Kill The Lights Unveil Their Album, Death Melodies
Formed by former members of Bullet for My Valentine, Throw the Fight, Still Remains, and Threat Signal, Kill The Lights is a force to be reckoned with.
Their debut album, The Sinner, unleashed a torrent of raw energy upon the metal community in 2020, garnering critical acclaim from renowned outlets such as KERRANG! and Metal Hammer. With accolades pouring in, Kill The Lights proved they were here to stay, showcasing their ability to “nail the groove and the glory.”
Following the success of The Sinner, Kill The Lights continued to captivate audiences with their singles, “The Faceless,” “Through The Night,” and “Shed My Skin,” each amassing millions of streams on Spotify. But their journey doesn’t stop there. In 2022, they unleashed “Dead From The Start,” a poignant anthem addressing the struggles of mental health, shedding light on a topic often shrouded in silence.
Today, we have the privilege of delving deeper into the minds behind Kill The Lights, exploring their latest endeavors, including their brand new album, Death Melodies, and their unwavering commitment to both their music and their message.
First off, care to introduce yourself to our readers?
Hi, everyone! I’m Travis and I play lead guitar in Kill The Lights.
Tell us a bit about your recent release.
Death Melodies was pretty much entirely written during the pandemic. It’s the first KTL album written as a whole band. The Sinner was a collection of demos that Jordan had written over the years, and we reworked those into what ended up on the album. Death Melodies has full songs and collaborations between everyone in the band, so I’d say it’s the first true KTL album. We worked very hard on this record, and we’re excited for people to hear it!
How do you typically go about the songwriting process? Do you have a specific method or creative routine that you follow?
Yeah, we have a process down now. Obviously, it was extremely hard for an international band to get together between 2020-2022, so we had to really iron out a good way to work together. Jordan and I start out writing some riffs, parts of songs, or full ideas, then send that over to the rest of the group. If there is interest there, we then start refining those ideas. Moose will add his flair to the programmed drums, the arrangement will be tweaked, solos will be added, and then we send it off to James to work on vocals. The whole process is simple, and it works well for us. That being said, any time we get in a room together to write, things are MUCH more productive. You can’t replace that energy and spontaneity that comes with writing in a room together.
Looking ahead, what are your plans for supporting this new release? Are there any upcoming tours, music videos, or additional content that fans can look forward to in connection with this project?
So far we have released five music videos and singles for Death Melodies. We also just announced a UK/EU tour in the spring to kick off the touring cycle for the album! Right now we’re just looking to get more tours booked, and are working on finally getting over to the US to play shows.
Looking back on your musical career, is there a particular moment or accomplishment that you consider a turning point or a highlight?
For me in particular, it was playing with Jeff Loomis. Growing up, I was a huge Nevermore fan….well, I still am haha. Jeff is one of my favorite guitarists, and I spent many hours learning Nevermore songs. Fast forward to about 2010, my band Threat Signal ended up getting to play about a week’s worth of shows with Nevermore. I got to hang with Jeff and get to know him a bit. We stayed in touch, and in late 2012 he hit me up to play the Schecter show at The Grove at NAMM 2013 that coming January. Of course, I said yes! He had me learn 6-7 of these solo album songs and show up to play the show without rehearsing with the band at all. This was a sort of an “audition” I guess. That went well and I ended up doing a 2-month long tour with Jeff and the band Soilwork. It was one of those crazy moments where you could look back and think “Wow…I guess all of that hard work paid off!”.
Last but not least, it’s time to pay it forward, what upcoming band or artist would you recommend your fans check out?
If you’re into heavier deathcore-type stuff, then check out the band Angelmaker! Really heavy and melodic music. Killer guitar playing. To me, they’re one of the more interesting bands in the genre for sure.
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