Maylene and the Sons of Disaster’s Dallas Taylor Talks, IV [Interview]

2011-11-03

Story by Anne Erickson

Maylene frontman describes the writing process behind the band’s latest album

Hard rock and metal pacesetters Maylene and the Songs of Disaster have a killer collection in, IV, the band’s latest album on Ferret Music. The LP packs lead singer Dallas Taylor’s Southern-style, soulful crooning — and screaming — with a surfeit of big riffs, fluctuating tempos and dramatic, pounding rhythms. Taylor recently chatted with Audio Ink Radio and the recording process, what stirs him to write personal lyrics and the band’s funny side, a la their hilarious videos shot from the road.

Congrats on the success of, IV. You guys worked with Brian Virtue on the release, of Jane’s Addiction and Deftones fame. How do you think Virtue influenced your sound on the album?

I think the biggest thing is that he encouraged us a lot. He was great at encouraging me as a vocalist, and he helped us grow as musicians. My main thing is that he was pushing us and had faith in us, and we weren’t worried about what kind of record would come out. He had a lot of to do with shaping the album.

Lyrically, what inspired song stories on, IV?

It was very personal. The past few years, I went through a divorce, and that alone was a big influence, plus all that personal conflict I’ve gone through. Everything inspired the writing to come from my heart, from those hardships to becoming a part time. All of that ended up on the album.

Maylene is popular among Christian metal fans, as well as mainstream ones. How does your faith factor into your music?

For me, personally — we’re all different in the band — but for me, it’s a huge part of my life. I go through hard times just as much as everybody else. I write about the personal things I go through, and my faith is what keeps me trying to move on and keep a positive attitude. Christianity and my beliefs keep me going and happy.

You have a great ability to scream and sing soulful, Southern lines. How did you pick up those two different styles?

For this record, this was the first time I sang a whole record. I didn’t know what was going to happen with it, but I was excited when it was done, because I did something I’d never done before on a record. Before this album, I sang parts here and there, but I never really discovered my voice. It was just snippets. This is the first time I found my voice.

Maylene and the Sons of Disaster post a ton of funny videos from the road.

We’re very rarely serious, and so a lot of it is that we have this guy on the road, and we don’t ever know what he’s taping, so a lot of times, it’s just the Maylene boys acting like idiots. [Laughs] The funny thing is we don’t know what he’s putting up, sometimes until it’s up there. Whenever a video goes up, we’re always like, “Oh, oh. What will this one bring?” [Laughs] (Photo credit: Amina Munster.)

 




Anne Erickson
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Posted by Anne Erickson | Christian Metal and Rock News, Features, Interviews, Metal, Music, Rock

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