WE STRUCK GOLD Discuss New Single ‘Giving Up On Giving In’: “The Theme of Our Music Will Always Be the Same: Persistence, Perseverance, and Positive Mental Attitude”

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Have you found yourself questioning why we as a social collective conform so effortlessly, what our purpose is, are we in control of our lives or simply floating through the plains of a perceived existence? Are our dreams our own construct, or the design of a different entity. These are the very questions that WE STRUCK GOLD have delved into since their last release of “To Conquer A Fear // All Life Is Divine.” The band has reinvented itself; immersing in the dreamlike state that they found themselves in when asking those very questions. They are the Architects of their own path. Bare witness as their truth unfolds. Visualize it, live it, perceive it.

WE STRUCK GOLD have release their new single ‘Giving Up On Giving In’ on all streaming services today (January 28th, 2022). The song is accompanied by a music video (Shot by Loki Films) which can be seen below, and kickstarts the bands new release cycle. The band have built a die-hard fan base through extensive touring across the UK and have surpassed 1,200,000 streams on Spotify alone across previous releases. Following shows with Blood Youth, The Hell, Acres, RXPTRS, Borders and more the band will never give up and continue to go from strength to strength.

Omar Al-Hinai explains “The false sense of self is truly alive. The harrowing voice, urging on a resentment of accomplishment; feeding off the fear of failure. It is often believed that we are the fabricators of our own cynicism of failure, yet all it takes is one step back to consider… is that voice truly ours? This is a battle that we each share in our own lives. ‘Giving Up On Giving’ In marks the beginning of our war, waged on self-doubt for the reclamation of desire and purpose. The strategy – total aggression. Ruinous rhythm guitars dictate the stomping ground, while intense vigor seeps through every beat of the drums. Every line captures the frustration and relentlessness of an issue that we as a band can all relate to. This is our middle finger to doubt and the doubters. Apply it, perceive it.”

To celebrate the release of the powerful single, Sonic Perspectives collaborator Josh Muncke sat down Scott, Omar and Jesse to dig deeper into the creative process and everything happening in the WE STRUCK GOLD universe at this times. Read their insightful exchange in the transcript below.

INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT:

“Giving Up on Giving In” is an absolutely huge track, congratulations! What made you decide that it was going to be the first single to show the world this year?

We appreciate the kind words. There were a few factors that were in play when choosing this song as the first single and although it was a difficult choice, we all feel it was the right one to choose. We’ve been quiet for a long time, we want this song to make a statement: we’re back and we’re here to stay.


For “Giving Up on Giving In” you’ve gone back to the incredible Loki Films to shoot the music video. What did you do differently this time in terms of artistic direction and filming techniques compared to “High Horse?” Is there a theme that you were intent on illustrating to the viewer?

High Horse” was our first time meeting Loki and we shot the video letting Loki work his magic with full creative direction. Since then we have kept a really good relationship with him, and for this video we spent a lot of time working through ideas and planning the shoot between us in the weeks leading up to it. The song is very ‘in your face’ and upfront. The main vision behind the shoot was to represent this with the up close single person shots, obscuring the scene with lens tricks and the shattered glass. It all links through the underlying meaning of the song, but that is for the listener to interpret.

What can your fans and new listeners expect from you with this new single and any upcoming material? What are the themes that are addressed in your new direction?

We feel this song offers great insight into the kind of material we have in the background. Heavy and aggressive riffs with great choruses to sing along with. The aggression has always been accompanied by influences from our melodic roots and that is a key theme. We have always been labelled as melodic hardcore although we feel we have incorporated and captured influences and selections from a range of genres. The theme of our music will always be the same: persistence, perseverance, and PMA – even in the darkest songs there is light.

Omar, your journey as a vocalist is quite remarkable. Since “Opportunities are Endless,” your range, power, enunciation, and overall confidence has skyrocketed. Is this something you’ve been working on consciously or has it been something that’s developed over the last six years naturally?

Thank you. I’d say the main reason for my vocal sound in the previous release was due to my influences at the time, the  main being a band called Worthwhile. However, I did struggle with my technique for a long time and would have days of complete silence to let my vocal cords recover. Since then I have delved really deep into the anatomy of scream vocals, even writing my dissertation on the effects they have on your vocal chords in comparison to more conventional types of vocals, if any at all. All of this has been done alongside extensive practice to incorporate different ranges and styles to break out from that grassroots melodic hardcore vocal style.

I am extremely comfortable with my vocals and my endurance has improved immensely, I feel there’s always room to improve and I’m really enjoying the process.

Scott, how were your nerves going into the studio to record your first record with WSG? Was it more nerve wracking or exciting? Or both? Judging by your performance on “Giving Up on Giving In” the drum duties are in safe hands! Are there any drummers that you look up to as an influence? What is your favorite part of your drum kit?

In all honesty I was fine going into the studio. We spent nearly 16 hours a week for around 8 months getting the tracks studio ready. Jesse and I really broke everything down while we had the time. The pandemic had its plus sides, I guess.

I like to think the drums are in safe hands! Jesse has really pushed my playing abilities on this and I couldn’t thank him enough. These tracks have made my playing progress a lot.

I have always loved watching a drummer who leaves it all on the stage. Power, Aggression, and hard hitting drummers like Vinnie Paul, Per Moller Jensen, Adrian Erlandsson, and John Otto are some of my biggest influences.

That’s an unfair question because I love my entire kit. But the thing I’m most proud of is my snare drum! Every show I do or studio I record in I always get huge compliments on how good it sounds. It’s a TAMA Metalworks 14” by 5.5” with an Evans Hybrid coated head with a 42 strand Gibraltar snare wire. Needless to say, it packs a hell of a crack to cut through the guitars live.

Jesse, your performances through the albums have become more and more enjoyable to listen to. There’s a ton of personality in each track, which is really refreshing. What influences your songwriting? Are there any bands or guitarists you look up to? What’s your favorite piece of equipment to use when recording or performing live?

I feel the main influence behind my writing is the headspace I’m in at the time. The way I feel really affects the style of the songs I write and the emotions they present.

To be totally honest, there aren’t actually any bands that I look up to in particular. Metal, hardcore are probably the genres of music I listen to the least. I draw my inspiration from any form of music, mostly on a subconscious level.

The best bit of equipment in my setup would be my Shure wireless kit. The freedom it gives me to move about on stage and to not be restricted to a short tangled cable is amazing. The receiver also works as a tuner on my pedal board, so it’s a big win. I’ve had it for several years now and would recommend any guitarists out there to invest in it for their own setups.

Chuck Creese was instrumental in bringing a massive sound to “All Life is Divine” and “To Conquer a fear.” It’s awesome to see that you’ve gone back to him for another record. What did you do in the production process that’s tried and true with your sound, and what have you done differently this time around?

So from the moment we started working with Chuck in 2018, he became like another member to the band. We all bonded and became really good friends: that definitely helped the process. We bounce ideas off each other and work together adding all kinds of layers to the songs to really fill out the sonic space. So much goes into these songs that aren’t heard on the surface and that’s the beauty of it. Chuck played an instrumental role in this both times around!

The pandemic of course brought the entire world, not least the music industry, to a grinding halt. What did you guys do during all of this downtime? And how much of this downtime affected your mindset towards writing your new record?

When the pandemic rolled around, Omar got stuck out of the country for nearly an entire year. A three week holiday turned into 11 months. It actually all worked out okay as back home we had our fair share of member problems. Scott then joined the band and it allowed him and Jesse to spend a huge amount of time learning and perfecting both the new and the old material. The new songs had actually been written before the pandemic, but with all of the issues stated above the process was delayed quite considerably. Instead of looking at the effects the pandemic had on the band in a negative light (no live shows, no full band practices), we actually took the down time to plan and perfect everything from the music to our image. We have been extremely proactive in this time with help from our manager James and we really look forward to sharing everything in due course.

While we’re on the subject, what was writing this record like in these unusual times? How did you put ideas together and coordinate to decide on a theme for the new material?

So most of the foundations of the instrumentals were written before COVID hit, but the process from then went global with the drums being written in Wales and the lyrics in the Sultanate of Oman. It wasn’t conventional, but we made it work!

As we hopefully begin to see live shows properly resuming without interruption, what would your dream line up for a show look like this year? Who would you love to share the stage with?

Our dream lineup for this year is to be sharing the stage with international bands. It would mark the end of a really challenging time for live music and it would be amazing to see musicians being able to travel the world, performing their art once more.

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