{"id":7147,"date":"2012-03-25T18:41:28","date_gmt":"2012-03-25T07:41:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/maytherockbewithyou.com\/mtrbwy\/?p=7147"},"modified":"2012-03-25T18:42:04","modified_gmt":"2012-03-25T07:42:04","slug":"matt-wicklund-of-god-forbid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maytherockbewithyou.com\/mtrbwy\/2012\/03\/matt-wicklund-of-god-forbid\/","title":{"rendered":"Matt Wicklund of God Forbid"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>
\n“We feel really good about it, and to be honest I think some of the things were scary for everybody, we were taking risks and we were definitely all pushing ourselves, but we worked so hard and for so long that I think it worked out, so I\u2019m very happy with it.”<\/p>\n

Since the late 90’s New Jersey thrash \/ metal band God Forbid have released five albums, toured with the likes of Gwar, Lamb of God, Cradle of Filth and in 2004 played the OzzFest bill off the back of their album ‘Gone Forever’.\u00a0 Relentless touring and a couple more albums and a change of guitarist saw them catch the attention of Victory Records where they now reside and are about to release ‘Equilibrium’ their sixth full length album, a melodic metal rocker and one that should get them noticed and take them where they want to go.<\/p>\n

We had the opportunity to talk to God Forbid guitarist Matt Wicklund about the new album, touring and about their new home at Victory Records.\u00a0 Check it out below!<\/p>\n

You\u2019re about to drop your newest album \u2018Equilibrium\u2019 on March 26, tell us what people can expect from it?<\/strong>
\nIt\u2019s a different album for sure, it has, to me anyway, all the elements that you would expect from God Forbid, you know the choppy riffs, the grooves, you know everything that you\u2019re used to, but, there\u2019s new elements added.\u00a0 There\u2019s a lot more hooks, there\u2019s a lot more catchy melody everywhere, there\u2019s more guitar solos, there\u2019s a lot more singing and I think the singing styles are a lot more developed.\u00a0 It\u2019s a very dynamic record; it\u2019s some of the fastest and heaviest material the band\u2019s ever done, and definitely some of the most melodic.\u00a0 It\u2019s just a different dynamic; it\u2019s a very interesting listen I would say.\u00a0 We feel really good about it, and to be honest I think some of the things were scary for everybody, we were taking risks and we were definitely all pushing ourselves, but we worked so hard and for so long that I think it worked out, so I\u2019m very happy with it.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s your first album with the band, how was the experience for you in getting into the studio with the guys to record it?<\/strong>
\nThat was very easy for me, there are a few reasons.\u00a0 One, I love recording and I\u2019ve done it a few times professionally and I do it every day as I\u2019m writing and its part of the process for me is recording and I\u2019m just very comfortable in that position.\u00a0 Also we\u2019ve been practicing and writing and rehearsing together for so long, I think we were just really prepared and we all knew what was expected of us, we got in there and we did it with confidence and it was really fun.\u00a0 I mean we also did the guitars and bass at Byron\u2019s house and it took some of the pressure off.\u00a0 When you\u2019re at a big studio and it\u2019s costing you several hundreds of dollars a day, it\u2019s not more, that puts a lot of pressure.\u00a0 You\u2019re at a friend\u2019s place and it was very comfortable for us.<\/p>\n

On the flip side, did you bring anything to the studio that the band may not have considered previously?<\/strong>
\nI believe so, I wrote a large portion of the music, I\u2019d say Doc and I split the guitars and the composition side of it, we split that evenly, so I think the difference will be obvious for anyone that listens to it. I brought a lot of the hooky nature, a lot of the shred guitar kind of stuff, a lot of really melodic elements I think I brought to the table.\u00a0 That\u2019s probably the main thing anyway.<\/p>\n

What was the idea of sharing the studio updates along the way?<\/strong>
\nJust to get people hyped up for it and get an insight into the process, I think it\u2019s really just to get people interested and aware of what was happening.\u00a0 I think it worked and we haven\u2019t really been on the road for a while, so we had to let fans know what was going on and that we were making it happen.<\/p>\n

Watching the updates it seems that you used a number of guitars on the record, can you run us through a couple?<\/strong>
\nOh yeah ha ha, I used, for lead, I use Ibanez RG guitars with DiMarzio pickups, mainly the tone zone and the bridge.\u00a0 The rhythm guitars, a lot of that was PRS and ESP eclipse with bare knuckle pick up, like a mahogany body, like a Les Paul with bare knuckle, a tight rhythm sound.\u00a0 So yeah, ESP, PRS, Ibanez.
\nWas that an N4 you were also using?<\/strong>
\nThat was an N4.\u00a0 I played two leads with the N4 on that record, I look at the guitars like paint brushes, like everyone has a tone or colour, and feel, everyone offers something when you\u2019re making a record.\u00a0 It\u2019s kind of like making a painting, like using different tools to achieve different things.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Is there a specific meaning behind the name Equilibrium for the album?<\/strong>
\nIt is a name of one of the tracks which happens to be the most radio friendly track I would say, it\u2019s one that I wrote mainly musically and I\u2019m very happy with it actually.\u00a0 It\u2019s a theme that I think carries through the whole album I think and just about finding your way, finding balance in life.\u00a0 I think at the time the music and the lyrics were being written, it was a big pivotal point for all of us, it was a big kind of change.\u00a0 I think it\u2019s addressing the point of finding balance and the equilibrium in life.\u00a0 It\u2019s a very personal album about dealing a lot with balance and harmony, but the lyrical content is for everyone to interpret as they will, so that\u2019s how I see it anyway.<\/p>\n

The band has just signed with Victory Records, what does that mean for a band like God Forbid?<\/strong>
\nTo release an album on Victory?\u00a0 For us, we\u2019re very excited about it!\u00a0 The label has treated us tremendously well and we feel really comfortable working with everyone there and they seem as excited about working with us as we do them, so it just feels really good.\u00a0 You could even say there\u2019s a good Equilibrium (ha ha) that exists in that relationship where we gave all we got and they see that and they gave all they got back so we feel like we have a really good relationship, it seems very promising, like I think it\u2019s perfect.\u00a0 I think we needed that, we needed a label, we needed a partnership in general with people that believe in what we\u2019re doing, and we got lucky, we found it.\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t be any happier.\u00a0 Growing up I was a huge fan of Victory bands, you know old school Victory bands like \u2018Integrity\u2019 and \u2018Earth Crisis\u2019, a lot of the old metal and hard-core bands back then.\u00a0 I love music in general, I grew up not only a death metal guy, I was a hard-core guy, everything actually, classical music and everything, but the Victory bands were a big part of my inspiration through my high school years, so it\u2019s very cool for me to be a part of that label.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re heading out on the road with the legendary Overkill, now for those that haven\u2019t seen you live before, can you run us through what a God Forbid show entails?<\/strong>
\nI think we try to bring a lot of intensity in general.\u00a0 I think the band has always had a reputation of being very intense live and it\u2019s very loud, it\u2019s very heavy, it\u2019s very aggressive but it\u2019s also a lot of grooves, and we generally get the crowd moving a lot, spinning around, big circle pits, craziness.\u00a0 So it\u2019s a very energetic performance and we try and be real tight too, I think there\u2019s a lot of energy coming off the stage, I guess that\u2019s how I\u2019d explain it.<\/p>\n

You mentioned before that you want to play everywhere but do you have any plans at all of heading down here to see us in Australia?<\/strong>
\nI don\u2019t anything is booked right now, but I know that we are actively looking to book everything, and we\u2019re talking to a lot of people about a lot of different things right now.\u00a0 This is the development stage, the record\u2019s about to drop and we are taking bookings.\u00a0 Within the next few weeks even we\u2019re going to see some announcements from the band, but I would like to get down there sooner than later.\u00a0 I know there\u2019s some great festivals that happen in Australia, so that would be a lot of fun to come down there and play for everybody.\u00a0 The Soundwave one is the one I\u2019m thinking of. I think all of us want to go down there, so Australia is on the list.<\/p>\n

What does the rest of 2012 have in store for God Forbid?<\/strong>
\nMainly, a lot of touring to support this record and then also I\u2019ve already started writing more music, so I want to stay really busy with the promotion of this record and starting to create the next one.\u00a0 Personally I\u2019m involved in a lot of guitar teaching at the moment and I like that, it keeps me focused and really locked into the instrument.\u00a0 I\u2019ve also started writing an instrumental record which I\u2019d like to put out eventually, but the focus is going to be on supporting this album for all of us.\u00a0 Be out on the road a lot.<\/p>\n

Essential Information<\/span><\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n

From: <\/strong>New Jersey, USA<\/p>\n

Band members:<\/strong> Byron Davis – Vocals, Matt Wicklund – Guitars, Doc Coyle \u2013 Guitars \/ Vocals, John Outcalt – Bass, Corey Pierce – Drums<\/p>\n

Website: <\/strong>http:\/\/www.godforbid1.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Forthcoming release: <\/strong>Equilibrium \u2013 March 26 2012 –\u00a0(Victory Records \/ Riot! Entertainment)<\/p>\n\n

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