UN: Just to start off I want to say that I was extremely impressed with the EP. I havent heard an album from a new band in this genre that has excited me in quite sometime. How has the reaction to the EP been so far?

FTW: Up to now, most reactions have been very positive thank you for continuing this tradition with your evaluation of the EP!

UN: I read that the album was recorded before you even signed to the Bastardized. How did the deal with Bastardized come about? Are you guys excited to be working with them? For the style you guys play you couldnt really ask for a better label to be on.

FTW: Were very satisfied with Bastardized working with them has turned out pretty much ideal. We got settled on a contract pretty quick, since we already had recorded the EP before any negotiations started, as youve mentioned. I think they found us through myspace, but Im not sure. They liked our music and contacted us.

UN: I remember reading that the EP was also recorded quite quickly. Are you guys happy with the end result? Just out of curiosity how long did it take to record?

FTW: Yes, were very happy with the result! And yes: Its true, it took us a week to record the five songs on the EP. But they were completed before we headed to the studio, so we pretty much knew what we wanted throughout the recording sessions. But, of course, every artist has some points he would do differently, if he had the chance to record his stuff again I guess thats normal. But in the end, were really satisfied with the EP and very happy to be able to present Farewell to Words to the world using these five songs!

UN: Do you guys have any newer songs written or in the works yet? Im definitely excited and waiting impatiently for a full length album. Any idea on how long the wait may be?

FTW: We have a number of new songs, but not all of them are good enough for an album yet. We would like to head to the studio again as soon as possible, but first we have to promote our EP a little otherwise nobody would care about our album, right? No, seriously, after all the line-up changes we went through were going to need some time to write more new songs first and were eager to play as many shows as possible. So, if you want to hear our new stuff, head to one of our shows in your area!

UN: There are a lot of influences on display in your music. Do you all listen to a wide range of styles? Do you think listening to a lot of different stuff lets you approach Farewell to Words with a unique perspective?

FTW: Yes, definitely. If you combine the musical tastes of all the band members, you will pretty much cover everything from electronic music, the charts, all sorts of metal and other stuff. This definitely has a huge impact on our music, as anyone can hear. All these different influences come together to create our own mixture of styles. And these influences keep us from becoming to fixated on one direction, they open us up for alternatives.

UN: Having two vocalists definitely makes the album quite interesting vocally. How do you guys go about figuring out the vocal patterns and who handles what lines? Does it take a long time to get it figured out?

FTW: Most of the vocal lines are created by our vocalists themselves and I think there is no real master plan behind the writing itself. Mo usually records a rehearsal version of our songs when we write a new one and takes it home with him to listen to it and think of something for the vocals. And at the next rehearsal, our vocalists just test everything that comes to mind until they find something theyre happy with. And were happy with, of course.

UN: Two of the main influences that I picked up on throughout the disc and hopefully you dont mind being compared to either, is Caliban and Killswitch Engage. Are you guys fans of either bands?

FTW: Since all of us listen to different styles of music, I wont say the whole band is a fan of Caliban or Killswitch. But especially Killswitch Engage has a huge influence on some of us. And Caliban definitely has its influence as well, since theyre from Germany as well and quite popular here. But there are many other bands influencing us as well...

UN: One of the songs that really stands out is the final song, The Empty Stare. Its much longer then the rest of the songs and has a more deliberate pacing. How did the song come together? Did you guys consciously want to try something a little bit different or did it just come out that way?

FTW: Yeah, we wanted to have a song thats really different on our EP as well to emphasize the variations in styles we like. I dont exactly remember the way this song came into existence, but Simon, our former guitarist definitely was a huge influence. He listens to a lot of bands doing similar kinds of music like Cult of Luna or Neurosis. And since we all liked the song, we included it on our EP.

UN: What is the scene like in Germany for this style of music? Is there a lot of support for heavy bands? It seems like Germany produces some of the best bands in this style of music.

FTW: Thats a difficult subject. On one hand, there are many young people into our kind of music, supporting new bands at concerts and buying our stuff. But on the other hand, there is a large hardcore scene which isnt really open for new things. A lot of people from that scene dont really give new bands and, especially, new influences a chance. I guess they want their style of music to remain true to its roots which I can understand in some way, but every scene should remain open for new influences. Otherwise the music becomes static and new bands only reproduce older bands. That is, by the way, one of the things we wanted to refer to with our EP title. We want people to tear down the walls inside their heads concerning musicals styles.

UN: How much touring are you guys planning on doing for the EP? Do you guys have many tours booked right now? While it probably isnt going to happen just yet, is coming to play in North America one of the bands goals for the future?

FTW: Right now we dont have a tour planned yet. Were having several shows in the next few months on weekends, but no tour yet. But were trying to get something organized for the summer. We want to play as many shows as possible to spread our name a bit, but since all of us have other things to do in our lives as well, its not always easy to make it work, especially with 6 different time schedules to be synchronized. A tour across North America would be awesome, of course. But that definitely is a goal for the more distant future. Getting across Europe is what we want to do this year.