INTERVIEW: Steven Jones – From Sorrow To Serenity

The Scottish metal scene is currently in incendiary form with the likes of PERPETUA, NESHIIMA and BLEED FROM WITHIN all releasing top drawer material in recent months. It’s now the turn of FROM SORROW TO SERENITY as their long awaited follow up to 2016’s Remnant Of Humanity entitled Reclaim via Long Branch Records hit the shelves on Friday! We caught up with guitarist and founding member Steven Jones to get some insight behind the release.

The release of Reclaim is on the horizon. Are you excited to finally get it out in the open?

Steven: It’s been a long time coming, three whole years of writing. I’m excited, and anxious for it to be out there, It’s our most refined and considered material to date. The strongest songs we could possibly have made.

How do you feel your sound has developed since the release of Remnant Of Humanity?

Steven: Immensely. We have a new singer and frontman in Gaz, and our approach to songwriting has evolved and developed into something far greater than before. This is the album we always wanted to create.

Did you approach anything differently with this release?

Steven: We approached every step of the process differently, with the knowledge of what works for us and what does not. Remnant was a steep learning curve for us, and a real eye opener into how much it takes to create an album. Reclaim is an entirely different animal; and we approached it as such. With Gaz in the fold, he took the reigns lyrically, and has poured every fibre of his being into these songs. This was a big change from Remnant, where the lyrics and instrumentation were entirely my responsibility. You can hear in Gaz‘s performance on the album that these are words which come from the depths of his soul. We also changed how we sound sonically with this album. Will Putney handled mixing on Remnant, and we decided that I would mix Reclaim. We knew exactly what we wanted these songs to sound like – and we were desperate to create a unique identity for ourselves, not just musically, but with the way the music translates to the listener. With the decision taken to mix ourselves, the songs have an entirely new energy, and we’ve carved our sonic signature into these songs.

Where did the inspiration for the artwork and imagery stem from?

Steven: The art direction was a very natural step in the process of creating the album. The artist, James Banks, is an old friend from the music scene turned incredible painter. I’ve followed him on Instagram for years. The moment the idea to use his art came around – he had posted a painting of chaotic, and beautiful proportions. I came to the sudden realisation that this had to be the art style for the new FROM SORROW material. I had been working on demos for some of the new songs at the same time he posted the image. The visuals and the sound created the perfect marriage of clarity and disorder exactly what we needed. The artwork is so good infact, that we based the music video for the single Reclaim entirely around showing off his paintings!

You’ve released a few tracks already including the title track, how has the response been?

Steven: The response has been incredible. We released the first single from the album, Supremacy, to a massive reception in 2018. Our record label, Long Branch Records, have been fantastic with helping us reach new audiences – it feels like we have a real team working together on this one.

You’re getting quite the reputation for your studio expertise, how did you find the process this time round with it being your own material?

Steven: I worked on Golden Age in 2017 and Supremacy in 2018, so the foundations for Reclaim were there already. The process is certainly different when it’s your own material, as it can be hard to separate yourself from feeling the music and to just focus on how the takes sound, and where the mix is going. Particularly with the guitar and my own vocal takes, I found myself being what might be considered as too meticulous and being very stringent with what I allowed to make it on to the album. The process in the end was very rewarding however, it’s satisfying to have created our sound from the ground up and I’m very excited to see and hear what people think!

How have you found balancing duties for FROM SORROW TO SERENITY and BLEED FROM WITHIN? Especially when the last couple of years has been a very busy time for both bands.

Steven: It’s been a crazy time, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Music is my life, and I love it. If I need to give 99% of my time to this – I will, and that’s how it’s been going so far, haha!

The Scottish metal scene is thriving more than ever before, it must be exciting to have played quite a big role in its evolution?

Steven: It’s great to see the scene at home brimming with potential. It’s been a long time coming – and I’m humbled to be a part of that. There are so many great musicians that need only give their best efforts to reap the rewards, and it’s very exciting to see that happening!

What does the remainder of 2019 hold for FROM SORROW TO SERENITY? Plenty of touring?

Steven: We tour Japan in May with BETRAYING THE MARTYRS, which will be our first performances in Asia. We’re very excited to get out and play to these audiences. I’ve been out here in Asia with Bleed From Within for a couple of weeks now and have been fortunate enough to meet a number of FROM SORROW TO SERENITY fans who are excited for us to come out here in May. It’s incredible to see that our songs have reached the other side of the world, and to know we have a following here who are awaiting our shows is like a dream come true.

Do you have any particular goals you want to achieve with FROM SORROW TO SERENITY or do you just go with the flow and see how it all unfolds?

Steven: FROM SORROW TO SERENITY is my baby. We just want to make this music for as long as we can, play it everywhere we can and enjoy every moment along the way. There are obviously goals and aspirations that you set for yourself, and it’s good to be on the rise! We want to make something that people can connect with, so for as long as we’re doing that, we’ll keep making albums and keep doing what we do best.

Reclaim is out now via Long Branch Records. 

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