By Andrew Bansal
Brooklyn-based hardcore trio Vise Massacre are set to release their debut full-length album “Expendable Humans” on January 10th 2012. I reviewed the album yesterday, and I’m already a huge fan of it. As a result, I immediately jumped on the first opportunity to talk to guitarist/vocalist Rich Muller to discuss this album, among a few other things. And just like the music on this album, his answers were short, precise and to-the-point. Read the conversation below, and check out the band’s facebook for more.
I’m loving your debut full-length “Expendable Humans”. How does it feel to put out your first full-length album with this band?
I’m excited! It’s been a long time, and finally we’ve been able to get our studio to a point where we can record some shit that’s worthy, and you know, we’re good to go.
It seems to be a completely D-I-Y album. Did you enjoy that process of doing everything on your own and having full control?
It was a long process, but it seems like the right thing to do right now.
Is it something you’re simply used to doing since this band started?
Yeah, absolutely. We’ve always worked that way. In the past, I was on a label for a little bit. But we’re still doing our own thing, so yes.
You’ve played mostly in the NY area. Do you think that with this album you’ll be able to break out of that and may be come to the West Coast and do some shows over here?
For this band, yeah, we’ve only played here, in Japan, and we went up north a little bit last winter. We absolutely want to tour as much as possible.
The Japan tour was in 2010, I believe. How did that come about and how was the experience?
We were part of a tribute/compilation album, and we went there to play the record release shows which were very wonderful. Everything worked out great. A lot of fun, a lot of good old friends, and we’d like to do something like that in the future too.
That’s what I was about to ask you. Do you plan to go back there anytime soon?
Well, once this album is out we’ll be able to think about that a little further. We’re looking to tour as much as possible locally right now, and then do a couple of mini-tours. They are in the works more on this coast but as time goes, I’m sure we’ll be able to stretch further and further.
One thing that I love most about the album is the bass sound. It’s so heavy that it’s almost like a second guitar. Was that something you worked on while mixing?
It was an overall goal of the engineer Chris Vezza, who’s the bass player in the band, to make that particular sound as gnarly and as wide as possible.
Were you always aiming at being a 3-piece ever since you started out with this band?
It’s just the way I visualized things. Right from the time I started this, I didn’t really picture more elements or other guitarists, you know.
When you look back at the end product that this debut album has turned out to be, are you satisfied with it?
As the person that writes the songs, absolutely. If I wasn’t proud of it, I don’t think I would have ever put it out.
Yeah, exactly. This do-it-yourself means that you don’t have to follow any deadlines. You must have had a chance to work with this album as much as you wanted to.
Well, I would say living in New York, having to work as much as we do, there’s only that much free time we have for doing the record. But absolutely, we did it as much as we could, in our free time.
Just to reiterate for the readers, what formats is this album available in?
It’s coming out on vinyl and digital download.
It’s awesome that you’re putting it out on vinyl.
Yeah, that’s one of the reasons why we were psyched to get involved and do this ourselves. to put out an actual record. It’s always the best format.
As you said, you haven’t really played on the West Coast as Wise Massacre. When was the last time you played a show in LA?
It was in the 90s with a band called The Last Crime. I played drums in that band. I wasn’t a singer/guitar player yet.
How different do you think Vise Massacre is from your previous bands? Do you bring that old background into this new music of yours?
I find it a large influence, but we’re much, much heavier.
What are some of the other artists you appreciate, new and old?
Well, I’ve been listening to anything from Steely Dan to Vader lately. It includes all the 70’s rock, and all the great bands from the 80’s. I listen to absolutely everything, almost every genre as well.
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