New York Heavy Rock band Tanith recently released their latest album entitled Voyage on April 21st. Tanith’s drummer Keith Robinson took the time to talk with Metal Express Radio about Voyage, standing out on Metal Blade’s roster, his bandmates’ other projects, and more. Check out the chat below!
Metal Express Radio: Tanith’s new album entitled Voyage was released on April 21st via Metal Blade Records, what can you tell fans about the upcoming release?
Robinson: It’s been a long time coming!! Our first record, In Another Time, came out in 2019, and after completing a UK/European tour that November, we were excited to take that momentum into 2020 and get working on a new record. Of course, COVID had other ideas. With Russ living in the UK, and the rest in the States, we were not able to get the band in the same room for almost three years. Once we finally were, we pretty much went right into the studio and got Voyage recorded. The music features the dual vocals and dual guitar work that the band is known for, so no surprises there, we just hope the fans like the new batch of songs that we were able to put together over the time since 2019.
MER: How was the writing and recording process for Voyage?
Robinson: The process generally starts with Russ having an idea (though it could start anywhere) and he makes a demo and passes it around through email. We each have recording rigs and we can alter ideas or record parts to Russ’ ideas and come up with a fully fleshed out demo. We did a lot of this through COVID since traveling was restricted and our members don’t all live in the same country. We could’ve finished the record this way, but ultimately decided that our way is all in the same room, recording to tape instead of computer Pro Tools. It’s a more traditional and natural way to record and it really has become part of our sound.
MER: How would you compare Voyage to Tanith’s previous releases?
Robinson: I feel like Voyage is a continuation of In Another Time. It‘s the next step. There aren’t any major departures from our sound, but we did challenge ourselves because the material is a little harder to play than the first album. But it is similar in the fact that we recorded it all analog, in the same studio and same mix engineer (Hugh Pool, Excello Recording) that we did the first record.
MER: You’ve released two different singles from Voyage, what kind of feedback have you received?
Robinson: The feedback has been great! The first single ‘Snow Tiger’ was dropped without any warning or notification, so we got a lot of “What?…there is new Tanith music!!”, and people reacted favorably to the up beat feel and intricate guitar work. ‘Olympus by Dawn’ was a band favorite and it really showcased the dual vocals and dual guitar work that the band has been known for.
MER: There are members of Tanith that are involved with other bands as well, do you feel if someone is a fan of Tanith you should look into the members other projects?
Robinson: Sure, it may be interesting to some to compare and contrast members’ other work to find similarities and differences. I liked doing that by comparing the Beatles members solo works compared to the Beatles band recording. You end up hearing what the individual members bring to the collective sound. That being said, when we get together, we are Tanith, and concentrate on our band and bring our individual best to make our music as good as it can be. Our other projects aren’t on our minds.
MER: What do you see as plans for 2023?
Robinson: Well, things are a little complicated for 2023. It would seem like releasing an album in April, we should be set to go, to get on the road to support it, but tours are booked months in advance, and since we had been pretty dormant since 2019, we weren’t able to get road bookings without a new album. So with a new album in hand, we are now exploring possibilities in the late fall or early winter for 2023. Hopefully we can nail down some dates, we are excited to get the live show out to the people!
MER: Who would you hope to tour with and why?
Robinson: We have done some shows with some great friends, Screamer, Haunt, Shadowland, Parish; they have been great to play with. Pagan Altar, Night Demon, Sanhedrin, Spell, Freeways…they would all be great. People keep telling us we should tour with Wytch Hazel and Hallas! A big dream would be touring with some 70s legends such as Blue Öyster Cult. Musical style would be a big reason to tour with someone, but touring with bands that are great people is the best, and we’ve been fortunate so far to do that.
MER: What are some of your favorite releases from Metal Blade Records?
Robinson: We actually did a video for Metal Blade about this! Like many, the list would have Metal Massacre 1 and some Slayer (Show No Mercy is our choice), but getting past those, Attacker’s Battle At Helm’s Deep, Trouble Trouble and Demon Flight, Flight of the Demon were the rest of our picks.
MER: How would you compare Tanith to Metal Blade’s roster?
Robinson: Obviously we are more old school than some of our label mates, but I think that it’s great that Metal Blade has room for a band like us, because there are fans of Metal music that grew up with the 70s style of hard rock, and while they may love Thrash Metal, Power Metal, or “whatever” Metal, our sound takes them back to the beginning of why they started loving Metal/Hard Rock in the first place.
MER: What are your hopes for Tanith’s future?
Robinson: In the end, we hope that people enjoy the music we make as much as we enjoy making it. Being able to continue to make records would be the biggest hope and hope that the music keeps snowballing to bigger and better things.
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