Metal Martyr

As I Lay Dying: "whether they’re a Christian band or a Satanic band. We want to play with those bands"

by Metal Martyr on June 9th, 2008

Way Too Loud recently interviews As I Lay Dying’s Drummer Jordan Mancino. They discussed everything from his new handle bar mustache, shooting videos and touring with satanic bands such as Behemoth. Here are a few excerpts.

WTL: Well, since the first new thing I’m noticing is the handle bar mustache, you’ve got to explain that. It’s huge! You look like a Hell’s Angel!

Jordan: (Laughs) I was growing a beard in December, and then we had a photo shoot for DW ( the drum company), and I didn’t want a beard for that, so I shaved it into a moustache just for fun, and it just kind of grew on me for a couple of days. They were digging it, so I was like “Sweet!” Then they said they wanted me to do a commercial too! It’s been cool because it’s getting me work!

WTL: The video for “Nothing Left” debuted recently. What’s it like shooting a video, especially from the position of the drummer? And does Tim scream or lip-sync?

Jordan: Sometimes he screams, sometimes he doesn’t. We’ve got to run through the song so many times that he’ll blow out his voice if he screams the whole time. Usually you just play along with the track, nothing is miked, and no sound is coming out. As far as I’m concerned, I could not shoot another video, ever! If I could do that, I’d be happy! I just don’t like shooting videos, I like the end result product, because it looks really cool. I have to play the song so many times, and I get so exhausted after the 15th run-through. Being the drummer, I’m always in the background, even if they’re doing a close-up of the guitar player or the singer, I’m always in the background while everyone else gets to take a break, because even if no one else is in the shot, I’m always in the background. Those are my cranky days. I’m usually in pretty good spirits most days. I might not like it, but I’m not going to complain about it too much!

WTL: You’ve toured with Satanic bands before, more specially Behemoth twice, and I’ve heard you’ve had a good time hanging out with them, and they even put you on the thank you list in the back of one of their albums (more specifically in “Demigod”). Do you think you’re sending a different kind of message, a good message, by touring with bands who have such different religious views?

Jordan: Yeah! I think we’re sending the right message, whether or not it’s different from what other bands have said, I don’t know. I think there’s a portion of the Christian community that’s very un-accepting to that kind of stuff. They’ll say don’t touch it, don’t get near it, don’t be involve with it, don’t affiliate yourself with it , but as a band and as Christians, it doesn’t matter to us. They’re a band, whether they’re a Christian band or a Satanic band, it doesn’t matter to us. We want to play with those bands, we want to become friends with those bands. If we happen to create a friendship, that’s awesome!

Me personally, I’ve had several very good conversations about Christianity, and what they believe, an anti-Christian viewpoint from Nergal. We’ve talked a lot, and as far as philosophies of religion and life go, I don’t think there was much progress on either of our ends, but we were able to understand each other, and where we were coming from. I understand his viewpoint a lot more, and I understand where he comes from, and at the end of the conversation, we still had a mutual respect for one another. We come from opposite ends of the spectrum, but we still have respect for each other, and we still want to play music with each other.

You don’t necessarily have to agree with someone to be their friend and accept them. As a Christian as well, what good does it do to preach to the choir? And the same thing with them. If they were to go around and play for instance, only in Satanic churches every day, what good would their message be? They’re passionate about what they do, so they want to go play to a different audience, where they can express what they believe to that audience. It’s up to the audience to whether or not they look into what their beliefs are, and the same thing with us. They’re looking for opportunities to look out for what they believe in and share what they believe in, and they’re passionate about it, the same way we are.

That’s kind of a long answer!

Read the rest of this interview here.

Image Source: Newscom.com

And yes, I know the picture is not Jordan Mancino, but it was the best pic I could find that I can legally use.

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POSTED IN: As I Lay Dying