Metal shredder Xander Demos recently interviewed with Aussie metal site, The Rock Pit, who called him one of the “modern day cowboys of the fretboard.” Here’s an excerpt from that conversation:
The Rock Pit: You first came to our attention with 2012’s “Guitarcadia” which showed remarkable variety for someone primarily recognized for their shredding – what did you hope the album would achieve?
Xander Demos: Well, thanks, first of all. I’m glad that you thought it showed some range. I was just hoping to put out an album that was like those great ones from Shrapnel back in the day. It felt like there hadn’t been anything of that magnitude for a while. I had all this music that had been bottled up for a while and I finally just said, to hell with it, let’s get it recorded and see what happens. I guess a lot of people felt the same way about that style of music, because it was well-received by my fans and listeners in general. I was just hoping to show people that you can have melody and speed at the same time, without being pigeon-holed into one or the other. I think I accomplished that, or at least, I hope I did.
TRP: Did it come together quickly or do some of the songs or the ideas they came from date back a few years?
XD: Some of them were very quick. Just some riffs that came from rehearsing and practicing. Once those came, just expanding on it and getting the melodies to work came pretty quickly. Others had been around for years. “Metagalactic” was originally called “Up From the Skies” and it dates back to the ‘90s, believe it or not. A couple of the other tunes were from 10 years ago, or so. I had performed them with bands I was playing in, but they still seemed to work with the sound I was going after on the album. So, we gave ‘em a little update and a tweak here or there, and there you have it.
Read the entire interview at www.therockpit.net.