TRILLION RED – It’s no secret that undergound music exists from the sprawling country sides of a Middle America to the back alleys, basements and lofts of rural cities worldwide. Underground Metal exists, has existed and shall never go extinct. Trillion Red is yet another example, as to why the underground scene is a music force that can never be underestimated. Trillion Red is a two-man band of (multi-instrumentalist & vocalist) Patrick Brown and Max Woodside on drums, evolving from San Francisco, California.
I have already labeled Trillion Red a Metal band, one that focuses on the ambient, progressive and extreme sides. The layers of instrumentation, diverse vocals and excellent musicianship has made me an admirer of the sound that Trillion Red has captured. The dark imagery that Trillion Red has me visualizing in my minds eye from their debut Two Tongues EP comes as an embraced bonus. Trillion Red is onto something and I’m on board for the ride.
Recently, Patrick and Max took the time to answer some questions that hopefully give their new fans an inside look into their music styles, tastes and influences. There is a complex process involved when a recording is being created, Patrick and Max touch on their thoughts and experiences of recording the Two Tongues EP as well. Here is what Patrick and Max had to say:
Stone: What’s the story behind the band being named “Trillion Red”?
Patrick: The usual. We go back and forth on what we like and dislike. There were a lot of disagreements and eventual realizations, that the last name we thought of was totally ridiculous or not as cool as we thought. This is one we just fell upon without any particular meaning or ideology and just instantly liked. It has a nice ring to it, sounds cool, isn’t affiliated with any particular genre, not cliché and symbolizes a mass scope of life, power, blood, and yes, death. To me it is more a visual existential feeling than an actual idea.
Max: Powerful name Trillion Red. Vast numbers of intense Red. Besides, I felt close to all the great bands with color in their names. Evergrey, Black Sabbath, King Crimson, Pink Floyd, Shocking Blue, Frigid Pink, Cream, Savoy Brown, Deep Purple, Black Flag, Blue Oyster Cult, Yellowjackets, Maroon 5, Moody Blues, Whitesnake, etc..
Stone: If the opportunity ever came to pass, would you be interested in creating a Horror movie soundtrack?
Patrick: Is our music that creepy? I never realized or even thought of our music as “dark” until I received feedback from listeners. The devil has got me all goosed up I suppose. But, to answer your question, yes, that would be a lot of fun.
Stone: What band or who is the musician you would say has had the most influence on your music?
Patrick: Hmm….tough one. I can be rather capricious with these kinds of questions. I tend to immensely like a certain genre or a few bands at one time, and after a while, my mood changes and I move on to something else. So, depending on when you ask me, it would be a different musician. If had to pick a few musicians that have always been somewhere in my mind, it may be Allen Epley of Shiner and now, The Life and Times. He is a brilliant songwriter, guitarist and vocalist. And Johan Edlund (vocalist/guitarist) of Tiamat (the old stuff mostly!)
Max: King Crimson, Rush, Dream Theater, Symphony X, Andromeda, Dark Moor, Chuck Brown, Terry Bozzio, Neil Peart, Mike Portnoy, Bill Bruford, Tommy Bolin, ELP, Yngwie Malmsteen. Mahavishnu Orchestra, Motorhead, Iron Maiden, Vandenplas, Therion, Nightwish, Chick Corea, Al De Meola, Billy Cobham, Jean-luc Ponty and Patrick Ohearn.
Stone: How did you decide on the style of Metal that you would create and record?
Patrick: When writing the Two Tongues material (and new stuff coming), I didn’t even consciously consider it was “Metal”, so to speak. What you hear on this EP and will hear in the future are simply songs that I would want to hear myself. I never stopped to think, “geez, what kind of Metal do I want to sound like?”. It just never occurred to me. This style of Metal I suppose is a conglomeration of everything I like and enjoy I suppose. If it sounds like hip-hop (which it never ever will), then so be it.
Stone: Do you agree that music truly is a universal language?
Patrick: Yeah. I’ve lived in China and Japan for many years, and have always found commonalties and camaraderie with others into the same music that don’t speak English. Although, to be fair, I do speak fluent Mandarin Chinese and some Japanese. Good times those were…
Max: The most universal language perhaps but certainly not the most objective art.
Stone: Somewhere, someone is listening to Trillion Red right now. Does this thought put what you create as a musician into perspective?
Patrick: I don’t think so. When I write, it is a selfish act and process, it’s a place where there are no concern of others. It is a pleasant thought that somebody is listening to (and hopefully enjoying) my passion, but it doesn’t change anything other than me feeling more rewarded for my efforts, i.e., a happier guy.
Max: Cool thought. But only a thought. It’s nice that someone should listen to our music because the music is very good. But, if nobody listened, we would still have fun making it.
Stone: What trials and how much fun was involved in writing and recording your debut “two tongues ep”?
Patrick: The writing was a lot of fun. It always is. Max and I are not recording engineers or mixologists, and had no prior experience recording this EP. So we had a steep learning curve with respect to creating a good sound and production (but it all turned out sounding excellent). So one can imagine there was a lot of wondering and worrying. I did all the sound engineering, recording and initially mixed the entire EP myself. I had a hard time getting the right sounding mix with all the instruments and layering. I kept beating my head to the wall trying to get everything well represented in the mix. Eventually I came to realize that I didn’t carve out frequencies very well, and subsequently, the drums and vocals were buried. At that point, I renounced my mixing moniker and had a professional do it for us, under my direction though. I had a blast during production though! That was my highlight. I really think the next go-around will be very enjoyable, because we know our true strengths and limits.
Max: Profound fun with Patrick! He lets me be creative and experiment. I think I understand the way he thinks now and he indeed has a great vision. Pat let’s me contribute, without being a petty tyrant as other bandleaders I’ve known were.
Stone: Will there be a full-length eventually from Trillion Red? Are you approaching the writing and recording process any differently compared to the first time around?
Patrick: Yes, we have 8 new songs we are preparing for a full-length album. Various parts of these new songs were written prior to and during the construction of the Two Tongue’s EP. We have put beats to 5 of them, and as soon as we do so with the last 3, we will start recording. I suspect we will release an album in very early 2012.
The writing on this record will have more ambient (or isn’t psychedelic the new cool trendy term to use?) breathing room. Yet, it will still maintain a very dark and heavy pounding mood. Writing for me is very much like writing a story; there is a beginning, middle, and end. I love songs that emotionally pull you up, take you down, or drag you across a droning path, only to pull you up, down, side ways and bleed the mind. That is what I am trying to do with this album, all of the above.
We will indeed be recording differently. There will be a lot more attention paid to sound engineering (like microphone placement on the drums) and engineering a much better bass guitar sound. I will also be doing some different recording techniques on the guitar and unifying my vocal style a bit. We’ll see how it turns out!
Stone: Have any record labels shown interest in Trillion Red thus far? I feel there should be strong interest from labels in what you have created with the “two tongues ep”.
Patrick: None so far. I just started sending our EP to labels. I originally wanted to be independent. Since we currently aren’t playing live, I didn’t see what a label really could do for us. But after learning a bit more about the way things work in the world of underground Metal and the strain promotion takes on “time” in my life, it made more since to have a label as a supporter. Therefore, we have just recently shifted gears towards finding a lablel.
10 – If you could seek out one “well known” guest musician for your next album, who would that be and why?
Patrick: Possibly Kristoffer Rygg of Ulver. The guy is an amazing vocalist. Truly inspiring and very original! His unique take on vocal presentation and a pull away from traditional choruses and melodies would run beautifully with some of my material I think.
Stone: As a multi-instrumentalist, how important is it to focus on song structure and balance?
Patrick: Song Structure and balance is extremely important. A song doesn’t necessarily require original riffs, melodies or hooks, it is how it is presented, structured, and layered, that will ultimately make or break it. One of my biggest pet peeves with Metal bands (or most bands) is that they don’t know when to shut up, there is so much riffing/vocal masturbation, that bands lose sight of what it means to simply put a good well-rounded song together. Many just concentrate on perceived cool ideas (mostly redundant) and try to glue shit on shit with unnecessary bridges and breaks. I would suspect producers have a lot to blame for this phenomenon too. Originality is great, but if you can’t put the pieces together correctly, it loses its appeal very quickly.
Slayer’s Reign in Blood is an exemplar of structure and balance. The freaking album is what, something like 30 minutes? Each song is tight, powerful and doesn’t linger one bit. It has zero filler! Its’ balance and structure is perfect. I strive for that kind of bluntness. However, as I like to structure songs as emotional stories that walk you to the side, up, down, and more to the side, I can’t afford to be as cut and dry. I also totally love style structures like Burzum’s Filosofem, an ambient antithesis of Reign in Blood being long, winded, spacey, rich… a beautiful record! I guess you could say I am now trying to structure and balance my songs like Reign in Blood and Filosofem – to the point, not too much fluff, but some good fluff for sure, and then get on with it!
Stone: Where can fans buy your music?
Patrick: You can buy the Two Tongues CD on our website: www.trillionred.com . It is $5, including postage in the USA. Buyers outside the US will be quoted pending country/location. MP3s can be purchased via Amazon, iTunes, and a lot of other places too.
We are planning on doing some t-shirts and possibly releasing Two Tongues on 10” vinyl soon. It all depends on how the label thing shakes out. Thanks for the interview. Good questions.
Stone: Thank you Patrick and Max!
* For more info on TRILLION RED, click on the links below:
TRILLION RED – Official Website
* To read my review on two tongues ep, (posted on Metal Odyssey April 21, 2011), click on the big header link below:
TRILLION RED – two tongues ep: Take A Dark Descent Into An Ambient Metal Abyss
LONG LIVE TRILLION RED.
Stone.
I have come to the conclusion, that Progressive Metal and Progressive Hard Rock are the genres that keep me grounded. Dream Theater offers me the best of two worlds, like a one-two Metal punch… this band makes me want to Rock out, then again, I have many moments with their music when I want to chill, in a Metal sort of way. I am not at all stating that Dream Theater can be easy listening Progressive Music… no way. They offer the segues, interludes, intro’s and instrumentals that serve as that musical cushion to fall back on, while awaiting the heavy parts. This is what draws me into their music, to always expect the unexpected with the Progressive nature of Dream Theater. Dream Theater has for me, come so far, paid their Metal dues, to be now recognized as a Progressive Metal super power. It is difficult to dispute the vast landscape of progressive musical ingenuity that Dream Theater bestows. listening to their new music is a reminder to me, that you can erase any other thoughts in your mind and escape into an album of songs.
“A Rite Of Passage” is an amazing song, it reminds me of what maybe Rainbow would sound like, in 2009. The keyboards in this song is what has me thinking of vintage Rainbow, the melody also has a deep, rich, Classic Rock flavor. “A Nightmare To Remember”, the opening song, has all the dynamics I come to expect from Dream Theater, musically and lyrically. I am very glad the story line to this song has a happy ending, despite the child mentally reliving such a personal experience that is the referred nightmare. “Black Clouds & Silver Linings”, (released on June 23, 2009), has most certainly eclipsed my expectations of what to expect, both musically and lyrically. This new Dream Theater release deservedly reached #6 on the Billboard album charts on the initial week of it’s release. It is clear that new fans have embraced Dream Theater and all of their epic Progressive Metal.
I have been riding on a rather enjoyable, Progressive Metal & Progressive Hard Rock wave of music as of late. Am I complaining? Not when bands like The Mars Volta release the Progressive elasticity of songs that they have titled – “Octahedron”. It is Hard Rock music like this, that challenges the outer reaches of my very own musical senses. I suppose that is what Progressive Music is meant to do? I am not going to fib here, it took me well into my third listen of “Octahedron” to have “it” finally hit me. The “it” is the focused energy and streamlined patience and musical precision, that are consistent, musical nuances I hear in these songs from The Mars Volta. Let’s be real, these artistic lined, Hard Rock songs, with all of their progressiveness, were not written over night. Is it considered to be uncool these days, to have a thought process and spacial intellect towards music? Not in my realm of listening to Hard Rock – or Metal for that matter. The Mars Volta has thrown “Octahedron” to the progressive wind, it has blown my way and this is what I have to say.
“Since We’ve Been Wrong” has my inner psyche floating somewhere out there in 1979, the retrospective, ambient rays of melody I hear in this song, has me laying on a freshly mowed lawn, staring up at a clear blue sky. “Teflon” does not stray too far away from this dreamy type of feeling either, it only Rocks a little harder. “Halo Of Nembutals” has me agreeing with the assertion that lead vocalist Cedric Bixler Zavala really does sound like the living legend – Geddy Lee of Rush. (This comparison has been thrown around quite a bit, it should be construed as a compliment, much better than being compared to the vocals of Jim Nabors, aka Gomer Pyle). With this song, carrying it’s way into “With Twilight As My Guide”, I tend to realize that I have fallen victim to a cascade of Progressive Hard Rock sanctity. I refuse to just stand pat and not let my feelings be known, about a band that is able to grasp the flexibility and open mindedness of song writing, both lyrically and musically. The Mars Volta apparently were either born as collaborative musicians or they visited some type of mystical being, in a tropical rain forest, who granted them the ability to eradicate themselves of any staleness and ego – thus anointing them with Progressive Musical powers.
“Cotopaxi”, “Desperate Graves” and “Copernicus” are three songs in a row, that I swear are a path that lead me to believing that the words status quo are not in The Mars Volta vocabulary. Omar Rodriguez Lopez has given new meaning to the phrase – lead, not follow – for if this musician were to follow, I would probably be listening to a band that wants to fit in and play it safe, like so many bands who don’t follow their hearts and instincts do. The same goes for Cedric Bixler Zavala, as both a vocalist and lyricist. If anything, I am completely guilty of being passionate about the music that moves me. The Mars Volta are just as guilty for being passionate in creating the music that stands up and above, so much so, the “Octahedron” CD cover does not even bear their name. It is the music that really matters, the music that stands alone, it is not a name of a band, the physicality or gender of it’s members, nor the image. “It” is really all about the finished product, the music and what it says. “Octahedron” speaks more if you give “it” the space and respect is so justifiably deserves.
There is no disguising the fact, I have been an ELO fan my entire life. The Electric Light Orchestra has music that actually fits into any type of mood I am in. From the more mellow “Eldorado” album to the rather upbeat “Discovery” album, ELO has always been there for me. Certainly, Metal Music (including all of it’s incredible sub genres of Extreme Metal Music) is my mainstay, #1 always and forever – still, there are those many moments in my life where I turn to ELO for inspiration and musical enjoyment. ELO is music. ELO is a Progressive Rock giant that in my Metal opinion, has always been cutting edge, if you will, with their musical arrangements and overall sound. Here are 12 cool facts for ELO fans to savor over, new fans of ELO just might find these facts to be of interest too.
You know something… I am sick and tired of the throw away mentality that surfaces about, in regards to the media in which we listen to music. Turntables are still being sold and so are cassette tape decks. I can understand if younger generations are not at all interested in vinyl records, cassette tapes or (gulp) – 8-track tapes. The younger dudes did not have record or tape collections to replace with CD’s… a very costly endeavor at that, which can take a lifetime to rebuild with CD’s, depending on how large your music collection was. However, in the last three years alone, I have purchased two “brand new” combination stereo systems for my daughters and guess what? Both of these combination stereos have built-in cassette decks!! Both stereos were purchased at Target, a major upscale department store that is supposedly in the know – on the cutting edge of having the latest home electronics technology! So, if cassette tapes are supposed to be so archaic, so outdated and symbolic of poor taste in music listening enjoyment, then why are they still being manufactured? To pacify us older dudes who have still hung on to our cassette collections? Out of sympathy for us nostalgic Metalheads?
I have been reading “professionally paid” music critic reviews about the newest release from Mastodon – “Crack The Skye” – the majority of them are not even worth discussing or repeating. I dig the new Mastodon album, simply put it rocks. For Metal sakes, anyone who knows Metal, should know and/or understand that Mastodon is and always has been a Progressive Metal band. With the Progressive Metal bands, you never know exactly what you are going to get with the next album. (To solidify my point, just look at Rush, Dream Theater and Queensryche, these bands have always experimented musically). So what, big deal, so the new Mastodon album is not as heavy as their last release “Blood Mountain” – give me a Metal break.
The Metal musical “escape” I feel and hear while listening to “Crack The Skye” is cool for me. The vocals are still heavy, the guitar leads are still heavy, and the rhythm section is the farthest thing musically from 1970’s Hard Rock as you can possibly get. This album was not created in 1977, this Metal is happening now. Sure, there are plenty of synthetic sounds applied to “Crack The Skye,” that is what makes this album progressive. The synthetic interludes and backdrops along with the lyrics are why I call “Crack The Skye” a Metal journey. Mastodon did not provide here, a “rip and tear – let it all loose, heavy frenzy” – if I or any other true Metal fan wants that, heck, I will listen to a Metal band that is supposed to play that way. Suffice to say, in my Metal opinion, Mastodon has created a Progressive Metal gem. Paid and uninformed music critics can call this new album from Mastodon anything they want. The sole reason why I live for Metal music in the first place, is due to it’s diversity with all of the Metal genres. At the end of the day, when you break it all down, musically, Metal will always be… Metal. 
I really give praise to the vocals, musicianship, song writing and lyrics on “Crack The Skye” – do I find any flaws? Nope. I could never write or play Metal music this darn good. I recommend to all Mastodon and Metal fans across the globe to chase this album down, play it, enjoy it. Rock out to it. Jump onto “Crack The Skye” and experience the Progressive Metal journey that Mastodon created. Now, just because I want to, here is a roll call of the fine Metal musicians that are Mastodon: Brann Dailor (drums, vocals & percussion), Brent Hinds (lead guitar, vocals & banjo), Bill Kelliher (guitar) and Troy Sanders (bass, vocals & bass synth).
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