Bahamut Logo by — Michael Bielenda; Cover Art & Layout by — Matt Manning
Bahamut is a Progressive Metal/Hardcore band from the Metro Detroit area. The band is made up of Evan Mattson (Guitar), Matt Moy (Drums), Matthew Lorne Clark (Vocals) and Terry Peake (Guitar, Bass & Backing Vocals). Last month the band released their first full length, "The Process". The album is a summation of the masterful composition skills of Terry, the extreme musical talent of the entire band, and years of hard work and dedication.
Although "The Process" has been available in digital form for a little while now, the band is having their official CD Release Show this Saturday at The Berkley Front (one of our FAVORITE places). Cover for the show is $10. However, if you are one of the first 100 people at the show, you will also get a FREE CD. The digital download is $10 on Bandcamp. So getting in to see this band live AND getting a hard copy of the album for just $10 is pretty amazing. As if this isn't reason enough to go, Snakewing and Porygon Mind Fortress are also playing this show! Our favorite Detroit metal band AND one of our favorite bars, with a couple other bad ass metal bands thrown in there too! Needless to say, this is going to be awesome.
In preparation for Saturday's show, we caught up with Terry Peake to get some insight into Bahamut:
HipInDetroit - Explain Bahamut in one word?
Terry Peake - "Devastation"
HipInDetroit - Tell us a little bit about the concept and formation of the band?
Terry Peake - "Bahamut was originally formed in 2004 out of a love for the band Meshuggah and the post-tonal writings of composers like Anton Webern and Bela Bartok. My goal was to combine these things and cut it with catchy riffs and sing-along style hardcore vocals. The result would be a high-energy assault of putrid bliss."
HipInDetroit - Bahamut is some of the most detailed music I have ever heard. How do you compose such intricate songs? How do you learn to play them? Does it take a long time to perfect them?
Terry Peake - "The compositional process varies greatly! Although there is a lot of music theory involved, I still write by intuition and feeling. I may start with a riff that I stumbled upon, and then expand on it; or I may carefully calculate an intricate rhythm, one that requires us to read it on paper until we get it down. My formal training in composition makes a huge impact on the way I expand on things and structure the songs.
Learning them is indeed difficult, and sometimes requires us to practice passages at half tempo, slowly increasing speed over time. Back in 2004 it took us a lot longer to get the stuff down just because the concepts were new to the other guys, but now we are much faster at learning songs."
HipInDetroit - You have finally made it to you album release show! Can you tell us a little bit about what it took to get it done?
Terry Peake - "We definitely went through nine layers of hell making this record. I was continually blown away that any band could possibly have that many set-backs doing anything. These are small set-backs, mind you; like a broken part of a kick pedal that we have to order, computer/software problems, needing to borrow equipment, and then a whole slew of set-backs in mixing even when it was out of our hands. We literally went through TWO YEARS of these small set-backs. Needless to say I wondered if we would ever finish, and when we did I was beyond excited."
HipInDetroit - What does the future hold for Bahamut once the masses hear your new album?
Terry Peake - "Anything is possible here. Similar bands gain huge followings worldwide, release several albums and tour the world. Similar bands also get passed over and don't get to enjoy the same success. Success in this industry is very fluky, so you can't really count on anything. If my main objective was money and fame, I definitely wouldn't have chose progressive metal as my outlet, let alone the dissonant, abrasive, complex, and putrid style we play. One thing is for sure though, I have personally invested in being a composer for the rest of my life, and if my outlet isn't Bahamut, it will be something else. I currently have another project called Junecast that is much different, I am starting to get into film scoring, and I still have interest in returning to write academic works for orchestral ensembles. At the moment, though, Bahamut is simply the most fun, so that's what I choose!"
So remember... This Saturday. The Berkley Front. 9 p.m. 21+. $10 gets you in the door and gets you a CD. Get Ready...
Video Courtesy of Adam Burgess
~CS
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