The Goblet of Shock
By Michael Aronovitz
Horror Author, College Professor, and Rock Critic
I was pleased to discover that one of my favorite new bands, Running From Shadows, had recently put out an EP. I gave it a listen, and it is awesome. I asked the leader of the band, Darren White, a few things, and here is what he had to say:
1) What kind of music would you brand this?
That’s a really hard question. When I write music I try really hard to make it sound different while also sticking to a little bit of familiarity. While writing this EP I had a bunch of punk Influences such as The Misfits and Nirvana that helped shaped the sound, but I’m also into bands like Norma Jean and The Devil Wears Prada that are pretty heavy. I’m horrible at naming all the different sub genres so I usually just tell people it’s Heavy Metal or just Scramo when it’s someone asking that doesn’t normally listen to heavier music. I do like the fact that it’s hard for me to label it a specific genre because it makes me feel like I’ve made something that’s different and I’m proud of that.
2) What was your motivation for each song?
Honestly to put it blunt, just feeling like a failure. The theme of the EP is the flaw of the human condition. How we are basically full of errors and we aren’t as self sufficient as we think we are. The first track is called Pessimist and it’s about how I always find away to mess up the good things in my life, almost to the point where I make a game out of it. Bipolar is about how I can never make my mind up about anything and I can’t just stick with something. Me and my friend Adam Sanders went to a hotel in downtown Alexandria, Louisiana to film the music video and I feel like it captured the vibe of the song perfectly. For the song Beautiful Predator I wanted to write a story that I feel like a lot of people can relate to. The story is about a guy that falls for a girl that plays him just to get attention. He finds this out but it’s still hard for him to let go and he keeps finding himself crawling back. I’m really excited because I have a song coming on this upcoming Valentine’s Day that is basically part two to this song. I Don’t Need is about how I’m tired of putting up with peoples opinions about me. It feels like someone always has something to say about every little thing in my life. I’m finally getting to the point that it doesn’t really bother me anymore and I just take people’s view of me with a grain of salt. The Pines is about being stuck in a small town full of people that have a closed-minded worldview. Not to be a dick or anything, just a lot of people aren’t willing to look outside of the box they made for themselves and see how things are.
3) Have you played live? Do you plan to? How…with two members…
I haven’t gotten the chance to play live sadly. I really want to get to that point. Right now it is just me. I have two really good friends trying to learn instruments so until they get to a point where they can play I’ll be trying to do some acoustic shows.
4) Why do you think today’s metal is better than 80’s thrash, 80’s glam, 90’s grunge, or early 2000’s?
It’s heavier. The heavier the better. I do have to say that I have a huge soft spot for the 90’s and early 2000’s, but I like me some heavy.
5) See above question…why less so?
I think the biggest problem for me when it comes to new metal is how processed it can sound. I notice a lot of clean vocals sound like it is autotuned or just too perfect. It seems like artists nowadays are too afraid to show their flaws. I would argue making music more human would make it so much heavier.
6) What is your biggest goal?
My biggest goal is to build an audience so that I can get to the point I can release the concept album I am working on. I’m hoping that it can help a lot of people heal from the topic I’m writing about.
Here is the link to their EP:
https://linktr.ee/RunningFromShadows
In terms of my own news, my lifetime collection titled DANCING WITH TOMBSTONES is now available here at this link:
https://www.cemeterydance.com/dancing-with-tombstones.html
