Thursday, April 13, 2017

Interview: The Wizard of Pilgrim Knows How To Eat Sashimi

Pilgrim is headed out on a East Coast Tour with Heavy Temple. Any fans of Doom Metal will kick themselves repeatedly if they choose to pass this show up.

Sadly, they're only going to be within 500 miles of the Glacially Musical Global Domination Headquarters in St. Louis, MO.

The Wizard however was kind enough to teleport into the Northern Hemisphere regional offices of The Glacially Musical Vinyl Review Commission in Maniitsoq, Greenland to discuss their upcoming tour and apparently sushi.

Glacially Musical: Thank you for taking some time for us today.

Pilgrim: It's our pleasure.

GM: It's a been a minute since we got II: Void Worship from you. When should we expect a new release?

PL: That's a bit up in the air at the moment.

We're about half way through writing a new record, but we've been spending a lot of time practicing for our upcoming tour and live shows. We are hoping to, at the very least, have it recorded by the end of the year.

GM: How did you guys hook up with Heavy Temple for the upcoming tour?

PL: We've been in contact online for a few years now. I remember talking with High Priestess Nighthawk when they were first getting started. That was a while ago.

We've always wanted to tour together. Finally the opportunity presented itself and we jumped on making it happen.

GM: Where do you find your biggest inspiration to write?

PL: Personally, I take a lot of inspiration from enjoying fantasy. I played a lot of RPG video games and played a lot of Dungeons and Dragons when I was growing up.

When PILGRIM first started, it was always our goal to combine dark, heavy doom music with our love of sword and sorcery. I get inspired while I'm deeply immersed in a great fantasy storyline, whether it's a game, a book, or a movie.

 I also like to write when I'm feeling down or depressed or apathetic. Songwriting is a cathartic process for me. Writing a dirge about your misery is a great way to express yourself and to take negativity and make something creative out of it.

GM: When you're really hungry, what's your ultimate food?

PL: We all love to eat. Personally though, I love sushi and sashimi. I eat it really slow, take my time, close my eyes and try to appriciate all the flavors.

Then I cleanse my pallet after each bite. It's a whole experience. It's heavenly to me.

GM: What are the five most important albums of all time?

PL: Now that is a loaded question. I could actually try to write a list of albums that are important to us, but I'll keep it short: the first 5 Sabbath records.

GM: There was a strong mix on the last album between short and long tunes. Was this a conscious choice?

PL: Not really. Our songs simply come out the way they do. Sometimes they're long, sometimes they're short.

We never make any kind of conscious effort to write songs of a certain length. As we're moving into writing for a new record it seems as though our songs are getting a little bit shorter.

GM: Is it hard to write compelling songs that are slow or fast?

PL: I think it's hard enough to write compelling songs in general, regardless of tempo. I think a good song, fast or slow, has a powerful hook to it, an unmistakably catchy melody.

I can listen to Reverend Bizarre and then turn on Cannibal Corpse and get just as much enjoyment out of both styles of music.

GM: I love the way II sounded. It's just beautiful. How do you guys get that killer tone?

PL: Thanks! We actually had a lot of trouble coming up with a compelling tone for II. It was really our engineer and friend, Mike Moebius (Moonlight Mile Recording) who helped us find the perfect sounds to round out record.

He made Krolg's drums sound MASSIVE, and he helped me to find a compelling rhythm guitar and bass tone. At the time of the recording, we were a two piece. So he did a lot to help us fill in the space. He also had a perfect ear for exactly what we were trying to do.

He got us really well.

GM: What else do we need to know?

PL: Tomorrow our tour starts! Check out our facebook (facebook.com/hailthepilgrim) to find all the latest info on those shows. Also, follow us on Instagram (@hailthepilgrim)! Thank you guys for your questions. Hope to see you at the shows!

TOUR DATES: 

March 2nd The Fire, Philadelphia, PA
March 3rd The Broadberry (With Windhand), Richmond, VA
March 4th Pilgrim (With Subrosa) Saint Vitus, Brooklyn, NY
March 4th Heavy Temple (With Toke) TBA, Winston, Salem NC
March 5th Riffhouse Pub,, Chesapeake, VA March 6th Sidebar, Baltimore, MD
March 7th Meatlocker, Montclair, NJ
March 8th O'Briens, Boston MA
March 9th Mohawk Place, Buffalo, NY
March 10th Bug Jar, Rochester, NY
March 11th Geno's, Portland, ME
March 12th AS220, Providence, RI

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