Hope for the Dying

Metalfan: Hello! Please introduce yourselves to our readers, not so many people from over here know too much about Hope for the Dying...
Hope for the Dying: Hope for the Dying reigns from Jonesboro, IL (USA). We are made up of Josh Ditto on vocals/keyboards (Jonesboro,IL), James Houseman on guitar (anna,IL), Jack Daniels on guitar (Olive Branch,ILl), James Redcloud on bass (Ullin,IL) and Brice Voyles on drums (Duquoin,IL)

Metalfan: what does your band name mean, Hope for the Dying?
Hope for the Dying: We feel like being a christian sometimes is comparable to physical warfare, and in physical warfare there are many people who are hurt and dying. This is very much the same in the a spiritual aspect. There are a lot of people that feel hurt, or just dead in the world. We want people to know that there is hope and that there is victory in that hope, hence the name "Hope for the Dying".

Metalfan: In the past bands udes to choose names like Slayer, Venom, Pentagram, usually using just one word, do you think there's a trend now to pick up a band name made from more words, or so it happened that all the good one word names have been already picked up, hahaha?
Hope for the Dying: No we don't feel that it's trendy... I'm sure there's a million good one word names out there! Like... Rocketfish or Metalbaby or even Rocktart. We think it's more of a preference than it is a trend. Some people just like band names with more than one word! Also, it seems to be easier to portray the meaning behind your name if you're not confined to one word.

Metalfan: From what I've heard, your music is very complex, going from thrash, death metal to metalcore, progressive or even some shred elements, how would you best describe your music?
Hope for the Dying: Those are all pretty good descriptions! We play and write music that we enjoy... music that has feeling... music that has emotion. Then we top that off with lyrics that flow nicely with the style of that particular song... sometimes it comes out "shred", sometimes it comes out "progressive", sometimes something else!

Metalfan: Where do you think the best bands come from?
Hope for the Dying: All over! A good band is a good band no matter where it's from! Music is one of the few things that is truly international and understandable in all countries!

Metalfan: Your lyrics deal with life struggles and even christian faith, please elaborate a bit...
Hope for the Dying: Our lyrics are as diverse as our music. They express how Jesus has effected our life struggles, or faith in God, and our belief that being a christian is a battle all on its own. Some of our songs address "christian" behavior, and how many christians are so unlike Christ. That being said we don't consider our songs to be "preachy" by any means. We feel that every band has a purpose and something to write about, some write about death, some write about girls, some write about Satan, and we write about life, love, and hope.

Metalfan: This year, on april 29th, you will release your first EP, entitled Hope for the Dying", could you please try to describe in few words each song from it?
Hope for the Dying: City of Corpses compares Soddom and Gomorra to the city in Australia called Adelaide.
A Beautiful Day for vengeance,  opposite of what you think, talks about how too much time is spent on retaliation an vengeful purposes. Sometimes it seems christians have the biggest problem with this!
Our Fallen Comrades puts spiritual warfare in the context of physical warfare
Into Darkness We Ride: a battle or journey through the darkness of the world
Would the Angels Say literally says "what would the angels say if they had the chance to talk to us about the world?"
Where We Going We Don't Need Roads talks about how much more important what we can't physically see is compared to what we do see
In Loving Memory: personal... touches on family stuff.

Metalfan: Where did you record this EP? I know that you worked with Kevin Gong for the production, please tell us more..
Hope for the Dying: We recorded at The Ruckus Room in Paducah Ky. We had fun, and Kevin was a lot of fun to work with.

Metalfan: Who has done the artwork? What does it try to express?
Hope for the Dying: Blake from Fierce Dragon Designs hooked us up with the album art,it's entirely his brainchild! He did great work and was super easy to work with!

Metalfan: What are your influences, the bands or albums that have influenced your music?
Hope for the Dying: Bands: All that Remains, Pantera (Cowboys from Hell), Iron Maiden, Metallica, Rush. People: Vinnie Paul, Dennis Chambers, Reb Beach, Marcus Miller (bas), Ryan Martini (bas), Darrel Hannas. Classically: Richard Wagner, Niccolo Paganini, Johann Sebastian Bach.

Metalfan: How are things going with Drop Something Records so far?
Hope for the Dying: Drop Something Records paid for our cd, and we are grateful for that!

Metalfan: Now a tricky question, what label would you choose, lets say between Roadrunner Records and Interscope Records...?
Hope for the Dying: Why, did they say something about us? It doesn't matter... as long as we're playing our music and touring, we're happy, hahaha.

Metalfan: Speaking about touring, do you have lans to coming to europe in the near future?
Hope for the Dying: If the finances were there of course! Until then, we are most likely confined to touring ths us and possibly Canada.

Metalfan: Is it true that Tom Cruise is a fan of yours? I didn't know that he is interested in metal...
Hope for the Dying: Never confirmed, but we did hear a rumor that Hope for the Dying is all he listened to while filming Top Gun.

Metalfan: Thank you for your time, in the end would you like to add something or to send a message to the Metalfan readers?
Hope for the Dying: Cornerstone Festival. we are currently in the running to open the main stage of USA's biggest music festival but we need more votes! Please go to www.cornerstonefestival.com and vote Hope for the Dying to play the "new band showcase"! Also, our new CD will be available on iTunes, Real Rhapsody, Amazon, and about a dozen other online retailers! Hopefully this will make it  easier for those who enjoy our music from other countries to purchase it!