Morning Metal – Terra Firma Interview
When did the band form?
Dustin: Although we ran by the same name a while back with different members, our real genesis was when Aidan came on board. Before we did an alt/hard rock thing, but when he hopped in after our old guitarist left we immediately gravitated towards the metalcore sound that each of us love. We have had the same lineup and heavy sound for about two years now.
Where’d the name “Terra Firma” come from?
Aidan: This life is really unstable. Even living in an well off country with a caring support network, just about anything can happen and often without notice. I am sure we all have either passed through hardships or have seen loved ones walk through difficult situations. Our name, meaning “Solid Ground,” speaks to our need as people to find things that we can depend on, things that are unshakable. Each of us members has found that stability and comfort, even in the midst of pain, as well as hope for a future in the very real person of Jesus Christ.
Tell us about your debut EP, Build. Rebuild. Decay.
Who did you record with?
Stuart: We recorded with a good friend mine named Zac Widarski, who I first met at a show ages back. He plays for a band called Intake of Glass. One of the huge draw factors for us was that he is a metal lover himself, and so as we recorded out of his home studio, his creative input and knowledge were huge assets.
What was the songwriting process like?
Aidan: I was really excited when I came on board to be given a lot of freedom in writing. We had picked a general direction knowing the types of bands that we loved and others that we wanted to avoid like the plague. Our songs usually start with me, building riffs up into more substantial parts and getting feedback from the guys.
The two most useful pieces of writing advice have come from my bandmates: (1) From Stuart, to always be stopping to think “what would sound good next”? It sounds like such a simple concept, but it has helped me miles on not getting stuck or getting caught up in trying to glue irrelevant or unrelated segments together. (2) From Alex, to just jam. My favourite thing we have written was the breakdown from our track Shoot the Messenger. On my own I might have dismissed it as being too simple, but smashing it out with Alex, it sounded so dope to us that it stuck.
Dustin: One of the real tough parts of our process is what we call “killing your darlings”. Where we work on something real hard, maybe its even super complicated or sounds real catchy, but we realize it doesn’t fit, or its just not our sound. We end up recycling some parts, dropping others and sometimes even having to scratch entire songs. When we look that the final product, we never want to settle for “good enough”, so we rework it until we are proud.
Stuart: Build. Rebuild. Decay. Is about the struggles people go through in everyday life, and the process of trying to fix our problems on our own. When it boils down to it, the album is about how much stronger we can be with friends, loved ones, and God by our side to help us along the things were going through. I believe we really ring that home in the last song on the EP with the line – “we walk the narrow road, but we never walk alone.”
(L-R, Aidan, Stuart, Dustin performing with Minds of Men, The Observer Effect, Here Comes Bigfoot & The Thirteenth Floor in Cornwall last month, photo credits to Matt Dillon Photography.)
Terra Firma has been opening for some pretty sweet bands recently such as The Thirteenth Floor, Dreamer/Deceiver and coming up, Norma Jean on August 5th.
What band would you absolutely LOVE to open for? Past or present.
Aidan: I know for me Norma Jean is huge. They are one of the bands that first got me into hardcore. I remember sitting in my basement with a crappy out of tune guitar borrowed from school, trying to figure out what a tab was so I could play their stuff.
Alex: I would love to open for Haste the Day. As well as just straight up enjoying them, their music has influenced us and our direction in huge ways.
Stuart: Prada. The level of performance that Devil Wears Prada brings to the table is just incredible. They really take it beyond just playing out what you might hear if you downloaded their tracks. I think to open for them would be a real honour.
Dustin: For me, the ultimate band I would like to open for would be Blackguard. A huge part of that is just that they have the most energetic fans you could possibly imagine. That being said opening for bands like Of Reverie, Dreamer Deceiver and The Thirteenth Floor so far have really been quality experiences, where we have learned so much just by osmosis, and been pushed and challenged ourselves to get ambitions and aim for new heights.
Number one influence – go!
All in unison: August Burns Red, Protest the Hero, Haste the Day and The Devil Wears Prada.
Favourite band?
Dustin: Soilwork.
Aidan: Explosions in the Sky.
Stuart: Underoath.
Alex: August Burns Red.
When will we be getting our hands on that infamous “Shotgun” headbanger?
Alex: It’s our latest track and so far as well as us having a lot of fun playing it at shows, it has been really well received. Following the release of our EP we are working our way towards writing enough material to fill out a full length. We imagine that track will likely be on in, but as to whether you’ll be hearing anything aside from live versions before that remains to be determined.
What is the scene missing in terms of social media, promotion, record label, etc?
What would you want to see happen to the scene?
Alex: So many of those necessary tools to get our there and share your music do exist for bands that are prepared to work hard and maintain a humble attitude, but you have to be ready to network and want to put yourselves out there.
Dustin: Theres no questioning heavy fans support for their scene. The number of people we consistently have coming out to shows, grabbing merch and just broing out with us has been a real encouragement. I think the big question on our mind is how do we get others involved.
Aidan: Metal is a niche market (not to mention its countless sub-genres). It is far less accessible than say a pop song or some smooth jazz. In fact its generally pretty polarizing, those that enjoy and those that don’t. I think we would love to see more people cross that divide into being okay with blast beats, distortion and a full set of harsh vocals.
Stuart: We have no miracle solution on how to make that happen. Especially considering none of us had our love of heavy music forced on us, but we kind of grew into it organically.
What do you think of Ottawa’s metal scene?
Stuart: We are so fortunate to have a huge and welcoming scene. So many bands, so much variety, so much quality songwriting. The variety helps keep our scene from becoming monotonous. The best part is that lack of underhanded competition. What we have seen so much over and over is everyone trying to work together and for one another, help one another out and make things bigger! If you adopt a competitive attitude, you’re only short changing yourself as a band of a network of rich relationships.
Alex: Relative to a lot of Ontario, Ottawa has a great metal scene, especially the more isolated parts that lack the same base opportunities.
Where can fans get a hold of your debut EP and other merchandise?
Aidan: Our EP is available online on iTunes and Bandcamp. As well, we have physical copies, snapbands and shirts that can be bought at any and all of our shows. We are in the process of building on online portal for ordering, but in the meantime you can also shoot us a message and if we can’t deliver it in person we can ship it to you.
Do you have any upcoming shows other than Norma Jean on August 5th?
Dustin: Details can change like the weather, with all the pieces that are in motion to put a show together. We don’t like to speak to soon at the risk of disappointing all our friends out there. The best way to get the latest on upcoming shows is to “like” or check in with our page at :: https://www.facebook.com/terrafirmabandpage.
The one that we can promise you is that we have had the privilege of being invited back to the amazing organization Revolution 457 to be play as a small piece of their event Revolt Against Hunger. We always feel so privileged to be able to play and help support all the awesome work they do with young people in our city.
Thank you for joining me and we’ll be sure to check out the show at 457!
All: Cheers and God bless!
Stream Build. Rebuild. Decay. – http://terra-firma.bandcamp.com/album/build-rebuild-decay
Follow Terra Firma – https://www.facebook.com/terrafirmabandpage
Follow Matt Dillon Photography – https://www.facebook.com/mattdillonphoto
Follow Morning Metal – https://www.facebook.com/pages/Morning-Metal/286205571505773
James Rockso – Host of CKCU 93.1 FM’s Morning Metal & Engineer at Pebble Studios.
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Morning Metal 2014.