It’s going to be interesting to see how the world reacts to the band Symbolism. They have just released a 7” record on their own label and are handling the sales and promotion on their own. Judging from the social media responses the record is selling well and people are digging it. But this is no ordinary band and the people who will seek them out are not what you would call ordinary music fans. With James McGearty and Rikk Agnew from the landmark Only Theatre of Pain era Christian Death line-up on bass and guitar certain expectations are set in stone. But with the addition of London May from the November-Coming-Fire era line-up of Samhain on drums, it pushes the expectations into the stratosphere. These three have serious ties to the Goth, Punk, Deathrock and Metal scenes and the news of an official release has whet many appetites.
It wasn’t an easy road. Parting ways after the 2006 Christian Death reunion known as CD1334, James and Rikk had lost touch for years but reconnected and decided to start something new that would also give us a glimpse of what Christian Death might have sounded like had they continued on. “James and I have been in the band from the get-go,” says renowned guitarist Rikk Agnew. It seemed like they were locked into a line-up at first but it was made clear that James and Rikk had the vision for what the band would be and started seeking out other musicians to work with. “I told James ‘It’s just me and you’,” Rikk says.
“Rikk and I had begun working on the band dating back to 2014 which consisted of several different line-ups,” says James. “None of which made it to completion.” The two worked on songs not wanting to settle for anything less than their vision. “We started working on new songs for about 3 years and nothing was happening,” adds Rikk. They had worked with a few drummers and a couple of singers and had many meetings with potential band members at the Astro Burger in Silver Lake but things just didn’t seem to gel. “After many personnel changes we got London May on drums,” says Rikk. “It wasn’t until we joined forces with London in 2018 that things really started to fall into place,” adds James. It was a case of two people running into each other that brought London into the band. “I’d see London at places and we just like talked and just kind of kept in touch,” says Rikk about their future drummer. “I had seen Rikk at a movie theatre a few months before and had gotten so starstruck I fell backwards into a planter,” says London with a smile. “Maybe I hit my head or something but the next thing I know I was in a band with him!” James and Rikk had been hitting dead ends and decided that London, with his pro background, would be a worth a shot. “We recorded with the previous lineup but we really didn’t get anything done. James was getting tired of it,” says Rikk. “I thought well what about London? so we called him. London, he is a workhorse. At first you wanna strangle him but then you see that he doesn’t wanna fuck around.”
The addition of a steady drummer really kicked things into high gear. “After London joined the band, he brought his personal drum signature to the music that complimented the genre,” says James. “He also introduced a new dimension of excitement to the arrangements and added a different dynamic to the songs. The final result for the music was a familiar sound that was reminiscent of our past, infused with a new sense of who we are today.” London agrees and adds, “James had lots of ideas about my parts for the songs based on their previous eleven drummers. As drummer #12 I said let me have a crack! He wisely obliged! I like to call our technique ‘Disciplined Spontaneity’. I would force James and Rikk to jam endlessly with me until something sparked.”
With an eye on what direction they wanted to pursue both musically and aesthetically, James and Rikk started working out songs with some never completed ideas from the past making a return. “The original intent of the music was for Rikk and me to tap into our musical past of punk, deathrock, and dark metal influences,” James explains. “In the beginning, we recycled a few post Only Theater of Pain bass riffs and spun those into new songs which are reflected in Iced Out and Rile On. As the creative process continued, the songwriting chemistry kicked in for Rikk and me and we fell back into a familiar creative place.”
They worked with notable drummers and attempted to get some big-time players as far as singers involved but nothing ended up sticking. “We had worked with a couple of different singers over the years and approached several others. Because of our usual approach to songwriting, the songs had very strong melodic guitars, prominent bass lines, and distinct rhythmic drumming. For this reason, we needed a singer who could come over the top with his own vocal melody to coexist within the complexity of the songs,” says James. “We added Devix to the group in 2019, which completed the Symbolism line-up.” Devix is not only a singer but comes from an acting background so he brings a sense of stage dramatics to the band. “When we were looking for a singer Devix was a guy we were considering,” says Rikk. “Vincent from Body Count suggested him. He seemed pretty cool.”
“I got a phone call and it was this super strait-laced voice on the other end, a guy called London May. He told me who he was and who James and Rikk were and I was like, ‘That’s interesting” and London asked, ‘Why is that interesting?’” laughs Devix. “And I said, ‘Because you just told me three crazy, pro, legend status musicians just inquired about me auditioning!’” Devix received demos from the band and was asked to lay vocals over them. “I loved the demos instantly,” says Devix. “I went into my little studio and just went berserk on the microphone with almost zero lyrics in front of me. Out came these brutal, long, dragging howls and screams. Something I’ve wanted to do but never had the music behind it to make it work.” When Devix sent the demos with his vocals to the band they liked what they heard. “I believe Devix brought a unique vocal style that complimented the music while still standing on its own,” says James explaining how Devix was the missing piece of the puzzle. “When we got Devix we rehearsed religiously and we had worked out a bunch of songs. He was quick about coming up with lyrics. He’d come in and make suggestions and be very collaborative,” adds Rikk.
With all the pieces in place the band started working on material. “We all collectively come up with the songs,” Rikk says. They would rehearse and hone the songs before recording. “When Symbolism goes into the studio to rehearse, record or when we’re ready for a show, it’s 100% kinetic,” says Devix. “It’s give it all or die.”
The recording sessions, from which the songs from the new single are pulled, went well but were no easy task according to London. “Lean and mean. (Producer) Vice Cooler works organically and relentlessly. He wouldn’t let me punch in so I had to nail complete takes of all the songs. I’m still recovering.” But the sessions also had their moments of fun. “Bill Metoyer engineered a lot of the sessions. He was there a lot,” says Rikk. Metoyer shared entertaining stories of working with bands like Slayer, Bitch and The Mentors just to name a few.
The 7’ record is available through the band’s social media pages. It features one original called Iced Out and a redux of the Christian Death classic Figurative Theatre. The band will be performing at The Whisky on August 29.
