FRAGILE EXISTENCE

Who are you and what do you do in your band?

 

I'm Matt, I play bass in Fragile Existence. Our full lineup is: 

Dan Glover - Guitars/Lead Vocals 

Eric Machacek - Guitars/Backing Vocals 

Morten Siersbaek - Drums 

Matt Hems - Bass 

When/where was your band formed?  

The band was formed by Dan in 2007. It originally started as a side project to his other (previous) band but after his departure he decided to make it a full time gig. Eric joined soon after that and performed on the first album, 2012's "Departing The Damned". Morten and I joined in 2013 and have been with the band ever since, including appearing on the new album "Cataclysms and Beginnings". 

Why did you choose to play Death Metal?

We choose to play Metal we enjoy. There is no real conscious decision to make it "Death Metal" specifically, just a shared desire to play heavy, intense, extreme music. Some people call us "Death/Thrash Metal", some call us "Melodic Death Metal", some call us "Old School Death Metal"… we just call us "Fragile Existence". 

How do you compose your music? Does only one guy do everything or does everyone contribute?

The songwriting process always starts on guitar, usually with Dan however Eric has been contributing quite a bit lately as well. Once an idea has come forward we bring it into the rehearsal room and everyone starts working on fleshing it out. Morten adds beats, I come up with a bassline, and everyone bounces structural ideas back and forth until the song feel complete. 

Tell us about your lyrics, writing, inspiration etc. 

Since Dan is the principle singer he writes all the lyrics, regardless of who has composed the song. The themes are always perspectives and opinions of his, with the subjects ranging from politics to history, personal/family struggles, and even science and the future of our species.  We don't tend to deal too much in fantasy subjects, or gore/shock lyrics. That stuff's already been done by bands who are far better at it than we would be. 

Is there an ideology behind your band? 

The basic theme behind the band is pretty well indicated by the name. Examining life here on our planet, the struggles and pitfalls of our species, and our role in the greater Universe around us. Our general philosophy is that we don't really need to write about things such as zombies or serial killers, real life is more than brutal enough. 

How do you see the state of Death Metal music these days in your country and in general? 

Here in Canada the city of Montreal has always been the National Capital of Death Metal. Our countries biggest DM bands such as Cryptopsy, Kataklysm, Neuraxis, and Beyond Creation have all come from there, and they receive a ton of local support.  

Where we live here in Toronto, Death Metal is far less popular and we're definitely much more of an underdog band on the local scene. We'll always keep playing the music we love though, whether we have 2000 fans or 20. Or 2. 

What are your long term plans as a band? What do you want to achieve? 

Having just put out a new album our current plans are to hit the road and play for as many people as possible, in as many cities as possible. Naturally we plan to record a follow-up but that is not a priority at the moment. The writing process never stops, however, and new songs are already being composed. 

In the meantime, we hope to visit everyone who's reading this in your hometowns, and play some awesome gigs! 

Name an other Death Metal band from your country that everyone should hear.

Our brothers in Deamon from Ottawa ON are an awesome band! Very brutal and intense stuff! They've been on a bit of a hiatus over the past couple years but are now back with a new lineup and definitely worth checking out! Show them some love! 

Free word  

Balls.  

Seriously though, thanks to everyone who's reading this, check us out at www.fragileexistence.ca, and buy our stuff if you like it! 

Only losers use torrents.