Greetings from Metalheads Forever Magazine, I’m Keith Clement the Head of Editorial, How are you doing?
Answer: Very well, thanks for asking. And you?
‘You have planned to release your new video “The Dark” later next month and your EP “The Abyss” is expected this year, can you tell me a bit about this upcoming EP?
Answer: After working very hard, for continuous months, I came up with these 6 new tracks to record. I already had started to work on the songwriting side of it before releasing the debut single – Waking The Damned. We were in the studio since the 23rd January until the first week of March. It required a lot of effort, practice and a delivery from the highest standard possible from every performer. The main difference from the debut single to these six tracks is that they’re more riff driven, punchy and in-your-face, heavier, and ruthless. I’m very happy with the result of the work we’ve done, and I’d like to thank Andy Martongelli (Ellefson, Arthemis) and Daisy Pepper for performing in some songs. Also, a special thanks to Alex Robinson (Bullet From My Valentine) and Andy “Hippy” Baldwin (Oasis, Faith No More) for producing these tracks at the highest possible level.
What would be the concept or theme behind this EP?
Answer: When I was writing this EP, I got affected by the outside world. It’s a dark period that we’re living. I caught the essence and the feelings that this time put me through and made a whole EP about existentialism and nihilism. This period made me question who am I, what’s my purpose, what have I done with my life and what if this all ends now? Would it matter? Do we matter? Does life matter? Of course, it does! In my opinion, there’s no point of doing anything or living if this doesn’t matter. However, when I wrote this EP, I don’t give you the bright side of the story. That’s for the fans to find out. My whole point with this work is to make people question their lives and feel these emotions. This record means so much to me, since it’s about everything I felt and still feel. I’m a person who never stops asking questions. I always want to know more. Specially, when it comes to existentialism, I’m always in internal conflict, since I question everything. This is my message, this is my music and it’s about how I feel, and hopefully, people will relate to it.
“Waking The Damned” is a cool song with great guitar riffs, beautiful vocals and you put an amazing video back in December, can you tell me a bit about this song?
Answer: Waking the Damned represents a chapter in my life that took me to where I’m at today. Inspired by the Camus tale “The Myth of Sisyphus”, this song explores the sensation of feeling restrained, misunderstood, trapped and as if your life was already decided and programmed, right from the moment you were born. It’s about saying “enough”, drop the stone, “loose the chains” and live your life.
The song resembles the spirit I had to have, to fight against every preconcert, every imposition and every obstacle, that were stopping me from pursuing my dreams and playing metal. It’s about being judged and set aside by society because you don’t follow their standards, when all you really want is to be free, embrace your uniqueness and escape from routines of an empty and meaningless life. Waking the Damned is to wake up those who are doomed to the world and can’t become independent and unique human beings. Itis also about being reborn and celebrating the birth of something new – the beginning of my new project – Jason Payne & The Black Leather Riders.
In 2020 you decided to pursue this new project, what made you to start all this again, are you planning to go with this new project or you have more plans in mind?
Answer: After the amicable hiatus from my past project, I took some time to reflect and it felt natural to start writing some music. I decided to start a project that shows exactly what I like and who I am as an artist – a metalhead.
I do have more plans in mind, but not for other project – those plans are for this project. I don’t want to think about other projects, neither I have interest in doing it. I’m very happy with Jason Payne & The black Leather Riders and I want to grow with this project.
As Louzada is in hiatus because of the pandemic, will you be working again on that?
Answer: I’m going to stick with Jason Payne & The Black Leather Riders, since it is the project that I want to build my career and reputation around. I had fun times with Louzada, made friends for life, learned some lessons about the music industry and gained more experience as a writer and as a performer. It was a wonderful experience, it’s always good to play some rock’n’roll. However, I’ve always been more passionate about Metal and that’s the career and image that I’m building with Jason Payne & The Black Leather Riders.
You made it big and known worldwide in a short span of time, that is an amazing thing for any musician, how do you feel about it?
Answer: Thank you so much for your kind words. It feels great to achieve this level of recognition already, but I believe I can go for more. Of course I celebrated a bit with the guys, we never thought to achieve more than 200 thousand views on Youtube on our debut single, for example. However, after we hit that landmark, I started looking to what can I do more? What’s the next step? And now that I’ve taken the next step (releasing this EP, getting representation from Split Screen Management) I’m already thinking in what can I do more. I’m elaborating marketing strategies for these upcoming releases and I’m planning the next steps after these releases and marketing campaigns are done. I’m a person who never settles and I always want to improve in all areas: performance, songwriting, marketing, branding, my reach and my relationship with my fanbase.
Can you tell me some of the big moments you had over the years?
Answer: I remember playing in O2 Islington (upper stage) and my debut show. Both shows were full and they were amazing experiences. Right now, I’m experiencing some good ones too! Just the fact of entering Metropolis Studios and recording with legends, it was a dream that came true. Also, we’re going to stream our performance of The Dark at Under The Bridge (Chelsea Football Stadium) on the 20th of May (2021). We’re very excited for it and it’s a chance for fans to hear a live version of our upcoming release. Make sure to log in to. Bimm London Facebook page to watch our performance at the showcase. https://www.facebook.com/BIMMLondon
What would be some of your upcoming plans?
Answer: After releasing this EP and understanding how the world will comeback from the pandemic, we aim to book an European tour. We can’t wait to play live! Also, writing an album is part of the future plans.
Finally, You want to say something for the fans through Metalheads Forever Magazine?
Answer: Thank you very much for supporting and being part of the Metal community! Stay tuned for our upcoming news, stay safe and stay Metal!
