SHORT AND SWEET: WMSE TALKS TO CHRIS SLORACH OF METZ
POSTED:: November 25, 2020
FILED UNDER:: Interviews, Short And Sweet (Q&A's)
One of METZ’s trademark sonic moves is just to be plain loud. Do you like rock? Punk? Being crushed by a wall of guitar, bass and drum sounds, borne out of anxiety? Atlas Vending (the band’s latest output) provides all these things. There are creepy elements of Swans. There are pummeling-yet-melodic moments of At The Drive In and the deep heft of Hum. If you need a listen that’s envelopingly cathartic and edgy, try Atlas Vending on for size. The Sub Pop Records band resides in Toronto and Chris Slorach – bassist for METZ – checked in with us real briefly (thanks, Chris!)…
Sub Pop says Atlas Vending covers “paternity, crushing social anxiety, addiction, isolation, media-induced paranoia, and the restless urge to leave everything behind…a snapshot of today’s modern condition”. How are you holding up currently, considering?
Considering the situation I would say I’m doing well. Scrolling through the news and feeling helpless is one side of the day but on the other there is time to be creative and continue working and moving forward while we stall and wait for things to get better.
Atlas Vending is garnering Metz an awful lot of Fugazi comparisons. Do you all feel the same? Where does this album truly take its cues from, if any? I hear echoes of Chicago punk and hardcore…
We are all fans of Fugazi so I’m sure the influence creeps in to our sound. As the band grows I think we all pull influence from our surroundings and daily happenings in our lives. It’s not always music but when it is, it’s never coming from one specific place.
What gear do you use to create your pummeling sound on this particular record?
We used the same stuff we play live, guitar/bass/drums. There is a smattering of synth/shaker/tambourine and other stuff that’s fun to play around with in the studio peppered in there too.
We were very prepared to record, the two weeks flew by and it was honestly the best time I’ve had recording an album. We had Seth Manchester and Ben Greenberg in the studio with us helping us achieve our sounds. It was two solid weeks of work and it flowed.
Not too many bands choose to place one of their lead singles in an album’s final slot (and have it be a lengthy one, at that)! Why is “A Boat to Drown In” at the end?
I can only speak for my impression of that song closing the album. I feel like that song offers relief from the tension and anxiety that builds over the course of Atlas Vending.
Your videos for this record are pretty cinematic – are you guys secretly teasing future film plots that you are working on, on the side?
Anything can happen.
Who are some bands making really heavy sounds that you love right now?
Sumac, Adulkt Life, Orannsi Pazuzu, Wax Chattels.
What, as a musician, is your biggest goalpost for 2021?
To hopefully be able to play shows again. That would be nice.
Find METZ’s ‘Atlas Vending’ at your favorite local record shop, or on their Bandcamp page.