Having been the subject of quite a bit of internet hatred over the last month or so, Suicide Silence vocalist Eddie Hermida recently defended the band’s switch toward clean vocals at clrvynt.
Hermida explained about their musical shift:
“I think every band that isn’t a new deathcore band, pretty much all the originators branched out in some shape or form. We’re obviously committing to that branch. With All Shall Perish, there’s singing all over the second and third record; it’s very in the realm of Opeth, Killswitch Engage, Emperor. There’s that. The thing is, in order to fully commit to a sound, fully commit to a change, a lot of the bands — including Suicide Silence, up until we decided it was time to fully commit — they wanted to change, but didn’t fully do it. Chelsea Grin added singing; Whitechapel just did it with the newest record. The only bands that still stick to the “original” deathcore sound are the newest deathcore bands, because they think that’s the way to make money and that’s how to get fame, just like Suicide Silence or All Shall Perish or Despised Icon. So, they’re the ones waving the flag nowadays; the old-schoolers realized the one-trick pony [aspect] of it. Fans don’t really like the technical aspect; they love the breakdowns. So, either they become more breakdown-y and continue doing whatever they do, or they branch out. We started seeing that trend, and really, Suicide Silence wanted to make a change before I even joined the band. When I recorded “You Can’t Stop Me,” that was the time for that record. When it was time to start writing this record, it was time. We all looked at each other [and said] this is the perfect opportunity to branch out and do something different. We looked at each other and all jumped off a cliff.”
While Hermida opened up about the new album and their changed direction, he was asked about his views on the future of deathcore. His response included a swipe at Thy Art is Murder’s new song “No Absolution.”
“If bands keep doing what we’re doing, it can still remain as a powerhouse. Fact is, the reason people don’t believe in deathcore is it sounds dumbed-down and cheesy, and not challenging to play. A lot of the death metal elitists make fun of it, and anyone who doesn’t listen to all screamed vocals isn’t going to listen to it. So, you’re kind of stuck playing to these fans who are either deathcore fans or death metal elitists. Or just metal elitists in general, the patch-wearing fucking weirdos. [Laughs] You start playing to these crowds, and they’re never going to accept the virtuosity of dumbing down your music; they’re never going to understand it. If it’s not played at 230 bpm, people are gonna think it’s wack. That right there goes to show how simple-minded and afraid of change people in our scene are. If bands starts challenging themselves and pushing what they can do as musicians, and goes out there and write some really good tunes, I think deathcore has a future.
If bands succumb to what Thy Art Is Murder just did, like, “Oh yeah we’re gonna save deathcore,” and they write the same song they wrote on their last record, it’s going to die. That’s just it. If bands start to grow, deathcore will grow; if bands make the music they’ve always made, it’s going to die.”
Thy Art is Murder indirectly responded to Hermida with new merch featuring a design based on President Donald Trump’s campaign slogan, stating “Make Deathcore Great Again.” Vocalist CJ McMahon was a little less subtle, suggesting on his Instagram page that a bridge had been burned.
While this could lead to a further deathcore feud, we decided to place new and older material from both bands below:
