Formed in 2007, your band has quite a history. Has it been a challenge keeping the group together all these years?
Steven: The first year we started, we hit the ground
running. We all had some extensive background in other local bands and when we
got in that room and wrote those first five songs for the J.I.O. EP everything
just clicked. After a year, more or less, supporting the EP, life just hit us
hard, It was like a freight train from hell. We suffered everything from job
layoffs to losing those close to us. The five years that we took the hiatus
were some of the roughest years for all of us collectively. But we always knew
there would come a day to bring Supremacy back and unleash all these demons
that had built up for so many years. Ultimately I would say that although we
were separated as a band during that time, our heart was always there for
Supremacy. And after adding Ron to the mix we are the strongest we've been
since 2008.
Going back to 2008,
the Justice is Obsolete EP
sounds slightly different from what newer fans would expect. That release had a
definite hardcore sound but included more extreme metal elements, including
blast beats. Tell more about the changes and evolutions that have brought you
to this point.
Ken: There are so many layers to our music and we fit
with all sorts of genres, so it’s hard to just say we’re a hardcore band. We
have many diverse flavors of musical influence. In the beginning we wanted to
meld our love for hardcore and grindcore, but as time progressed we saw our
selves leaning more towards our hardcore roots and our love for sludge metal.
We feel like the metal aspect to the new album really helped to elevate the
emotions of the lyrics, and you're able to truly immerse yourself into each and
every song on the album.
David: We are trying to get people to ultimately realize
that there are a lot of other like minded individuals who are not seeing so
much in the Hardcore community, but share a common goal of bringing people
together to raise awareness, to bring up discussions about certain actions
within our city, state, country, or world for that matter. Addressing issues of
poverty, hunger, misfortune, less fortune...misguidance of our youth, but the
right family on your side to direct you to a righteous path. If we (as a music
community) could see past the labels of genres, and start to realize who is in
it for right reason and whose in it for the wrong...I believe we can achieve
much more when it comes to acting upon the topics/problems I just mentioned.
Someone once told me something awhile back that broadened my perception of what
Hardcore is....This person once told me he received countless amounts of
backlash as to why he liked to play with bands that weren't
"Hardcore".....he simply told them that their music didn't have to be
Hardcore, their state of mind was all he needed to know about giving him
clarity to who he was befriending. (Thanks for those words RTL, Brother)
Your debut
full-length, 12 Years, seems to
be gaining some momentum around Texas
Ron: I remember us sitting down and saying "we got
two songs that are written but we've never practiced before" We were
worried about how they would come out, and we had no idea those two songs would
become two of the most popular songs on the album. Those songs are “Straight
From the Heart” and “Southpaw.”
Ken: Yeah the studio was just chill, no craziness or BS,
just work.... Lots of conversation and creative input from Craig. We have all
known Craig Douglas for years from previous bands we recorded with at Origin
Sounds, so there was no real pressure when it came time to jump in the studio.
And I have to point out that he is one of the best recording engineers in Texas .
Steven: I was so ecstatic when it came time for us to
record. Craig had such great input for our music and we were able to build on
what we had created already. We all had a great time just talking about music
in general as well in between sessions.
David: We've always been a group of guys that take our
time writing and analyzing each aspect of any particular song instead of just
mashing together what we think sounds good at the time. We all know too well
that when you've played or practiced something for so long, you tend to start
changing the pattern or tempo of its original state, or small little pieces
that help the development of a song. Luckily we had the support from Craig
Douglas reassuring us to go with the flow and to run through parts a few times
to get a solid outcome. To add, I was especially amazed on how fast we were
able to track record everything we did for the album. I'd want to say 4 to 5
days collectively
I have read that the
record is about pain and suffering, but can you go into more detail? Are there
lots of biographical topics? Also what is the meaning of the title 12 Years?
Steven: 12 Years
has several meanings for all of us, and I would say that the most distinct
meaning is life after death. But we also see it as us finally coming out from
the shadows with all our weaknesses and just letting the songs tell our story.
And to put it bluntly, it is literally a recounting of events starting from the
year 2003 until now. We chronicle life for us in a 12 year span and also touch
on some other subjects like the unnatural violence of humanity, substance abuse
within impoverished families, and the legacies we leave behind for our youth.
Keeping with your
full length, can you give some insight of the album cover? The photo creates a
grim image, but can you elaborate more on it?
Steven: In the beginning we had a totally different vision
in mind for the cover but then David convinced me to go in a different
direction. We ultimately chose to use someone who was close in our life and
shared our journey, so we chose our older brother Eugene Garza. The cover
represents all the pain, struggle, and sacrifice that has been made over the
years. And is also a sort of amalgamation of death incarnate, like we are
saying we are stronger even after death. The lyrics for every song on the album
are splayed out around him and bottles of alcohol, something our families have
struggled with in the past. We love how it all came out in the end, and if
anyone is interested in seeing how the process for the cover unfolded we have
the video on our Facebook page.
Thanks for your time.
I’ll leave the last words to you.
It’s been our pleasure. And we would like everyone to know
that the train doesn't stop at this release. We are already hard at work on a
second record for a possible early 2016 release. From what we have written so
far you can expect the music to be much heavier and to have a natural evolution
from 12 Years. We are also excited
for the second half of this year which have so many great shows in store not
just for us but for some of our fellow hardcore brethren here in Houston.
To check out some of the other hardcore bands Houston has to offer head
on over to houstonhardcoremixtape.bandcamp.com for a free download of Vol. 1
and Vol. 2
Special thanks to Daniel Austin of Die Young for keeping the scene organized and alive, and for bringing some awesome bands to
You can catch us at our next show July 29th at Walters on Naylor St. where we
will be jamming with Primitive Man, Krvshr, Death Motif, Bummer, and Stress33.
https://www.facebook.com/supremacytx
https://www.facebook.com/supremacytx
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