Capra: From Struggle To Strength
“You gotta get in and out and hit ‘em in the face!” smiles CAPRA guitarist Tyler Harper. That pretty much sums up the Louisiana-based four piece’s debut record in a nutshell. Set for release on April 23rd, In Transmission makes for 32 minutes of raucous, raging and riff-heavy metallic hardcore. Carrying on the vein of the likes of EVERY TIME I DIE, one of Harper‘s favourite bands, it’s an album which strikes that often elusive balance between being fierce and fiery, but fun at the same time.
For Harper, the record is the natural result of a life-long love of guitar-playing and heavy music. “I picked up a guitar when I was three years old. I had an acoustic and I would just play different things – I didn’t know how to play! Later on in life, I think I was about nine years old, I borrowed a bass from one of my cousins and I never gave it back. I just kept playing it and playing it. By 12 I started playing guitar and I was really getting into old METALLICA and BLACK SABBATH. I heard MINOR THREAT for the first time and then that pummelled me right into BAD BRAINS and BLACK FLAG. So I was kind of like an angry rebellious kid and I just wanted to play as obnoxious and fast and loud as possible. It’s been all downhill from there!”
In many ways, this culminated at the end of 2015, when Harper, fresh out of rehab, linked up with drummer Jeremy Randazzo, someone he’d worked with in multiple previous bands. “I was sober, he was sober, and we just wanted a crazy band,” says Harper. “We wanted a release, we wanted our therapy and to take all those feelings inside of us that caused us to delve further into our struggles and we wanted to release that in music. That’s what CAPRA is about, it’s taking your inner struggle and turning it into something positive.”
This desire to be upfront about past struggles is something the band hope will provide an outlet to others who feel frustrated, forgotten and alone. On In Transmission, this manifests in two primary forms. Firstly, there’s the music itself. “It’s fast, loud, crazy, chaotic,” explains Harper, “it’s all our internal emotions.” On the other hand, there’s the band’s vocalist Crow Lotus, who draws on her personal experiences to give voice to issues many are sure to resonate with. “She puts her own struggles out there and she is a voice for those who feel unheard. I know a lot of women in particular can relate to her daily struggles.”
As well as personal battles, Harper, who serves as CAPRA‘s primary songwriter, draws inspiration from a host of places. His hometown of Lafayette, Louisiana, is one example. “We have some of the best musicians in the world and it kind of gets overlooked. Everyone goes to New Orleans or a bigger city around us… so I play off of others for sure.” He’s also surprisingly quick to praise the song-writing help of his dog, who makes a guest appearance on the sofa with him at one point during the interview. “My dog hangs out with me when I write riffs, I just look at her face and we’re like ‘alright let’s do this,’ and if she’s going crazy about it I know that people will.”
As it often does nowadays, conversation eventually turns to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. For CAPRA, as for many others, the coronavirus was the source of much frustration. Most of In Transmission was actually recorded in December 2019, but is only seeing the light of day nearly 18 months later. “It was super hard to sit on this album,” says Harper. “We’re so used to writing music and I’m the kind of person that when I’m proud of something I just wanna give it to the world. I just wanna say ‘here take this, listen to it, this is awesome right?’”
Fortunately, for Harper and for us, the wait is nearly over. “It’s a really good time to release music. People need music, they need that release, that outlet of aggression. Like we’re all in the same boat so yeah it sucks we can’t tour, but at least you’ll have this great album to listen to.”
Of course, COVID-19 isn’t the only issue to capture the world’s attention over the past year or so. Following the shocking murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police in May 2020 and the subsequent global outcry, CAPRA were one of many bands who used their platform to speak out about racial injustice. When asked about this, Harper replies: “It’s something that makes us angry… I think for hardcore, for punk, for metal, for any band it’s important to speak up. It’s important to put how you feel out there. I mean we’re not trying to change anybody’s minds with any of this, as far as politically, but we have a voice and we’re gonna use it. It’s important for bands to use their platforms and use their voice to help others, and if we can help one person we’ve done our job.”
There’s no question Harper and co. are taking things seriously, but as mentioned, they definitely know how to have a laugh as well. One example from In Transmission is the rather brilliantly-titled album closer, Samuraiah Carey. Harper elaborates: “The lyrics have nothing to do with a samurai or Samuraiah Carey, but a cool fact that I haven’t told anyone is on that song there’s a massive pick scrape going into the fast melodic black metal part, and I actually used a samurai sword to do that. I don’t know if that’s ever been done on an album before, but it has now!”
“I used to tell people we were a party rock and roll band. You come to one of our shows and we used to set off silly string and those poppers, confetti and everything while we were playing. There’s definitely serious subjects and we’re absolutely serious about them, but we also want to kick your ass and have fun.”
In Transmission is out via Backlight Media/Metal Blade Records.
Like CAPRA on Facebook.