Track Listing:
Blue Heart
Devil of the Moment
Slug
Dance in the Dirt
Reprise
Hecate's Lake
Purge and Redeem
Heavy Days
Condemned
Trainwreck
Heart on my Sleeve
Falling Away
Between the 7th and 9th of January 2011, local band Shatterpoint finally produced an album they are happy with. Fully re-recorded and re-mastered. From start to finish, the album is, in their guitarists words, "an excellent one". As with any album there are always songs I prefer to others, and even though this is the case with "Memoirs of a Maker", I feel the album as a whole is strong and defines who Shatterpoint are. To know this is a re-recording, makes me wonder what must have gone wrong the first time around, Shatterpoint have a sound that always draws in a crowd. I asked vocalist, Ed Stone, a few [general] questions:
What were the reasons for re-recording the album?
We wanted to re-record it as we came up with new arrangements for tracks such as "Heavy Days", and we had written two new songs ("Purge and Redeem" and "Falling Away") shortly after that we really wanted them on the album. Had we left the rest of the songs, the new ones would have sounded like they had been thrown in last minute, due to different recording and mixing approaches. Also from a personal point of view I really wasn't happy with the vocals on the first effort - this being a debut we all wanted it to be perfect.
What were the influences behind the album and the decision to open with a bluesy number? I've noticed this is common at your gigs too.
"Blue Heart" stemmed from my long love of the blues, and how I was feeling at the time. A lot of bands in the scene have orchestral intros as openers for their albums or to set off their gigs before the open chords are struck. I suggested we did Blue Heart as an opener to counteract this, but also so it could be the preceding half of "Heart on My Sleeve." I had the melody, and me and Sandy [Shatterpoints bass player] just jammed out one time at practice. We love it because it kinda lulls the audience into a sense of false security before the eruption into the rest of the set. We enjoy it because sometimes people don't know what to expect. We wanted it to seem as though perhaps they picked up a vintage blues album, which will be reflected in the album art when I've designed it. (obviously since rock and metal stemmed from the blues) We don't really know if it works, we just enjoy playing it :D
[It definately works]. Being a favourite of mine, and a favourite of many, I want to know, what is the meaning behind the track Trainwreck?
Trainwreck. Trainwreck is a long story. When I was thirteen my dad died of a lymphoma. The next couple of years I was kind of reclusive, I didn't hang out with Mark or anyone really outside of school. When I started coming out again was when we were all experimenting with alcohol etc. I guess I took it a bit too far. It was getting to the point when people would tell me of the things I did the night before and it would kill me. But I'd do it again. and again and again (hence the lyric) It felt good to not feel the pain, but it was leaving me worse off in the long run. As cheesey as it sounds the music is a form of escapism from that. I've addressed the loss of my dad in Falling Away as well which was really difficult to record. I showed it to my mum and she cried.
That's pretty much it to scam over the subject. I don't want to waffle or be boring/too self centred.
Finally [and on a lighter note], although I never actually heard the previous version, has the re-recording captured what you wanted?
We're all really happy with the new recordings. We all love blasting the album in our respective cars haha, me in particular, as I couldn't listen to the first recording without cringing. Its something we're all really proud of, especially since its our first effort. We have some new stuff on the go but we still have to release this.
www.myspace.com/shatterpointband
What were the reasons for re-recording the album?
We wanted to re-record it as we came up with new arrangements for tracks such as "Heavy Days", and we had written two new songs ("Purge and Redeem" and "Falling Away") shortly after that we really wanted them on the album. Had we left the rest of the songs, the new ones would have sounded like they had been thrown in last minute, due to different recording and mixing approaches. Also from a personal point of view I really wasn't happy with the vocals on the first effort - this being a debut we all wanted it to be perfect.
What were the influences behind the album and the decision to open with a bluesy number? I've noticed this is common at your gigs too.
"Blue Heart" stemmed from my long love of the blues, and how I was feeling at the time. A lot of bands in the scene have orchestral intros as openers for their albums or to set off their gigs before the open chords are struck. I suggested we did Blue Heart as an opener to counteract this, but also so it could be the preceding half of "Heart on My Sleeve." I had the melody, and me and Sandy [Shatterpoints bass player] just jammed out one time at practice. We love it because it kinda lulls the audience into a sense of false security before the eruption into the rest of the set. We enjoy it because sometimes people don't know what to expect. We wanted it to seem as though perhaps they picked up a vintage blues album, which will be reflected in the album art when I've designed it. (obviously since rock and metal stemmed from the blues) We don't really know if it works, we just enjoy playing it :D
[It definately works]. Being a favourite of mine, and a favourite of many, I want to know, what is the meaning behind the track Trainwreck?
Trainwreck. Trainwreck is a long story. When I was thirteen my dad died of a lymphoma. The next couple of years I was kind of reclusive, I didn't hang out with Mark or anyone really outside of school. When I started coming out again was when we were all experimenting with alcohol etc. I guess I took it a bit too far. It was getting to the point when people would tell me of the things I did the night before and it would kill me. But I'd do it again. and again and again (hence the lyric) It felt good to not feel the pain, but it was leaving me worse off in the long run. As cheesey as it sounds the music is a form of escapism from that. I've addressed the loss of my dad in Falling Away as well which was really difficult to record. I showed it to my mum and she cried.
That's pretty much it to scam over the subject. I don't want to waffle or be boring/too self centred.
Finally [and on a lighter note], although I never actually heard the previous version, has the re-recording captured what you wanted?
We're all really happy with the new recordings. We all love blasting the album in our respective cars haha, me in particular, as I couldn't listen to the first recording without cringing. Its something we're all really proud of, especially since its our first effort. We have some new stuff on the go but we still have to release this.
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