Next week North Carolina based retro doom rockers Demon Eye release their album Leave the Light, which Rob Thompson in his review described as "a solid release with dark thick riffs, Sabbath solos and Maiden influences on every track." Rob asked guitarist and singer Erik Sugg a bunch of questions to find out more.
(((o))): Thanks for agreeing to this interview with Ech((o)es and Dust. For who doesn't know Demon Eye, can you please introduce the band to us and who plays what etc?
Erik: I’m Erik Sugg. I sing and play guitar for Demon Eye. Larry Burlison plays guitar and is responsible for most of the leads you hear on the record. Paul Walz plays bass and does some backup vocals. Bill Eagen plays drums and percussion and sings backup as well. Our song writing is collaborative, but generally begins with riffing and then seeing how we can expand on our initial ideas. We try to make sure our tunes are a fine balance of heavy, groovy, dark, and melodic.
(((o))): So the story of the band is unusual, starting off life as a tribute/cover band and Erik being involved in children's entertainment. What triggered the switch to a full blown band writing your own original material?
Erik: First there was Corvette Summer, which is our cover band alter ego. Corvette Summer was Larry’s idea. Around the time when he and I first met he suggested it would be fun to start a band that did under-the-radar covers of ‘70s rock tunes for all the real rock geeks out there (covers by bands like Budgie, UFO, Humble Pie, all the good stuff you never hear on the radio). That was how I met Bill and Paul as well. We started playing together, and not to sound dramatic, but it was pure magic. There was an instantaneous musical connection. We found a common thread in all of the hard rock and metal we loved during our younger years, and then we started getting really tight as a band. After we had been together for awhile, I spent a weekend alone camping on a dark, wooded mountainside reading lots of Lovecraft and writing creepy, witchy riffs on an acoustic guitar. I came home to band practice and asked the guys if they’d humor me by playing along to something I wrote. I showed them the riffs to 'Hecate' and they nailed it. Demon Eye was born right then. The next songs to come were 'Witch’s Blood' and 'Shades of Black'. All of our Corvette Summer gigging helped Demon Eye come together pretty quickly.
In terms of my kid’s music, I’m a children’s librarian for the local library system here in Raleigh, North Carolina. I had been working in libraries for years and made the switch to working with kids because I thought it’d be something new and fun and would keep me from getting burned out on the job. It’s been a total blast. Kids have a natural inclination towards music and rocking out, so they love all of the goofy little songs I write for them. Occasionally I’ll even see story time parents out at Demon Eye shows, haha. Also, my niece and nephew’s favorite song to dance to is, 'Shades of Black'! It’s a trip when these two vastly different worlds collide, but metal isn’t as taboo as it once was. Parents seem to not mind Satan and witchcraft like they did when I was a kid 😉
(((o))): The new album is excellent, so congratulations on this. It contains songs previously found on your debut EP, were these remastered or re-recorded in anyway and why the decision to include them on the album?
Erik: Thanks! The decision to include that first batch of songs on our debut LP was a mutual decision by the band, our record label, and our engineers. Once we finished those initial songs we decided to share them free of charge via the Internet because our main concern was in just getting them out there for people to hear. We had zero idea as to how our music would be perceived by folks in the metal/doom community, and the response was overwhelming. Within a matter of days we were hearing from people all over the globe, telling us how much they dug our music. An Irish label, Sarlacc Productions, did a limited edition cassette of the EP, and a buddy of ours here in North Carolina, Chad Davis (from the great band, Hour of 13) brought us to the attention of Soulseller Records. That was how we started working with them. The label said we could save ourselves a lot of time and energy by including the previously recorded material for the debut, which worked perfectly for us because the material we were working on at the time was very cohesive with what we had just finished recording. We knew that if we included all of this music together we would have a strong record with a great flow. We were back at Seriously Adequate Studios a mere six months after finishing the earlier sessions in order to keep up the momentum we had gathered during that first run. Alex Maiolo and Pete Weiss, of Seriously Adequate Studios and Verdant Green Studios respectively, both did fantastic jobs in picking up where they left off. They both brought an amazing amount of sonic inspiration to the recording. And yes, Pete did remaster those original songs at Verdant Green in Vermont just to make sure the older songs were consistent with the newer ones.
(((o))): I love the cover art, what was the thought process behind the images; what story are they trying to tell
Erik: The artwork was done by a local Raleigh artist/musician, named John Hitselberger. John has a natural talent for creating mindbending supernatural art, so he was always my first choice in doing something for us. I simply asked for something Lovecraft-esque and “occult” looking and he came up with that excellent design for Leave the Light. If you look at occult imagery throughout the centuries you’ll notice there’s always a some sort of beautiful symmetry to it. John included that symmetry in this design by having the demons facing one another and by having the pillars and the pyramid in the background. As for the demons themselves, there’s not much else to say other than they just look perfectly evil. I like thinking about demons in the biblical sense, where they were merely parables representing the darker sides of human nature, but I also like how they are depicted in classical art and supernatural literature as malevolent beings who prey upon mankind. This theme is rather prevalent throughout our record. Most of the lyrics share the Lovecraftian notion that human beings are in no way the center of the universe; that there is no golden rule, no benevolent higher powers, and that everything beyond our limited understanding is cosmically indifferent to us. I enjoy writing material like this because, even though I generally go about my day to day routine working with kids and trying to bring positivity into the world, there is another side of me that sees all the darkness in the world and thinks we are truly heading for the end of days, and I can’t seem to muster the energy to care. Classic doom metal themes, I suppose!
(((o))): Why did you pick 'Secret Sect' to promote with a video? Is this your favourite songs on the LP? I personally loved the tracks 'Hecate' and 'Shades of Black' as they really showcase what Demon Eye is capable of.
Erik: Well, 'Secret Sect' must have been my favorite song at that particular moment, because shortly before I made that video I tried doing one for 'Witch’s Blood' and messed it up, haha. No, but really I just thought it was a good idea to provide people with a video for one of the newer songs from the record. We have a video for 'Hecate' as well and I thought 'Secret Sect' would be a fine addition. Also, yes. I’m very fond the song, but really I love all the songs on the record. It’s hard to say which one is my favorite. I find myself listening to 'The Banishing' a lot lately, so today I’ll call that one my favorite.
(((o))): Let's talk influences. You clearly love the classic bands of yesteryear; which albums and groups have played the biggest parts in your lives and how do you incorporate these into your music?
Erik: Our biggest influences are probably Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Pentagram, and Iron Maiden. Sort of the no-brainer resources if you’re playing this style of music, you know? To me, and I’m sure the rest of the guys in the band agree, these four bands had it all. They knew how to write songs with power and volume, and they knew how to make their music sound sinister and evil. At the same time, they also knew how to make it a good time for their audience. Anytime you see old footage of these bands performing during their hey day, what you’re generally seeing is people freaking out and having a blast over how awesome the music is making them feel, well, maybe not in the case of Pentagram, haha. Still, that was something we wanted to tap into, to just be able to write music that stays with you once you hear it, whether it’s the heavy riffing, the melodies, the rhythms, the sinister vibes, whatever. I think it’s also important to keep your mind open to lots of different music. Everyone in Demon Eye just loves music in general. Some nights we’ll go from having hour long discussions about ‘60s bands like Blue Cheer and the MC5, then the conversation will shift entirely to discussing Grim Reaper and Loudness, then we’ll kick back and listen to Thin Lizzy, then someone will mention Jake E. Lee’s guitar playing, and then I’ll go home and throw on a Laura Nyro record. Basically we just to try to write music that moves us, because no one else is gonna dig you if you don’t dig yourself.
(((o))): If you were to organise your own one-day festival, which bands would you ask to play?
Erik: Wow. This question is the hardest for me so far. I’ll try to keep the bands as contemporary as possible. Iron Maiden would be the headliners (mainly due to the fact that we, as a band, have had some stellar Iron Maiden road trip/concert experiences). I would also love to have Electric Wizard, Pentagram, Sleep, Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats, The Melvins, Graveyard, YOB, Witchcraft, Blood Ceremony, Church of Misery, Hour of 13, Sinister Haze and Windhand.
(((o))): How have you found the reaction to the Leave the Light so far in the press and from your fans?
Erik: So far most of the press I’ve seen has been very positive. I keep expecting to read something where we’re heavily panned, but so far that hasn’t happened. It will though. Not everyone is going to dig the record, and that’s fine. We are very proud of it and it seems to be striking a chord with a lot of folks, and that’s very cool. The greatest honor to me is when musicians I admire seem to genuinely like our music. But honestly, when anyone, any random person, takes the time to tell me that they’ve enjoyed our recording or our live performances it is an honor to me and it’s truly appreciated. We’ll try not screw it up by going out there and sucking!
(((o))): What plans do you have for touring, and most importantly, any UK gigs planned?
Erik: We definitely want to tour overseas. We have been contacted by some European booking agencies, but there are many variables we need to get worked out before we make that jump, like jobs, kids, families, money, etc. Still, a lot of folks over on that side of the pond have been very kind and supportive of Demon Eye, so the very least we can do is come over and do our thing. And yes, we would love to play the UK. Where do you want us?!
(((o))): Can you share a nice or funny live anecdote with us?
Erik: For one of our earlier gigs we played with a David Bowie cover band, who did the Spiders-era Bowie. They played Ziggy Stardust in its entirety (really well too I should say). It was looking like it was going to be an off night without a lot of people, so before the Bowie band started I went for a little walk throughout the neighborhood. When I came back the band had started and there were like 50 or so people who had arrived. I was thinking “Oh man, decent turnout afterall!” But then I saw that most of these people were early 20-somethings and didn’t look the slightest bit like the usual rock show goers, and they all sat there in this very studious manner with pens and notebooks and all. Some of the girls were even watching the Bowie guy with looks of sheer disgust on their faces, which was really cracking us up. Come to find out this was all just a field trip for a journalism class from the nearby university, haha… They all split after a few Bowie tunes, and later we played to an audience of the bartender, the sound guy, the door guy, and the “Spiders from Mars”. So far, that gig was the most bizarre to date.
(((o))): Thanks for taking time out to answer these questions. One last one: what's next for the band?
Erik: Our record release party for Leave the Light is happening in Raleigh on February 1st. After that we’ll be playing a show with our Relapse pals, Lord Dying, and then we plan on gigging regionally, writing new material, meeting new people and other bands, and hopefully will keep this momentum rolling well enough for us to make it over to Europe. Thanks for getting in touch and thanks for listening!
Leave the Light will be released on January 24th through the excellent Soulseller Records. Pre-order your copy here.
