It’s finally the week of the “Battle of the Bands”, and we have another awesome band to tell you guys about! Coming with a completely different sound from the music we have featured so far for this event, Letter of Marque is an awesome Metal band out of Long Island.
Letter of Marque has the single “Alice” released on their Spotify and it is a banger. The song starts off with a string section (cello maybe?) and transitions into metal mayhem. I can’t wait to hear this song live! Check out the interview The After Hours Review did with Letter of Marque below!
Band/Artist Name: Letter of Marque
Members:
Matt Gund – Vocals
Jeff Pritchard – Lead Guitar
Vinny Antonelli – Rhythm Guitar
Arthur Erb – Bass
Griffin McCarthy – Drums
Band Social Media
Where to find music by Letter of Marque!
Spotify, iTunes, YouTube
What genre of music do you consider your work to be? Who are your major influences in the genre?
Different styles of metal. Whatever works to fit a song’s topic or emotion. Some inspirations for our music would be Lamb of God, Slipknot, Rush, Slayer, Dragonforce, KoRn, System of a Down, Killswitch Engage, Avenged Sevenfold, Trivium, and Händel.
When did you first take an interest in the music scene? What inspired you to make music?
The summer of 2016 is when we first started taking an interest to the music scene. Matt, Vinny and Jeff started to create riffs/music when they jammed together. We eventually branched out to fill in the other positions and create a full band. Our drummer Griffin has been playing the drums since he was only 3. His love for creating, playing and listening to music is what inspires him to continue every day. Our rhythm guitar player Vinny and drummer Griffin were also heavily influenced by the popular video game “Guitar Hero” from a young age. Not Jeff. He has been playing the cello since elementary school. Jeff is heavily influenced by classical music. Bach is his homie, and so is his guitar.
Do you have a record label? Are you a member of any music organization?
We are currently independent.
How has your music evolved since you first began making music?
We are all evolving as musicians and continue to evolve everyday. This allows us to all bring something different to the table for song writing and performances. If you had the chance to listen to our original demos, you’d see one hell of an evolution.
What has been your biggest challenge as a band/artist so far?
A big challenge we face as a band is making sure all 5 members are on the same schedule. Sometimes we miss a few weeks of practice due to scheduling conflicts, and it sets back our progress. Another major conflict we face is paying for everything we need. With all the band members being between the ages of 19-23, we don’t have as much money as we would like to spend on rehearsal space, merchandise, recordings, etc. Finally, as individual musicians, we all struggle with procrastination. It is normal to feel lazy and unmotivated occasionally, but if you want to be the best at what you do, limiting procrastination is essential.
What can you tell us about any new material, writing and recording process, inspiration for the music, etc?
We have a new single coming out late February. Our debut album “Outbreak” is also set to be released later this year. We recorded the album at Westfall Recording Studio in Farmingdale, NY. The album features Jeff playing Cello on a four songs, as well as Matt playing the didgeridoo on one. We try to find the right material to properly fit a scene. Treating the music and lyrics with a philosophy similar to writing for a film score. We started the writing process over the summer of 2016 and finished up with tracking November of 2018.
Do you have any main themes or topics you like to hit in your music?
We mostly write stories, and write music to fit those stories and experiences. We want to get the fans off their feet and show them a good time. Lyrically our songs can range from a bad breakup to a vulture eating someone’s face off!
What’s the ultimate direction you have for the band?
The direction for this band is to play shows to promote our upcoming album “Outbreak”. Once the album is released, we will continue to play shows and use these shows and the album to grow our fanbase. Eventually we want to start writing more music and work on album number two. But for now, our album “Outbreak” is the primary focus.
Any upcoming release dates or shows?
No upcoming shows yet, but our second single is set to be released toward the end of February, and our debut album “Outbreak” will be released later in the year.