Interview with Skeletal Remains

Hi! What sparked the inspiration for “Fragments of the Ageless,” and how do you think it’s shaking things up compared to “The Entombment of Chaos”?
Fragments is definitely an angrier sounding beast for sure. In a way, you can very much say that the scene itself has influenced the overall feel of the record! We believe deeply in the “power of the riff”. A belief we feel has somewhat dwindled a bit in some of today’s younger bands. This is just us speaking from our own point of view, of course and not to be taken too seriously haha. Also, there are a ton of killer bands releasing new music too so that kicks off the competitive nature in us to want to put out the meanest record.

Maintaining that Skeletal Remains fire while also pushing the boundaries of death metal sounds like quite the balancing act. How do you guys pull it off on this album?
I wouldn’t say we’re pushing any boundaries in Death Metal, rather more simply pushing our own boundaries as a band though for sure. We’re a very straight forward Death Metal band who only wish to continue on with the styles of old. We wear our influences on our sleeves both figuratively and literally haha. As for the record, we just wanted to up the game from the previous release. For me, Entombment was my entry back into the band and with that came some uncertainties and doubts within myself of course. “Can I pull this off? Can I keep up with SR’s direction towards intensity and technicality?”. So, with Entombment’s release, receiving positive reviews eliminated any self doubt I was feeling and brought forth this drive to prove this wasn’t just a one time fluke from my end. We knew what we had as a band and what we were capable of so the strength behind the music is coming from a place of certainty and confidence for sure.

When you’re penning lyrics for a new album, what kinds of themes or ideas tend to grab your attention and make their way into the songs?
I wrote about absolutely anything that grabs my attention. I take from movies, books, art, personal experience, historical events etc. Of course, it all leans more on the darker side of life, but for a band called Skeletal Remains who play DEATH Metal, what else could you really expect? Haha. For example, “To Conquer “ was inspired not only by Dan Seagrave’s artwork, but also by the plague of religious ignorance poisoning the minds of millions. It isn’t necessarily about one religion, but by all who use it as a weapon for death, destruction, greed and power. But in the end, none of it really is meant to be taken seriously at all. We play Death Metal for the music. We’re not the type of band who really has “anything to say”.

How do you all make sure everyone’s voice is heard in the creative process?
Our ears are always open to ideas. Though Chris and I are the main songwriters, we will never close anybody out. We want for everybody to have some sort of input, otherwise, are WE really a band, or just a couple of hired guns? The best for the band is what’s important, so along with encouraging input, all egos are left at home. Even if an idea is shot around, it doesn’t mean it’ll be used. We all take a vote and continue on from what ever decision was made.

With the album dropping soon, I’m curious how you reckon fans – both old and new – are going to vibe with it. Any predictions?
As with every record before, there have been some changes to our sound and style. Although it’s still very much SR, we’ve understood that not all of our fans are going to dig what each record brings. A fan of the earlier stuff may not dig the newer stuff and vice versa. Thankfully though, the reception for the singles have been pretty good for the most part with some saying it’s some of our “best written songs yet” which seems to be a good sign… hopefully haha. We’re very confident in the music though and are all stoked to have the full album released!

Were there any specific bands or experiences that really left their mark on “Fragments of the Ageless”?
I feel it’s been a stable road of growth for the band more than anything. Nothing really comes to mind that may stand out as a specific experience. Rather, everything we’ve done to this point is an experience that has shaped the band to what it is today and continues to evolve. We’re getting to a point where we’re much more comfortable testing the waters or trying something new. We’re doing what WE love and that’ll always be the driving force.

What’s the story behind the artwork for this album, and how does it tie into the tunes?
The way we usually go about it is we’ll have an album title and basic structure, including songs/song titles etc. This time around, we didn’t have any of that. We had a few half written songs, 0 lyrics and were still without an album title. We all kind of spit balled a few ideas and shot them his way. After a few drafts we landed on the final piece and were very happy with it. Majority of the art is Seagrave simply doing his thing and masterfully if I may add! With having the artwork done first, it helped sparked the ideas to have a few songs tie together even if mainly through instrumental parts. “To Conquer the Devout” is the only one lyrically tied to the artwork as both “Ceremony of Impiety” and “…Evocation (The Rebirth)” were inspired musically with both songs really capturing the overall feel of the imagery, in our opinion.

So, where do you see Skeletal Remains fitting into the whole death metal scene these days?
Honestly, still finding our way through it all. We’re stoked and grateful to be in the place we’re currently in, but we’re still working our way towards higher grounds. The scene is a bit of all over the place at the moment with our style of Death Metal being “out of fashion” it seems like haha. We avoid any trends and stick to what we know and love, so we understand we may not be the flavor of the month, so to speak, but that will never deter us from continuing on. It just drives us to work that much harder at becoming a band with lasting longevity.

Staying true to your roots while still evolving your sound is no easy feat. How do you guys manage to strike that balance?
Thankfully, as time has progressed, we’ve all gotten better at our instruments haha. Having the right group of dudes also helps! Having the comfortability to push our musical limits, knowing everybody is more than capable of getting to that next level sound, has been a blessing. Knowing the direction we all want to get the band to collectively, rather than everybody wanting something different, is also a major plus. We feel with the last few releases, we’ve begun to really find our sound which has helped us to write more freely and comfortably without any doubts of straying too far away. We are confident enough to say that what ever we release will always have that SR sound.

Working with Century Media must have its perks. How has that partnership shaped the band’s journey and the music you’re putting out?
They’ve been nothing short of amazing! CM has really taken care of us throughout the last few years and we couldn’t be any more grateful. A lot of our exposure, outside of touring, is surely due to their constant push. With their help, we’ve been able to work with some of the best in the business giving our sound the proper voice. We are so very grateful for their support!

How do you capture that same intensity from the studio and bring it to the stage?
We love what we do! Plain and simple. Why put out a record just to play it with zero passion live? Why put out music at all?? The intensity in our music will always be as long as our hearts remain in it. We grew up watching some of the greatest to ever do it. And, after so many years, still putting on an amazing show. You’re either in it 100% or not at all.

Looking ahead, what’s the big dream for Skeletal Remains? Thank you for your time!
To one day make a solid living off of our music and touring… yeah I know… in today’s world that seems less and less likely by the day haha.
Fuck it! We’ll still give it a go!!
Thanks for having us!!