ANCIENT SINS INTERVIW
Twinmusix got to speak to Wes Grissom from Ancient Sins about their new album and more.
TM - When did your band start?
WES - I kicked around the idea of starting a band back in mid-2005 after I started to play guitar again. From there nothing really transpired until early 2008 when some guys I was deployed on ship with said yes we would love to start a band. After deployment we all went our separate ways and no one really spoken to each other since. After years of trying to audition members, I finally found musicians who were able to see nearly the same vision as I did with the music and help me record the ideas I had, even from across the other side of the United States.
TM - What is the story behind your band name, how did you come up with it?
WES - A friend of mine who was initially supposed to be the drummer had the name sitting around for a while before we met. It was an outlook on past Earthly experiences and how society kept falling into the same cycles over and over again, repeating the same mistakes.
TM - How have fans responded to your new album?
WES - The response to the record (Never Back Down) has been very positive. There are those who only like a few of the tracks and others who love the entire album. Overall there is not just one or two tracks that have been spotlighted across the internet, which is amazing. Fans at the shows have even said that they feel there are songs on the album that they listen to in the gym and get pumped just as much as they would listening to Five Finger Death Punch. One fan has even said that a couple of songs spoke to them and what they have been through in life and really helped them through a very tough time.
TH - What was your writing and recording process on your new album?
WES - When I knew it was finally time to record these songs I immediately searched for band members. The producer and I began preproduction in October of 2017 and that lasted for two weeks. Official recording began in February of 2018 and lasted for the better part of three months due to scheduling of studio time and trying to solidify who else was going to record the other parts. I finished all of the rhythm guitars within a month and began drum programming until my friend Valentin said he could record the rest of the drums. Deciding on the first single, my friend Gary Noonkester (Walking With Giants/White Knuckles) helped record bass for Cause of My Distress. Then my friend Beck helped record Beneath the Surface, but due to scheduling could not finish the album, so my fellow Sailor Andy Diekmann came in and finished the bass tracking. I began recording vocals while everything for bass tracking was being solidified and finished around the third week of May. Mixing took about a week and everything was sent off for mastering, which only took about three or four days.
TM - You are at the top of the charts with your new album, how does it feel?
WES - (LOL) I would not say at the top of the charts but the record is getting outstanding recognition. The songs Cause of My Distress and Riptide are receiving awesome playlist distribution through ReverbNation such as Chart Topping Artists and Best New Rock Music. It is an amazing feeling to see that these songs that had been sitting around for eight to twelve years are still able to withstand the test of time.
TM - What advice would you give to any up and coming bands?
WES - For new bands I would say the same thing that I was told by my influences….use social media as best and as much as you can to promote your music. If you want to be a cover band on the weekends and play clubs around town, go for it. If you want to write originals and try to get signed by a label, do not let anyone hold you back. There are multiple outlets (YouTube, Distrokid, TuneCore, ReverbNation) that allow bands to get their music to the masses. Use any combination of them and start building a fan base.
TM - If you could have any band perform one of your songs, which band would it be, which song would it be and would it be in your style or there style?
WES - That is a tough one, I think I would like to see bands that helped get the fire started for me cover a song. Most likely either Alter Bridge, Hammerfall, Nightwish, and or even Tremonti. The song would most likely be either Cause of My Distress, Riptide, Beneath the Surface, or Never Back Down. It would be great to see it covered the way in which we recorded any of the songs, but it would also be pretty cool to see something covered in their style of playing.
TM - If you could collaborate with any band, who would it be and why?
WES - Besides wanting to do something with Mark Tremonti for his band Tremonti, because he my number one influence in music, I would absolutely love to collaborate with Gary Noonkester and Walking With Giants. Gary, Clint Lowery from Sevendust, and Scott Phillips and Brian Marshall from Alter Bridge are top notch musicians. Gary has also been an amazing friend as well. While I was deployed to Afghanistan he sent our unit signed copies of the first and second EP’s from the band. I would also love to collaborate with John Connolly of Sevendust for his additional project titled “Projected”. A good number of awesome tracks have come out that band and John is a very humble gentleman as well.
TM - What is your favourite memory watching a different band perform live, can you tell us a story?
WES - My favourite memory watching another band perform live would be watching Sevendust perform. The band all around is very energetic and all of the members are very down to earth. During the show, Lajon pulled a fan on stage to sing their ‘Angel’s Son” with him and that was extremely moving. It is definitely something I would love to do for a fan at a few different shows in the future.
TM - What is your favourite memory with your fans?
WES - After playing a show in Diego Garcia, one of the fans came up and said that he had been listening to the music and was thankful for it because the song ‘Beneath the Surface’ had really been speaking to him and how he was dealing with things currently. Another fan said he had seen some great guitar playing at the few shows he had been to but nothing compared to our show and that was incredible.
TM - Is there anything else you would like to say to your fans?
WES - Thank you all for your continued support online, I still do not feel that there is enough amount of times I could say thank you for everything that all of the fans do for this band. Currently there are active playlists being shared on the Facebook and ReverbNation band pages that the music has currently has been selected for, so please listen to and share those. Also, please share the links for iTunes, Google Play, Amazon, and Apple Music with your friends on social media, along with the links for the band pages on Facebook, YouTube, and ReverbNation and use the hashtag SINNATION. I have been working on new material for future albums so definitely be on the lookout for that and any other news that is posted. Lastly, please call your local radio stations and request the band to be played on air.