Who is answering the questions?
Hey there! This is Nick, the bassist of the band here to answer all your questions.
Can you tell us about the formation of This Burning City?
This Burning City formed in 2012 coming from the small town of Gananoque. Back then, the band kind of came together less as something serious, but more of a “Let’s get together and jam” kind of thing. So a bunch of kids that went to school together all their lives decided to piece together this hardcore band and we’ve been going ever since. To this day we make loud noises in a smelly band shed. Nick wasn’t a part of the original ensemble but we picked him up later and he’s been a big part of the crew since.
How did you get to the band name This Burning City, and what does it mean to you?
This burning City was a name that was made when we were trying to figure out a name for a song. Someone suggested This Burning City as a song name, but out of a need for a band name, and because at the time we thought it was cool, we kept it. We only have slight regrets thinking back toit now, but it is what is it is and in the end, the music makes us not the name.
Can you tell us about your bands sound, as well as how you originally discovered the style of This Burning City?
Our bands sound is influenced by the post-hardcore styles of Dead and Divine and the chaos of The Chariot. It’s been a long road of discovering what our sound is, and though we aren’t there, we know what we’re aiming for. It’s like we want to crush your ears with chaos and heavy riffs, but then occasionally we’ll give you a little bit of melodic love.
Touring wise, what have you been up to this year, and can you give us a couple of personal highlights from your time on the road?
Recently we were on the road with our friends in Walls Of Troy. It was a fun run with a lot of learning experiences. Personally the best experience was watching Walls Of Troy’s van slowly fall to shambles on the tour. Over the week, their van lost its side skirts, the sun roof fell off on the highway, the rain guard was kicked out, the welding on their seats broke off, and the locks on their doors broke. I’ve never seen a van fall apart so quickly in my life.
How did you get to the EP title ‘Blinded’ and what does it mean to you?
It took a lot of tossing ideas around to finally land with “Blinded”. We wanted to play with the concept of public ignorance and make a bit of statement at the same time. Ignorance towards politics, world events, people and injustice. We had trouble picking a good name for this, but we had a direction. After a while we finally tossed “The Blinded” out there and eventually cut it down to what it is now.
Can you tell us about the main themes and influences that run throughout ‘Blinded’?
Blinded is essentially a giant call out to a lot of different issues. with a – leaving no stoned unturned – kind of mindset, Blinded talks about people and world events and the constant injustices that continue to occur in these. Instrumentally, the main influences of the EP stem from Stray From The Path, The Chariot and Dead and Divine: three of our biggest musical influences. Although leaning towards a heavier sound, you can hear their influence in everything we write.
What can you tell us about the recording process for this EP?
The EP was originally recorded at North of Princess located in Kingston, Ontario. We spent two long days there recording the entire EP. Originally we had planned to have the EP mixed and mastered by Jordan Valeriote, but due to availability issues we had to find someone else. We had some discussions with Todd Barriage of Borland Studio. We decided to rerecord guitars with Todd and drove up to Trenton to hang out with him for another two days. The final product you hear is a collaborative recording effort made by two studios, mixed and mastered by Borland Studio.
What was the hardest part about putting together ‘Blinded’ for you, and why?
The most difficult part about putting the EP together was trying to get stuff done in a timely manner. Originally we had planned on getting other people on guest vocals, but due to their scheduling issues we spent months working towards that. Finally we decided to move on without them. Luckily for us Todd is a man of many talents and stepped in and recorded a killer guest vocal bit in Feed The Machine.
How did the artwork for ‘Blinded’ come together, and what does it mean to you?
The artwork for “Blinded” took a while because we didn’t know what we wanted to have. We had some songs, but no real idea on putting it all together. Jarrett Montgomery, our drummer, designs all of our artwork. He came across some vintage photos in a store and picked them up. He took a bunch of pictures and edited them to what you see now. It was a pretty big coincidence, but we really love the final product.
What do you want this EP to do for the status and representation of This Burning City?
Ideally we want this EP to finally put ourselves out there. We’ve spent a lot of time on the sidelines playing smaller shows, so when we finally went on tour and released this EP, it marked a big step for us towards making a real name for ourselves. Finally we had a chance to show people our music without being at a show. So it gives us a chance to represent ourselves, and gives us time to get working on our first album!
What song would you say means the most for you from the ‘Blinded’ EP and why?
Personally, I love Feed The Machine. It’s a short song with of a lot of pwoer to it. I love the variety of the riffs and the cool little tidbits implemented. Finally when Todd Barriage comes in with his guest track, he blows the whole song away. Plus on stage, this has to be one of my favourite songs to play without a doubt.
How would you say the sound of This Burning City has changed/progressed since you first started out?
This Burning City has changed tremendously from its inception. In the beginning, we had a sound closer to that of Dead and Divine and general post-hardcore. But as time went on, we found ourselves omving a little heavier and kind of falling into our own place. We try our best to stay true to the root of what we love to listen to, but it’s been nice seeing things develop on their own. I like to think we’ve developed our own unique sounds that strays a bit from what you can usually hear.
What songs are you really enjoying performing live at the moment, and why?
Ignorance and Feed The Machine. I love playing Ignorance live because its the song everybody knows. When we get on stage and start playing it, you can see everyone singing along and taking part in the music. It’s a truly humbling experience to see. Feed The Machine just has so many cool, hard hitting riffs that I can’t help but go nuts.
Where would you really like to tour next the most, and why?
I think an eastern Ontario tour would be cool. We’ve got some friends that want to make that happen so we’ve been pretty excited about the concept. In the end, for us, it’s who we tour with and less where we go. Things are a lot more fun when you get to travel with cool people and see cool things.
What else can we expect to see from This Burning City in 2015?
Expect lots of shows in varying cities, and hopefully the beginning of our first Album! We’ve been busy lately, but we’re working hard to deliver something truly incredible to everyone. We’ve been taking the time to write some really incredible stuff and we’re all super excited to show it to everyone.
‘Blinded’ is available right here: thisburningcity.bandcamp.com
