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Dead Asylum are an anomaly in the traditionally sludgy/grindy Vancouver scene, emerging as a prominent melodic death metal act. The band, made up of rhythm guitarist and vocalist Mike Lister, lead guitarist and vocalist Tyler Forde, bassist Tyler Meierhofer and drummer Samantha Landa, has quickly gained ground since forming in 2011 and will officially unleash their debut, General Carnage, on July 5. The disc features a menagerie of blistering blast beats, duelling cookie monster/ gruff hardcore vocals and weaving guitars riffs, emulating Kreator and Amon Amarth.
“We definitely bond over those bands,” begins Landa, who took time out to chat about the band, their upcoming disc and her love for drums. “Just because you can do just the thrash elements, but you also get a lot of the melody and the groovy riffs.”
Shared influences aside, General Carnage is an impressive debut, crisply recorded and crushing. Recorded by Nick Engwer and Brady D. at Harbourside Studios in North Vancouver and mixed and mastered by Chris Holmes, it’s an independent release that will be unveiled on CD and digital download cards. Every member, whose collective experience includes stints in Apathetic Infamy, Theocide, and Scythia, completed songwriting.
“It’s largely a collective effort,” explains Landa. “Someone will bring a draft to the table and we all work on it together and give it different feedback.” The result is an album where the instruments are skillfully juxtaposed and deviate frequently. Landa is particularly noticeable: her signature cymbal chokes, blast beats, and multi-cymbal accents are distributed throughout.
“As a drummer, I’ve always been into really rhythmic, groovy riffs and rhythms,” she explains. She contrasts her stint in folk metallers Scythia with her time as a (founding) member of Dead Asylum, concluding, “It’s funny, because you’d think that’d be counterintuitive. I’m in a heavier band where everyone plays heavier riffs and heavier music in general, so you’d think I’d keep it straightforward.”
Dead Asylum will perform at Calgary Metalfest on Thursday, June 6 at Dickens Pub.
By Sarah Kitteringham
