It seems Evan Brewer should be a household name in the metal community by now. You might be most familiar with his work in The Faceless, but Brewer has also released two solo records through Sumerian Records and even more importantly formed a new group. Entheos, consisting of vocalist Chaney Crabb (made famous by her viral Veil of Maya cover), drummer Navene Koperweis (previously of Animosity & Animals as Leaders fame), and new guitarist Malcolm Pugh, will be debuting The Infinite Nothing on April 1st. We spoke to the bassist about Entheos, solo records, The Faceless, and his own ultimate personal compilation. You can view Evan’s answers below.
I’m stoked to come see you guys on your tour with The Contortionist, Monuments, and sleepmakeswaves later this month. Can you discuss what fans can expect from you guys live during this tour and your relationship with your tour mates?
We’ve known The Contortionist for quite awhile and definitely consider them good pals. Initially, I had met the singer of the band [Michael Lessard] when he was with his other band, Last Chance to Reason. I’ve been on various tours with those guys in different incarnations like when I was in The Faceless. My solo project toured with Last Chance to Reason with Michael [Lessard] on vocals and Robby [Baca] on guitar. As far as what the fans can expect from us, we’ll have material from our first EP and a couple new songs as well. We should be playing I think a 35-minute set.
And next month The Infinite Nothing will be released. Was the writing or recording process any different from the Primal EP?
It was pretty similar, just more of everything. Everything that was heard on the EP was elaborated on the album almost like the EP serves as a beginner course. There was a member change about three quarters through the album. The guitar player that was on the EP [Frank Costa], did all the rhythm tracking on the album, but he left before we did the leads so that was done by our new guy, Malcolm [Pugh]. So, there are two different guys contributing on the guitar side of the album.
Would you say there was any specific bands that either yourself or the entire band used as inspiration towards the album?
It’s tough for a band like us to come up with exact inspirations. I’ve been doing this metal thing for so long, so it’s hard for me to remember where we started drawing inspiration from. I know collectively, bands like Dying Fetus and Necrophagist are on our death metal side while Meshuggah would be more of the progressive influence. We pull a lot of things outside of metal, mainly electronic influences.
Is it safe to assume that Navene created the electronic atmospheres or did other members have their hands in that side of production?
Yeah, that’s definitely Navene because he makes electronic music, but I’m in agreement that I want that stuff in there. For my solo stuff, I do a lot of programming stuff as well so I could do that side of the music, but the rough sketches he sends me is basically what I was thinking of having anyways.
I think there’s a slight connotation towards supergroups or projects like Entheos in that they are somewhat short term. Do you foresee the band as a long-term project or is it too soon to say?
I see it as a long-term project. First of all, I don’t see the creative value in supergroups as much as I see the promotional value. If anyone wants to call us a supergroup, that’s flattering, but we made this band for different reasons. It didn’t really matter if anyone’s heard of the members involved, but it was just they were the right person for the job. We’ve all fallen victim to fighting it out in the music industry throughout the years and now we finally found a band where it can actually be a lucrative group. We see this band as a chance to do it right and build something on a solid foundation for the right reasons.
Do you find more satisfaction or personal gain through your solo records or more so with groups such as Entheos?
I definitely get a tremendous satisfaction from my solo stuff for obvious reasons. I have full control over everything. But in music, there’s something really beautiful with collaborating, interacting with like-minded people, and creating a product that ends up going further than you could have done had you only harnessed your resources. So to answer your question, yes and no. I get satisfaction from both for distinct different reasons and I have no desire to stop either outlets. As a musician, you do a lot of different things and you can’t expect to get complete fulfillment from just one project. And we encourage each other to continue do stuff outside of the band as well.
Are there any thoughts or plans towards future solo releases?
Always there are, it’s something I’ll continue to work on throughout my life. Right now, it’s on hold. We’ve been focusing full-time on the band, which I’m totally cool with. I’m working on some ideas and have some rough concepts in mind. One thing about my solo stuff is I’m always trying to make a distinct, different record. So, I want to make sure there’s growth in between every album to allow me to have a different sound.
You backed out of The Faceless in 2014. Have you been in contact with Michael at all since that departure or do you not have any interest towards that band nowadays?
I definitely have tremendous interest in the band. I’ve always enjoyed their music and am eagerly awaiting the new album. Now, I’m just down there with the fans. I respect Michael [Keene] as a musician and I think he’s gonna make something really great. I just don’t know how long it will take him though, that’s part of the reason I left. Being a creative person, I crank things out all the time and the amount of time between records for The Faceless just felt extreme. I haven’t really talked to him. I think we’ll get back to a friendly level I would hope at some point, but that’s more on him than me. I’ve made it clear that I have no hard feelings.
If you could make the ultimate Evan Brewer compilation, with one song from each album you’ve been included on. Which tracks would there be?
Alone – “Currency”
Your Itinerary – “This Seems Familiar”
The Faceless’ Autotheism – “Hymn of Sanity”
Entheos’ Primal EP – “Chemical Flashbacks”
Entheos’ The Infinite Nothing – “New Light”
Reflux’s The Illusion of Democracy – “Single File to Bliss”
Animosity’s Animal – “Animal”
