SOURCE – Benthic Realm started in 2016 – what can you tell us about the initial development of the group? Was it easy to find the right members and did know straight away the style of rock you wanted to develop, or was this a feeling out process?
Krista: Maureen (bass) and I had played together in a previous band Second Grave. When that was starting to come to an end I asked her if she wanted to continue playing together but with a slightly new feel and lineup. She was immediately interested. I had been talking with another drummer, Brian Banfield, as we had known each other for a couple of years and he was in between bands at the time. He was also onboard right away. We got together and jammed in my basement for a few weeks and Benthic Realm was born. So yeah, I would say it was pretty easy to find the right members. I’ve been writing/playing in roughly the same style my whole career, so knew whatever we did it was still going to be in the same vein, however I knew I wanted it to be a little heavier, more metal, than what I had done with Second Grave. When Brian left (on good terms) to move to the other side of the United States, Dan Blomquist reached out to us and we knew again immediately we had found a worthy replacement. We’ve been going strong now for a little over a year with Dan.
SOURCE – What does We Will Not Bow mean to you as a band? Do you feel that Save Us All is representative of the songs on the EP?
Krista: We will not bow is a take on the instrumental track I will not bow. There is a lot of turmoil in the world, and in the US right now, and a lot of the lyrics I write are politically charged. It really speaks to not bowing down to “those in charge” when you don’t agree with anything they stand for. Save Us All is a great uptempo track which is a little bit of a departure from some of our other slower tunes. I don’t consciously start writing a song and say it’s going to be this tempo or that. I just write the riffs and sometimes they are slow, and sometimes they are faster. But overall, Save Us All has a little bit of everything—a driving rock beat, and an epic slow end part at the end.
SOURCE – Benthic Realm (2017) and We Will Not Bow (2018) are EPs. What do you feel is the benefit of this short EP releases?
Krista: Being able to track a lot faster is the biggest benefit. It’s not cheap to record in a pro studio with a pro engineer. We make sure we are well rehearsed before entering the studio so the only thing we have to worry about is getting the right sounds and delivering a flawless performance. We were able to record both of those EPs start to finish in 1 day. It also allows us to record more often and release more music. An EP a year or so, or a full length every 2 to 3 years.
SOURCE – What do you feel that Benthic Realm has learned from becoming label-less and going the independent route? Are you actively looking for a label or are you okay with continuing independently?
Krista: We are self-released so we aren’t beholden to anyone. We call the shots and own all of the music and recordings. We haven’t found a label who has been interested in working with us as of yet, so we still love to do what we do, we just self-fund it. If the right label approached us we would certainly be interested in a discussion though.
SOURCE – What goals do you have for the band, either short or long-term?
Krista: I personally just love writing and jamming with my bandmates. I would be content writing new music, recording once a year and playing a handful of awesome gigs every year.
SOURCE – As a newer band, have you embraced the current promotional model of social media and instant technology to spread the message of Benthic Realm worldwide – and do you believe consistent engagement and added content for your fans helps solidify your presence in the scene?
Krista: I think you have to be involved in social media in this day and age. It definitely has helped to reach a wider audience. We could probably do more, but have found a decent amount of success with what we have done. Yes, consistently having content to share with fans is key, which is why I like the EP format so much.
SOURCE – What types of hobbies or activities do you enjoy when you get a break away from the music?
Krista: LOL, this is the hobby! Seriously, we all have full-time jobs outside of this and families to attend to. Music for me is my creative outlet. Aside from that I like to read, and have recently really gotten into power tools and home repair, I just refinished my basement this past summer.
SOURCE – What plans do you have as we head into 2019?
Krista: We have some killer festivals lined up for May and June in the US and we are continuing to write more material. Perhaps another venture into the studio—we’ll see how the year goes.
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