PHIL LABONTE Wants Next ALL THAT REMAINS Album To Be Released In Early 2021

Prior to ALL THAT REMAINS's September 27 performance in Phoenix, Arizona, vocalist Phil Labonte spoke with Global AZ Media. The full conversation can be seen below. A few excerpts follow (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On when to expect new music from the group:

Phil: "We'll get done with this tour, and then our guitar player Jason Richardson has to do a solo record that I think he intends to finish up before the end of the year, so ALL THAT REMAINS will go ahead and take a little bit of time off. We're talking about doing some more touring [in the] early part of next year, but we'll see. We talked about starting to write stuff. I talked to a couple producers that we've been throwing ideas around with. I can't announce anything yet, but I'll be getting together with some people to start writing some stuff when we go home after this tour. We'll get the whole band together probably January and start hashing stuff out seriously, but I don't see us going to actually record until at least summertime. Maybe late summer? I don't want the record to come out next year. For me personally, I just don't like having a record come out in the second half of the year. I'd rather have it come out [in the] first part of 2021, because we don't have enough time to get the record done and have it out by the second quarter of 2020. That's what we're shooting for, but who knows — things change."

On the band's preferred recording process:

Phil: "We've done different places, [but] we like to stay in New England. We like to stay at home. Our last record, we did with Dan Laskiewicz, who used to be in THE ACACIA STRAIN. He's actually from my hometown, Chicopee, [Massachusetts], so it was nice to be able to go into his place and do it at his studio... We don't really have an affinity for a studio in particular, but we like to stay in New England. We did [2008's] 'Overcome' in Florida and we did [2017's] 'Madness' in L.A., and for us, it's most comfortable to do a record at home. It's easier for us; everyone gets to sleep in their own bed at night."

On balancing touring and relationships:

Phil: "Our guitar player Mike [Martin], is married. Jason Richardson has a girlfriend, and [drummer] Jason Costa has a girlfriend. I used to be married; [bassist] Aaron Patrick used to be married. The whole touring and going away to record and stuff, that does take a toll — it takes a toll on a relationship. It's hard to make things work when you have that much distance consistently. It can be trying, but if you commit the time to it, I think you can, because I know a lot of people that have made it work, but it is not an easy thing to do."

On touring:

Phil: "For us, touring in the U.S. is definitely more comfortable. You'll hear a lot of European bands say that it's more comfortable touring in the U.S. too. Buses are bigger; buses have generators, so you've always got power. In Europe, they don't have generators on them. They're a little bit smaller, so you have to roll up to the club and plug in. Days off are challenging, because if you're staying on the bus for the day off, you have to find a place to park where there's power. It's more difficult. I will say that in the past few years, it's become easier to stay in communication with home. It used to be where you had to get international plans that were hundreds and hundreds of dollars, or you'd spend a ton of money on international data."

On guitars:

Phil: "I don't play guitar on stage, but I play guitar at home, and I write riffs and stuff. I've got an Ibanez that Oli [Herbert], our old guitar player, got us made last year that he gave me, and I've got a Washburn that Mike lends me that has been, I think, on every record since [2006's] 'The Fall Of Ideals'. That's the one I tend to use the most to write."

On his current favorites:

Phil: "I like BRING ME THE HORIZON a lot. They've got a really cool sound. The new Taylor Swift record is pretty good. I'm genuinely a Taylor Swift fan. I don't think her new record is as good as the last one. I think '1989' was probably her best. 'Reputation' was really good — there's a lot of good songs on it. The new one, it's okay, but it's not as good as 'Red'. The previous three were really strong records — just chock-full of great songs. I don't feel like the new one is quite as good, but it's not a bad record by any stretch of the imagination."

ALL THAT REMAINS's latest album, "Victim Of The New Disease", was released in November 2018 via Fearless in North America and Eleven Seven in Europe.