Earlier this week I was lucky enough to have done an interview with Mark Holcomb and Chris Barretto of Haunted Shores. We touch on everything from music to giant chicken-beasts! Enjoy!

1. So to start things off how about a little history of Haunted Shores? How you got started and such. As well, I know you put out 2 EPs “Maelstrom” and “Following Ivy” with a different line up in the last few years, so why the change of lineup, and do you still plan on playing those songs in a live setting? (I guess this counts as more than one)

Mark: Well to make an important distinction, I feel the old and new versions of HS should be treated as totally different bands, first and foremost. The first HS was formed in 2005 at American University in DC, as basically a way for me and my friend Nick Dodd to write fun metal songs and drink absinthe, haha. But yeah we hired my brother Jeff and Chris Hiebert and we recorded 2 EPs after that, the last one being released in 2008. After that, I guess everyone else sort of lost interest in music altogether, one by one. No breaks-up or anything, nothing dramatic at all.

After all that I was left with 3-4 Haunted Shores songs written w/o any outlet to release or record them, and coincidentally Misha Mansoor and I had talked about doing an HS album for fun. We kind of threw around the idea backstage at a Periphery show, and he was 100% on board with it, even if it was gonna be a “just for fun” type of scenario. It was initially nothing serious, but after recording the first new HS songs w/ him I realized I was way too thrilled w/ the product NOT to pursue it as a real band. And when the pieces were in place to bring Chris onboard that obviously brought it to an entirely new level, and since then I’ve made the decision to throw 100% of everything I’ve got into HS.

As for the old songs we most definitely will not be playing any of those songs anymore. Out of respect for the older members and the experiences we had in creating & recording those songs, I think that’d be the best decision. Plus like I said the 2 different versions of HS should be viewed as entirely separate entities altogether!

2. Any plans on getting a band together and touring or is HS a studio only project?

Chris: There most certainly are plans to make this a viable touring band! The sooner, the better is what we both have been saying to each other. Being in the studio has been a wonderful way for Mark and I to really get to know each other musically, and it has been such an awesome experience doing that, but I feel like all the fun and real excitement is to be had on the road. That’s the true test of how our music will translate and then be accepted by the people in my eyes. Actually, I’m quite curious to see as to what kind of “crowd” we would be drawing at one of our shows, given the wide range of influence and musical presentation that I think we are offering. That curiosity in and of itself is enough motivation for me to want to make this shit happen ASAP!

3. If so, who?/if not, why?

Mark: Just Chris and I, so far!
Chris: We have a lot of “potentials”, if you will, for all the remaining empty positions in the band, but nothing permanent as of yet. Mark and I have been kind of taking a different approach to “running a band” so we’ll honestly have to see what happens in terms of adopting new members. The bottom line though is that at some point, this music WILL definitely be played live, even if mark and myself remain the only core members and we have touring musicians to support.

4. How is the distance between members affecting the writting/recording process?

Mark: That’s a great question. The only members right now are Chris and I, with Misha onboard in the studio capacity. Chris lives in New York City, and Misha and I live a couple hours south in Washington DC, so thus far the instrumental versions of the songs for the full length have been written and recorded by myself and Misha in his apartment in DC, and Chris subsequently writes and records the vocals in NYC. While this has worked well so far and will probably continue to be the way things are done for a while, Chris and I have been throwing around writing ideas and have been meaning to sit down and work on the instrumental side of things together. He’s more known for his vocals, but Chris is insanely multi-talented; he plays saxophone, guitar, piano and drums, and is classically trained, so it’d be waste not to take full advantage of that. The logistical implications of me living in DC and Chris living in NYC has made it tough to write in a room together at the moment, but that will soon change! We’re spending the entire summer in NYC to do vocals for the LP and put finishing touches on the album as a whole. Misha will also be involved in the writing/recording process of HS from here on, as we’ve had a ton of fun creating these songs from the ground up, not to mention the comfort level in writing these songs is ridiculously high.

Chris: I guess the hardest aspect of living in different places will really manifest itself once we try to put rehearsals together and attempt to play this stuff live. As of now, it’s really been a rather great atmosphere, the way we’ve been working. The internet sure does help out the process a whole lot, in that respect, but nothing can truly take the place of two people getting together and bouncing ideas off of each other. I am very much looking forward to the day when Mark and myself can do that on a regular basis!

5. This one is more directed at Chris. I found when reading the lyrics for “When in Oslo” and “Sentient Glow” as well as some Periphery ones as well it seems your lyrics are “wordy” for lack of a better…well…word. Who and or what are your lyrical inspiration(s) and the how do you write the lyrics? Is it all you or a collaborative effort?

Chris: Wordy is an interesting adjective to describe my lyrics. I would say that my philosophy and what it is I am trying to accomplish when I write lyrics would be this; as perfect a balance as possible between eloquence, raw-emotional quality, and a sense of poetry is the objective (although I hardly consider myself any kind of poet). I believe that if you put all those elements together, you have the required makings for telling a great story, whether it’s about love, fractal dimensions, or carpentry for that matter. To me, telling a deep, rich, and MEANINGFUL story is exactly what great lyrics are about (emphasis on meaningful). It can be ridiculously abstract, straight-forward with no bull-shit, or anywhere in between; a story is a story. And when excuted correctly and/or flawlessly, one can change the world with their words. I would like to think that the world is my “brain space” and that all it has to offer is at my disposal when it comes time write. But I admit that I gravitate to certain topics more-so than others when that time comes. Usually, my lyrical pallet has been made up themes that have to do with love ( a lot of that haha… but not corny stuff… more like epic Greek love stories…Helen of Troy type shit), science (particularly quantum physics, chaos theory, and electro magnetism / fundamental forces), my everyday human experience and all the thoughts and emotions that come with it, and a sense of spirituality (not religion or anything, but I believe in a universal energy that runs through us all and I’m into some metaphysical stuff like sacred geometry and what not). Every now and then, if I am so moved to do so, I will try and venture into different thematic territories but I usually end up sticking to my “established arsenal” of material just because that is what I genuinely love writing about. I love playing with words and watching them unfold onto the paper (sometimes I feel like I am not even writing as much as I am dictating thoughts from somewhere else. Sometimes I don’t even understand my own lyrics till days, months, or even years later). There have been occasions that I have stared at an incomplete line on a page and have mentally debated with myself for at least an hour on whether I should use the word “I” or “one”. Sometimes I will reference another song or an earlier lyric within the same song by using a phrase, a series of words, or even just one word. Though I may be the only one who knows that, that’s how I have fun when I write. Those are the little games I play with myself to keep my mind engaged and on its toes. I pretty much hold to a rule of thumb that I write all the lyrics in whatever vocal endeavor it is I am working on. It just makes the emotional connection to the words that much easier when it comes from you, and that translates especially so when you go to sing live. People can really FEEL the difference when you are just reciting words and when you really… I dunno…. I guess preach them….really believe in them. But more-so than that rule, I hold to the idea that every rule has an exception, so I’m always ready to be surprised!

6. I have a feeling you guys know…..where can I buy a Chocobo? Don’t hold out on me I know you have one, Mark.

Mark: HAHA, I think a chocobo is technically just a chicken right? Or an overgrown ostrich/chicken hybrid? I don’t know… if chocobos actually existed I think they’d be considered a high-brow delicacy, and subsequently killed off in droves. But yeah.. I’d like to think that I’d be allowed to own one in real life, and that no one would try and take it and/or eat it. Then I’d have to choke-a-bro! ……… I am so sorry for that.

Chris: What the fuck is a chocobo?!?!

Mark: hahahah

7. If Haunted Shores could tour or work with any musician/producer or any band who would you want? Feel free to go nuts with this one.

Chris: UUUUUUuuuuuuugggggghhhhhhhh that is a topic that partially keeps me so actively interested in metal (other than the love of the music of course). I will put it this way; I LOVE DEFTONES. End of story. I have a top 5 list of bands that I would like to tour with but if I had to choose one, Deftones with out a doubt! No band has moved me as emotionally and stimulated me as intellectually as Deftones (and I am a HUGE Meshuggah fan mind you). Just something about that band for me. It keeps the magic and the little kid in me alive in a way that if they weren’t around… I dunno if I’d be here haha! Lamb of God and Meshuggah are tied for second followed by Tool and Slipknot. And since Sound Garden just got back together, I guess they can go back on the list too!

Mark: Soundgarden got back together? WHAT? Where have I been?? God this list could get dangerously long, but I’ll keep it simple: Devin Townsend. I’ve had the creepiest stalker obsession with his music for about 10 years now, and every time I’ve met him I’ve been absolutely speechless and star-struck. He’s without a doubt my biggest musical influence, and I hope if he’s heard any of the HS stuff he doesn’t completely hate it.. haha. Hmmmm who else? Ihsahn from Emperor maybe. Or Mikael from Opeth, Steven Wilson from Porcupine Tree. I love those guys. Oh and maybe Rocco Siffredi… he’s obviously a huge influence to us all!

8. Who did the art for the Cyclamen split and your myspace? It’s gorgeous!

Mark: It was actually done by our friend Tim Fox at cultlovesyou, based in the UK. He’s a director, illustrator, freelance motion designer, and he’s done art for bands like SikTh, Skindred, Cyclamen and a ton of others. He’s disgustingly talented and he’s got such a unique style; it’s hard to envision this being the last time we work with him!

9. What is your relationship with Cyclamen and how did the idea of doing a split come about?

Mark: Our relationship can be summed in two words: life partners. Haha no actually I’ve been friends with Hayato Imanishi from Cyclamen online for a while (he’d been into HS when it was still our older lineup), and he approached me last year after I posted some of Misha and I’s HS demos online. I said yes for a number of reasons: the idea of a split with a band based in the UK made so much sense in terms of spreading influence and gaining a listener audience far from where you’re based. We both essentially play similar styles of music, though different enough to turn our own respective audiences onto the other band. And furthermore I just think their music is awesome and really fun to listen to. They’re all super nice guys and have been great about the split so far.

10. What can we expect from the upcoming record and what is the target release date/month?

Chris: I suppose it would be safe to say that you can expect a record that is going to be as musically dense and rich as possible. I feel like there are only so many permutations of metal that exist at this point but we are definitely going to cover the established territory of what “our” music has to offer as well as some new places hopefully. I feel like it will be a collection of songs that will honor the tradition and evolution of the “metal language”. Mark and I agree that we are aiming to release the record at the end of the summer hopefully.

Mark: Yeah we’re going to continue to spend all summer working on it! I’m insanely proud of the material for the full-length so far. Chris basically nailed it in that we’re going to try and zero in on what we do best… which is basically just write music that makes us happy! Haha, how metal is that?! But yeah if you liked the direction we were headed on the HS/Cyclamen split, I feel like that’s only scratching the surface of where we’ll go for the full-length. I’m really just having so much fun with this music, and the eventuality of taking it live and supporting these songs on the road is more exciting to me than anything.

11. What is your take/opinion on this new “Djent” movement that you have become a part of?

Chris: Bleh… the whole thing is kind of silly if you ask me! This is just like back in the 40’s and 50’s when the “new sound” in jazz was starting to emerge and people didn’t know what to call it. Then some putz took a phrase that Dizzy Gillespie said (or scatted I think would be the more appropriate word) and coined an entire generation of music out of the term. That term is now commonly known as BeBop. It only describes a particular sound that one is trying to achieve rather than a whole “style” of music, let alone a movement. Djent (like BeBop) is a color to me, not the painting. But then again, I’ve never been one to label and categorize, I just know if it sounds good, bad, or better.

Mark: Yeah I’m kind of in the same boat; I didn’t even know we were part of a djent movement! I’m really horrible with these labels… I always just thought Misha coined that phrase, but then someone called me an idiot for not knowing that someone in Meshuggah actually came up with it. I don’t know, haha. Oh and I read that someone called us Sumeriancore on a forum. What the hell is that? But yeah people can lump us into whatever genre they want, it’s all good with me either way! But the second someone starts the genre of Awesome, I want in on that ASAP.

That’s about it man, again thank you so much for doing the interview and if you’re ever touring around Canada you can count on me for a place to crash.

Chris: Thank you for your time and your interest bro! If you are ever in NYC or DC, you have friends that want to throwdown!

Mark: Thanks for reading!