On July 4th, there was a crackle of excitement on my Facebook timeline when Bryan Taylor, the one-time guitarist of ex metalcore bruisers the Chariot, announced he and some former bandmates had launched a new project called the Threats. It’s been five years since the Douglasville group ended their frantic decade long run, and while several members have moved on to other opportunities (Every Time I Die and Holy+Gold among them), the Chariot still maintains a special place in many fans’ hearts.
Shortly after the announcement, Immersive received an email from Taylor sharing some details of the group, as well as a link to their first single and video. It was obvious from the first listen that he and his cohorts hadn’t lost their propensity for creating chaotic, adrenaline-charged hardcore/metal full of abrasive dynamics. Still, while “Bon Voyage” is fierce, wiry, and tense, there are enough melodic overtures to keep the track from spilling over into a full-on frenzy of ear-splitting noise and primal aggression.
Shot live in the studio by Zak Washburn, the accompanying video is meant to highlight both the intensity of the song and the buzzsaw energy the members have been known to bring to their performances. As an introduction to the Threats, it’s both thrilling and highly effective, leaving us to wonder what sort of caustic fury the five-piece will unleash next.
Intrigued by what we saw and heard, we fired back a reply to the band requesting permission to premiere the video, which you can watch above. During the course of our exchange, we also sent along a few questions in hopes of filling in some of the group’s background, and to get a sense of what they’re planning for the future. Here is what we learned.
How did the Threats come together? Who’s involved in the band?
In September of last year, we the started the band over the internet. David Kennedy [drums] and Bryan Taylor [vocals] live in different states (Georgia and Colorado) so we wrote everything remotely. We were sending demo sessions back and forth for a few months. David recorded all of the drums on an electric kit, and Bryan recorded vocals in his car at Walmart so he wouldn’t disturb his roommates. All of the drums were written first and we wrote guitar and vocals to those. It wasn’t exactly conventional but it worked really well for us. We all knew each other from touring together and playing in bands in the past. David Kennedy, Jon Terrey [guitar], and Bryan Taylor all played in the Chariot, and Travis Sadler [bass] and Jordan Mitchell [guitar] are longtime friends with musical history. We all met together in Atlanta a few times to flesh things out and practice playing together before we went into the studio to track the EP.
Why did you select “Bon Voyage” for your first single/video?
“Bon Voyage” is a good track to showcase the overall sound of our new EP, Saboteur. We also felt most comfortable with “Bon Voyage” being the first impression of our band. We wanted to make it a performance video to capture the energy of our future live shows. We shot the video with Zak Washburn in the studio around 4 a.m. after recording all week. We tracked the EP with Matt Goldman at Glow in the Dark in February, 2018.
Aside from the EP, what’s coming up for the band?
We just want to play a lot of shows. That’s what we care about most.
Saboteur will be out later this year.
More Info
Facebook: @thethreatsband
Instagram: @thethreatsband