1. If you look back at the band from the time you started to where you are at now how would you like to describe that journey?
It’s definitely been an emotional rollercoaster over the last eight years. There have been some great times, but we’ve had our drawbacks as well. Despite the downfalls, we’ve still been able to accomplish quite a bit in that time with many releases, music videos and regional shows.
2. The band started in 2015, now that you all are older and more mature, how do you feel you have developed as musicians and do you think you look at music a little differently now?
As the founder and primary song writer, I went it with a pretty clear vision of what I wanted back in 2015. Although I have grown as a song writer, I don’t necessarily look at music any differently than I did back then. Songs that I wrote for our debut album I still feel are very strong, I just improved on that sound with each successive release.
3. How do you find your sound? Do you take a whole bunch of influences and mix them together to make it your brew?
Given that The Last Reign is essentially a throw back to the 90s era of melodic death metal, the influences don’t spread too far. However, I do add in my style of playing with some metalcore elements as well.
4. Explain to us what went into developing the concept, music and album cover for your new album, “Endangered Pieces (Volume 1)”?
As I believe you are aware, Endangered Pieces is a collection of three previously released EPs which include It’s Dangerous to go Alone (2019), Just Too Darn Loud (2021) and Sands of Fate (2022).The main difference is that we pressed physical copies of this compilation where the EPs themselves are only available digitally. The song It’s Dangerous to go Alone was a video game medley that we put together to perform at a show where we were going to be playing with similar acts. The show ended up getting cancelled due to Covid so we decided to record the song and release it as an EP along with new versions of some of our old songs recreated by different chip tune artists. The Just Too Darn Loud release was an idea that I’ve had since the inception of the band where I wanted to create melodic death cover versions of some of my favorite 80s songs. The Sands of Fate EP was a collaboration with Jesse Isadore (Vocals - Design the Void, Isadore) where we wrote one original song together and then each picked a cover to do as well.
5. Was their a specific goal in mind when decided to include such a collection of several cover versions on the new album?
Aside from my response to your last question, I just wanted another opportunity to get these songs in peoples hands. I believe they are all good and deserve to be heard.
6. One of the hardest elements of metal music is the ability to write actual songs that are catchy and memorable. What is the writing philosophy of the band and how do you create the overall song structures?
The most important philosophy of writing is to be as objective as possible. Not every riff or lyric you write is going to be good. I have scraped hundreds if not thousands of licks and even full songs because I just didn’t feel they were good enough. Of course, there is a downside to this when you feel everything you write is garbage and then you never release anything. It’s a fine line, but there is a point when a song has to be done so you can move on and learn from that experience to make the next one better.
7. Speaking of your latest album, how did the recording process take place and are there any memorable anecdotes to mention?
Both It’s Dangerous to go Alone was recorded, mixed and mastered by Nick Borgosz where Jay Zubricky too over those duties for Just to Darn Loud. Sands of Fate involved a few different steps. We recorded drums in a studio with Anthony Potenza. I took over after that to track everything else which included guitars, bass and vocals. The stems were then sent over to another engineer, Joshua Johnson, to re-amp, mix and master the album. As of now, the latter has yielded the best result.
8. If you had to highlight one important message behind your music, what would it be?
To bring back the glory days of 90s melodic death metal. It seems to be a genre that is very well liked, but also easily forgotten about which is unfortunate.
9. What kind of role do the lyrics play in the concept of The Last Reign? How important are they?
Overall, the lyrics don’t really play a role in the overall concept of The Last Reign. This does not mean that they are not just as important. I prefer to have thought provoking and well written lyrics that help drive the song.
10. When you write songs, do you start with a visual concept, or a riff, or something else?
I think in general, most songs have just started from a riff that sounds cool. Some flesh out quick and easy where others take more time to process. I think if you sit down with the intention to write, you’re less likely to make any progress than if you just let the music come. You can’t force creativity.
11. When you release a record how much attention do you pay to things like track order, lay out and art work? How planned is everything?
Everything is planned out very methodically. A lot of that attention to detail probably goes unnoticed, but when it is recognized, it’s all the more rewarding.
12. How much time does it take to put a record together? Do you have extra material that’s left out after choosing what fits you most?
If you’re strictly speaking of the music, there is no specific amount of time that it takes to put a record together. They say that you have your entire life to write your first album but much less time to write the second unless you want people to forget about you. This in itself can put a strain on the whole thing. Given that I tend to scrap stuff early in the song writing process that doesn’t fit our sound, pretty much everything written up until now has been recorded and released with the exception of one song from 2015.
13. Since the amount of Melodic Death metal bands should keep on increasing, the style currently being fashionable, how do you think The Last Reign could stand out?
I’ve been trying to figure this out since I started this band. Haha. We try to have fun and be entertaining as you can tell from most of our music videos and the covers we have done. We are also very energetic on stage which tends to draw and keep the crowd when we play shows, which is a great feeling. There is a bit of resurgence happening right now of that style with The Halo Effect album and the new In Flames release. Maybe we can try and catch that wave to get in front of some new audiences.
14. What ways has been the best for you in order to promote the band? What do you do to reach as many interest as possible?
First and foremost is basic networking and building relationships with bands, promoters and venues outside of your area. We’ve also gone through a public relations company with most of our releases since 2019 along with sponsored ads through social media.
15. What have you been listening to lately? Any new and upcoming bands that might have caught your attention?
There is a new band with a throw back similar to ours called Majesties, but they harness more of the early 90s sound similar to Jesters Race by In Flames and The Gallery by Dark Tranquility. Outside of this genre completely, The Intersphere out of Germany is fantastic with a kind of progressive indie rock sound.
16. Let’s conclude this interview with you telling your future plans with TLR. I hope you enjoyed the interview.
We are currently in the process of writing our third full length album of original music which will hopefully be out by early 2024. This year will be mostly playing as many out of town shows that we can with a four day run planned for the end of April with another one hopefully over the summer and in the fall.
Brian Platter
Songwriter/Guitarist
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