one of the Decibel Magazine tours. We’ve played MDF twice and enjoyed that a lot. It was a great experience to go to Europe too.
