JYM HARRIS - SYLENT STORM

💿 Hi, it’s a pleasure for us to have on Hardrockheavymetal JYM HARRIS of SYLENT STORM!! You’re Welcome!!

It’s a pleasure being here. Thanks for doing the interview!

💿 “Sylent Storm”, your studio debut, is “hot’n’ready” and will be available next month! Can you tell us somethin’ about its composition process and style? We have the privilege to listening to it in preview and we were very impressed!

That’s very kind! You guys are the first to do a review and we truly appreciate the kinds words and the good rating. The band is proud to be included in the New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal, since our style is kind of a cross between early USPM and straightforward classic 80’s Metal.

I did write the lyrics & vocal melodies but I actually co-wrote a lot of the music & arrangements with James Lind.

He plays all the guitars on the record and sings most of the backing vocals, as well. Our bassist Matt Foster is a guitarist too, so he came up with his own bass parts and made some interesting choices with the basslines.

Since I have both jobs of playing drums and singing lead vocals, I did a few things differently than if I only sang or only played drums. I tried to make sure I was giving equal attention to both duties, so hopefully neither would suffer. It’s a delicate balance, and pretty fun too.

💿 Can you tell us somethin’ about your early days? Which bands influenced you?

Mostly underground stuff from the early to mid-80's.

A lot of my favorite bands growing up were, at the time, lesser known acts. Major label artists like OZZY, IRON MAIDEN and Y&T were fantastic, but I spent most of my time listening to PRIEST-inspired independent type records around ‘83 & ‘84... lots of early Metal Blade releases were in my collection by bands like OMEN, WARLORD, LIZZY BORDEN, PANDEMONIUM, OBSESSION, etc.

💿 This new platter will be out via STORMSPELL RECORDS. Can you tell us somethin’ about the birth of relationships with them?

Years ago I carried their CDs at my old record shop in Medford, Oregon, so I had already built a bit of a relationship with them.

They released a few projects related to another act people know me from CRUELLA.

Twenty years ago, the guitarist & I put out a 2-on-1 CD through my old company Must Have Music and recently I was their lead singer as well. When we played shows, fans would ask about my other projects like BLOODMOON WARNING, EMISSARY or SYLENT STORM. I messaged Stormspell looking for suggestions of where we should consider shopping the EP, and fortunately they liked us enough to put it out themselves! That’s pretty exciting.

Incidentally, our band name, and the label’s name were both inspired by the Masters of Black Romantic, STORMWITCH!

💿 The real news in music industry is the return of the vinyl. What’s your opinion about this classic format and the current “music business”?

Anything to keep people buying physical product! It was sad for me, standing behind a record store counter for over two decades, then watching as interest dwindled, and downloads took over in recent years. Before my career in music retail, I grew up hanging around record shops, so if the thing that keeps them around is vinyl, I’m all for it. I always loved collecting and playing records. We hope to eventually release our EP on vinyl as well.

💿 We love the cover of SYLENT STORM!! Can you tell us somethin’ about it?

Thanks for saying so! We had a few different ideas, and it took forever to figure out something appropriate.

When I finally designed this cover, it just clicked and worked perfectly. We wanted it to match the music, and since we are a trio on this CD, it seemed fitting to use the flying V and two swords... reminiscent of “All For One” by RAVEN (a band we once opened for, actually) ...The red burst concept was inspired by LOUDNESS & TOKYO BLADE.

Both James and I are into those bands and the Japanese rising sun image was used on their early album covers. Our burst isn’t a sun, and we used black in place of the white. I also darkened the red and used that pale yellow, a recognizably “Heavy Metal” color for artwork, logos, etc. Lots of NWOTHM bands use black & yellow, or just a black/red combo but I hadn‘t seen them used together much. It really comes together with that nabla symbol (the yield triangle) and Chris Horst’s logo design.

💿 Can you give us news about your next live projects?

Well, we played quite a few shows in our first couple of years together, but the band was dormant for a long time.

I was more involved in other projects, and James moved away from Oregon, so there are going to be some lineup changes. With the CD coming out, there will likely be offers for some festivals, opening slots, etc. so we are discussing who will be involved in live shows this coming year.

I’m determined to get SYLENT STORM back on stage, so yeah, that is all still in the works.

💿 Thank you so much for your time! See you soon on Hardrockheavymetal!

Again, thanks for the interview and we hope people enjoy the record.

We can be found online at www.SylentStorm.com and on facebook @SylentStormMetal. Cheers!

#SYLENTSTORM #NWOTHM