EMQs With The Judge The Juror
EMQs With The Judge The Juror
Hi everyone! Welcome to another EMQs interview, this time with Canadian Psych-Death-Tech-Prog band, The Judge The Juror. Huge thanks to their Vocalist/ Synth specialist, David, for taking part.
What is your name, what do you play and can you tell us a little bit about the history of the band?
Hey Ever Metal, I’m David, vocalist & synth of PSYDEATHTECHPROG band The Judge The Juror! We’ve been on the scene for the past 4 years, and after creating our own niche genre, we really started to discover what this band is all about.
How did you come up with your band name?
Our guitarist, Scotty, had this name in his mental bank of potential band names, and when he and Nick started the project, they decided on using it. Jumping forward, I think we like the name because it doesn’t really prepare the listener for how out there we can get musically, sounding kind of traditionally “Metal” by band name standards. Juxtaposition is fun to play with, and we lean into it when we can.
What Country / Region are you from and what is the Metal / Rock scene like there?
We’re a proudly Canadian band, from Edmonton, Alberta, which is in the Western region of the country for those uninitiated to the Great White North. Western Canada has an incredible music scene, so we’re extremely grateful we get to be a part of it. Traveling more and more regionally, we’ve met the most incredible musicians, not only talent-wise but in terms of being just amazing individuals. Shows usually have great turnouts, and that’s cause there are a lot of people here who really enjoy music and show up to support it
What is your latest release? (Album, EP, Single, Video)
Our newest single, “Heliconian Optivisor,” just dropped on August 15th! We’re incredibly excited to share it with people now, as it’s a song we’re really proud of. It’s the first single from our next EP entitled “Primitive Minds” that we’ll be putting out this fall, and this next musical chapter for us is really exciting as we’re seeing how far we can take our PSYDEATHTECHPROG sound.
Who have been your greatest influences?
Some of our big influences on the metal side would have to be Meshuggah, Born of Osiris, Between the Buried and Me, and The Contortionist. It’s interesting because a lot of us have many influences outside of Metal that inspire some of how we write music, including bands like Dance Gavin Dance and Enter Shikari, and complete genre flips with artists like Death Grips, Ozric Tentacles, and Flying Lotus.
What first got you into music?
My first direct memory with music was my grandmother, who was a piano teacher, and how she would always be playing. As I got older, I discovered live music, and it just so happened to be Punk, Alternative, and Metal shows that I fell in love with. It was the first thing I saw people do that made sense to me as something that I could also potentially do to express myself.
If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be?
I think the rest of my band would kill me if I didn’t say that it would have to be the band Haken [laughs]. We’re all super into them right now. Absolutely incredible musicality, and they weave genres like they’re the comfiest sweater you’ve ever worn. Being able to collaborate with genius musicians like that would be the dream; we really like learning from the artists we meet out in the world.
If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?
Oh, easily, I would say 70,000 Tons of Metal would be the top pick for me. A giant floating piece of metal full of metal heads listening to metal bands? What more could you ask for?
What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?
Not the weirdest necessarily, but for some reason, fans really like to give us weed…. not a complaint, we will continue to not complain [laughs].
If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?
Be authentic in what you do and how you express yourself. This has been a theme with the band we’ve been keeping close to our hearts, not only from a musical perspective but also from a “being a human in this world” perspective. Authentic you is what the world, and you yourself, deserve, so share it. It’s not always the easiest path to take, but it feels the most rewarding so far.
If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?
Just cause it’s still so fresh, we’ve got to go with Ozzy. That one hurt. There haven’t been a lot of single individuals who have had that kind of impact on an entire genre; it’s pretty wild. All of us in the Metal community owe a lot to the path he started.
What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?
Being able to create music and express myself is the core of why I do this, and it just makes it even better when people resonate with it. I find that to be my favorite form of human-to-human connection, when we bridge a gap through art. The “hate” side would definitely have to be the constant high-high and low-low cycle you put yourself through as a musician trying to do it seriously. But managing that with your mental health is the key, and it’s still worth it for those highs.
If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
I’d like to see more people focused on real community building, person to person. The technology society around us prompts us to give a certain view of reality online, and while it has its merits, it’s a way more superficial version of reality. I do think this is starting to change, though, shows seem to be becoming more and more well attended, and that’s the best way we can build this up, getting together and enjoying music as a communal group.
Name one of your all-time favourite albums?
Oh man, only one?! [laughs]. Ok, I can do this… I’m going to go with one of my favorite METAL albums of all time, and say “Alaska” by Between the Buried and Me. Not only incredibly written and groundbreaking for what death-prog can sound like, but one of those Metal albums that made me go “oh, you can really do anything musically in Metal and still be Metal”.
What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CDs, or Downloads?
I think to a degree they all have their place; vinyl gives you the best physical media form, CDs have the best sound quality, and downloads/streaming give access to so many artists who may never have been able to have any sort of reach before. They can all co-exist in my view.
What’s the best gig that you have played to date?
Have to go with our most recent tour that we JUST finished with our friends in The Hallowed Catharsis and Plague Doctor. Cruising through the beautiful Okanagan Valley in British Columbia for a week with them was an absolute dream. Fantastic turnouts, gorgeous scenery, and lovely people. Can’t get much better for a band on the road.
If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?
Who knows at this point, maybe I’d be out living in the woods somewhere? [laughs]. I’ve always had this feeling of being compelled to leave society behind and venture into the wilderness, so if the band thing doesn’t work out, I’ll be going full Survivorman.
Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?
Not so much particular individuals, but I’ve always thought it would be super fascinating to take five people from different points throughout human history and put them in the same room. The difference in perspectives on the world would be wild. I feel like we could learn a lot from all those different perspectives in the modern world.
What’s next for the band?
Now that the tour is over, we’re gearing up to release our “Primitive Minds” EP in the fall, then it’s back to the studio/writing cause we have 2 more EPs we want to get out in the next year! You should probably stay tuned to find out more by following us!
What Social Media / Website links do you use to get your music out to people?
You can find us on all the usual suspects, including Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Spotify, etc. The easiest way is to use our linktree to direct you to all the various sites, which you can find here: https://www.liktr.ee/thejudgethejurorofficial
Time for a very British question now. As an alternative to the humble sandwich, is the correct name for a round piece of bread common in the UK either a Bap, a Barm (or Barm Cake), a Batch, a Bun, a Cob, a Muffin, a Roll or a Tea Cake?
Are you trying to make me prevent having any future British fans or something?! [laughs]. I feel like I’ve heard the term Barm Cake before, so I’m going to go with that. Sorry, UK, please no angry DM’s! [laughs]
Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?
Thank you so much for taking this time to chat with a little PSYDEATHTECHPROG band like us! We just hope people out there will check out and enjoy our new single “Heliconian Optivisor”, and if you do, please let us know and tell your friends! Thanks, everyone!
Disclaimer: This interview is solely the property of Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this interview, unless you have the strict permission of said party. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.
