Today marks the release of the 10th studio album from When The Deadbolt Breaks, a beast of a collection titled In The Glow Of The Vatican Fire that also celebrates their 20 years as a project. Out through Argonauta Records, it’s a form of doom metal that really is quite hard to define. It’s heavy – yeah, it’s definitely heavy – but it also wanders. The sound explores in such a way that is both jarring yet… captivating. But truth be told, I’ll never be able to describe it for you adequately. Just listen to the damn thing. Aaron (vocals, guitar) jumped in to respond to our Profile questions and help us familiarize further. So let’s celebrate a monumental album and year in the When The Deadbolt Breaks timeline by hitting play and immersing ourselves in this thing, shall we?

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How and when did you first get into playing music, or metal more specifically, and how did your band get its start? Any pushback from family/those close to you?

I (Aaron) started When the Deadbolt Breaks began in 2003/2004 when I had parted ways with Connecticut band Cable, which was a year or so after the recording and release of “Pigs Never Fly”. At that time, I had a few songs in mind that I wanted to get on to tape and wanted to see where I could take it. The first songs I had written for When the Deadbolt Breaks were “Color the Sun”, and “Fist Full of Flowers”.

At the time, it was just a recording project. My buddy Eric played drums, and we just wrote, recorded and experimented. I don’t think we really had plans to take it too far, but it was more of an experimental outlet.

We didn’t get any pushback at first that I can recall, except for the name. People said it was “too long and nobody would remember it”, or things like that. But then when we got a band together and started playing live, nobody knew what to do. We played slower and louder than everyone else we played with. So, they never really knew who to pair us with. That was a struggle for quite a few years, but we plowed on anyway.

When the first record “In the ruins, no light shall shine” got signed and released, we swore people were going to hate it. But the reviews came out very positive. We were shocked to say the least!

I (Steve) got my start playing music in 7th grade with Aaron.  We’ve been friends since 1987 (read: we’re old), and my earliest memory of playing music is a talent show in which we played Pink Floyd’s “Interstellar Overdrive” together.

The most pushback we got was when Aaron and I were practicing in my parents’ garage in the late ’80s.  A neighbor came by to holler at us and claim he couldn’t hear the birds in his front yard due to our racket.  What a dooshnozzle.

How would you describe your band and what you play to someone who is completely in the dark?

I would describe the band as heavily eclectic, emotional, psychedelic, and raw, yet orchestral in parts and epic. Maybe I am a bit biased, but I feel that there is a little something for everyone in what we do. It is dark, there is a ton of dark imagery in the music, lyrics and live shows, but also melodies and darkly beautiful soundscapes that transport the listener to another place. Yet, the heavy stuff is just that; heavy, chaotic and brutal.

Is there one (or more) thing about your latest / upcoming album or about your band that no one will find in any interview or review that you care to divulge?

“In the Glow of the Vatican Fire” marks our 20th year in existence as a band and is our 10th full length studio album. We feel this marks the occasion perfectly as it is a heavily emotional and beautiful record. We are extremely proud of it.

Any funny stories from playing shows / tours / festivals, etc?

Amber has been in the band for close to 2 years now, and before that, was in Buzzard Canyon as a main vocalist. Almost every single show… they try to make her pay to get in because they assume that she is just the girlfriend, or the merch person etc. It’s become a bit of a game with us now where we can wager bets on which gigs she’ll be allowed in without having to say “dude… I’m in the band…”

Using a drum machine instead of a drummer is both a blessing and a curse.  If you can imagine everything which can go wrong with using a drum machine live, it has happened to us.

What do you see as some of the great things happening in and around the metal scene (yours or just in general) and what are some of the worst things happening right now?

The best and worst thing to happen to metal is streaming media.  It’s completely democratized the music industry and allows artists to enjoy an economy of scale — Instead of having 500,000 potential listeners in your band’s stomping grounds, there are 7 billion people with internet access.  This translates to a 14,000 time increase in audience reach.  Maybe a band has 500 hard-core fans in its immediate area.  Do the math on how many hard-core fans the band gets with such exposure.  On the other hand, it has brought us into an era where few folks listen to an album front-to-back and has fragmented the genres with such fine granularity.  With such micro-genres, you may run into a situation where people don’t want to move out of their Depressive Suicidal Swedish Non-Political Black Death Speed Metal, and if the algorithms are similarly restricted, bands miss out on audiences and listeners miss out on amazing art.

Most folks have passions for a cause or causes that are close to them. What, if any, are some of the most important issues (social/political/humorous/etc.) for you / your band and how do you insert those issues into your music?

I’d say we have numerous passions, but not all are involved in the musical themes. We like to have the voyeuristic listener interpret the music and lyrics vs us detailing what they should get from it.

Causes cause casualties.  Cause-motivated people terrify me (Steve).

Do you guys have day jobs or hobbies you want to share?

We all love cats, serial killers and music gear.

Not a hobby per se but a game — when I (Steve) see two people together, I always try to determine which one will die first.

What advice do you have for music critics and outlets out there? How can we all better serve the genre in the eyes of a hard-working musician?

Feedback is a gift.  It’s a necessity for growth.  I (Steve) happen to get more out of critical feedback than I do positive feedback, but I can’t speak for others.  Critical feedback can be extremely hard to come by.  There’s an unspoken rule amongst musicians — all the bands on the bill have “a killer set” and “sound tight”.  Nobody says, “Your timing was off, your singer went off-key when you hit a flat-fifth, and … cargo
shorts?  Really?  C’mon, man.”  Yet such feedback is exactly what’s needed to improve. Having an impartial, unbiased, and — let’s face it — out-of-fist’s-reach critic speak their mind is necessary, even if it does sting at first.  As for music outlets, all I can ask is for record store owners to alphabetize their stock.

Any specific long-term goal(s) in mind?

Touring Europe. We were planning on it this year, but as all good things, we will wait until the timing seems right.

When you’re not obsessing over your own material, what are some of your favorite albums to listen to currently?

Steve: Anything by Cult of Luna, Neurosis, Pupil Slicer, or Captain Beefheart.  Although I have literally played the demo version of “Grey Days” by Chelsea Wolfe at least 100 times in the last month. For non-metal, Interpol, Covenant, and Grant Green are always in the rotation.

Amber: Currently listening to a wide variety of music of all genres

Aaron: Lately, it’s been a lot of ambient soundscapes, minimalists like Avro Part, and as an odd mix, the Drive-By Truckers…

What is the near future outlook for you or your band? Any specific events on the horizon that the masses should be aware of?

We’re embarking on a tour of Canada and New England in July, and will be gigging regularly to support the new album. Come out and see us!

Summarize your band in one word.

Post-doom.

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Many thanks to When The Deadbolt Breaks for the time!

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In The Glow Of The Vatican Fire is out through Argonauta Records. For more information on When The Deadbolt Breaks, head over to Facebook or Instagram.