Technical death metal band Abiotic are back after a several year hiatus. The band bounced back with the release of ‘Emerald’, a song which drew inspiration from a close friend’s spouse passing. Abiotic is known for space themed technical death metal, has turned the page with a serious note with this song. The band has sported many technical musicians over the years, which help to push the intensity and complexity of the music. I was able to speak with guitarist John Matos to see what is instore for the band moving forward, and how they have grown from the time off.
GA: The band in 2019 decided to reform after being on hiatus for several years. What sparked the reunion?
JM: Travis and I were talking about bringing the band back. We really wanted to put out another album. We had some material we were sitting on before we decided to go on hiatus. After taking that time off, from being a bit burnt out from going as hard as we possibly could over the last few years, we decided it was time to get back into it. We wanted to do right by our fans and give them some new music. To get back out there and start playing some shows again.
GA: Out of this reunion the band released the single ‘Emerald’ the first new music in 4 years. Is there an album in the works, if so, what can you tell me about it?
JM: I can tell you there is a new album in the works. We have about 10 songs demoed so far. We are currently in negotiations with several record labels to get this album out. We were super proud of ‘Emerald’. This is a song I feel represents what the band is looking to do as far as the new sound for the new tunes. The song was a big part of paying tribute to a friend of ours who lost his wife, and we wanted to try and immortalize her in song for him.
GA: Will there be any guests on the new material, or a return of people you have worked with previously like producer Jamie King?
JM: We are still working out the details as to who will be our producer. Jamie King is the man, and I absolutely love what he has done for us as a band. We would love to work with him again. There are going to be some sick guests on this new album. There are some things we are keeping under wraps right now; I can tell you Scott Carstairs of Fallujah has a spot on the new record. We do have a few other guest spots on the album that I am super excited about.
GA: Can you tell me more about the James Pennington Education Fund and the connection the band has with their family?
JM: Richie has been a long-time friend of the band, and as I mentioned earlier, he lost his wife. James Pennington is his 10-year-old son. When we decided to release Emerald, 20% of the profits we are making from the release of the song and the inspired t shirt sales, will be going into the James Pennington Education Fund to help with James’s education. We are going to be doing a few more things like this. I really want to give back to our fans, the metal community, and charities that we care about. For example, we are doing a shirt online, the ‘climate change is real’ design; 20% of the profits from the sale will be going to Friends of The Earth, to help combat climate change. The next album is going to be a very real album, very socially conscious. There will be some themes on climate change, and mental health. We are trying to get away from the spacey not relatable lyrical content and write about topics that will be more relatable. I know we are known for the spacey stuff, so we are going to try and keep that musically; but we wanted to write some stuff with more substance.
GA: What is the writing process of the band when it comes to new material? Like what are some of the things that inspire you when developing new music?
JM: Working with some of the new guys has been great. Matt,the other guitarist, and I have been doing most of the writing. Our new drummer Tony has been a big part of these new tunes with us. Matt and I will present a song to Tony, and he will put his own spin on it. Tony is an engineer so, he will put synths and strings on to the song, adding some cool stuff. It has been a lot of fun getting to write new music with Matt. I feel like him and I have worked well together, and we have been homing in our sound, as well as having Tony put his production polish on the songs, ties it altogether.
GA: The band is known for its musicianship, and technicality; what got you into playing music and are you self-taught or lesson based learned?
JM: I very sporadically took lessons when I was younger. It was never anything consistent. I would take one or two lessons from someone, then do another one a year later with someone else. I tried to learn from forward thinking players, like Santiago Dobles who is a guitar player who was around when I was growing up in Miami. He was one of the first people I took lessons from that had a signature sound to his playing. It inspired me to look for that in my own playing. I took a lesson from Jason Richardson, who is another guy that is absolutely incredible. He pushed me to write songs that are challenging. For us, we could write music that is a little simpler and more straightforward; but we want to challenge ourselves and be the best musicians we can be. That is what inspires us to try and be better than what we were yesterday, trying to write the best music that we can.
GA: The band has sported members that have been in several bands of note from Infant Annihilator, Rings of Saturn, Vale of Pnath, and Scale the Summit. Having such a pedigree, do you sometimes find it challenging to create material that is pushing your creative level, and what in your opinion helps you get to that next level playing?
JM: It’s trying to top everything that we have done before, being technically or with the song writing. I feel like you can hear this in our last two albums that there is a progression of the band. The first album is very raw, and in my opinion feels like some of the songs are riff sandwiches. Where the second album is a bit more refined. This new album is trying to find the middle ground between both. We want to write tunes that are still heavy, technical and catchy, while bringing our original sound, with some new shit thrown in. I think that is what keeps it challenging and interesting; by trying to top what we did before, while keeping the things that make us the band we were before while standing out. We are not trying to be just another death metal or deathcore band; we are trying to carve something out for ourselves.
GA: The band is currently on tour with Suffocation, Belphegor, and Necronomicon; are there any stops on tour you are looking forward to or any places of note you’ve been to so far?
JM: On this run we played probably some of our favorite places, and some places we haven’t been to in a long time due to the hiatus. We traveled through Texas, which is one of our favorite places to play, our home away from home. Austin has always been fantastic for us with Come and Take it Live, big shout out to Anthony who is at that venue and has been a longtime friend of the band. We went through California, which we haven’t done in a long time. California always show us love. Going through LA, Oakland and Fresno was a great time. We are getting to the end of the run here soon, so the one stop I am looking forward to is the last show which is going to be a hometown show for Suffocation. That should be a super fun show to do.
GA: What gear is the band using for its live set up? Any endorsements please mention.
JM: Matt and I just recently joined up with Ormsby Guitars, they are a company out of Australia. I want to give a huge thankyou to Ormsby for taking care of us. I am playing a 7 string Goliath right now, and Matt is playing on a 7 string Hype. Our guitars have been kicking ass, they are amazing sounding and are reliable with staying in tune on the road with all the crazy weather we have been going through. They are just great guitars overall; I can’t say enough good things about them. We are also endorsed through Kemper amps. So, we have been going direct in on this run, no cabinets; which has made traveling easy. It keeps from us having to lug around extra heavy gear and having giant pedal boards. We don’t even have a trailer on this run, because we can go DI and save on the space. Jim Dunlop has treated us very well hooking us up with picks and strings. I am also using an Airis Effects overdrive. I am also going to be working with Fishman soon, to get some pickups installed in my guitar when we get back. That is pretty recent getting to work with them. Our bass player Killian is a Keisel artist, so he has been rocking their basses live each show. He is also using Dark Glass to go DI as well for this run.
GA: If someone wanted to follow the band online where would you send them to keep up to date on the band, also if someone wanted to support the band by purchasing merchandise online where is your store located?
JM: You can check us out on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. You can buy our merch at Indiemerchstore.com. Check us out we have a bunch of sick designs up there. We also have some old school designs we are bring back as well if you are an OG fan, and a ton of new shit as well.
GA: Anything else you would like to add?
JM: We are going to be having a big year next year. We will be putting out a new record and doing some more touring so, thank you to everybody who has supported the band. We can’t wait to show everybody what we have been working on.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AbioticBand/Instagram:@Abioticband
Twitter: @AboiticFL
Indiemerch: https://www.indiemerchstore.com/b/abiotic
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