Interview with ANATOMY OF I: “While the structure and sound is still metal, we like to add transitions, interludes and variations on riffs/themes in other styles, to add more diversity, depth and a certain element of surprise.”

ANATOMY OF I is the brainchild of vocalist/guitarist Michael Dorrian, with longtime friends Dirk Verbeuren (SCARVE, SOILWORK) on drums and Steve Di Giorgio (SADUS, DEATH, TESTAMENT) on bass to complete the line-up. Mixing a wide array of influences ranging from jazz fusion to grindcore into a mold of traditional metal, thrash and death metal, ANATOMY of I brings a breath of fresh air into the metal genre.

Recently I had a chance to interview Michael Dorrian, we talked about their debut album “Substratum” that came out on september 2011 through Red Nautilus Records. Please join our conversation…

Hi Michael, I’m Tarja. Welcome to Metal Shock Finland! In 2009 you formed ANATOMY OF I with your longtime friends, Steve and Dirk. Tell me about how it all started?

It all started when my last band, TERMINAL EYE, split up. We were busy with a full-length record at Andy Larocque’s Los Angered studio in Gothenburg, where things fell apart. It wasn’t as sudden as it sounds, but this experience definitely fuelled me to focus on the music I wanted to play and listen to as a fan. Once the material was demoed out, I called Steve and Dirk to help me bring this vision to life. I’ve known both of them for over 15 years and have jammed with them on several occasions, so it was a natural thing for me to call them up. Add to it that they’re also the best possible musicians for the job, which resulted in not having to compromise on the afore-mentioned vision.

Mike and Steve

All the band members are pretty well known, for years, in international metal scenes, having different bands and side-projects. How you are able to divide your time between everything?

I frankly don’t know, there are days when we just want to throw our agendas away and chill for a while, but I doubt that any of us regrets being busy. On a logistical level, Although I don’t see them as session musicians, Steve and Dirk were only involved in the recording process of the album, and have already indicated that they would not be available for live shows to support the debut album, unless something popped up that’d fit their schedules. To keep the machine rolling, I’ve assembled a great team of local musicians for live shows and we’re starting to play local shows in the Netherlands. On drums, we have Melle Kramer from the tech-death band OBSIDIAN and ex-TERMINAL EYE member Giuseppe Formisano on fretless bass. Check our facebook page for upcoming shows. We have one in Amsterdam on June 8th and another one in Den Haag on July 7th, with more gigs coming up …

Is it a sort of a self-expression about the inner I? Or what is the story behind the band name?

Yes, you;’ve nailed it ! It symbolizes self expression, the importance of self realization/awareness. The meaning behind the band name is represented on our debut album’s cover, with the third eye symbolizing ones inner mind/soul.

Your genre could be definied from 70’s jazz fusion to Grindcore into a mold of thrash/death metal… and what else?

Well, we all have a metal background, but we’re also into other kinds of music. So while the structure and sound is still metal, we like to add transitions, interludes and variations on riffs/themes in other styles, to add more diversity, depth and a certain element of surprise. I wouldn’t know what style we should call ourselves, but categorization seems to backfire quite a bit as it doesn’t necessarily fit people’s expectations. I suppose ‘extreme progressive metal’ is a good definition, as it’s a rather broad term.

What bands and/or artists have influenced you the most?

Steve

Pfft.. I wouldn’t know where to start ! And besides the influences that translate into our music, there are of course countless influences that have nothing to do with our music although it molded us into the musicians we are today.
I suppose the easiest way to answer your question is to say that I grew up mainly listening to thrash and death metal, while my interests started to expand in my late teens, discovering jazz fusion and experimental music. So my biggest early influences were definitely DEATH, CYNIC and CARCASS, but while naming these three, I’m omitting countless other bands that were essential in my musical development.

Michael, you are the composer both for music and lyrics, so tell me how a new song sees the daylight? what comes first, music or lyrics?

It’s a little bit of both, really… To strictly answer your question: once the music for a song is starting to feel complete, I apply lyrics that I had previously penned down. But for choruses, the lyrics and vocal patterns mostly come first.
I basically see composition as a daily activity as I always have ideas popping up, whether they’re lyrics, riffs or melodies. Whatever it is, I just write it down or record it real quick in order to elaborate on it later on. I compile all kinds of ideas in such a way to which I keep adding building blocks. When writing the material for Substratum, I had about 14 basic songs ideas that I was working on, and the 10 first ones to be close to a finished form ended up on the record. For the next record, things are shaping up in a similar way, as I’m adding bits and pieces to 16 songs. Once the songs are roughly composed and arranged, I program the drums and add scratch bass lines. Then, it’s time to re-record the scratch guitars, which are often slightly altered based on new ideas I get from working on the bass and drum-parts.

Your lyrics deal with various subjects presented through allegories… where do you take the ideas for them?

I just write lyrical ideas down whenever I encounter an interesting topic, whether it’s something I read, I see on tv or something from every day life. I don’t really have a specific rule for topics, but I try to avoid the main metal clichés.
The recurring themes are personal growth, evolution, etc.. it’s quite a positive vibe, really, which might sound odd when you listen to our music but it’s a release of energy we’re sharing to shake the audience up rather than what the untrained ears can perceive as the soundtrack of anger, hatred and violence.

Your album “Substratum” came out last september, including 10 strong songs. How would you describe the album to someone who comes from the other genres?

It’s metal, melodic, extreme, progressive and sometimes experimental … just give it a shot without any preconceived genres or definitions in mind is what I always suggest. All in all, it’s quite a complete and diverse record; a lot of things are happening in each song without losing the essence of what a song is really about : catchiness and hooks. They’re to the point, never giving the listener the time to wait for excitement.

During the studio sessions, what were the highlights and the worst moments?

I can’t really single out one highlight, so I’ll say that it was seeing everything slowly take form. The songs were all demoed out and I had a clear vision of what it should end up sounding like, but there was always room for changes and improvement; the whole process was just an awesome experience ! Every time Dirk would send me a new drum track for approval, it felt like rediscovering the song again. Then Steve came in and just going through every song gave me that same vibe. Once their parts were done, I had the freedom to record all my guitar parts, sometimes altering them based on what Steve and Dirk did … then the vocals came in, which also had tweaks here and there …the synth added more vibes and ambiance. Maybe a proper answer would be the element of surprise that added pieces onto the preconceived framework of this album.
The worst moment … having to wait for all the parts to come together ! From the demos being finished in October or November 2009 till receiving the final master version of the album in December 2010, that’s over a year’s wait to get it all done while the actual work took about 2 months. But I’m not complaining though, the extra time gave me more time to reflect on the music between each stage, which lead to a better end result.

Michael, I’d like to talk a bit about your vocal lines… the barbed wire screams, where your voice runs a very rich stream of notes, linked together by never obvious arrangements… is this something you’ve gained after a hard training, or does it come out natural?

I’ve always seen myself primarily as a guitarist although I have good vocal pitch control and have a decent singing voice. The hardest thing was to find my vocal identity while seeking what would best suit the songs. Regarding the choice of harsh vocal style; I prefer higher pitched/throaty deathmetal screams to low death metal growls, as I find them more aggressive, dynamic and they allow a better articulation of the lyrics. So the aim was definitely to go into the regions of these screams. After practicing different approaches, I came to the conclusion that the vocal style that suited me best and didn’t take any effort to produce on a regular basis was along the lines of Jeff Walker (CARCASS) and Tomas Lindberg (AT THE GATES), so I went with that. Most feedback I’ve received about the vocals categorise them as being black metal vocals, but that really wasn’t my point of reference. I actually barely listen to any black metal aside from the more progressive bands such as Emperor, Ihsahn, Arcturus, Solefald and Vintersorg.

Dirk

It seems that there is nothing for granted in this album, it’s solid metal, in its extreme form, but also very technical, and the rhythm section is devastating… but is there anything at all, you’d like to change or do better next time?

I can’t really think of anything I’d want to change at this moment, besides some minor things that don’t really matter in the big picture. I’ve learnt some lessons from this recording, and I’ll approach certain things differently on the next album, but I can’t really complain about anything. The one thing we’ll avoid doing in the future is re-amping the guitars. It’s always better to record guitars while hearing the sound that will end up on the record.

Btw, what are your personal favorites in this album? and why?

My personal favourites keep changing, as I made sure every song is catchy and contains different kinds of highlights. I can’t really pick one song that jumps out.

You decided to mix and master the album in Italy.. why this choice?

My friend Simone Bertozzi (MNEMIC, EMPYRIOS) advised me to consider engineer Simone Mularoni for the mix. I checked out his work and noticed he had a broad track record working with many different bands over the past 10 years. After exchanging a few emails I was convinced that this was the right person for the job as he was determined to give us the sound that suited us best. Simone is a very involved person, really focused and next to being a great sound engineer, his communication skills are also flawless. ‘Substratum’ was actually the last record Simone worked on at Fear Studio, as he has now set up his own studio in San Marino, called ‘Domination studio’, where he mastered the album. We’ll definitely work with him again on the next record, which should take place during the summer of 2013, if everything goes as planned.

The cover art is quite disquieting and .. staring… what can you tell me about the idea behind it?

The cover art is closely related to the band name, as the third eye symbolizes one’s mind/soul. We were looking for something a little bit alien and intriguing … something that stands alone. The artwork is a digital piece by Anima Solaris whose work consists primarily of paintings. You can check out her work at www.animasolaris.com

And now, 8 months after the release, are you satisfied for the results?

Oh, absolutely ! In a way, it’s getting better with a little bit of distance from the production process. I can sit back and really listen to it, without over analyzing everything. This is the main reason why we took a break between mixing and mastering, we needed fresh ears, a fresh approach. On another note, once we got the live line-up together, I started rediscovering the songs, and playing them live adds a whole new dimension to them.

What are your next plans?

We’re focusing on playing live at the moment, rehearsing a lot and doing local shows in the Netherlands, while looking for all kinds of opportunities abroad. In the meantime, I’m also demoing the new songs with Superior Drummer and Dirk’s Library of the Extreme I and II, which is great as it allows me to program drums with Dirk’s beats and grooves. I should be done by the end of the year, and it’s safe to say we’ll record the follow up midway through 2013.

Michael, we’ve come to the end of this interview, I thank you for it … what are your greetings to our readers?

Thanks for the interview ! I hope to see you at our upcoming shows and make sure you pick up our CD, exclusively available at www.anatomyofi.com

Interview by Tarja Virmakari