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SOILENT GREEN INTERVIEW
 SOILENT GREEN - interview with Brian Patton, July 2008
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Soilent Green's latest release Inevitable Collapse in the Presence of Conviction has been greatly acknowledged especially in our pages. We wanted to know more about the conception of this album and the evolution of the band as well with Brian Patton, in charge of the guitar parts.
Hello, my first question will be very traditional but we have to go through this step I guess: could you introduce the band to the readers of TD?
Brian Patton - guitar Ben Falgoust - vocals Tommy Buckley - drums Scott Crochet - bass
Could you explain us the artwork on the cover of Inevitable Collapse in the Presence of Conviction?
It’s a girl achieving flight, but she’s being held down by a cord connecting her to a machine that is giving her that very same gift.
Who was in charge of this?
It’s a collaborate effort between myself (Brian Patton) and John Van Fleet (the artist) but is basically the work of John.
Maybe now a question about music: from your point of view, what do you think you belong in the current international metal landscape?
Um, I don’t know. We just do what we do, and if somehow we’ve landed a spot into the international metal landscape, then we are proud.
Could you tell us about your collaboration with Erik Rutan?
We‘ve known Erik for 3 years before he recorded our last record. He is a true friend, and an amazing producer. After we did « Confrontation » we knew right away we wanted to go back and record with us again.
How did the recording of the album go?
It went great !
Do you guys put some more effort on the production or on the composition?
Equal effort. We try to do everything we do the best that we can do.
Do you think that your music is going to evolve drastically during the coming years?
I’m sure it will evolve somewhat, it always does. As far as drastically, probably not. We would like to stay true to our style with just some slight variations.
Some place for experiments maybe?
Yeah, there’s always a chance for experiments.
How do you work on making new songs?
I sit by myself and write all the guitar parts. Then I work with Tommy, our drummer. And then we introduce the song to Ben, and he writes the lyrics.
I recognized a kind of Napalm Death influence, especially with the blast beat parts and clearly with the intro of All this good intention wasted in the wake of apathy (track 10). Are you aware of that? Did you do this on purpose?
Yeah, Napalm Death is a huge influence, especially on grind parts. We have been big fans of those guys since we were kids so of course it’s going to come through in our music.
With respect to your fastest and wildest parts, any opinion about grindcore in general?
I like it. I like to listen to it. It makes me happy.
Some chances to see you on tour soon?
We have no plans to travel Europe right now, but we hope to get over there soon. It’s all up to the booking agents and our label. So hopefully we will be over there by the end of the year, or early next year.
What countries do you enjoy the most touring?
Japan is my favorite place to tour. It’s very short and the shows are very good. They treat the bands with a lot of respect. And scenery wise, it’s like touring the planet Mars.
From your point of view, what are the main differences between the American audience (and its strong musical background) and the rest of the world?
Depending on the tour, all audiences are about the same. They go buck-ass crazy anywhere we play.
About your musical tastes, do you have influences out of metal?
Pretty much all of my musical influences lately have been outside of metal. When I do listen to extreme music, I listen to the stuff I listened to growing up. As of late, it’s everything but metal.
Some other plans for a near future (musically speaking or not)?
Our plans right now are just to tour as much as we possibly can, to support the new record. And in between, write for the next one.
So I guess we have to put an end to this interview now. Maybe some last words for the readers of TD?
Thank you and if you get a chance to come see us live, please do ! And support us by buying the new record.
- Hubert Chapuis
