Los Angeles Rock band Darkwalker released their debut album Wastelands in September 2015 via Basement Records, Produced by Chuck Dietrich.
Below, lyricist and lead vocalist Derek gives us an insight into the inspiration behind the album and the creative process that brought it to fruition.
Also check out our Wastelands review !
Hi Derek, thanks for your time. I’m really loving the sound of your new record.
Can you introduce the band members please and tell me when and how the band was formed ?
Thank you very much. Well, there’s the mastermind behind the sound, Hector, and I round out the other half, the vocal side. Along with a few of our buddies who shuffle through. The start was pretty unconventional. Originally there was no band just Hector and a bunch of songs. Our producer Chuck heard something that struck a chord with him and basically championed the project. After a few failed attempts at finding the right drummer Chuck pulled his friend Dave in for the drum session and then found me through a mutual friend several years after that. It sounds strange, but it took about ten years to find the right pieces to the puzzle which yielded “The Wastelands”.
Black Sabbath are clearly a major influence on your sound, what other bands have inspired you?
I know Hector was specifically pulling from Danzig, Steppenwolf, Joy Division, and the Wild Angels soundtrack during his writing. I’m all over the place with influences, much like Hector, but my foundation influences are Queen, Alice In Chains, Chris Cornell, The Beatles, and The Beach Boys. My head just goes right to big harmonies and catchy melodies.
The lyrics are inspired by Stephen King’s epic fantasy novel series the Dark Tower, with seven volumes to choose from that process must have taken a considerable time!
Yeah, it took about a year to get it all read, written, and recorded. Partially because I would get distracted with other projects or intentionally set it down because I would hit a wall. Concept records are always epic and I didn’t want this to fall short. Also trying to juggle a family and a job and terrible writing habits probably added to that too but I’m really satisfied with how it came out.
Was this kind of concept album always your intention or was it a happy creative accident?
I think if I had set out to do a concept album I would have over-thought it and just biffed it. Fortunately it was a happy accident but also an easy out in terms of inspiration. You see all 7 songs had been recorded and I had no input into them prior to their recording so I had no real sense of structure and I eventually felt a little overwhelmed. I happened to be a couple volumes into the series and the stories were heavy on my mind when I started the second track “Gunslingers”. “Fifteen bullets and a gun” was the first lyric I had for the chorus and that in turn was the birth of the idea for the concept record. I was so ecstatic to have so much inspiration that I dove head first into the rest of the books. I kind of approached it as a retelling of the stories from my point of view but in a different medium. Almost like a bard passing on tales of legend.
The album was released in September and I saw the recent announcement that it has been licensed to Sleaszy Rider Records in Greece for release there. You must be delighted with the response to the new record so far.
Absolutely! We are really excited that people are getting into the record. We’ve had a ton of really great feedback that’s been extremely motivating. The vinyl and CD release through Sleaszy Rider is really exciting for us as well. They are really backing the record and we are grateful to have it released in Europe. But aside from that I’m really stoked on having a record on vinyl!
Are there any plans for a tour to support the albums release?
No tour is planned currently but that’s one of the things we’re looking into doing. We do have some plans for videos and other media to support the release in the meantime.
Finally, what does the future hold for Darkwalker? Is there any new material in the pipeline?
We are definitely looking to do more. This band came from wanting to make something we were proud of, something honest, so we are excited to create and get back into the studio. We have some new tunes and a few covers we’re kicking around right now. Maybe a follow-up EP or a double record. We’re pretty high on the creative relationship within the band so we want to strike while the iron’s still hot.
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