Friday Dies returns once again to Lelahel Metal for their third feature. With a new album, fresh energy, and bold plans for 2025, the band embraces authenticity, freedom, and powerful live performances.
1.
You’ve now had some time since officially re-emerging onto the scene. How does
it feel to be creating and releasing music again with Friday Dies after two big
comeback interviews last year?
I personally enjoy meeting new fans and seeinng some familar faces. Writiing
the new album has been a lot of fun.
2. Your upcoming album The Sky is the Ocean has been teased for a while now.
Can you share where you are in the recording/mixing process and how the songs
are shaping up compared to your expectations?
The album is finished except a few songs yet to be mixed and mastered. We hired
a booking who suggested we not release any songs. For now I will take there
advice but we still play them in our live shows.
3. The new tracks seem to carry both raw underground energy and a more
polished edge. Was it challenging to balance that intensity with modern
production standards?
It was, as much as I hated haveing to leave small mistakes we often did because
we recorded with tape. Now everything is digital and you can just pluck shit
out, move it around. I still prefer the recordings done as one take. I still
strive for that live raw sound, authenticity is still more important to me.
4. Lyrically, you’ve always dealt with rebellion, strength, and
authenticity. What new themes or messages are you exploring on The Sky is the
Ocean that perhaps weren’t as present in earlier material?
That you are the weaver of your fate, the strength to live the life you want is
within us all. This is our world and we should live in it as free people not as
slaves to an upper class but as free people workingto benefit us all instead of
the few at the top.
5. Having released iconic tracks like Of Wizards and Witches and Protect
Your Temple recently, which of the new songs do you feel best represents Friday
Dies’ present-day identity—and why?
The songs on the new album are all so strong in different ways it would be hard
to pick one as anything but different from the other. The song "Rather
Trust A Stranger" features Shay Hazelwood on vocals whuch is definetly new
haveing a female voice.
6. You’ve
often emphasized honesty and connection in your music. How do you hope younger
listeners—who may be discovering you for the first time in 2025—interpret that
message compared to your original fans from the ’80s and ’90s?
I am not sure much has changed, I hope to take the listener to another world ,
a place where fantasy meets reality and empower them with the strength, curage,
and wisdom they neef to change our world for the better.
7. Your sound has always had that thrash-driven backbone, but you’ve also
brought in groove, blues, and even neoclassical touches. Are there any
surprising influences on the new material that fans might not expect?
A touch of jazz, and what might be considered 18th century celtic folk.
8. In your last interview, you mentioned still building a stable lineup. How
has that search been going, and do you think Friday Dies works better as a
“core vision with rotating players” or as a solid band unit?
Drew blood on drums, I cannot pronounce or spell his real last name, and ben
kuzay on bass, me on vocals and guitar, Shay Hazelwood on a few new
songs. We work quite well together.
9. Live performance is clearly important to you. Do you have plans for shows
or a tour once The Sky is the Ocean drops, and how are you preparing to bring
this new era of Friday Dies to the stage?
We have good live line up. We are playing an accosional show once a month or so
untill wr get things tightened up. We are working with a booking agent in
europe hopeing to tour there next summer and if things go well a tour in the
u.s
10. Metal today is more global and digital than ever. Do you feel being part
of the underground in the ’80s prepared you in any way for this new digital
landscape—or is it a completely different battle?
I think its the same. People want something real, something authentic. We are
nothing but.
11. Looking back at the cult status of Return of the Witch, how do you want
The Sky is the Ocean to be remembered 20 years from now? Do you see it as a
continuation of the legacy or a bold new chapter?
I would like it to be pondered on , everytime someone listens to it I hope the
exsperience is different and they found something, thought something,
discovered something new. Both in the album and in themselves.
12. Finally,
for fans reading this third Lelahel Metal feature on Friday Dies—what’s the one
thing you want them to know about where the band is heading in 2025 and beyond?
Touring. We want to play live so you can feel what we feel together. Deffinatly
check us out live.
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