Good day! How are you guys doing these days?
Adrian: Really good! The last few weeks have been very exciting!
Torrance: Great! Listening to our album on repeat.
Sylvester: I feel great!
First of all, please introduce CHASING TITANS and band members to our readers.
Torrance: Hey I'm Torrance. I'm the drummer, and the occasional vocalist.
Adrian: Hi I’m Adrian – I’m the clean vocalist and guitarist.
Sylvester: I’m Sylvester, bass player & scream vocals.
I would like to know about the formation of the band. How did you guys meet and all? Also, is there any special story behind the band title?
Adrian: Sylvester and I met in 2018 when I put out an advertisement online, looking for a bass player to form an alternative hardcore band. I remember us meeting up at this bar in central Auckland and literally staying until closing time. We immediately clicked as soon as we met and couldn’t stop talking about the goals and dreams we wanted to achieve with this band. At that point, we needed a really great drummer – I knew Torrance from playing with him in a very short-lived band in 2016, and I knew he would be perfect for the role! We didn’t have a name for a long time, and one day I came into practice and proposed "Chasing Titans" – to me, it’s an analogy of chasing your biggest dreams and never giving up. I feel that when we are young, we are so positive and hopeful... we all want to be astronauts and adventurers... but as we grow up, we become jaded and cynical, and our dreams turn into massive unattainable mountains... Titans, if you will. Chasing Titans, in this sense, was to me chasing our own dreams of creating and playing music, as it’s something all three of us have always wanted to do since we were kids.
I expect a long reply for this one. Can you please tell us about the concept and lyrical themes of all your previous releases?
Adrian: Our three-track EP was largely conceived during the COVID lockdown. The time in isolation during that period allowed me to really explore the more negative themes and concepts of us as human beings. "Cabin Fever" was the first song conceived and dealt with the immediate despair and frustration of being isolated, and the slow and gradual descent into madness that comes from this. "Vengeance" came next and delved into the pain and trauma that result from domestic abuse and the desire to enact revenge in this context. The last song, "New Depravity," was inspired by the character Ferdinand Lyle from the horror series Penny Dreadful. He is someone who is inherently good but is forced by circumstances to do bad things.
Is there any special reason for choosing your music conception?
Adrian: When I wrote “Cabin Fever,” I was living alone in my apartment, and I missed my then-girlfriend, friends, and family desperately! I felt like I got a taste of what solitary confinement could be, and the feelings of stress and anguish were so intense. I used composing as a vent to get me through the negativity and channelled it into the exploration of what could happen to a person who is exposed to an extreme level of isolation for an indefinite period of time. Of course, being a horror fan, I did follow a very dark and horrific theme!
For “Vengeance,” at the time of writing it, I read about so many cases of domestic violence in New Zealand. It seemed that due to the lockdown circumstances, many people could not easily leave their home environments and seek safety, and this horrified me. I wanted the song to not only describe the situation but also put some kind of power back into the victim’s hands... hence the focus on exacting revenge on the abuser.
“New Depravity” was something that was born out of me watching Penny Dreadful. While the vampires, werewolves, and other monsters were entertaining, what fascinated me the most was Ferdinand Lyle. A good person who is forced to do bad things – the age-old scenario that a lot of people claim to be in. I found his attempts at balancing his evil deeds with his compassion and empathy made for a very interesting study on the mentality and justification a lot of people have for doing things that they know are wrong. I really wanted to explore this concept further in our music, and hence “New Depravity” was the end result.
How do you guys manage to create music at all? What challenges do you face while writing and recording an album?
Torrance: Personally, for me, a lot of my ideas come randomly throughout my day. The challenge is actually remembering to get it down. Another challenge is sticking to an idea, trying to develop it for a song, while another idea tempts you from within.
Adrian: What Torrance said – and also knowing which songs to abandon and what to keep exploring.
Your latest album, Infinite Paradox. How was the experience working in the studio? Were there any funny or even sad happenings during the studio work?
Sylvester: Recording was great, it felt professional yet tiring as well. It was definitely a challenge, I had personal matters happening in the background which didn’t make it easy for me. But it motivated and put me in an emotional approach which definitely gave me a better performance on this album.
Torrance: For the drums, the sad part was that it ended too soon. We actually finished ahead of schedule, meaning there were less days of drums.
You guys are still underground/underrated, although your music has been appreciated by the critics worldwide. What, according to you, is the reason behind it?
Torrance: Well, we're still quite new, I would say. Before the album was released, we only had the EP out, which had three songs. We also didn't have much in the way of anything else, such as music videos, or any other promo.
Sylvester: I know that’s it’s just a matter of time until we pop, just keep doing what we are doing and more people will hear us eventually. Trust the process, also trust that our product is great.
Can you shed some light on your past as musicians?
Adrian: I’ve been playing music since I was six years old – my first instrument was the violin. From there I moved onto the recorder, traditional drums, bass, guitar, piano. I’ve played in everything from hip-hop bands to punk and metal bands…being a musician is ingrained in my soul.
Torrance: I've been playing drums since high school, and have been taking part in any music opportunities that were available, including things outside of metal/rock. I've done things like concert bands and brass bands, just because I like music in general.
Sylvester: My father got me into playing music by giving me one of his bass guitars at 12 years old and hearing his music, ever since then I was more intrigued and realised what I want to do.
Tell us about your favorite bands from whom you gain inspiration. Do you have any favorite artists/bands that have emerged from the metal/rock scene?
Torrance: The first band that really got me into the genre was Avenged Sevenfold. To this day, The Rev, who was their drummer, is my favourite drummer. As I've continued to listen to the genre, bands such as Tool, Periphery, and Animals as Leaders have influenced and inspired me in many different ways.
Adrian: As a kid seeing Blink 182 live on MTV made me want to play the guitar…listening to Linkin Park’s Hybrid Theory made me start the deep dive into heavier music. Right now my biggest inspirations from the metal world come from Bring Me The Horizon and Rammstein.
Sylvester: As a kid to now, I’ve had a diverse taste compared to my friends around me growing up. I love 70’s post-punk, 80s new wave, and goth rock, to metalcore, which really inspired me. Bands like Bring Me The Horizon stand out the most to me. Every album they have released has shown evolution, and they’re the only band from that genre and era who are still around and yet still relevant, while growing as a whole.
How is the metal scene going in New Zealand?
Sylvester: There are a lot of great metal bands here that I have met, but it could better and have more help with exposure in NZ.
Adrian: It’s really amazing, but pretty small – we are a small country at the end of the day. So, trying to get music out there and compete with much bigger markets like Australia, Europe, and the US will always be challenging. However, I do think it's very achievable through hard work and a lot of hustle!
Tell us if you have played abroad.
Torrance: I've played in cover bands in Japan, which I managed to do because I was studying there for a semster.
Sylvester: I’ve played a 6 week Tour in Spain with another band earlier in my career.
Are you working on any music videos, whether it be a video clip or a lyric video?
Adrian: Yes the music video for our first single off this record, “Falling Down,” will be released very soon! We have just wrapped production on it a few weeks ago so are very excited to release it!
Rapid-fire section. Just for fun. So just chill and type the first thought that comes to your mind when you hear:
Breakdown – Heavy Guitars, Breaking walls, Pray for Plagues
Experimental – Ambient Synths, Animals as Leaders, Pink Floyd
Aggression – Screams, Bulls on Parade, Architects
Melody – Heilung, Piano versions of songs on YouTube, Killing Joke
Crossover – Basketball, Smackdown VS Raw, Linkin Park and Jay Z’s Collision Course
Thanks a lot for your time! It's really nice to know more about you. Would you like to say anything to your fans and our readers?
Adrian: Thank you for all the love and support on Infinite Paradox so far! Please do come and say hi if we play near you anytime soon!
Torrance: Catch us at one of our gigs! We'd love to see you.
Sylvester: I hope you enjoy our music and come see us if we’re playing near!