With a pair of new EPs in 2023, Suffocate Faster are proving they still got it! A decade since their last release, the Cincinatti-based, straight-edge hardcore outfit are back with a vengeance. This Is The Way Vol. 1 dropped 2 June on Smartpunk Records, while Volume 2 is set to hit our earholes in the coming months. TGEFM and Suffocate Faster found some time to get together for a brief chat about their sound, the Dayton/Cincy scene and missed opportunities to tour with Fred Durst.
Thank you so much for agreeing to this interview. Congrats in advance on the upcoming This Is The Way EP (Vol 1). For our readers not yet familiar with you, what can you tell us about the band and your sound?
Thank you for having me! I’m honored to be able to field these questions for your team!
Well the band, SUFFOCATE FASTER, has always been a metal-influenced hardcore band. A lot of people tag a genre-specific “core” name to their band, we are not a metal-core band but if you had to label us, we’re a hardcore band. We started in the early 2000s so you can hear that in our sound, more of a structure to our songs and lower tuning than our predecessors. Since I’m a bass player turned guitar player, I never picked up leads/guitar solos, so you won’t find them in our music.
What album or band or significant singles made you go “Yeah, this is what I want to do” Not just an influence but who or what was the catalyst?
I think it started with seeing hardcore shows in general. I saw the Dillinger Escape Plan in 2000, that’s what really became the hardcore catalyst for me. I had been playing in metal bands before that but the hardcore bug bit me. I remember thinking at an Unearth/Poison The Well show around the same time, I’ve gotta play and attend more hardcore shows.
I thought it was just chili, a dog-obsessed racist baseball owner who drafting McCauley Culkin to play quarterback there, but Suffocate Faster, Scarlet Street, Vacation, Tweens and Tooth Lures A Fang have put out some amazing music lately. What’s going on in Cincinnati that led to so much of an overabundance of great (and diverse) music In the scene lately?
Cincinnati has always been a good haven for local music. I think its exactly what you described that causes so many people to want to stand up, fight back, and say something against the conservative town that so many people call home. Sure it’s disgusting and annoying to live in a town with so many people with the outdated mindset, but we wouldn’t have turned into who we are without it. Plus if you can’t fight for your home, how can you expect to make a connection with the rest of the world?
What stood out the most to you with this recording compared to your previous trips to the studio?
I recorded this all in Detroit where I’ve been living the last few years. So there were a lot of trips to Cincinnati to collaborate and write with the rest of the band. Plus with the way things are here in the “future” everything is on a computer and pretty portable. I did all the instrument tracking here and Chris Alsip did his vocals in Dayton. The last effort we made as a band we spent a number of weeks living and recording in Massachusetts, so to be able to sleep at home and work on tracks in my spare time between work made this experience much easier.
The world has been going through some shit over the last few years. What effect, if any, have the cultural and political landscapes of the last few years had on your music? Where do you see the future of the music industry, specifically live events, headed in the wake of pandemics, lockdowns and the proliferation of social media?
It has had a positive influence on me, just fuel for the fire and the added spare time with lockdowns. I stayed pretty busy through the lockdowns but most of my friends who are still more full-time in the music industry were pretty down and out.
The music industry could go a number of ways, but right now I see it getting better. Ive seen more attendance, more merchandise being sold, and more tours than I’ve seen in a number of years. I really hope that a new extreme music touring festival comes along again. Even something like the warped tour again would be great. I think that has left a gaping whole for new music and new bands to be found. Social media has actually made it easier to reach artists and music, so in that way im happy for it. On the other side of that coin, there is all the negative, toxic bullshit that comes with it. Hopefully everyone finds a way to balance the social media aspect of it with out having to give it up completely.
We’ve all got a few, but what is your biggest regret? A gig you turned down, advice you didn’t take, what one thing do you wish you handled differently as a musician?
I turned down a technician gig for Limp Bizkit a few summers ago. I was already on the road when I got the call, so I couldn’t go, so I was pretty bummed. To add insult to injury, this was the tour that the bass player was sent home and I ultimately could have stepped up and filled the position. I think that would made one hell of a life story. I don’t know if it is a regret exactly, but something I wish would have panned out differently.
One of our obligatory questions in these interviews also tends to be the one I have found most important on a personal level. Who are some bands on your radar that TGEFM readers may not know about, but you think they should know about?
Inferous from Dayton, OH is one band you should be trying to see live this summer. They are a 4 piece death-core act with some great musicianship, heart, and attitude. I see them doing well in the future.
Beyond the album release, what’s next for the members of Suffocate Faster?
My wife and I are moving to Australia in the fall. She’s Australian born and we’ve been living together here for the last 5 years, it’s time for us to go down under for my citizenship. The other guys all have other bands they will continue to play shows, (Scenario, Tight Grip, Your Disease) they will be keeping themselves very busy beyond their Suffocate Faster careers.
Was there anything I missed that you’d like to share or dive deeper into with our readers?
Nothing in particular, I just think it’s appropriate to thank you again for your outlet and your time. Its great that bands can have a mouthpiece besides the music to reach the people.
Roll of the Dice is a short interview format with a variable amount of questions. A pair of dice is rolled and the total, between 2 and 12, is the amount of questions we can ask. All questions are given to the interviewee(s) at once, and no follow-ups are allowed. The interview may be lightly edited for content and clarity.
Bad Dad (occasionally called Ed) has been on the periphery of the punk and punk-adjacent scene for over twenty years. While many contributors to this site have musical experience and talent, Ed’s musical claim to fame comes from his time in arguably the most punk rock Blockbuster Video district in NJ where he worked alongside members of Blanks 77, Best Hit TV and Brian Fallon. He is more than just an awful father to his 2 daughters, he is also a dreadful husband, a subpar writer, a terrible dresser and has a severe deficiency in all things talent… but hey, at least he’s self-aware, amirite?
Check out the pathetic attempts at photography on his insta at https://www.instagram.com/bad_dad_photography/
