Despite being very busy on a tour with his other band Evanescence, Soul Embraced guitarist Rocky Gray took some time out to tell us what’s up with his band and their new upcoming album Immune on Solid State Records. Read along as Rocky gives us the low-down in both long-winded and microscopically short answers.
1. You guys are about to release your new album Immune on Solid State Records. How does it feel this time around? Is the excitement level with the band greater than with your previous releases?
I think we feel the same excitement about all the releases, but this one is a bit different from the rest so there’s a little bit of nervous butterflies about how people are going to receive it. We think it’s the best one yet. Of course, we think the newest album is always the best yet. We’re always hoping to write an even better record the next time no matter how good we think the last record was.
2. What do you feel the band has to offer on this release that will make it stand out above This is My Blood, For the Incomplete, and Fleshless? What makes it different?
The feel of this record is consistently straightforward and hard hitting. The pace is more bouncy instead of fast. Don’t get me wrong, there are the songs that have fast stuff, but it’s nothing like This is My Blood or For the Incomplete where you have the fast stuff then a breakdown. Immune is really on its own compared to the rest of our cd's. With the other ones you could say, This is My Blood is like For the Incomplete but with more leads and harmonies and stuff. It’s not like you can’t tell that Immune is an Soul Embraced record, but we throw in so many new elements that it stands out away from the past things we’ve done.
3. You've had one of your songs released early on mp3.com. What kind of responses have your heard so far?
Tons of people are checking it out by looking at the numbers on there. The mails I’ve gotten have all been good, so it’s doing well.
4. If you had to pick just one or two…what songs are you most pleased with on the new album and why?
"Someday" and "The Hero" are two that come to mind simply because of the messages of the songs and the way they sound.
5. Are you guys planning on doing any touring in support of the new album?
No. I started playing with Evanescence and that ate up all my time.
6. How did the recording process go on this record compared to your previous releases?
It was great. Barry Pointer was the best producer for this record. Everyday was fun and we had the chance to really experiment with a lot of things that we would have never thought of or had time to mess with before.
7. What kind of topics did you touch on lyrically with this album?
Violence in our schools, our desensitized society, and life without God. The usual stuff.
8. For the new album, who would you say your main musical influences are?
Soil and In Flames.
9. How has it been dealing with Solid State Records? Are they a label that you guys wanna stick with for the long haul?
Solid State has us for a few more cd's. They did us really good for this record and we worked hard to give them and the fans a great record.
10. Let's say you meet someone on the street and the topic comes up that you're in a band. They seem to be into heavy music, but they've never heard of your band. As bad luck would have it, you don't have one of your CD's stuck in your pocket. How would your describe your sound to this curious pedestrian so as to make him want to run out and buy your new disc?
If you like really heavy metal with massive grooves and deathy and melodic vocals check it out.
11. What do you see as the future for Soul Embraced? I know some people are surprised that the band has put out as much as you have. How long do you see yourselves involved with this band?
We have at least 3 more albums in us.
12. You guys re-released For the Incomplete late last year. Did that end up being a good decision? Are you pleased with how the release turned out?
The packaging alone made it worth it.
13. Now a days, the big trend is "sharing" music with friends over the internet. Some bands make mp3's available for curious fans, but some do not. Regardless of which route a band chooses, entire albums are being "shared" from one person to another. What is your opinion on all of this "sharing"? Have you notice any decrease in album sales because of it? (on a side note…I've heard that your entire album is out on mp3's and is being passed around via the internet. Is this something that concerns the band and ticks you off or was it something you expected since it tends to happen with just about every popular band now-a-days?)
It happens to everyone and there is no way to stop it. A lot of people end up buying it anyway if they like what they hear.
14. What has been in your CD player in the past week?
Nothing. I don’t listen to much music cause there’s nothing that sparks my interest. I go to and buy more movies than anything.
15. Do you guys ever feel overwhelmed being in more than one band? Do you think the extra outlets allow you to stretch yourself creatively in a good way, or do you think it sometimes tends to "stretch you too thin"?
For me it’s been great to express myself in more than one band. Some of the Soul Embraced stuff would’ve sounded stupid in Living Sacrifice, especially the new Soul Embraced stuff.
16. Speaking of other projects, what other projects are all the current band members involved in besides Soul Embraced?
That I know of, I’m the only one doing other projects. At the moment, I’m playing drums for Evanescence. We have 2 songs on the Daredevil movie soundtrack and the video for "Bring Me to Life" should hit MTV at anytime now.
17. What is something you feel strongly about besides music and spiritual matters?
I can’t think of anything.
18. Do you have any final comments for the readers of HM?
Thanks for all the support and God bless you.
[Interview by Matt Morrow]
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I must say that Immune is amazing. The music is so good! I cant get enough! Rock on and Thank you SE.
Posted by:
shawnpunx on February 20, 2003 09:27 PM
Unfortuantley, i don't think this is a good album-I expected(by hearing intro to martyr) that this would be a death grind album(like devourment,pyaemia,deeds of flesh)
Posted by:
ik on February 22, 2003 05:05 PM
Interesting review. Might want to check it out. Our 1st Album is now being released!
Posted by:
Hearken on February 23, 2003 11:56 PM
I just bought the album the other day, and it is great! It is alot different from the other albums....that is in a good way definitely worth the cash. YOU GUYS RIP!!
Posted by:
jovani on February 26, 2003 12:28 PM
There are some CD's I buy and after a listen or two I get very excited about it and want to tell everyone how good it is. This is one of those CD's. Not that that means anything to you, but I wanted to add my voice in support of this CD. I think it is outstanding.
Posted by:
hardcorepoetic on February 27, 2003 12:34 AM
I was dissapointed in this album as well. I was hoping to hear more of that For The Incomplete sound that I loved so much. But instead, what I heard was almost nu-metal. Or nu-death metal. Although I did like the CD, I must admit, I had much higher expectations for it.
Posted by:
Aaron Vanden on March 2, 2003 03:48 PM
Killer new disc! I like "Immune" much better than the last two. You can see my review of it at http://www.black-cauldron.com
I would have liked to have heard more about Rocky's spiritual beliefs in the interview.
Posted by:
Eternal Sanctum on March 5, 2003 02:14 AM
This album is OUTSTANDING!!!! As a thirty-somethig, Ive been around long enough to see metal go from the early, raw baby stages, to now.And there are very few great metal bands out there now. Soul Embraced is the upper echelon of those few. They are progressive, and you need that in the metal scene today. Or old farts like me are going to get bored. Dont get me wrong, I like Death metal(and most of the sub-genres)as much the next metal head,but you need progression. I highly recomend Immune as your next buy.God bless.
Posted by:
nick charles on March 7, 2003 08:40 PM
This album is definetly different from 'This is my blood' which I first thought of Carcass/Cannibal Corpse. Now, I said different, I love 'immune' as well as 'Blood' Soul Embraced is awesome!
Posted by:
roy on March 27, 2003 10:14 PM
The new record is amazing. The songs are consistantly heavy and melodic. The guitar tone is killer and the lyrics are powerful. "Immune" is a culmination of all that is heavy metal. Great job guys \m/
Posted by:
inmystead on April 8, 2003 07:59 AM
This is not a bad album. It is certainly more interesting than the average metal release out there. However, I found "This is My Blood" to be much more impressive musically. By all means I think bands should expand their territory from one album to another, but "Immune" simply does not have the same degree of musical ingenuity as "This is My Blood."
Posted by:
Greg on April 26, 2003 07:02 PM
Immune is one of the best CD's of the year so far. Very tight, melodic and interesting from beginning to end. The standout for me is "Seems Like Forever."
I look forward to the next release from Soul Embraced and hope it is just as unique as this one was.
Posted by:
Rich Bunnell on June 16, 2003 08:54 PM
I understand that some bands try to keep it mixed up a little from album to album, but Soul Embraced should keep it in the area of death metal. If they are going to be melodic and heavy, that's cool beans to me, but the Nu-Metal thing just doesn't quite fit with the repuation. I like Immune, don't get me wrong, but I can't help but be a little disappointed when a band goes from one genre to another like that. Please don't pull another Embodyment on us guys...please?
Posted by:
SpiritOfFire on June 17, 2003 10:38 AM
I think that IMMUNE is great! Not as good as 'This Is My Blood' but I like it when a band isn't afraid to change even if it means you'll lose a couple fans. Who knows you probably might aquire even more fans. Metal has never been better in the christian realm in the means that more and more people are listening to it even non christians and you guys are one of the reasons for this. Keep it Metal!!! ROCKY, OUT DO YOURSELF!!! THE NEXT CD MUST HAVE THE MOST INSANE GUITAR SOLOS AND RIFFAGE EVER!!!
Posted by:
Eric Dando on July 15, 2003 05:43 AM
