In our final
interview on the Impericon Never Say Die! 2013 tour, we catch up with headline
band Emmure. Having been on the tour before the band admit that it’s an honour
to come back as the headline act. Front-man Frankie Palmeri chatted to us
pre-show about playing on the tour, causing controversy and giving his younger
self some advice…
You guys are headlining the Never Say
Die! tour- have you been enjoying it so far?
Yeah,
it’s been great so far. We’re quite familiar with the UK cities now.
You’ve played it before, is it good to
be back on the tour?
Yeah
it’s really cool because Never Say Die is a really largely branded tour and
people know about it so to headline it is quite the honour.
Your last album ‘Slave To The Game’
was your highest charting album to date; I guess in a career spanning ten years
to know that your music is still being so well received is great?
Numbers
to me don’t really matter, what matters to me is the content and how people
feel about it. I think the fact that we charted is cool, but I’m interested to
look to the future and continue to put out records that people enjoy so that we
have an entire catalogue that people can look back on. That’s the goal for the
band, to make as many dope songs as possible, so fans can come to the show and
let loose. That’s what we’re all about, being on stage and creating that
visceral moment so everyone in the room can enjoy it with us.
Have you started thinking about the 6th
album? I know that you’ve said that this album is not going to be about the
same things?
Yeah,
we’re just in a better place internally so that means creatively we’re more
trusting and communicating better. This next record is going to be a step up
for us and kind of a departure, not from our sound but just in a better
direction.
How far are you into the process?
We’re
getting there; we’re still writing and still getting ideas together and the
stuff is coming out great. Day by day we’re putting the pieces together and
we’ll be going to the studio in January, ready to get to work.
How easy is it to write on the road?
The
work never stops, there are no breaks, especially with our schedule. Every day
is a new day to get things done and we just take advantage of the space that we
have.
People struggle to define what genre
you fit into? Does genre matter for you guys or is it just a case of if it
works then it works and you take on a variety of styles?
It’s
cool that people have a hard time defining us because that means we’re doing
something that other people may be afraid to do with their sound. I try to
achieve that goal of being a band that’s separated from the pack, a little bit
on the outskirts of where people are used to, not so much fitting the mould. I
don’t mind it; if we can be a flagship band for right now, then it’s an even
bigger honour. We always write music that we enjoy and go on stage and do our
best to get people involved. Music should be about hearing what you love and
taking it all in.
It’s been 10 years since you guys
started- does it feel like a decade?
When
I look back on it yeah [laughing], but I generally don’t think in terms like
that. I look at it like we’re on a journey and the journey so far has been
crazy and we’re all so very blessed and lucky that we’re doing it. We have high
expectations of each other and that’s the best motivation to be better and do
better.
Would you have changed anything over
the past ten years or do you feel like everything happens for a reason?
[Laughing]
I would’ve shut up a lot more, maybe. My mouth has got me in some pretty
interesting situations. But I can’t really be too mad at myself because
everything has taken me to where I need to be.
You left all social media after
getting banned from Instagram – are you back on it now? Was it refreshing
taking a break from it?
No,
I’m not back on it. I hate that it’s become so much about everything else but
the music and that makes me sick. Now I just don’t care for it and I think
about the people that I really admire and they wouldn’t have ever had a Twitter
or Instagram. I’m still rooting to get Instagram back because I had an awesome
chance to make so many friends worldwide so that’s the only thing I’m annoyed
about. Now that I’ve completely cut myself off I look at everyone around me and
it’s a sea of heads down and I’m the only person sitting up straight and
looking up. Now I feel like I’m a little bit more free in my thoughts, so there
are positives to it.
You guys get quite a bit of hate
online- does that just spur you on more?
I
think that the old me, yeah, I gave people s**t back just because it’s easy for
me to cut somebody down when they’re doing something so pathetic. In a way it would
bother me. But the polarity we create in people’s opinions has helped our
success. You either love us or hate is and I would hate to be in the middle
And finally, what’s next for you guys?
We’re
doing a US tour and then heading back into the studio and then back in Europe.
We always come back here.
CLICK HERE to read a review of the live show
