Paul: Music wise we always try to create groovy, technical, death metal. For me personally it’s always my aim to have songs which are technically proficient yet at the same time having hooks which makes the listen want to bang their head. Too many bands these days are more concerned with being the 'fastest', 'most extreme', 'most technical', etc and lose the ability to write a song. I'm hoping with this album we have achieved to write technical, catchy, brutal (and all the other cliche's you can think of) death metal.

With regards to the sound and production, my aim was for a fat old school sound but with enough clarity to pick out the technical aspects of the songs. Death metal should be promoted as a disgusting, dirty entity and i think over production in this day and age ruins some of the charm of how death metal and extreme metal is presented.

Dan: Cheers! Production wise on this album it’s sounding very big, I think we’ve got a good balance between having a clear sound while still maintaining the general filthiness of our music. It doesn’t sound overly polished but its still very accessible in my opinion. Musically we have managed to blend a lot of influences to create our sound, while still managing to keep a specific style.

Dan/Paul: The recording process took just under a year. In the studio there was no problem’s whatsoever and this was due the band being well rehearsed prior to starting the recording (we’ve been playing some of these songs since 2009) and also working with Greg Chandler (Esoteric/Priory Studios) and Chris Walsh (Wodensthrone) made it very easy as they were both very enthusiastic and professional in what they did for the album. I think working with Greg was a smart choice as he has been involved in extreme metal in some shape or form for the past 20 years, so it was nice to have someone who understood what we were trying to achieve.

The problem with regards to this recording was getting into the studio. As previously stated, once we were in everything ran smoothly, however, due to people's commitments with other bands or be it life in general it was not always easy to get the things done as quickly as everyone would have liked.

Dan: It took around 2 years to write the material, due to line-up changes and commitments to other bands etc. If I remember correctly, 6 songs were written in 2009/early 2010, and 3 songs were wrote late 2010/early 2011. The general songs have stayed the same since we wrote them, however small things like parts of solos and lyrics have been changed between writing and recording.

Paul: From a vocal perspective the two songs have changed in terms of arrangements and vocal patterns. I've constantly edited the lyrics over the past year until i got something i was more content with.

Dan/Paul: Currently we are all very excited in how the album is sounding and the plan now is to promote the album as much as possible and hopefully gain some label interest. Even when not gigging the band doesn’t really stand still and are constantly trying to do something. By the end of this year/next year we are looking to have the album released and then tours should hopefully follow.

Dan: I write the majority of Dawn of Chaos’ music, however, it is not limited to just me. If someone else has an idea that fits well with a song I’m half way through then we’ll use it. On 'The Need to Feed' the majority of the music was wrote by me but there are a few riffs that have been altered or written entirely by the other members. In terms of how I approach writing a song, it will generally start with a riff idea that could come from anything; a beat, a pop song, another Dawn of Chaos song, absolutely anything, and if it fits with how I think Dawn of Chaos should sound, then I’ll use it. From there I generally just feel where the riff goes. Some songs like ‘The Need to Feed’ have 8-9 riffs while others like ‘Muffocated’ have 4-5.

Lyrically and vocally, I’ll send the music to Paul and he’ll come up with a subject to write about, or if I already have a topic in mind he’ll write to suit it. Like with the music, lyrics aren’t limited to just one person. On this album Ian (Drums) has wrote quite a few lyrics and I have had input in lyrical subjects also.

Paul: Vocally, when i am given a song I may already have a subject in mind that appeals to me. I’m currently intrigued with mental health issues (such as psychosis or multiple personality disorders) and I’m looking at maybe applying my ideas and research around that subject to one of the newer songs for instance. I will then write ideas down in a note format and try and fit the words to what I deem as a good vocal pattern for the song. From there on it’s just a continuing editing process (from my self or asking for input from the rest of the lads) until I find something that like I previously stated "content with".

Dan/Paul: I think the line-up is the strongest it can be, purely because of how well we work together. The band currently gel’s as a cohesive unit and we all have the same goals, ideas & directions in which we wish to take the band. It also helps that we are all close friends and spend a lot of time doing things outside of the band together

Dan/Paul: Overall, the band has various different influences however we all have a mutual love of bands like Immolation and Morbid Angel etc, but we all have different musical tastes as well.

Dan: For me I don’t limit myself to death metal in terms of writing and playing. Obviously there’s a lot of that there, a few key bands being Morbid Angel, Death, Deicide and Suffocation, but I think a lot of things influence me. I think you can hear players like Randy Rhoads and Joe Satriani in my solos, and my writing style owes a lot to people like Dave Mustaine, Jeff Waters and even Desmond Child. 

Paul: My opinion of the UK death metal scene is band wise it’s very healthy. However, gig attendances for underground shows seems to be lacking somewhat. Be that from the recession or other factors I don’t know but I’ve seen UKDM have healthier days. 

Favourite bands to play with in the UK are Dead Beyond Buried, Theoktony, Cancerous Womb, Scordatura, Neuroma, to name but a few.

Dan: To me the scene is very diluted in the North East where we are from, however I think Scotland has a strong scene and places like Manchester, Leeds and London seem to be really into it. My favourite death metal bands from the UK to play with and listen to at the moment are Plague Rider, Cruciamentum, Theoktony and Cancerous Womb.

Dan: You’d think we’d be taking a break from writing but as I mentioned previously, the songs on ‘The Need to Feed’ have been written for a while now so material for the 2nd album has been flowing for a while. I have around 4-5 full songs wrote at the moment, 1 of which we have already played live. Personally I hope for a late 2013/early 2014 release of the 2nd album. The new songs definitely have a different vibe about them than the tracks on ‘The Need to Feed’; a lot darker and simpler while still keeping the Dawn of Chaos sound.

Dan/Paul: Cheers to everyone that has supported Dawn of Chaos so far and we hope you enjoy the album once it’s released. We still have loads of cheap merchandise available which we need to shift so head over to http://dawnofchaos.bigcartel.com/. Keep checking our facebook page, twitter, etc for updates on songs, videos from the recording process and artwork, release plans, gigs, merchandise, etc Finally, we would like to thank all the people who have bought merchandise, put us on a show, gave us a place to sleep, shared a beer, etc as if it was not for you none of this would have been possible.

Interviewed by Dan Alderson

September 2012