First off can you state your name and what you do in
the band?
Justin:
I’m Justin Longshore and I play guitar.
Where does the name Through the Eyes of the Dead
come from?
Justin:
Just like any other band, we picked from a list of names that we liked and
chose that one. It has no specific meaning behind it. It’s actually in a
Cannibal Corpse song, “Staring Through the Eyes of the Dead”, off of “The
Bleeding” and also a DVD title from an old 80’s death metal band called
Necrophagia. Phil Anselmo was actually in that band at one point.
How did you guys hook up with Prosthetic Records?
Justin:
We recorded an EP and split on Lovelost Records and originally intended on
using the split to shop to other labels. The CD took forever to come out so
we ended up sending out our EP to Metal Blade. We never heard back from them
so I sent out a few e-mails to labels and Prosthetic got back to us among a
couple of others. They seemed very stoked on signing us and offered us a
good deal.
The label has been great to work with. They are interested in building a
career for us rather than just putting out a few good records.
You were able to play the Sounds of the Underground
festival earlier this year. How was that?
Justin:
It was a really good time. We met and hung out with a lot of cool bands on
the tour. It was really weird at first getting used to the big stages but we
adapted pretty quickly. It was a huge party everyday. I think the tour
helped us out a lot as far as promotion and getting our name out there.
How was the headlining tour?
Justin:
It was awesome.
Any good stories?
Justin:
Yeah, I think the tour was cursed. At the beginning of the tour, Light This
City’s van had transmission problems and the van was going to take a week to
get fixed which would have made them miss out until the west coast. We all
decided to let a few of them ride with each of the bands and borrow our
gear. Their roadies stayed in Cleveland and then took the trip from
Cleveland to Portland , OR in 2 days!
The day they got their van back, our trailer axle broke that night on the way to Seattle . The mechanic said it would take another week to get fixed and we ended up riding with all of the other bands and borrowed their gear. Our merch guy and sound guy stayed in Oregon until it got fixed then drove all the way down to San Diego .
We figured everything was going to be smooth after that. We were wrong. The Acacia Strain’s van broke down the day after in Arizona so we had to pick all of them up in the desert while there guitar tech and tour manager stayed behind with their van. Their van actually ended up costing $4,000 to fix and their crew had to drive from Phoenix , AZ to Orlando, FL. The day they got there van back, our trailer tire blew. We were freaking out but luckily we got it replaced in a few hours. The tour was very uncomfortable to say the least.
Where has the best city you have played?
Justin:
We always do well in the East and West Coast. I can’t really think of a
specific favorite right now because they are all usually good. I think
Worcester , Philadelphia , San Antonio , and St. Petersburg were probably
the best shows on our headlining tour.
Have you written any new material?
Justin:
Yes, the writing process is going really good. The newer stuff is a lot more
mature and structured better. It’s really pissed off sounding. I can’t wait
until it’s out.
When can we expect a new cd?
Justin:
The new record is scheduled to be out by June.
If you could play a show with any three artists,
past or present, who would they be?
Justin:
Chuck Schuldiner of Death, Dave Mustaine, and Phil Collins. Enough said.
How would you describe the bands sound?
Justin:
I hate this question, ha ha. I would consider us a death metal band but we
have a lot of different elements and we can be melodic at times. Just use
your own judgement.
Do you have any pre show rituals?
Justin:
No, not really…we just like to drink and that can sometimes be very bad. We
usually try to wait after the show except Anthony because he’s an alcoholic.
Metallica or Megadeth?
Justin:
Megadeth all the way. Anthony will give me shit for this because he hates
Mustaine. I’m a fan of both though, but Megadeth wins. Rust In Peace is one
of my favorite albums of all time and is better than anything Metallica has
put out.
You have a video for Two Inches From a Main Artery.
Who came up with the concept for that and how was the video making process?
Justin:
As far as the concept, there wasn’t much of one. It was kind of rushed, it
only took a day. We always said we’d never make a video of us playing in a
warehouse because it’s so overdone. Well we ended up shooting a video,
jamming in a warehouse! I had a huge headache after it because we were
literally head banging all day. I think it was worth it though. The video
got played on Headbanger’s Ball three times. The next video will be way
better and have a cool concept.
How was the New England Hardcore and Metal Fest,
and what was it like having to use a replacement drummer while Josh was
sick?
Justin:
Good call. The NEMF was really cool. We’ve always wanted to play it. We were
really bummed out that Josh was sick and he couldn’t experience it with us
but it worked out and I’m sure he’ll be able to play the next one with us.
He actually had appendicitis and had to get surgery. He said it was a
miserable fucking time.
What are your plans for 2007?
Justin:
We are going to finish up writing this record, record it, and tour, tour,
tour. We might be going out with an awesome upon the release so stay tuned
for that.
That’s all. Do you have any last words for the fans
and readers?
Justin:
Thanks to everyone for reading this. Please check out our new record when it
comes out in June and catch us on tour this year! It’s going to be an
exciting year for TTEOTD so stay tuned.
