SOURCE – How was Mandala Of Fear written? It sounds like it was put together by really thrashing it out in the rehearsal room.
Ray Knipe (Drums) – MoF was 100% painstakingly written in our practice space. It came together from the idea of the story that Chris (guitars and vocals) envisioned way early on. We took those themes and ideas and built melodies to echo the symbolism behind the story, and carefully crafted each song from there. Then we eventually recorded full demos to every song on the album, down to each harmony. That way when taking this all to the studio we were able to switch between each part and each instrument at any time, and record it to the demo. We essentially just replaced each demo track with the studio version of that track in whatever order we wanted. This not only cut down on costs for recording, but also allowed us to be extremely well rehearsed and kept us on track. When tackling a double LP like we did – it’s easy to get distracted and get sucked into something so having the demos as a guide to keep us organized was clutch.
SOURCE – Mandala Of Fear is Huntsmen’s second full-length album – can you discuss where you believe the major differences are between this release and previous Huntsmen releases?
Ray Knipe (Drums) – To me, the main differences are how we wrote MoF. We had a vision and we executed that vision to the fullest we possibly could. On our other releases we play with some of the same themes and writing elements, but things came together naturally and organically. With MoF we forced this story and this vision into the music and we knew where it needed to go. Both ways of writing records have been very fulfilling for us, but we are the type of band to always try out a new way to do something, and we always will push ourselves. There will never be a release from Huntsmen that is the same as a previous release and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
SOURCE – Lyrically, are you at all influenced by the current (and perilous) state of the world?
Ray Knipe (Drums) – Oh yes. I personally don’t write the lyrics in Huntsmen, but I know that Chris is heavily influenced with what is happening in the world, and within our personal lives. With American Scrap – we wrote about themes of the failed American dream, and the conflicting feelings of believing in that dream, but also how America has failed so many. That was written right when Trump took the White House, and as a band we had to come to grips with having a “leader” like him and also being a multi-ethnic band navigating a very volatile world. With MoF, Chris began the story behind the album by creating this Mandala, this safe dream space where you can find courage and resilience during times of fear, chaos and turmoil. If that doesn’t echo reality I don’t know what does.
SOURCE – What can you tell us about the video shoot for God Will Stop Trying? Was it an obvious choice to represent the album, and how do you feel about the video medium and its importance in these social media driven times?
Ray Knipe (Drums) – We had a couple ideas for the video. Most of them were a little too ambitious for our time and budget restraints but in the end, we decided to go with the performance aspect because it just made sense. The song is about finding courage when things are at their most bleak, and each of us in the band has gone through something like that. So to have the video show us without the shiny lights and production elements was the only way. It’s a stripped down stamp of us during that time, doing what we love to do, doing one of the only things that gives us our inner light and courage, playing music. So in the end it was an obvious choice to represent the album and I’m really glad we did what we did. Videos are really important in music culture, it can do so many things for a band, like how it reflects the themes of the music, or how it represents the band themselves.
SOURCE – Chicago has always had a very fervent metal scene – even on the local level in multiple genres. What are your thoughts on your local scene – especially when it comes to the bands, venues, promoters, and fan support?
Ray Knipe (Drums) – I don’t know of a better local scene. There is so much support and encouragement in Chicago it’s unreal. On Saturday (3/21) we aired a live stream concert we recorded on Friday (3/20) and it was one of the best things we’ve ever done. There were hundreds of people in the chat, riffing off eachother, singing along, asking questions, being supportive and just sharing the love. Although none of us could be in a room together, we all came together and had a party and it was incredible. Some of those people work at venues or are in bands that have no income right now, and everyone has been pitching in and helping all of those people. It’s the little things like taking a second to reach out and see how they are doing that is important, and Chicago is one of the most generous cities in the world in that regard.
SOURCE – What types of hobbies/interests do you have outside of band activities that you like to pursue in your free time?
Ray Knipe (Drums) – Personally I love to paint, I love getting tattoos, I love horror movies and I’m an animal lover. I’m always trying to learn a new skill or research some interesting bit of history, and I like to get out to the country as much as possible. I grew up in rural Michigan and I absolutely have to get out of the city sometimes so that’s a must.
SOURCE – What worries you most about the world that we live in today? What do you think the average person needs to spend more time, effort, and energy on to make the world a better place overall?
Ray Knipe (Drums) – I worry about how people treat eachother, especially right now. We all can strive to learn more empathy and compassion for others and for our environment and although it not always easy, it’s essential for everyone to be happy and healthy. I don’t think we all need to jump into an extreme activist mindset, but it’s the little things that make the real difference and it’s the little things that will save us if everyone makes those changes.
SOURCE – What’s the game plan as far as activities for Huntsmen over the next twelve months?
Ray Knipe (Drums) – Within the next twelve months we have a couple plans. While in quarantine – we want to write new material and we want to get creative with how to reach our fans. Whether that be more playalong videos, or even some Q&A’s. Just something to keep us engaged. Once this Covid-19 thing gets under control we will be concentrating on touring. We had big plans that we wanted to show off live, and we wanted to get the themes behind MoF out there in a live setting and that all has been put on hold so getting to tour will really make us feel like we are doing the record justice. We owe it to ourselves and to our fans to get out there and make that connection, so keep an eye out.
Photo credit Aaron Ehinger
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