The renowned California death metal band The Faceless are currently headlining The Deconsecrate The Nation Tour to support their latest album “Autotheism” which released this past August. U.K. metal sensations The Haarp Machine and Boston, Massachusetts thrashers Revocation were along for support and helped to provide an all star lineup for fans across the country. The tour recently came to Live59 in Plainfield, Illinois this past Saturday to put on a performance far beyond anything the venue has ever seen before. Fans came from all over the Chicago land area to witness such well known bands performing in a smaller venue. The Faceless lead vocalist Geoff Ficco and rhythm guitarist Wes Hauch were kind enough to sit down and answer a few questions before their set. To learn more about writing “Autotheism“, filming the The Faceless’s first ever music video, 2013 plans, and more continue to read on.
How has the tour been going for you guys so far having Revocation and The Haarp Machine along?
Geoff: It’s pretty cool and chill. Just relaxing, playing some great shows, and just hanging out.
Wes: They’re all great dudes so it’s real fun.
With the lineup changes that had happened how do you feel that helped to shape the sound for “Autotheism” compared to the band’s prior albums?
Geoff: I wrote lyrics with Michael on the album. I guess what I brought sound wise is that my vocals sound a little bit different from the previous vocalist, but I didn’t write any of the music so I have very little influence on the rest of the actual sound.
Wes: It’s kind of the same thing for me. Most of the music was already written. Although I did write a song that me and Michael reworked, and I played a solo on another song. It was cool to come into it and be able to do something while being so new to the band.
Geoff: Yeah I think Wes’s solos definitely are fresh. Definitely a new element for the band. They’re pretty distinct from Michael’s and just in general. In the song that Wes did, “Ten Billion Years“, that’s got a lot of fresh vibe for the band as well.
Was there a specific reason that you guys made a music video now, where as you have not in the past, and how was the filming process?
Wes: Most bands usually do two videos per album. I couldn’t really tell you why The Faceless hasn’t done one before, but were excited to see our new one. We’ve only just seen the trailer for the final cut of it all. We haven’t even gotten to see all of it yet. It was definitely a pretty cool experience.
Geoff: There was a whole bunch of free food. I just ate food, had some coffee, and cracked a lot of jokes. Other than that the filming was weird and awkward especially for me having to be filmed doing vocals.
Wes: Intensely awkward doing the same thing over and over again. (Laughter)
Geoff: Yeah, true. (Laughter)
Who were your biggest musical influences that first inspired you to become musicians when you were younger?
Wes: My dad was always into that kind of guitar player music like Pink Floyd, Stevie Ray Vaughn, John Lee Hooker, blues and old rock bands. I’d say it probably started there. Then one thing led to another and I got into punk bands, then metal stuff later on. It’s somewhere in between the old stuff like Stevie Ray Vaughn and Pink Floyd to Propaghandi and Minor Threat. Then Pantera was my first big time favorite metal band. I enjoy a lot of stuff; I know all of us do.
Geoff: For me somehow I ended up listening to bands like Pantera and White Zombie in elementary school. When I was in high school my friends introduced me to bands like Zao and Converge, stuff like that. My brother listened to bands like Immortal, Dimmu Borgir, and stuff like that so I got more into the evil side of metal. It just progressed from there. I don’t really listen to much metal for enjoyment anymore, but I like to play metal.
Any future plans you would like to share?
Geoff: We’re going to tour all over the world during the next year. We also have a new album out called “Autotheism“. If whoever is reading hasn’t heard of it or perhaps purchased it, they should look into. (Laughter)
Is there anyone you would like to thank, acknowledge, or any last words?
Geoff: Thanks to anyone who supports the band. We appreciate it, very awesome. Come to a show and come say hi.
Wes: I agree. Everybody who came out on the Slaughter Tour, Metal Alliance Tour, and this tour or any other tour it means a lot. Thanks for coming out. We will be back doing the states with a lot of cool bands during 2013.