GOD FORBID Guitarist: 'Earthsblood' Is 'More Musical Than Anything We've Done'

Metal-Experience.com recently conducted an interview with guitarist Doc Coyle of New Jersey metal titans GOD FORBID. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Metal-Experience.com: It's been a couple of years since "IV: Constitution of Treason"came out, so it seems you took your time for the new record. How did you launch into writing material for "Earthsblood" and how much time did you spend on the songs?

Doc: We got into the writing sessions in a very relaxed, exploratory fashion. We didn't put any pressure on ourselves to complete the writing too quickly. We wanted to have ample time to gauge and analyze the songs. I feel like "Constitution" was a little rushed, and maybe if we would have had a little more time to live with the songs, it would've been that much better. I'm a big fan of Rick Rubin and his theories about songwriting. He believes that bands write their best songs near the end of the writing process. We started writing in June-July 2007 through February 2008, but we did a couple tours in the middle of that, so it was around five months writing if you put it all together.

Metal-Experience.com: Did ideas come easily so that you just had to write them down or was it more of a careful composing thing?

Doc: Every album, I feel like ideas come more difficult at first because it usually takes some time for you to get your head back in that creative mode, but each time I feel like I write more and more high-quality material. I'm getting better at writing, personally. The most difficult thing for us generally was figuring which direction we wanted to go in. We knew that we wanted to do something that was special and potentially groundbreaking for our genre. That required thinking outside the box and taking chances. There was careful composition, but a good deal of it was a process of trial and error. "Earthsblood" is more musical than anything we've done. It required being more in touch with the moods of each song, and trying to feel where the song could go. It was adventurous.

Metal-Experience.com: What were the goals you had in mind when you started to record "Earthsblood"? Any elements you definitely wanted to have on the album?

Doc: I think it's important to say that we didn't know what the album would be when it was done. We didn't even have most of the vocals finished. We thought we had some special and interesting material, but you don't have a complete idea of what you're creating until it's pretty much done. Our goals weren't drastically different from our other recordings. We want to always make a great album. I think we wanted this album to have a bit more natural feel, less layering and over-production techniques, especially with the vocals. We wanted to get everything done on time, but that didn't work out at all.

Metal-Experience.com: Was it a conscious decision to do it this way?

Doc: Yes and no. Sometimes things present themselves in a natural way during recording. These songs dictated a certain finesse because of how dynamic they were and the varied influences. I think as you become a more experienced band, your standards become higher, and you have a more refined vision of how you want your songs to turn out. More attention is paid to detail and performance.

Metal-Experience.com: In songwriting, what is the utmost important ingredient for a song according to you?

Doc: It's a combination of a song being catchy and grabbing you, and also an intangible element of a song just making you feel something. If it makes you want to punch somebody, or headbang, or just makes you happy. I think that's why we try to write diverse material. Because the human range of emotions is diverse. Most heavy bands just explore aggression and anger. Often it can be stiff and lack soul. A lot of extreme and technical bands strike me that way. Insecure, and afraid to let people in for fear of being rejected for being weak. It's unfortunate.

Metal-Experience.com: Could you please describe the implications of the title "Earthsblood" what does it stand for and is there a special meaning behind it?

Doc: It was inspired by the film "There Will Be Blood". After watching the movie, I had the phrase, "Blood of the Earth" stuck in my head. I couldn't shake it. The story involves a man who is pushed from the human nature of connectivity by pain and greed. For every gallon of oil drilled and dollar earned, there is a human cost or collateral damage. Human blood for Earth's blood. It made me think about how we are connected to the organic elements of our natural environment. It seemed relevant to the modern geopolitical landscape. Almost every large global conflict is centered around energy or consumption. Climate change seems to be one of the most imminent issues challenging our generation. It seemed like the right title for the right time.

Metal-Experience.com: The album was produced by Eric Rachel and Christian Olde Wolbers. What made them the perfect team for GOD FORBID?

Doc: We've been working with Eric since 2000 with "Determination". He's worked on every album with us since then either co-producing or mixing or both. His studio, Trax East is really like home for us. We feel very comfortable there, and Eric always puts us at ease. It's a joy tracking with him. He's very encouraging when tracking, but he also has a keen ear, and won't let up until he feels he has the right performance. He also has a great work ethic. Always in the studio early, and he stays late. We intended to record the whole album with Eric, but we didn't book enough time, and maybe we just weren't prepared enough. We were friends with Christian, and we also shared the same manager. I liked the THREAT SIGNAL and MNEMIC records he'd done, and being with FEAR FACTORY, I knew that he was well versed in dealing with a band that had both harsh and melodic vocals. Although we never worked with him previously, his creative input, willingness to experiment, and general feedback funneled what became the final product. He had to mediate a lot of the tension and disagreements between Dallas, Byron and myself, which is a difficult task.

Read the entire interview from Metal-Experience.com.