After releasing their first two albums independently, the Canadian band Unleash The Archers have signed with Napalm Records to release Time Stands Still. Vocalist Brittney Slayes gives us the lowdown on the album, tales from the road, her musical beginnings and more.

Chad Bowar: How did the songwriting process for Time Stands Still compare to your previous albums?
Brittney Slayes: We have always had a very democratic writing system; usually it will start with someone having an idea for a song, whether it is a riff or a melody or a beat, and together we all build on it and throw our ideas in and create the song from the ground up.


  Everyone writes their own parts.

How has the band's sound evolved on this record?
With the departure of founding member and main songwriter Brayden, our sound has definitely changed a bit.  Andrew (guitar) and Grant (guitar) have similar writing styles that lean towards  more traditional heavy metal so we have adopted a more straightforward approach to our sound these days. 

Being fans of all types of metal though, we still add in elements of melodic death and even black metal to our songs where we think it fits. We have always enjoyed playing around with different genres and I’m not sure that will ever change. 

What inspired your lyrics for this album?
Being a history major, I love all things medieval and mythological.  I am also an avid sci-fi and fantasy reader as well as a cinephile, so I love to throw elements of fantasy into everything I write.  The writing of this record began with “Tonight We Ride,” which is about the anticipation you feel the night before heading out on tour. But rather than speak about it literally, I decided to veil it in allegory and fantastical imagery.

  The rest of the record follows suit.

How did you come to sign with Napalm Records?
Napalm contacted us actually. I’m not too sure how they came to hear about us, whether it was through our label mates and friends Crimson Shadows or Striker, or if someone else we know recommended us to someone.

Either way, we were happy to get that email, I can tell you that much.  There was a lot of back and forth and negotiating and whatnot, so the release of the record ended up being much later than we had hoped. But I think it will all be worth it in the end

How was the video shoot for “Tonight We Ride”?
Awesome!  We got hooked up with Nathan Cox through a mutual friend and he invited us down to the desert to shoot with the help of his friends from Death Guild Thunderdome. Every year at Burning Man they are the ones that set up the big Thunderdome you can actually fight in! 

They all own Mad Max cars and were kind enough to drive us around in circles for three days and for that we will be forever grateful.  It was hot as hell underneath all that leather and stuff, so it was pretty tough sometimes, but well worth the effort in the end I think!  We actually filmed back in 2013 and were planning to release it early 2014, but things got delayed as they do and it ended up working out better in that it coincided pretty much bang on with the release of the new Mad Max: Fury Road film. I think it was fate.

How does the number of views your videos have already had influence your expectations for the album?
We have no expectation at all really, we are just going to keep working and get our butts out on that road and tour and hopefully people will like what they hear!   

What are your upcoming tour plans?
So far the plan is to tour the eastern U.S. and Canada this fall and then head over the Europe as soon as possible.  Would love to hit up the festival circuit next summer as well. But for now the only thing that’s for sure is the U.S./Canada in September and October!  Tour dates should be announced pretty soon, but not sure when.

What has been your most memorable Unleash The Archers live show?
There are so many great memories it really is hard to choose one.  I suppose one would be the show we played in Obregon, Mexico. It was so hot, like 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit), and there was no A/C in the venue and we were absolutely soaked.  I mean, we might as well have been standing in the shower that’s how sweaty we were!  But the crowd was amazing and we played our best and had a killer night with all of our new friends and fans.

What are the smallest and largest crowds you've played to?
Smallest would probably have to be the time we played to 5 people in Thunder Bay, Ontario. That totally sucked.  The largest crowd, if you count all the people that were just milling about I guess it would be when we played Hell & Heaven Fest in Mexico City. We headlined the ‘New Blood’ stage and played right before Kiss went on the main stage, which was pretty fricken awesome. Man those guys know how to put on a show!

How did you get started in music?
When I was 5 years old my mother was late picking me up from daycare, so I was the only kid left, and when my mom finally got there the lady that watched me told her I had been singing to myself the whole afternoon and that she’d never heard anyone that young sing so well. So as soon as I was old enough she put me in choir and I sang in some form of choir or another until I was 23. I still miss it, it is very different from being up on stage alone. It’s pretty amazing though and I’ll probably get back into it one day.

Who were your early influences and inspirations?
My first and biggest inspiration was definitely Bruce Dickinson. I discovered Iron Maiden when I was 16 or so and could not believe I had never listened to them before. They are actually what inspired me to lend my voice to metal after so many years of classical. I also really love Rob Halford, Geoff Tate, Kai Hansen, Matt Barlow, Jonas Heidgert and Daniel Heiman.

What was the first rock/metal concert you attended as a fan?
Does Alanis Morisette count as rock?  (laughs)  I think she was actually my first concert ever, but my first metal show was Finger Eleven (before they went all radio rock). My brother took me with him and a bunch of his friends, which was really nice of him to drag his kid sister along if you think about it. I had a rad time!

Describe Unleash The Archer's first live show.
Our first show was at the infamous Cobalt Hotel in Vancouver, home of punk legends like the Dayglo Abortions and SNFU.  I was so nervous I almost fell off of the ridiculously high stage (for such a small bar), but I held fast, and we actually played really well and made a bit of a name for ourselves so all in all it was a positive experience.

What are your all-time top 5 Canadian bands?
Number one is definitely 3 Inches Of Blood, then Woods Of Ypres, Striker, Crimson Shadows. Maybe Nickelback?  (laughs) Totally joking. Those guys suck.  Rush is pretty great.

Seen any good movies or DVDs lately?
Interstellar blew my mind. I love science fiction and love the thought of humankind finally venturing out into the stars and that movie portrayed space travel so perfectly. It was absolutely phenomenal. The Imitation Game was pretty entertaining. Kingsman was actually way better than I thought it would be, and What We Do In The Shadows was hilarious. I love those guys.

What's currently in heavy rotation in your MP3 player?
Right now it’s Triosphere mixed with a little Huntress, a dash of Kamelot and a little Orden Ogan for good measure.

Anything else you'd like to mention or promote?
Our Facebook page is the place to go for all updates and announcements or if you just want to say hi. We always answer our messages so feel free to stop by! Thanks so much for your time and thanks for having me!  \m/

(interview published July 2, 2015)