UN: To start things off I just have to say that From Ashes is one of the best extreme metal releases I have heard in quite sometime. Is the band pleased and excited with how the album has turned out? For a debut album this is sure to turn a lot of heads.

Charles: Thank you very much, man. It feels good to have someone hold this release in such high regards. We think we put out a stellar album so we’re really glad to hear someone say they like it that much. A lot of time went into writing, rehearsing and pre-production for this release so I think we delivered the best possible product possible considering the budget. The engineer (John Haddad) put a lot of hard work and overtime into From Ashes so I think the result is a definitely a great sounding record.

UN: Was the album recorded before or after the band has signed to Crash? Did you guys pay for the recording?

Charles: We did actually record From Ashes using all our own money so we tried to make every penny count. We recorded and mixed everything in 10 days and mastering took maybe another two days or so. As soon as we finished everything we started sending CDs and shopping for labels. Crash is what ended up putting it out in the end.

UN: Also, how did the deal with Crash come about? They seem to be signing some really solid bands lately.

Charles: I think Andrew Norris (Crash Promotions) actually found us on Myspace and told Mark Nawara (President of Crash) about us haha. They had actually contacted us before we even had the chance to send the whole record out to anyone. You might think its “gay” but Myspace is probably the best promotional tool a band can have. Like it or not, your band should be on their too!

UN: The album was recorded in November and won’t be released until April of this year, which is a fairly quick turn around time. Are you guys anxious to get the album out there though?

Charles: For us the wait is almost unbearable haha. We were planning on entering the studio in June of 2005 with me handling bass duties as well as guitars and vocals. When we found a real bass player to play on the album we postponed things so we’d have real bass player on the album. I didn’t really want to enter the studio and lay down some bullshit lines that I came up with on the spot like on our demo. That’s why we brought in our friend Mike Bear (Artisan) for the session.

UN: Abysmal Dawn seems to draw from death metal, black metal, and even thrash. Do you consider the band to be a death metal band, or would it be easier to just call the band an extreme metal band? Is it important for you guys to draw from the different subgenres? It allows the band to be so much more then just another death metal band.

Charles: I think for the most part we’re a death metal band but you hit the nail right on the head. We love all forms of extreme music and we like to borrow from all over the place. We never want to be strictly classified as death metal because that’s just boring. Bringing in those different influences is what hopefully helps to keep this genre growing and moving forward. We’re really just and insanely heavy metal band I think haha You can’t say there’s really anything “core” or “nu” about us.

UN: I was very impressed with the guitar solos on the album, and they actually reminded me a lot of James Murphy’s style of Obituary’s Cause of Death album. Would you agree that solos are a big part of the band’s sound? Also do you think that it allows the music to breath a bit more? The band is fast, yet there are a lot of tempos and the solos help keep things interesting even further.

Charles: I can’t speak for Jamie but James Murphy has been a huge influence on me over the years. If he sounds anything like him it’s probably because our styles have grown to complement each other over the years. Leads are a huge part of our sound but we’ll never put a solo in a song just for the sake of having a solo. We try to go for that epic vibe that older Metallica or Testament has. We want thing to build up to a point and then rip your face of with a killer lead. I love technical grind but I want to hear some catchy melodies too. Give me some fucking soul damn it!

UN: The cover art is absolutely stunning. What would you say is the overall concept behind the album name, and how does the artwork fit into the concept?

Charles: That’s all Par Olofsson who is soon to be a huge name in this genre I think. We wanted someone who was somewhat unknown who could set us slightly apart from everyone else. He was able to work within our budget and he did an incredible job. The lyrics depict a scene from the song “Blacken the Sky.” The character in the song has lost someone very dear to him and wants to declare war on God. He burns himself alive and sends his ashes towards heaven to “Blacken the Sky.” His soul rises up from the ashes to reborn as a phoenix. It’s really quit a lovely concept haha I like to be very visual with the lyrics and I think Par depicted that aspect of the band beautifully.

UN: There aren’t a large amount of shows listed on your website. Do you think that once the debut album is out you will be trying to get on the road more? I’m not entirely sure if Crash offers much tour support, but I’m sure there will be many tours over the summer that you guys would be perfect for.

Charles: We definitely plan on getting out there on the road to push this record. We have a west coast tour planned as support for a lager band but we can’t announce it until we have all the details. We have a proper booking agent now so it’s only a matter of time until we get a full U.S. tour. As far as Crash goes we understand that they can only provide so much help. They’ve offered some support but the rest we’re going to have to be creative with. We’re a metal band but I think but we try to have more of a punk work ethic. So many metal bands are princesses and expect things to be handed to them. We don’t want to make that same mistake.

UN: You guys have finally found a bass player. What made it so hard to find a suitable player? There must be tons of people in LA, but I’m assuming you guys were searching for the perfect replacement.

Charles: It was hard man. We tried out a few people but no one was making the cut. We were just playing shows Pig Destroyer style, without a bass player, for about 8 months. When we started to talk about recording I asked Mike Bear (Artisan) to help us out and he played shows with us as well for about 5 months. That guy is amazing but he’s got lots of other things going on so he was just acting as a session player. After we recorded the album last November we decided we had to finally find someone who could tour and be a fulltime member. We had our eye on Carlos for a while so when his old band broke up we just picked him up right away. That guy is just killer too. He’s 18 and he taps and windmills like crazy! We couldn’t be happier to have found him.

UN: What would you say the band’s goals are with From Ashes? It mentions in your bio that you’d like to become a household name in metal. While that might not happen right away an album this good won’t go unnoticed. I definitely expect big things from this album.

Charles: Every bands goal is world domination but few put in the work to back those words. We’re willing to push this record like mad so we’re crossing our fingers that everything falls into place. If everything goes according to plan we’ll be doing some big tours that’ll start to get some people talking. Most likely we’ll be seeing all you maniacs on the road in 2006!