Southern Heavy Metal band Guillotine A.D. are set to release their second album entitled Born To Fall on June 24th. The band’s bassist/vocalist Adam Miller took the time to talk with Metal Express Radio about the band’s upcoming album, the growth within the band, his favorite releases of 2022 (so far), his hopes to tour with Shadows Fall, and more. Check out the chat below!
Metal Express Radio: The band’s second album Born To Fall is set to be released June 24th, what can you tell fans about the upcoming album?
Miller: The album is 8 heavy slabs of our unique blend of Metal, with aspects of Black Metal, Sludge, and Old School Death Metal. Each song can stand on its own, but we deliberately crafted this album to be heard as a whole. It has a great flow from beginning to end, and it keeps the listener’s interest.
MER: How was the writing and recording process having this being the bands second full length album?
Miller: Writing this album was a different process from our first album. Back then, my brother Lance (guitar) and I lived right down the road from one another, and we were able to write most of the album face-to-face. Nearly every riff was a collaborative effort. For the new album, we now live hours apart, so the writing was done remotely. He would show me his riffs, then I would arrange the songs and record demos at my house. I would email them the demos and we would share notes. It’s a longer process, but it’s what a lot of bands have had to do these past few years.
MER: How would you compare this to the bands first album?
Miller: This album is more mature. It’s a more fully actualized vision of how the band was always meant to sound. We had the same elements of death, black, and doom on our first album, but those ingredients had not completely melded together. We didn’t know how to even describe ourselves, so sometimes we were billing ourselves as a Sludge Metal band or a Black Metal band. On this album, we blended those elements better and found/created our own signature sound. We still weren’t 100% certain how to classify ourselves, but we figured “Southern Death Metal” was descriptive enough.
MER: Did you notice changes and growth from the bands first album?
Miller: In addition to finding our own sound like I explained above, we are more competent and confident songwriters now. Whereas before we would say, “This riff is cool, play it four times, That riff is cooler, play it 8 times”, this time we made an effort to focus on how the various parts affected the song’s vibe and sound from the listener’s perspective. We approached it more as art as opposed to a math problem. We serviced the song as a whole, rather than making sure each riff was played a certain number of times. Also, our drummer Evan Posey was involved during the entire writing season this time around. The entire first album was already written before he joined, but having the drummer involved definitely had an impact on how this album sounds more natural and organic.
MER: The band recently released the song “Exile” from the album, what kind of feedback have you been able to receive?
Miller: The feedback has been great! People have been impressed with the production quality, and we have been complimented on the arrangement as well. We put out a cool lyric video that has gotten positive feedback, and I have really enjoyed getting questions about what some of the lyrics mean. I’m not against explaining what the lyrics mean to me, but I like to hear what the lyrics mean to the listener before I give my explanation.
MER: Do you feel “Exile” is a good introduction to the album?
Miller: “Exile” is an excellent introduction to the album. It’s actually the second single (“Hammer” was released back in February), but the way “Exile” combines various elements and hooks the listener is a great representation of the journey you will take across the entire album.
MER: How was it bringing in the special guests Zackery Hembree and Corey Flowers?
Miller: Zack and Corey are both super talented musicians and good friends of ours. Zack’s vocals on “War First” bring a lot of ferocity to the song, and his personality really shines through and takes the song to another level. Corey has a PhD in guitar performance, as he convincingly demonstrated on “I Want To Believe”. He showed his ass on that guitar solo haha. Bow down!
MER: What do you see as far as plans for the band after the album release?
Miller: Right now we’re playing more regional shows in an ever-widening circle. The plan is to keep expanding our radius until we’re venturing cross-country. We’re also working hard to get on shows with larger acts. In fact, we just got offered a slot opening for Crowbar in August, which is an awesome development. Long term, we hope to take Guillotine A.D. international and play for fans in Latin America and Europe.
MER: Is there anyone that you hope to tour with that you haven’t yet and why?
Miller: Shadows Fall. They were our favorite band when we were first getting into Heavy Metal, and now that they’re playing shows again I’m holding onto the dream of getting to play with them one day.
MER: For anyone unfamiliar with the band, how would you describe your sound?
Miller: We sound like if Obituary moved to New Orleans and played downtuned Satyricon songs. Like Swamp Thing’s Death Metal band.
MER: We are almost halfway through 2022, are there any new releases that have caught your attention?
Miller: Abbath – Dread Reaver; Immolation – Act of God; Undeath – It’s Time…To Rise From The Grave; Crowbar – Zero and Below; Decapitated – Cancer Culture
MER: What are some songs from the band you would suggest to a new fan and why?
Miller: “Exile” is a good first taste because it is a solid example of what to expect from us overall. “Hammer” because it’s so heavy and unrelenting. “Born To Fall”, the album’s title track, to hear us at our most epic.
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