Interview

Trace Your Steps Discusses New Video And Upcoming Album "Beating Hearts And Uncertainty"

Yesterday we had the pleasure of premiering a new music video from up and coming New York metalcore group Trace Your Steps.

Discussing the lyrical content of the video, Trace Your Steps vocalist Tom Calderone stated it's a "reminder to take others into account, while appreciating the life you have, and making the most of what you can while the opportunity still presents itself."

That performance clip for "Animal (Creature Of Habit)" is just the start of new music to come from the band however, as a full-length album is now underway and is coming out later this year.

The members of Trace Your Steps - Tom Calderone (Vocals), Ian Schneider (Guitar), David Hassan (Guitar), Jalen Alvarez (Bass), and Matt Graf (Drums) - also got in touch with us to chat about the video and what's in store from the band in the future. Check out the full interview below.

xFiruath: Let's talk about the new video for “Animal” a bit first – what was your overall concept and main idea for the video?

Jalen: The song itself instrumentally has plenty of intense and somewhat eerie moments, so we wanted the music video to represent the overall feel of the song. Animal is definitely a song you can nod your head to while also appreciating the melodic bits, visual effects and overall feel of the song.

Ian: We consider our live performance to be one of the best parts about our band, so we wanted to really be able to showcase that visually, along with the style each of us individually portray.

xFiruath: Where did you shoot the clip and who handled all the directing and editing?

Ian: Our good friend Anthony Lopardo at Slate media/Westfall recording Co NY did the full production on the video from start to finish. Westfall has this really bare back area which we thought had a perfect vibe and feel for the video. We sat down with Anthony throughout the final editing process and were able to give our full input on everything from the visual effects, color editing, and which specific shots we wanted used. The whole process from start to finish was great and we are definitely fully satisfied with how it turned out.

xFiruath: What's happening as far the lyrics and themes on this track?

Tom: With the number of dramatic worldwide issues that have been taking place as of late, these lyrics have somewhat of a double meaning. One was to provide an idea of how these sort of occurrences can alter the thinking of the average mind, and how this brings into question the stability of the world around us. It is also set as a reminder to take others into account, while appreciating the life you have, and making the most of what you can while the opportunity still presents itself.

xFiruath: Onto the group itself, how long has Trace Your Steps been together and how did the band originally form?

Ian: The band has been together about 4 years now. Originally the group was started by me, Tom, and our former drummer Pat. The 3 of us had been in different projects together so we all knew the talents each other had, and had a base vision for what we wanted to create. David, our other guitarist has also been with us since pretty close to beginning of us forming, and for most of TYS this was the core line up. Eventually Pat and our old bassist (James) parted ways with the group for personal reasons, and were replaced by current members Jalen and Matt, for what we consider our most solid lineup yet.

xFiruath: “Animal (Creature of Habit)” will appear on the upcoming album “Beating Hearts and Uncertainty.” How has the recording been going on that and when do you expect the release date to be set?

Ian: The process of recording this album has certainly been a long one. We've been recording the album since summer of 2014, but when we parted ways with our last drummer, we went on a hiatus for a while. Me and Tom also spent a good few months building up our own recording studio, which went through its own ups and downs in the process, but once it was finally finished we decided to pick back up getting this album done. I would definitely say the wait was for the best, because we were able to come back fresh and make the songs even better than we thought possible. The album is due out sometime around Spring 2016 so keep an eye out for it.

xFiruath: Is there any other info you can reveal about the album at this point like number of songs or any track titles?

Ian: Nothing too specific we'd like to get into yet, as we are still combing through the selection of songs we have and narrowing it down to the just the best of the bunch. This album is important to all of us and I don't want to mention anything particular until it's 100% finished.

xFiruath: Are you guys currently looking for label support or planning on self-releasing material for the foreseeable future?

Ian: Now that our video is out, and once the album is fully finished, we absolutely plan to start shopping around to labels with the help of our manager Chris Cave of Defiled Management.

xFiruath: Do you have any upcoming live shows, and is Trace Your Steps active in your local music scene?

Matt: Yes, we are playing SI (not so) Summer Slam at Overspray Artistic Playground on Staten Island Saturday, Jan 16th. That will be our first show playing together with this line-up, after over a year of not playing shows. Many great bands are playing and its bound to be a great time.

We also have our 'hometown' comeback show on January 24th at Amityville Music Hall in Long Island. We are definitely looking forward to that one as we have a lot of our favorite local acts sharing the stage with us. Our good friends in My Kingdom, A Wake in Providence, Jynx, I Dreamt the Sea and Dream for Tomorrow are going to be performing so you know the shows going to be wild. We are also booking many more shows in the near future, and plan to get back on the road as soon as possible now that we finally have a solidified line up.

xFiruath: Anything else you'd like to add?

Ian: This video is only the beginning of what's to come for Trace Your Steps, so "like" us on Facebook, and follow us on both Instagram and Twitter, for regular updates and news. 2016 is going to be a big year for us and we can't wait to share it with all of you.