Read it here: http://www.sickdrummermagazine.com/issue22_free/

Check out this guitar solo video from the song “Shackles Of Indoctrination”:

The video was produced by Chimera Sky Studios (http://tinyurl.com/6w6fabc)

The pre-orders of “Perpetuation” are now online, so go here and check out the packages we’re offering:

http://derelictmetal.bandcamp.com/album/perpetuation

The article popped up today, so have a read:

http://puregrainaudio.com/interviews/gear-review-derelict-guitarist-max-lussier-on-his-bbe-sonic-maximizer-362-rack-piece

Writing music is a tricky thing. Everyone has their own process and there is no one way to write a good song. As a guitar player I like to challenge myself technically. This includes the occasional grueling practice session, going over scales and all that business. This can sometimes be a boring process but it helps me play our songs properly. Any guitarist that strives to achieve a certain degree of technical skill has to go through some solid woodshedding sessions. I like to think of it as sharpening your axe before shredding away with it. However, all the technical skill in the world can’t guarantee that you’ll play anything interesting. Music, like most art, is about making you feel something. What drove you to listen to that band or want to learn to play an instrument? I can’t answer that definitively but the odds are it’s because it made you feel something.

I’ve been thinking very much lately about technicality versus good songwriting. As a musician, it can be easy to get carried away with technical skill while forgetting that sometimes a great riff is also a simple riff. The eternal struggle, at least to me, is to be able to balance both elements. One of my main influences is the band Death. Chuck Schuldiner really pushed death metal into a progressive and technical direction, but also managed to write some memorable songs. This was seminal to the band’s legacy in my opinion. Check out the song “The Philosopher” and you’ll find a perfect example of great and memorable songwriting intertwined with complex sections.

Within the context of Derelict our objective is to achieve a similar balance in our music. Everyone in the band likes to challenge themselves and push themselves further in their chosen instrument. Jordan often has to learn new techniques in order for some of the songs to work properly and Eric has worked very hard on his vocal technique and has widened his range in the process. In my case some of the most interesting challenges are to learn songs written by the other members, since it often forces me to widen my style. This is an opportunity I cherish. In fact, when I write music, I often have an idea, write out the tablature and then I layer the parts together. After that’s taken care of I sit down and actually learn how to play the song. This may be unconventional but I find it keeps my playing fresh and stops me from repeating patterns. The objective is always to write the best possible song I can. These songs often end up being pretty hard to play, but the song (hopefully) isn’t sacrificed in the end.

This is part 1 of the “Technicality vs. Songwriting” posts. I’ll have more for you guys soon enough. I’d love to hear some feedback on this so don’t hesitate to write to us with your thoughts on this if you want to.
- Max
(If you like how Max thinks, follow him on Facebook and Twitter.)

Well, we know we said the next show would be the album launch, but our good friends Endast (http://www.endastmusic.com) requested that we play their album fundraiser show this February 11th in Montreal.
It would have been dumb to say no, so come out and hear a few new tunes, and meet our new full lineup.
Here’s the Facebook event for the show:
http://www.facebook.com/events/169417929838887/

Our new album, Perpetuation, is complete and currently being pressed. We’re preparing a ton of good stuff for the launch, so stay tuned, friends! Thanks for your support.

-Eric

1. Start slow.
Before you can blast like Flo Mounier, you’re gonna have to rock like Phil Rudd (AC/DC, for the younger of you reading this:). Learning things at a slower pace will make sure you can play them cleanly and tightly. If you try to play too fast off the bat, you risk playing sloppily, or hurting yourself in the long run from tensing your muscles and tendons.

2. Try different styles.
This is mainly geared towards metal drummers, but can be helpful for everyone. Metal is traditionally a very fast and technical style of music that takes many years to develop. Playing other styles will increase your versatility and ability to play cleanly at different tempos. It’ll also set you apart from a lot of other drummers who have played nothing but metal. For example, there’s nothing more dangerously impressive than a metal drummer with a jazz or fusion background!

3. Consider taking lessons.
When I first started, I didn’t want anyone to tell me how to play the drums. I thought I knew how to do pretty much everything, and what I didn’t I could teach myself. Sure, I taught myself lots of things, but it was sloppy and took longer than it needed to. Taking a few lessons really opened me up to new possibilities I wouldn’t have ever thought of myself. If you don’t like one on one lessons, Youtube has a lot of great drummers sharing their knowledge for free! Search for your favorite drummers, or even just technique ideas from dudes filming themselves at home. Like, *ahem*, this guy:

4. Create a practice routine that’s fun.
The last thing you want to do is make practicing a chore. Come up with some exercises that are beneficial, but that you also enjoy. If you don’t enjoy practicing the instrument you’ve chosen, maybe there’s a different one that suits you better. Or videogames. You should play videogames.

##

Jordan has not been playing videogames lately… in fact he just got out of the studio recording drums for Derelict’s upcoming new album, Perpetuation. Check him out playing this preview version of the album’s title track:

Montreal technical death metal band Derelict has emerged from Christian Donaldson’s Studio Le Garage (Cryptopsy, Beneath the Massacre) to provide a final production update and reveal the new album’s track listing.

“This album was a lot of work!”, states vocalist Eric Burnet. “However, I think it’s paying off. We pushed ourselves to deliver the performances we wanted, and we have twelve brutal tunes to show for it.”

The track listing for Perpetuation is as follows:
1. Perpetuation
2. Spoils Of War
3. Expiry
4. Digital Birthright
5. Intricate Decay
6. Olympic
7. Ergogenic
8. Recreated
9. Yours To Surpass
10. Shackles Of Indoctrination
11. The Iridium Layer
12. Emergence

A short video of guitarist Max Lussier working on the intro to “Spoils Of War” can be seen here:

Derelict aims to release Perpetuation in early 2012.

In the meantime, to close off 2011, the band has issued a special holiday merch deal that includes their entire digital discography bundled with various merch items for as low as they can be offered. More info on Bandcamp:
http://derelictmetal.bandcamp.com/album/discography-holiday-deal

Here it is, the Derelict Holiday Deal:
http://derelictmetal.bandcamp.com/album/discography-holiday-deal
This is in effect for December 2011.
Don’t miss your chance.

Holiday Deal – Discography
Grab our entire discography in digital form for $10.
This includes:
Promo EP – 2011
Unspoken Words – 2009
Carry the Flame EP – 2008

Holiday Deal – Discography + Shirt
Everything in Discography + the new Expiry shirt for $20.
In this package, the music is essentially free!

Holiday Deal – Discography + Shirt + Tuque
Everything in Discography + Shirt, + the Derelict tuque, for $30.
In this package, the music is essentially free, AND you’re getting 33% off on the tuque.

Last but not least, every song is 50 cents by itself, and there are a few free ones.

We hope everyone has had a great 2011. We’ll be back in 2012 with a new album, so thanks for supporting us, and remember, when you buy music and merch, you help bands make music and go on tour. Cheers!

I’ve been moving through the Unspoken Words album with these posts, and up next is Xenocide.

Xenocide is actually the only Derelict song that features lyrical contributions from another member. Our old guitar player Daryl and I used to talk a lot about religion and war, particularly the Israel/Palestine situation. We decided to write a song about what it takes for people to go to war and view their opponents not as people like themselves, but as entities entirely separate and deserving only of death.

Although I knew much less about the conflict than I do now, I tried to make sure the lyrics could be read from the perspective of either side, or in fact from the perspective of any side fighting any war. The last line particularly applies to religious war, in which people view their cause as entirely just and holy, and their opponent’s cause as demonic and fundamentally wrong.

If you’re interested in these kinds of issues, check out this interesting documentary about religious conflict on VICE.com. “The Vice Guide to Belfast”:

Xenocide
Cut the tape, engage them
Perpetuate submission
The Fathers are silent
All wisdom is absent

It’s a lie, another lie, for the millionth time
Criticize inhuman foreign genocides
Devour all other thinking forms of life
Disfigure the idol to dehumanize
Cannibalize our basic human rights
Initialize religious suicides
Preserve our kind through complete isolation
Battle lines are drawn out with impatience

Seen through your eyes, we’re God-damned parasites
And through your guise, we’ll build a scapegoat

Inaugurate divergence
Reciprocate intolerance
Our answer is tested in blood
Our piousness outlasts your martyrdom