SOURCE – How would you assess the depth and diversity of material on this set of tracks compared to your previous discography? Where do you see the greatest differences or improvements to the overall output?
Justine Jones (Vocals) – I think that this is our most diverse material to date. We attempted to really push ourselves as musicians on this record and I feel that we achieved that. We wanted to go for a traditionally metal sounding sound for this record to make this 4th album stand apart from our others.
SOURCE – Which do you think were more of the challenging or more difficult tracks to work out in terms of the songwriting or the performances this time around?
Justine Jones (Vocals) – ‘Set in Stone’ was certainly the hardest to record, there’s a lot going on in this song and I think it’s a slight nod back to our 1st album’s material ‘Greyer Than You Remember’, which is a lot more mathy sounding.
SOURCE – At this point in Employed To Serve’s career, where does the line sit with being consistent and having things feel fresh?
Justine Jones (Vocals) – It’s not something we overthink to be honest; we’ve always written music that we enjoy and that we feel is written to the best of our ability.
SOURCE – You’ve released two videos for the new album so far – do you enjoy the process of developing the visual clips with directors, and how important do you believe the visual medium has been to promoting Employed To Serve – is it as important as the records and live touring?
Justine Jones (Vocals) – It was a really fun process; we had a lot of time to develop the ideas this time round. We wanted these videos to be a lot more fun and light-hearted, especially after the 18 or so months we’ve all had. For a band like ours, records and live touring will always be more important than the visual aspect of our videos. Our music videos is still something we like to put a lot of thought and energy into though.
SOURCE – What impresses you regarding music today? Do you consume and process music much differently now than in your teens ?
Justine Jones (Vocals) – There seems to be a lot more comradery in music at the moment, or at least in our scene. I also think that fans and press alike are looking to champion younger bands. Definitely, I used to only listen to CDs when I was younger. Now I mix between streaming and listening to vinyl. I’ve started trying to listen to just a few albums a week now though, that way I can fully get into a record without flitting between too many.
SOURCE – What has the band been doing to keep busy during the pandemic times, and what are you looking forward to as restrictions ease up?
Justine Jones (Vocals) – We’ve been practicing as much as possible and trying to step up our live set whilst we have the time. Before we released the album, we were mainly planning music videos and planning our touring schedule. Can’t wait to get back to touring!
SOURCE – What concerns do you have about the world that we live in today?
Justine Jones (Vocals) – There’s too many to list! I just hope people will stay kind to each other, there needs to be more of that in hard times like these.
SOURCE – What’s on the horizon for Employed To Serve over the next year or so? Will there be touring excursions stateside and abroad planned for 2022 as things open up and are safe to do so?
Justine Jones (Vocals) – We have a small UK headline run in November 2021, we’re using it to prepare for the Gojira UK and EU tour from Jan 2022. We have a busy summer festival season coming up in 2022 and we’re really hoping to make it to North America at some point in 2022/23! Thanks
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