On The Record – Save The Clock Tower
on July 13th, 2014Tasmania’s Save The Clock Tower have this month released their new album ‘Wasteland‘. To find out a bit more about it, the band has taken the time to answer our On The Record questions this week. Expand this post to take a read of their answers and a look at their new video clip for the single ‘These Diseases‘. You can grab a copy of the album online now [Here]
Tell us about the release title.
‘Wasteland’ pretty much means three things; the wasteland that can be left after a relationship ends, after substance/alcohol abuse and what we as a human race are doing to our own world. The title came about after I actually had a six year relationship end, and I guess my reactions to the situation! There weren’t any other working titles really, it has always been ‘Wasteland’, and all the other dudes liked it when I suggested it too.
Tell us about the artwork.
The idea for the artwork was actually thrown around between all members. The one thing we all agreed upon was trying to show innocence while also showing truth/reality, whether that was in relation to war or internal conflict wasn’t really a big thing. We also really wanted it to stand out on cd store shelves! The artwork was done by Travis Roberts, who I believe was contracted by our label Bullet Tooth in the states.
What format/s will it be released on and how will it be packaged?
It will just be a standard jewel case, nothing too fancy. Our last two EP’s were both digi-paks and we found the after awhile, the case itself seems to deteriorate, so it seemed like a smarter choice to go with the standard and keep the presentation of the artwork nice and vibrant.
Who will it be released through, and when?
It was released July 1st worldwide through Bullet Tooth and July 4th in AUS/NZ through Faction/Sony Music Australia.
Tell us about the studio and why you chose to record there?
We recorded with our friend Dave Venter at his own studio in Devonport called FatLip Studios and at another studio in our hometown called Five Stone Studios. We thought it would be good to do it around our home state as it would give us a little more freedom with the whole process in general and a hell of a lot more input into the entire sound of the record.
Tell us about the producer / engineer and why you chose to record with them?
Dave is a really close friend of ours and is actually our touring sound guy. We recorded our Ep ‘The Human Condition’ with him also and we just generally love the way he gets the best out of us. He knows the sounds we want and are looking for and knows the best way to push each of us to achieve those things.
Did you go into the writing process with a clear direction in mind?
I guess you could say yes. We had been writing for ages, and we kind of had a view of how we wanted the album to sound as a whole and also how we wanted the songs to sound individually.
Were you listening to anything in particular during the writing / recording process that influenced the songs at all?
Not really. We try and not let anything influence us too much when we write. Obviously, there are always going to be influencing factors, but we just try and write what we would want to listen to. The only thing that may have influenced the sound a little was more of the early 2000’s scream type stuff.
Were there any albums you were referencing to aim for a certain type of sound production wise?
We really just wanted the record to sound massive. It is pretty important to have a good sounding record these days and I think we may have referenced the overall sound that Memphis May Fire seem to get on their records.
How long did you spend in the studio recording?
Too long haha! The whole process including pre-production was around 8 months.
Tell us a little about the recording process the band used?
I think it was probably similar to a lot of bands. Drums were recorded first, then guitars, then bass and lastly vocals.
Was this any different to previous processes you have used?
Not really, the only difference this time was the Owen actually played real drums!
Any guests involved? if so, who.. and what did they do?
We have Marcel from Dream On, Dreamer featuring on the track ‘The Way We Were’, and we also have a youth choir featuring on the song ‘These Diseases’. Both are guest vocal spots.
Any memorable studio moments?
Well! We had to record the guitars twice due to some editing problems! We had to record the clean vocals three times! So after sending everything away to Will Putney in the states to be mixed and mastered, we were informed that due to some editing problems that we would have to redo most of the clean parts, so we did. Then, our former guitarist was asked to leave the band and I had to redo all his main clean singing bits also.
Any additional tracks recorded that didn’t make the cut but may see the light of day sometime?
Unfortunately not. The ones that didn’t reach the recording process were mainly only half written. But these may be used for album number 2.
What track/s are you most looking forward to playing live?
On our tour with Betraying The Martyrs, we were playing about 4 songs off ‘Wasteland’, so we have already got into a bit of groove with playing some of the newer stuff live. One of my favorite tracks to play live is ‘The Beautiful Lie’, but i’m sure Joel and Alex wouldn’t say that hahaha!
How would you compare the final product to previous releases?
Bigger and better. The overall sound is just so clean and crisp, while still maintaining the aggression and heaviness that we wanted. I think the album as a whole has a really coherent feel, and Will definitely made the album sound huge.
Anything else you want to say or about the release?
If you pick up ‘Wasteland’ we really hope you dig it, and come and see us the next time we are in your neck of the woods!
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SAVE THE CLOCK TOWER – ‘Wasteland‘
Available now on Faction / Sony Music.
Grab it on iTunes [Here]
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