Metal Monday: Q&A With Thyateira

posted in: Features • Rock

Back in the fall, the Metal Channel was dominated by a reasonably small band from Crystal Lake, IL by the name of Thyateira. Since winning the Metal Channel in October, the band replaced their lead vocalist (due to creative differences), and welcomed ex-From All Within singer David Kvistad to the band. As the change was made, we caught up guitarist Chase to see what was going on with the band, and what they were looking forward to with their coming winter EP.

MtD: First, how do you pronounce your band name? THIGH-at-ee-rah? thee-AT-ee-rah?
Chase: This is the first question that people always ask us, the correct pronunciation of Thyateira is THY“UH “TEAR-UH.

MtD: Also, what does it mean? How did you come up with it?
Chase: Thyateira was an ancient city in the Book of Revelations, and it was a location of one of the 7 churches.

MtD: So, you’re from Illinois, a place not really known for it’s metal scene ” what are the kids listening to out there these days?
Chase: Well we could list about 3 pages of bands and artists but I would say that everyone has a very wide range of musical interests. There are a lot of amazing acts that come out of the Illinois area.

MtD: From your OurStage bio, it seems like you guys have been working tirelessly in the last couple years. How much do you think it’s paid off so far, and how much do you think laying the ground work now will help you in the future?
Chase: We definitely all have a common sense of work ethic, we know that what you put into it you definitely get out of it. We for sure have a lot of promising opportunities laid out for the future, so please do stay tuned for the madness.

MtD: You’ve worked with some pretty big names at an early stage of your careers ” what have you taken from these experiences so far?
Chase: We love playing shows and playing with a larger act guarantees that you will get your music out to the masses.

MtD: How much do you think working with James Murphy will help you guys in the studio when you go to record your winter EP?
Chase: James does all of our mastering so we don’t really work with him. We basically record and send our stuff his way and he makes it sound amazing.

MtD: So, you’ve already got one full-length album under your belts and have been working on material since. The newer stuff is a bit different than the old stuff. What can we expect for your next (eventual) full-length?
Chase: We have made some considerable change, we just got a new vocalist named David Kvistad (ex-From All Within vocalist) and he adds so much to our new sound. Since we made this new change we have put off plans of doing a winter EP and are now focusing on a brand new full-length album. Fans will not be disappointed.

MtD: One last random question: If you could play a show with any two bands (live or dead, together or broken up), who would it be and why?
Chase: A perfect dream would be a full world tour with Pantera and Arch Enemy. I don’t think that needs any explanation.

Do you think bands from Illinois are rad? Check out Bethany Leavey’s post, 50 States in 50 Weeks: Illinois to check out some more great music from Illinois!