Project: Failing Flesh are way cool. Musically, they do something really refreshing and have very recently released their second album called The Conjoined on Burning Star records. If you'd like a band that takes influences from Voivod, Prong, Godflesh, Fear Factory, Swans and some more to come up with a highly original and breathtaking bunch of songs with extremely intelligent and quirky arrangements, then definitely give this a go. The band consists of the brothers Tim and Kevin from the US and former Voivod frontman Eric Forrest giving his best performance till date. Anyone into extreme metal and a bit of an open mind must give this album a go. I had a small chat with the band.

Hey guys, thanks for agreeing to do this interview. How's it going?

Tim) Hey Srikanth. Going good here. Cool to talk to you. Thanks for doing it with us.

Eric) Yes, thanks very much.

Kevin) Very tired. Worked in studio last 2 days on the new P:FF record. Give me coffee or new Ziltoid record.

To begin with, take us through the band's origin. What did you do musically till then and how P:FF eventually came about and how Eric joined the fold. What is Project: Failing Flesh all about? How are the duties and contributions shared between you guys in the band? Let us help out all the people who aren't familiar with the band yet.

Kevin) Several years back we were working on tunes we liked and couldn't find a singer. So luckily enough we somehow got in contact with Eric through email and sent him the songs. He liked them agreed to work with us and that's how we started working together. P:FF is all about writing songs in the studio and watching shows about crazy concert moments!! We all contribute equally... Tim and I on the music and all of us on the lyrics.


The first album "Beautiful Sickness", when I first heard, was the most refreshing take on Thrash Metal in a long time. I'm a big fan of the likes of Voivod and Prong and heard a lot of those two bands in the music, though more brutal and adds other interesting arrangements too. How did the album come about?

Tim) Yeah, Voivod and Prong are certainly big influences on us. And obviously Eric brings some Voivod in as well haha. The first album, “A Beautiful Sickness” was the result of Kevin and I screwing around in the studio for fun and then thinking the stuff was ending up pretty cool and getting more serious. At first we just would write in the studio, whatever riffs or ideas one of us had we would expand on and arrange into basic songs. Then once the whole songs are kind of done in demo form we started to record them properly with cool tones, other instruments, etc. Since most of the action takes place in the studio we sort of write, record, and produce at the same time. So anyway, with the first album once we had the songs done and recorded we ended up hooking up with Eric. So he came over and did his vocals and then Kev mixed the album. All this stuff happened over a spread out period of time though. So, once it was all finished we sent it around to some labels and ended up signing with Karmageddon Media (ex-Hammerheart). Candlelight USA handled the distro for that one in North America. We have since left Karmageddon as we didn’t agree with some of their business practices and then signed with Burning Star Records in Greece. They released the latest one, “The Conjoined.”

2007's 'The Conjoined' is great. Really fucking great. Like most fans, I expected it to be great but not this great. It's easily one of the best albums of 2007. Just curious, what are the changes in the recording and writing approaches this time?

Tim) Thanks, it’s cool to hear you are into it! The process itself wasn’t too much different from the first one really. Except this time we started out more seriously and also knew ahead of time who would be handling vocals. Also, we were all more comfortable working together since we had already done the first one and got a better handle on how each other liked to go about things. The concepts and lyrics are loosely based around whatever song titles we come up with ahead of time and our band name. Most are pretty open to interpretation. Some are abstract while others are more literal. They basically come about with the three of us sitting around and trading lines, words, or even just phrasing ideas. Then the vox get tracked and pounded out!!

Eric) Yeah, basically it was a really cool vibe because of the work we had done before and our prior connection... like Tim said, we just exchanged some ideas in the studio and pieced it together. Then just did a few takes and kept the best one. But everything went pretty smooth and natural when the lyrics and vocal lines were created.

I'm especially curious about the guitars. It's raw, brutal, crunchy and heavy. Tell us about the guitars you guys used and what it's played through. Tell us how you finally get to what we finally hear on the album?

Tim) The guitar we mainly used was a Gibson Les Paul 1960 reissue. Also, a Gibson Flying V, SG, and Firebird were used on some stuff on the two albums. Bass was mostly a Fender P-bass, a crappy old Yamaha, or Rickenbacker 4003. Mostly direct for bass thru a bass Sans Amp… though some songs were traditionally amped. We use a ton of sound/amp combos to get the final guitar sound. It’s made up of various combinations of a Mesa Tremoverb, an old 100 watt Yamaha solid state combo (GS-110 or something like that) or, recently we’ve been playing thru a Line 6 Vetta, which is real versatile. Those are also combined with some direct sounds like from an old Boss SE-70 processor, a Sans Amp, and some Amp Farm patches. We use some of the tones for density and others for crunch. And some for highs or mids and some for lower bottom end. So it’s not exact science… just however the combinations seem to work in each song. The only pedals we really use on some of the amp combinations are an old Ibanez Tube Screamer or a Boss Heavy Metal pedal. On the new album I used a Boss Digital Delay on one song and crazily turned its knobs to make those whacked out helicopter and My Bloody Valentine-ish sounds. A little chorus also is used at times on bass and clean guitars but that is from a plug-in.

One of the things that make this band experimental are the approach to drums. There are various unconventional tones and styles that you hear on the album. How are they done? And how much of it is sampled/programmed?

Kevin) You've hit on the answer in your question. Some is programmed and some is played. The amount depends on the individual song. So it's a combo.


The inevitable question about the odd instruments. Amazing usage of trumpets and strings especially.

Kevin) To us they don't feel "odd." We just do what each song calls for and if a song needs something different we use it. But some of them are washing machine, side of drums, samples of metal, viola, cello, trumpet, pots and pans.

All said and done, this is essentially a catchy, guitar riff driven groovy-thrashy-deathy metal album that experiments without getting anywhere near the avant garde or prog territories. Was this a conscious choice?

Tim) Not so much conscious. I think it’s just a result of our influences and how we’ve learned to write. We just do what we think sounds cool and like and is interesting to us. And try not to put too many boundaries on ourselves.   

Eric, the vocals have been really amazing. Has your role changed since the first album?

Eric) Thanks for the compliment! Honestly, I don't think it's changed much other than our connection as musicians and friends is better... after some cool times our vibe is brotherhood like. In the end, the objective is to capture the coolest vocal line and lyric required to fit each subject or song accordingly... and it’s done quite fast actually. What I mean is, there is no lack of creativity, just a matter of grabbing the best stuff. But it really seems that we all tend to agree on a lot of the ideas. Not a lot of arguing going on!! haha

This is an album that cannot be judged by a single song or even a single listen. Every song has its own flavor but it all works out as an album. It's unique and there's quite a bit to take in. If it was a bad album everyone would've said "these guys are struggling to find their sound", you know?

Tim) Haha!! Yeah, we’ve still read that from a very few less open minded people or reviewers. Most people have seemed to really like it though, which has been cool. But we are just doing this for our enjoyment and anyone else who may happen to be into it. We realize that some of the variety may not be to everyone’s taste or may take more effort to get into and that’s fine but I think well rounded metalheads can mostly get into it.

Eric) With so many styles of metal, personally I can’t even keep up let alone remember the names of the categories haha. But I feel there is stuff for a lot of different metal fans. There is stuff that every one can get into... no?

The band, although understandably a studio band will definitely work well in a live setting. Just get another guitarist and a keyboardist to handle all the odd instruments and you'll be set. Are you guys even giving this a thought? Taking a band live, obviously makes the most money and also is the best PR.

Eric) Yes, we’ve all been speaking about it and personally I would love to do it if, or when, possible. A lot of issues to be worked out obviously but I am in!!! But it costs money to tour! Haha.. no joke, haha!! I guess we will all see what happens...

Tim) Like he said, very recently we’ve been talking and decided it’s about time to try it if possible financially,etc. So we are just in the very early stages of going about it. Right now just tossing around possible songs to play and re-learning them haha. That shouldn’t take too long, then we will try to get other guys in to round out the line-up. So when we can find the guys and it’s sounding cool we will probably venture out and play. No real time-table... we are kind of going at a relaxed pace as things happen and still sort of keeping the focus on the writing/recording. But hopefully sometime fairly soon, if all goes cool, some live stuff will happen.

You guys run your own studio for a main job. Tell me about it and what are some of the important bands/albums that has come out of it.

Kevin) The studio keeps me busy full time and then some. It's good to be able to work on music all day. In the past at Assembly Line Studios we have worked with Deceased, Raven, Dysrhythmia, Twisted Tower Dire, Garden of Shadows, Grand Belial's Key, While Heaven Wept, Brave, Eastwind, and a bunch more.

I know Eric has a more straight-forward thrash metal band called E-Force which is about to release a new album. What else do you guys do?

Eric) I have a cover band here in Toulouse, France called Rock n Roll Rebels which helps pay the bills. We play stuff by AC/DC, Motorhead, Maiden, Metallica, Deep Purple, etc.

What are the future plans?

Tim) Mainly to complete the third album and finally play some shows. After that... money, models, and merchandising. Yeah right, haha.

For all those guitarists and bands that can't afford to spend on expensive studio time and a producer/engineer. What's the bang for the buck home set-up would you suggest to plug in and start recording their shit?

Kevin) Since everyone has a home computer now I guess any of the programs out there are pretty powerful and can do many things for relatively cheap compared to going to a proper studio. Pro-Tools LE, Cuebase, or Logic.

Tim) The best bang for the buck is to have a brother who owns a studio!! haha.

Say you've got the authority to hire two guitarists to play in Voivod's new album and you are one. Who'd you pick for the other spot?

Kevin) Well if I'm one of the guys then I guess the other guy would be Tim. Cause that would be most fun. Though Piggy is not replaceable by any amount of guitarists.


Name 5 each.

Tracks that'll feature in the "PFF: Early Years" compilation, five years down the line.

Kevin) Well we only have two records so there's not many to pick from! Entrance Wound, Taste of the Lie, Regenerate, Through the Broken Lens, Surface Noise.

Eric) That’s a difficult one... Eve of Demise, Hand That You’ve Been Dealt, Highwire Act, Final Act of Treachery, Dementia Pugilistica

Tim) Surface Noise, Final Act of Treachery, Eve of Demise, 9mm Movie, A Beautiful Sickness.       

Influential guitarists.

Kevin) I guess influential would be different than favorite. So all the old ones. Mike from Destruction, Piggy, Ace Frehley, Mark Gallagher, early Hetfield.

Eric) Iommi, Blackmore, Piggy, LaRouque, Yngwie.

Tim) Iommi, Piggy, Hanneman/King, Tommy Victor, Geordie from Killing Joke.

Influential bands.

Kevin) Possessed, Hirax, Voivod, Vio-lence, Dark Angel.

Eric) Voivod, Maiden, Motorhead, Kreator, King Diamond, AC/DC.

Tim) Slayer, Swans, Godflesh, Prong, Voivod, so many others.

All time favourite albums.

Kevin) Voivod - Killing Technology / The Donnas - Spend the Night / Destruction - Infernal Overkill / Fear Factory - Obsolete / Curve - Coast is Clear.

Eric) Iron Maiden – Killers / Deep Purple - Machine Head / Iron Maiden – Piece of Mind / Motorhead - Ace of Spades / AC/DC - Highway to Hell.

Tim) Entombed – Wolverine Blues / Arcturus – The Sham Mirrors / Swans – Children of God / Voivod – Dimension Hatross or Negatron (tie) / Slayer – Reign in Blood.  

Albums that are currently spinning.

Kevin) Divine Heresy - Bleed The Fifth / Bjork - Volta / Children of Bodom - Are You Dead Yet? / Ram-Zet - Pure Therapy / Whiplash - Power and Pain.

Eric) AC/DC - High Voltage / Deep Purple – The House of Blue Light / Destruction – Thrash Anthems / King Diamond – A Dangerous Meeting.

Tim) Dream Theater – Systematic Chaos / Divine Heresy – Bleed The Fifth / Bjork – Volta / Entombed – Serpent Saints / Dodheimsgard – Supervillain Outcast.  

Songs that makes the best use of dissonant riffs.

Kevin) Any five John Zorn songs!

Tim) Not sure about songs. Bands – Voivod, Killing Joke, Swans, Sonic Youth, Godflesh.

Bands you'd invite to play at Project: Failing Fest at your backyard.

Kevin) The Donnas, Marilyn Manson (puts on a good show), Rammstein (to set the neighbor's house on fire), Kid Beyond, Judas Priest.

Eric) Maiden, Warrior Soul, Deep Purple, AC/DC, Motorhead.

Tim) Haha... that’s good.. Project: Failing FEST!! Emperor, Swans, Entombed, Arcturus, The Donnas.

New bands to watch out for.

Kevin) I'll be a smart ass and say anything I'm producing.

Eric) P:FF, E-Force!

Tim) Daath, Divine Heresy.

Finally, thanks again for letting us interview, you guys. Any words or tips for kvltblog readers?

Eric) Thanks again! Hope to see you all one day!! Don’t forget, Kevin and Tim will appear on a track called "Wired" on the next E-Force release.

Kevin) Thanks for the interview and taking the time. Check out our site www.projectfailingflesh.com or Myspace www.myspace.com/projectfailingflesh.

Tim) I think the guys covered just about everything. The new album is out on Burning Star Records now. HORNS!

Also read my review of The Conjoined here.