Interview with Devin from Centuries Of Decay

Having recently released their first album I was lucky enough to pin down Devin from Centuries Of Decay for a chat about the band and the album. Hope you enjoy.

Having just dropped a debut album, what’s the journey been like for Centuries Of Decay up to this point?

So far, the reception has been amazing. We had an awesome CD release show in Toronto and we were able to connect with a lot of new fans. We’ve also had a lot of airplay on a variety of radio stations from around the globe. It’s been an incredible experience thus far, more than we ever expected.

How would you describe Centuries of Decay to anyone that hadn’t heard you before?

I think the best way to describe us is atmospheric death metal. We try to combine brutal riffing and blasts beats with really ambient, melodic passages.

How was the recording process was there anything unexpected or new you guys had to learn during the making of the album?

This is our first album and production was handled almost entirely by me, so basically everything was unexpected Ha Ha! It was both humbling and rewarding for the whole band. I don’t get a chance to fully mic a drum kit very often, so that was definitely a learning experience. While I’m very happy with how it turned out, I know that next time we record, it will sound even better!

You’ve mentioned elsewhere that there is a concept in the album, where did that originate from? 

We were inspired by ancient civilizations and how they became lost to time and nature. The idea of what our civilization would look like after we were gone intrigued us and we decided to name our band after that idea; Centuries of Decay. When we started the band, I decided to do vocals and write lyrics. While I had fronted a cover band during my high school days, I’ve never been the vocalist of an original project or wrote lyrics before, so this was all very new to me. I didn’t want my lyrics to be too literal or lame and cheesy, so I just focused on our original idea for the band and tried to string together a sort of story of a city lost to time and nature and how it ended up that way. Within those confines, I was able to explore a lot of parts to myself while telling a story.

And do you feel that this concept is something that will continue in future Centuries Of Decay albums, or are there other ideas you’d like to explore? 

I think that it could. It’s probably too early to tell at this moment. I’m a guitar player first and a lyricist second so I usually write my lyrics around the way a particular riff makes me feel. I think that there are still layers to explore with the ‘Centuries of Decay’ motif, be it social decay, or mental decay or whatever, but the idea of writing the album as a concept piece helps me bring focus into my lyrical content. I personally enjoy concept albums. I feel that it adds another layer of depth to an album.

Apart from rocking away in the studio and on stage what else do you guys like to do?  

Derrick, Rob and Anthony (when he was still bassist in our band) were really active. Rock climbing, slack lining etc. (I don’t know what they do in the winter). Our new bassist, Matt, has his own recording studio and is very active in our local music scene. Myself, I’m a nerd. I love gaming, building computers and tinkering with electronics.

What band’s and artists inspired you to get into music and make a band?

For me, it was Metallica.  Master of Puppets was a life changing album. Hearing their music and seeing the insane crowd shots in the album booklet was very inspiring. I even bought an Explorer when I was young because James made it look so badass. I still have it!

And do you have know of any new band’s that you think people should check out?

Two bands that I’ve been into recently are Black Table; post-black metal from New Jersey and Artificial Brain; some awesome tech-death from Long Island. Both are raw and

Finally, what does the future look like for Centuries Of Decay?

We want to extend our live show as far as we can reach. Working in the studio is fun, but playing live is what we live for.

Thanks very much for doing this. I look forward to hearing more from you in the future. 

Keep up to date with Centuries Of Decay here:

www.centuriesofdecay.com

www.facebook.com/CenturiesOfDecay

centuriesofdecay.bandcamp.com/releases