(antiMusic) Light This City release their brand new album "Stormchaser" last week and to celebrate we asked vocalist Laura Nichol and drummer Ben Murray to tell us about their favorite songs from the album. Here they are with today's song "Firehaven":Laura: This is my favorite title from the album. For a while, I considered titling the album, "Firehaven", but I was outnumbered. I love the concept because it is the complete opposite of "Stormchaser", which is all about the hunger for adventure and being a touring machine. This song came at a point where I felt a little fed up with the touring lifestyle. I was reading Ray Bradbury's The Illustrated Man, and one of my favorite short stories in that book is one called "The Long Rain," about a spaceship from Earth that crash-lands on Venus, a planet where it never stops raining. The men go, unprepared, on a journey in search of a "Sun-dome," a refuge that earthlings built all around the planet to shelter visitors from the rain. But the Venusians hate earthlings and smash all of the Sun-domes. The guys from the rocketship are just wandering aimlessly, being driven insane by the constant drops pounding on their heads, looking for something they might never find.
At times on tour, I felt similarities the protagonists of the story. Here I was, searching for adventure, and I got it tenfold. Of course there are days you love being on the road. But sometimes the adventure gets to be a bit much, like a cloud constantly overhead, and you end up thinking that you need to be more careful what you wish for. But then you get Chuck Billy to do guest vocals on a song and everything is right again!
That was such a trip. I would look into the vocal room and see this guy that probably fills up most of the booth he's in, and then I look to my right and see our little Ben giving him all this direction on how he should be singing for the part. Chuck is the coolest dude ever. I just wish we had better beer to offer him when he visited the studio.
Ben: As Laura said, what stands out about this song is Chuck's appearance vocally, but the music is also incredible in my opinion. I think the practice-room title for this was "Municipal Waste" because it was SO thrashy, we couldn't help but call it that! The beginning just hits you in the face and doesn't let up until it's over. The chorus is a bit darker/melodic death, while the verses are totally mid tempo thrash, which we really explored on this record. When Chuck's vocals come in at the end it just peaks and ties it all together, from there there is a heavy slam anthrax-style riff, followed by a ripping solo. All of that was really new to us and totally fun to play.
Preview songs from the album, learn more about it and the group and more right here!