Alright, friends. We have a busy week ahead of us. There are three artists and albums I’m stoked to throw into your periphery over the next few days, so let’s roll right into it. First off, we have the electronic/industrial duo Digital Negative. Their third EP, Intersect, is out on Friday (obviously). Richard Johnson (Drugs Of Faith, Agoraphobic Nosebleed, Enemy Soil) stepped in to answer our Profile questions. If you’ve been following along you should recognize that name from our feature for Drugs Of Faith back in February. Well, now we’re back with something quite different, yet still very much worth your time. So, take the leap, hit that Bandcamp embed while you give this a read, and check out what Richard and Daniel Euphrat (Person918x, Timmy Sells His Soul, Bodied) have been up to. See ya out there!

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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?

My father bought me a guitar and a little combo amp when I was in high school. This was the 1980s. We travelled into Washington, D.C. for that. Fast forward to the lockdowns and Daniel approached me about doing vocals on a project and that turned into Digital Negative. Everybody has been supportive of us. Well, this project isn’t on my family’s radar, but most of my friends like the band.

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

We generically call Digital Negative an “electronic/industrial” band.

Is there anything about your upcoming album or about your band that no one will find in any interview or review that you care to divulge?

I don’t think so. We approached this latest EP the same as we did the last two EPs. I mentioned the lockdowns earlier; that one we collaborated completely remotely. The last two, we got together for the mixing stage.

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

More than once, Daniel had to improvise a little on the setup of his pedals and effects because something wasn’t working or he didn’t bring a particular cable or patch that he needed to the show.

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?

We played a full-on metal show in D.C. once and it was a blast. I personally like mixed bills where there are different genres of music represented, but not everyone feels that way.

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 think, indirectly, that I’m talking about my problems with capitalism, conglomeration, and the negative aspects of online business in the lyrics I wrote more than I have on our other EPs. At least I was more conscious about it. Those subjects are mixed in with the feelings of alienation and isolation that’s easy to fall into in Western society in our online world. Lately Yanis Varoufakis has been talking about digital serfdom; that’s a subject that’s perfect for us to explore.

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

Sure, I work for a nonprofit agency and Daniel works for a government entity. We both do a lot of music independently when we’re not at our jobs. I have a music blog and, notably, Daniel pumps out content online as Person918x.

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?

This isn’t the first time I’ve talked about this, but I’m not a fan of number or star rating systems. For me, too often the rating doesn’t fit the nuances of the review. Don’t get me wrong, with my metal band I’m keeping track of what ratings we got with our new album, so I understand their utility.

Any specific long term goal(s) in mind?

We’ve talked about trying to approach our next EP, if we do a next EP, in a different way. Each time we finish an EP, work on the next one doesn’t start until Daniel has an idea for a song. We’ve considered the idea of collecting all of our EPs onto a CD. We haven’t talked about trying to play some shows when our new EP comes out yet.

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

I’ve been listening to Opeth lately. “Volume Six” by Sacrifice is awesome. I’ve been thinking about trying to listen to the soundtrack to the TV series “Andor.” Recently I went back to “Same Difference” by Entombed, which was interesting. There’s more than a few good songs on there, but I wouldn’t rate it highly in their catalog.

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

No, we just want to get our EP out and we’re of course interested in the reaction we get. I always say that I hope people like what I do.

Summarize your band in one word.

Electronic.

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Many thanks to Richard and Digital Negative for the time!

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Intersect is out on Friday, July 11th. For more information on Digital Negative, head over to their Bandcamp page.