Keyboards live on in Society’s Plague



Melodic Death Metal outfit Society’s Plague has just begun their career, but have received critical appraisal for their extensive keyboard use. Recently, a shift in the band forced their keyboardist to quit, leaving a possible gaping hole in the group and a change of sound. After a brief interview with Brutalism, though, Society’s Plague assures listeners that keyboards shall indeed continue to be a staple of the band’s sound and evolve just like everything else in the years to come. There are also hints of a new album in the works too, so fans should be especially excited for that.

Hello there. What’s been happening lately for Society’s Plague since the release of your last album?
Hey! Since the release we've really been trying to get out on the road whenever we can and just generally get our music out to people in as many ways as we can.

So recently your keyboardist Kate Latham left the band to pursue different goals correct? Care to expand a bit on how that came about and is it possible she may return at a later date?
It wasn't an easy decision, but we all just decided that it was better for us to part ways. Some things on a personal level just weren't clicking and we felt like we could do what we needed to do as a band without a keyboardist. We definitely appreciate what she’s done for and with us as a band and hope nothing but the best for her.

Without a current keyboard player, how do you think that will affect the band’s overall sound? Should fans expect a harder, heavier edge that is more guitar-driven, or will someone in the band take over the duties?
Well Society's Plague is and always will be very keyboard/synth oriented and not having a keyboardist  let us add more levels to what we do in that front. Our sound will evolve as we do, but definitely expect there to be lots of keyboards regardless, probably more than you expect!

Just how far along is your next album near completion? (Rumor has it you’ve been working pretty diligently on it with the change to management of Ascendance… also a big step).
We're still in the writing phase, but we're pretty far along. We really want to kick up the creativity in this album, and as with anything, it takes time. We hope to begin pre production in early 2012.Yeah it’s been great having a manager on our side to help us keep things moving forward. Ascendance has been great to us.

Anything in particular that you want to do with this new album, be it tackle a new concept or make it the ‘most complex’ or ‘heaviest album created to date,’ even though it’s just barely album number two?
What we really want to do is hit home on the creative side of our music. It will be heavy, it will be melodic, but we want to try and add a lot of stuff that you just don't hear as much in metal. Our main goal is to get it stuck in your head for weeks, haha. And if we can accomplish that then we've done what we came to do. But I do feel like our next album is really going to elaborate on more of our European influences and you're going to hear a lot more "epic" riffs and keyboards than you did with ‘The Human, The Canvas.’

Any opinion on the concept of ‘sophomore slump,’ or is Society’s Plague beyond such trivial ideas? Do you believe you’ve set certain expectations with your last album ‘The Human, The Canvas,’ that have to be followed- either by band or fan standards- or is creating your second effort like starting all over again?
I don't think we've really given it much thought. Since before even recording ‘The Human, The Canvas’ we had some ideas for what we were working on for the next album. The thing with music is that the creativity hits you when it hits you; you can't really force it. So we'll take the time we need to get quality music. We really don't want to rush it and put out something less than expected. As far as us setting expectations I think fans of SP like us because we hit on a lot of different genres, and it really helps us with crossovers. I feel like if we just do what we do and just mature our sound a little bit, then our fans and friends will get exactly what they expected: A Heavy, Melodic, Stuck-in-your-head European-American Metal band!

Reviews have been coming in for about a year now on your musical style. What bands have you been compared to and do you agree or disagree with the choice of comparison?
We get a lot of "Killswitch Engage" and "Trivium" comparisons, but I don't really see it. Sure we have screaming and clean singing, breakdowns and harmonies, but that's just a generalization. Don't get me wrong, we take it as a compliment that we remind people of those great bands, but I guess I feel like the keyboards and some of the structuring we use is a bit different. We definitely have more of a symphonic sound than some of the bands we get compared to.

What do you think of the genre ‘Melodic Death Metal’ and is it a fitting term for Society’s Plague?
We are all pretty big Melodic Death Metal fans; I'm not sure if it fits us exactly but we definitely have a lot of influences from the genre. Especially our guitarist! They like bands such as Dark Tranquility and In Flames as they were always constant choices in our practice space.

You guys have been on tour with bands like Disturbed and KSE. Have there been any big tours since then with any new names to highlights?
Yeah we have been able to hook up with those bands for a couple shows and it has been great, but so far we don’t have any big tours in the works. But who knows what the future holds. We are definitely looking to get out with some great bands in 2012 and some may even surprise you!

Are there any bands you would be really excited to tour with? If so, why?
Well an In Flames and Society's Plague tour would be incredible. They are probably every person in Societys Plague's biggest musical influence and it would be amazing to hit the road with those guys. Hopefully we will get the opportunity someday soon.

With the world in crisis (U.S. specifically)- from unemployment to overwhelming debts of college students- do you think Society’s Plague’s message is needed now more than ever, as one of your main themes is social injustices and struggles against it, personal or impersonal?
I think the message of hope is always needed, whether it's something as large as growing national debt, homelessness and unemployment, or something as small and personal as losing an animal you loved. Hope is powerful, and it can change everything, as long as you hold onto it, let it motivate you. That's something every one of us has had to learn at one point or another and it's a message that we will always hold true to.

Thanks for taking the time to interview us!