A Q&A with Karnage Through Crossing

Old school grit / modern heavy metal crossover…

What’s the title of your latest release, and what does it mean to you?
The Underground is the title of our latest single released on September 5th, available on all platforms. The title combines multiple ideas, including a reference to a famous Canadian music venue the art is based off of, and a story influenced from one of the members’ favourite shows, discussing a slum-born woman fighting for her community and for vengeance.

What was the hardest part about putting this release together, and why?
Getting all our marketing and distribution timing to line up. It takes a lot of preparation and last minute work. There’s definitely a huge crunch hour where you’re changing a lot of online information and uploading a lot of media so everything looks consistent on release day.

Who produced the release – what did they bring to it? If you produced it yourselves what do you enjoy most about producing your own material?
We had Scott Oliphant from Colossus Audio in Calgary produce this and our previous single. He provided the correct environment and equipment needed to get crisp clean recordings, and elevates our vision in his mastering process with his expertise in genres we only touch lightly on in the song but bring a full heavy tone we could not have achieved without him.

What do you want the listener to take away from listening to your music?
It’s up to each one of us to take action in our lives to create the change we want to see. No one is coming to save you and if we want change but do nothing then we are worse than hypocrites.

How does a track normally come together? Can you tell us something about the process?
A song usually starts with either a vision created by lyrics which inspires instrumental direction, or a melody in the song that inspires lyrics based off its mood and energy.

What band/artists have influenced you the most since you started this project, and why?
Being a crossover band there isn’t a single influence that shaped our sound. We take inspiration from Traditional Heavy Metal, Thrash Metal and Death Metal bands. Some examples would include Skullfist, Megadeth, Wasp, Slipknot, Cannibal Corpse.

What countries would you like to tour? Are there any standout venues you’d like to play in?
Europe is a dream, each country has so many unique characteristics, and they’re all so close together, it would be really cool to visit those places even from the highways.

If you could pick one track for our readers to listen to in order to get a taste of your music, what would you pick, and why?
Our single, ‘Chosen Paths’, is a good demonstration of what Karnage Through Crossing does. Between the belting Heavy Metal vocals, guttural death metal vocals, 80s influenced licks, with rhythms influenced by thrash and death/black metal, the audience gets a next-to-full scope of our style. The only aspect of our music that isn’t present in that song is our infamous guitar solos which can be heard in ‘The Underground’ or ‘Crimson’.

What ambitions do you have for the band/your career?
We plan on competing with international acts for spots at major festivals as our career progresses, and are determined to become full time touring musicians promising a stage show that brings the grit and glory of 20th century Heavy Metal into the modern age.

Finally, as you leave the stage, what are your parting words?
Remember our songwriters live and bleed heavy metal! There’s more than just a song you’re hearing, this is a message, a statement! And a legacy we all share together, in the Pit, on our jackets, and in our lives. Come for the story, stay for the power!!

Find out more about Karnage Through Crossing at Facebook