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- Why “In Bloom”? You mentioned it’s a favorite that’s been “forgotten over time.” What about this specific Nirvana track, as opposed to their bigger hits, made it the perfect canvas for your progressive metalcore reinterpretation? Both Paul and I grew up big fans of Nirvana and the grunge scene in general. Nirvana, STP, Alice in Chains, and Soundgarden were major influences on us, especially when they tapped into their heavier influences and this song was one of the heavier songs on the Nevermind record. We also thought we could improve on the solo by using the vocal melody as a motif, playing it on guitar for the solo.
- The Art of the Cover: Taking on a sacred text of the grunge era is a bold move. What was your guiding principle? Was it to pay homage to the original’s spirit, to completely deconstruct it, or to use its framework to make a statement about your own sound? Definitely to pay homage to a shared influence of ours, but we also thought that the original solo, which consists mainly of feedback and big muff, could be improved in a way that did not stray from the original concept.
- Dual Vocal Attack: This is a highlight of your sound—trading verses and choruses. How did you approach dividing Kurt Cobain’s iconic vocal line? Was it about finding contrasting emotional textures, or purely about intensity? Good question. Honestly, I can’t sing and handle most of the screaming elements of the track, but Paul actually grew up singing in church. So he had to add some dirt to this one to match Cobain’s dirtier vocal style.
- Signature Infusions: You mention adding down-tuned riffs, crushing breakdowns, and a blazing guitar solo. Can you point to a specific moment in your version where you feel you most successfully “Pathos & Logos-ified” the song? Yes. The rhythm guitar section under the guitar solo is in the same key as the original song, but an octave lower. We also change the rhythm guitar part into what we call a “wisdom” riff, meaning that there are offbeat elements of the riff that make it sound polyrhythmic even though it conforms to a 4/4 drum pattern. Like Meshuggah would do:)
- The Guitar Solo: Nirvana’s original famously shunned traditional solos. Adding a “blazing” one is a major statement. What was the intent behind crafting that solo? Was it about technicality, melody, pure aggression, or a commentary on genre itself? A little trick of songwriting that I learned from studying Dimebag Darrell is to take the melody of one instrument and play it on a different instrument, such as guitar. Dimebag does this to great effect by taking Phil’s vocal melodies and referencing them at times during his solos. It adds extra elements to a song that will alway fit without having to write a million different parts and massage them together with bridges and key chages. For this track I thought the vocal melody of the verses would make for a great solo part, so I transposed that to guitar, emphasizing it with a few embellishments for flair and BOOM, we have a solo.
- Production Pedigree: You recorded/mixed it yourselves, with Ryan Williams (The Black Dahlia Murder) mastering. What sonic aesthetic were you chasing? A modern, clinical heaviness, or something with more of the original’s raw, live-room feel? I would say that it falls into a more modern, clinical heaviness on the production side. In order to maintain the original’s raw feel, we did limit ourselves to only 3 full takes on each instrument. Ryan Williams and I actually worked together previously because I did much of the tracking on The Black Dahlia Murder’s Noctural record and Ryan was the bassist at that time. So we definitely connected and now that he is mixing and mastering records like Kardashev and Cannibal Corpse, it was natural to have him master this record.
- The Guerrilla Video: Shooting at a local bus station is very “in the spirit” of early ’90s DIY. What was the concept behind that location? Did its stark, public, transient nature reflect something about the song or your approach to it? Man, I almost feel like I should have been a film location scout in a previous life, because I am CONSTANTLY looking for unique places that would lend themselves to a great video shoot. We were deadheading back home after a show and in the pitch black of night I saw the little tunnel all lit up and accessible off of an interstate in northern CO. When we pulled off to check it out, It had everything we needed for a great video…it was secluded, well lit and vibey, but still in a public location. The cops weren’t too keen on us doing the video and basically challenged us to get it done without them finding out since there are cameras everywhere. So we said fuck that and did the video anyway and shot the whole video in about an hour. A bunch of people were getting off the bus but were SUPER cool with it and even tried to give us money like we were busking or something.
- The Duo Dynamic: As a two-piece, you have to create a massive sound. How does covering a song originally played by a trio (and famously loose) challenge or liberate your usual process of constructing complex, layered music? It was very liberating, because instead of mastering every part and getting our parts perfect, we limited ourselves to only 3 full takes while recording. The idea there is to capture the energy of a great take and not necessarily a perfect take.
- From Instrumental to Vocal: Your earlier work was instrumental. How has adding your own traded vocals changed the way you write and arrange music, and how did that evolution specifically impact your approach to covering a vocal-centric song like this? We have always done a cover for each of our releases, but as an instrumental band we would transpose the vocal melodies to the guitar to get it done. This time around was the first cover we did with vocals and has really opened our eyes to doing more covers that aren’t necessarily metal-centric but lend themselves to the genre well.
- Occult Aesthetics vs. Grunge Roots: Your band has an occult-themed aesthetic, while Nirvana was rooted in punk and alienation. Where do these two worlds—the esoteric and the starkly realist—meet in your version of “In Bloom”? I think it’s more that we are both representing our authentic selves as bands and individuals. We believe in music and art as a way of life that outwardly blurs the lines between religion and autonomy while Nirvana always embraced their punk influences and anti-societal norms.
- Genre Translation: You’re tagged for fans of Between the Buried and Me, Deftones, Meshuggah. How do those diverse progressive/extreme influences specifically color your take on a grunge anthem? Great question that I was not ready for…I would say that Deftones are well known to cover songs that are not typically considered metal and our love of Meshuggah represents the use of 8 string guitars in this song while Between the Buried and Me represent the incorporation of multiple genre’s that we are known for.
- Lyrical Lens: Kurt Cobain’s lyrics often dealt with irony and misunderstood audiences. Do you connect with those themes in the modern metal/prog scene, and did that influence your vocal delivery? We do feel a bit misunderstood by audiences with this record because it is a transitional record. We were an instrumental band that started to vocals with screaming and singing, and not everyone is down with that.
- Live Test: Have you played this version live yet? If so, what’s the reaction from crowds familiar with the original versus those just there for the heaviness? We have played this live, probably 1o times now, and the crowd pops off EVERYTIME.
- A Gateway Track? Is this single intended as a gateway for Nirvana fans into your world, or for your fans to reconsider a classic through a new lens? It is an opportunity for us to showcase our influences, and people really appreciate that. They want to know that we were listening to the same things that they were. I’m not sure that fans of Nirvana are going to immediately go for us, but our fans will definitely go back and listen to the original if they hear us play it.
- What’s Next for “Gospel”? This is a precursor to your 2025 Gospel EP. Does “In Bloom” thematically or sonically set the stage for that EP, or is it a standalone mission statement? This actually closes the album cycle for GOSPEL and is the last song on the EP. We are currently half way through recording our next release for Digital Empire, which will be out late summer of 2026.