Aepoch Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?

1. We formed in September 2012 between Chris and I and a third guitarist named Ryan whos ideas were still used and he was mentioned in our booklet. Chris and I immediately started to get chemistry and we began writing right away. Ryan at the time was losing interest in  Death Metal and had joined a second band that was Thrash, so we parted ways on good terms.
Our current guitarist Bobby, I was in a band with in high school, we recruited at the same time as Greg, on drums was in a band with myself in high school so we already had good chemistry.

2.How would you describe your musical sound?

2. I would describe the Æpoch sound as mostly Death Metal but we call it Progressive Extreme Metal because we mix Death Metal, Black Metal, Thrash and more into the instruments and Death and Black Metal into the vocal stylings.

3.Can you tell us a little bit more about the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?

3. Our lyrics are mostly written by myself but Chris also writes lyrics or we co write them together.  Our lyrics focus on things that we feel is important to voice and we belive in strongly. Our most common topics include: Alternative History (by that I don't mean I have changed history in my lyrics, we write about TRUE history that isnt taught in schools or left out of the books), and the corruption in our modern world, science,  space, and things that is hard to wrap your head around,  the best I can describe that is Esoteric - by that I mean singing about Creation or Astral Travel or  things along those lines.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Aepoch'?

4. The band name was derived from the word EPOCH. Which has a few meanings that we discovered. It can mean the full count on the Mayan calendar or it can mean a 2000 year span in the suns state. 
We chose to add the Æ because I assumed it was less likely that a band would have the name already and because,  let's be honest,  its way cooler that way. ;)
We also changed the pronunciation from Époch to (Ay)pock.

5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?

5. Well in all honesty we have only 2 shows under our belts. Our first show the sound was pretty horrible bit people still say we played well. Our second show was great. We played a short and sweet set with a Death tribute. We are not shy on stage at all and live our guitarist Chris and I do more co vocals as opposed to my studio dominance. Bobby does his thing while headbanging and Greg is just a machine,  we always have fun playing together.

6.Do you have ant touring or show plans for the future?

6. We currently have only 1 show set up for April. April 18th we are playing in London at the Richmond Tavern with our good friends in Kynesys. 
Currently we have no tour plans, but it is something we intended to persue in the future. We have been sitting tight on looking for gigs until now because members had personal situations to attend to first.

7.Recently you signed to PRC Music, can you tell us a little bit more about this deal?

7. We signed with PRC MUSIC for 2 albums. Our debut being released sometime November 2014. And full length for 2015 also.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of extreme metal?

8. We have had mostly positive feedback so far. It is pleasing to me that many different people have a different favorite from the 3. So I hope that means they are appealing to a large variety of listeners.

9.You have a new album coming out later this year, can you tell us a little bit more about it?

9. Our album being released this year is a concept EP that is 5 songs in length. It's concept focuses on the rise and fall of powerful civilizations up to the collapse of the universe. Pretty bleak but the lyrics touch on topics such as Atlantis,  the eruption of Mount Vesuvius,  our modern corruption, 

10.What are some bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

10. For me my biggest influence is Death as far as song writing and structure goes even lyrics for the most part. But as I am a bass player my biggest influences as a player are Dominic Forest Lapointe,  Steve Di Giorgio, Benoit Claus, Jeroen Paul Thesseling, Stefano Franceschini, Jeff Hughell, Erlend Caspersen and Alex Webster. Some people might notice that I thanked Forest and Stefano on our demo, it wasn't just because they influence me, they have both given me many pointers to help me become a better player.

These days I have been listening to a lot of Technical  and Progressive Death Metal,  also DeathThrash. Some bands I have been really into as of late are Black Crown Initiate,  Konkeror,  Hideous Divinity,  Apophys,  Eyeconoclast,  Bloodshot Dawn,  The Noumenon,  Unhuman, Skull Fist. Some music people might be surprised to hear me jam is some Incubus, Def Leppard and Kim Mitchell.  I am huge fan of them!

11.What are some of your non musical interests?

11. As a band we really don't have much hobbies besides music, hanging with friends and playing video games. When I game I enjoy Mortal Kombat, Skyrim and Assassins Creed. I also really enjoy wood working and biking but largely my time consists of music related things.

12.Before we wrap up this interview do you have any final words or thoughts?

12. We are excited to begin work on the upcoming record. We enter Liquid Metal Music Studio on March 22nd to begin tracking and will be sharing lots of updates! We are working on merch now too!
Also, check out Sierra!

Thanks for your time,
Brett, Æpoch

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