Suicide Silence is getting a lot of blowback for the directon their sound has taken on their forthcoming self-tited record. Fans have heard "Doris" and "Silence" and a good portion were not pleased.
Many longtime fans started saying that former vocalist Mitch Lucker, who tragically died in a motorcycle accident, would have never taken the band down this path. It looks like those fans are wrong.
In a new interview with Revolver Magazine, Hermida reveals a conversation he had with Lucker shortly before his passing where Lucker revealed he was taking vocal lessons to expand his range:
Prior to joining the band, Hermida was singing for Bay Area deathcore outfit All Shall Perish, who toured with Suicide Silence in 2011 when the latter were supporting The Black Crown — which would prove to be their final album with Lucker. “In All Shall Perish, I had already explored the various styles of my voice. That band was very melodic to begin with,” he explains.
“On that tour, I had a conversation with Mitch about the future of deathcore and the future for Suicide Silence. And he said he had started taking [vocal] lessons on The Black Crown and that the next record they did would probably have some sort of clean vocals. So even when I first joined Suicide Silence, I knew this next record would have some.”
“What I did not know,” he adds with a laugh, “is how much.”
Look, if you don't like the new direction the band went in, that's perfectly acceptable. But stop assuming there is some conspiracy, or one person's influence is overtaking the band. Clearly, this is something the entire band, as a whole, was behind and wanted to do as artists, constantly pushing themselves.
The new Suicide Silence album comes out February 24. Pre-order it on iTunes or Amazon for as low as $8.91.
