Following their set opening for Epica at a sold-out show at the Worcester Palladium on January 30, 2010, we were able to talk with Threat Signal guitarist Adam Weber, bassist Pat Kavanagh, and vocalist Jon Howard to hear about their current album “Vigilance,” touring with Epica and Blackguard, and strange sources for metal riffs

• MPJ – You just started touring in support of Epica. How’s it been so far?
• JON — These first few days have been pretty badass. We were kind of skeptical going in, because we’re a different style of metal, but the shows have been packed and our fans love it!
• ADAM — The last few nights were sold out, tonight’s sold out, and the next few days are sold out!
• JON — We had no idea, man. Who would’ve thought it would sell out? It’s sick! We’re happy to be here!
• PAT — We’re definitely getting our music out to a different crowd. We’re used to the drunks going crazy and stuff, and these guys are a little more laid back. But they’re still throwing up the horns and stuff!
• JON — It’s our first tour supporting “Vigilance,” even though it came out five months ago.
• MPJ – What’s the most ridiculous thing that ever happened to you on tour?
• PAT — The most ridiculous thing we probably don’t remember, because we were so drunk! (laughs)
• JON — The best shit happens when you’re wasted, and you don’t film it…
• PAT — You’d have to ask someone who was there, who wasn’t as wasted as us! A fan at the next show would say, “Man, you remember? You fuckin’ did backflips!” I didn’t know I could do that!
• ADAM — “You got naked, dude!”
• PAT — What, really? (laughs)
• MPJ – What was the inspiration behind “Vigilance”?
• JON — There were a lot of ideas behind it. Our first album [“Under Reprisal”] was a little more produced, and a little more clean-sounding. We basically wanted to make the new one a little more rough and raw-sounding, like how we sound live.
• PAT — You know what I think is kind of funny? I think when we first sat down and started writing, we kind of thought we should make things big and epic. And here we are on tour with Epica! (laughs)
• ADAM — Epica and Blackguard are two of the most epic bands we’ve played with! “Vigilance” has a lot of layers, but it’s still a very raw-sounding album. We have nine guitar layers, plus keyboards and shit in the background. They blend in nicely; they don’t really stand out, the keyboards and strings and stuff. Guitar tone? You can hear every single note on the album, no matter what part it is.
• JON — More of a “rock” style.
• ADAM — Yeah, it’s more of a rock-style production, but for a straight-up metal album.
• MPJ – Extreme metal has exploded in popularity over the past decade. Was there a particular sound you were going for?
• JON — We wanted to be heavy, but we wanted to be melodic as well. We didn’t really have a mindset as to where we wanted to go; basically, all of our writing styles just came out in the music. We listen to a lot of grunge, rock, metal, all that stuff. It all meshes together when we write.
• PAT — A lot of our songs went through so many different changes. One of us would write a song, pass it on to the next guy, he’d change it around, and I’m like “Wow, I never thought of doing that!” The it gets passed to the next guy, and he does something completely different, too! If you ever heard some of the original versions of some of the songs, you’d be like “That’s not even the same song!”
• ADAM — We’ve got twenty different versions of the song “Lost.” I think I did almost all of them! (laughs)
• MPJ – Are there any specific bands that really influenced you?
• JON — I couldn’t name just one. It’s like a mishmash of all this shit! Pantera, Soilwork, Alice in Chains, Lamb of God…
• ADAM — DevilDriver, Chimaira…
• JON — It’s all of these different styles. We never wanted to sound like just one band.
• PAT — Since we’re Canadian, we kind of take the best of American metal and European metal and mix it together.
• MPJ – What inspires your songwriting outside of the music realm?
• PAT — I think in numbers! These guys make fun of me…
• JON — His binary brain.
• ADAM — This guy’s a nerd! He likes “[The Legend of] Zelda” too much.
• PAT — Shut up! (laughs)
• JON — He works in a video game store!
• PAT — I took some riffs that were straightforward, but wondered what would happen if I changed them by maybe a half-beat.
• JON — That’s how we write all of our songs: in numbers.
• PAT — I haven’t done it yet, but I want to take my phone number and write a rhythm based on it.
• ADAM — I tried “867-5309” the other day, but there’s a zero in it, so that fucked it up.
• PAT — We definitely try to take different approaches when we write, to keep it fresh and interesting. And sometimes, it turns out to be really cool!
• JON — What was that time in New York, when a cab drove by and its printer was going off?
• PAT — Oh yeah! We were outside loading, and I hear this thing going “dit-dit dit-dit-dit dit-dit dit dit.” I’m like, “Someone’s writing a killer riff!” And Adam’s like, “That’s the receipt from the cab, man!” (laughs)
• MPJ – What’s next after this tour?
• JON — Next, we’re heading to Europe, where we’ll be opening for (hed) p.e. We’ve got two days off, and then we’ll be direct support for (hed) p.e., for thirty-something shows.
• PAT — It’s another weird mix-up of styles, so it’ll be interesting.
• ADAM — It’ll be our first time in Europe, though, so hopefully we’ve got some fans there!
• JON — It’s cool having variety on tour, I think.
• MPJ – Any final words for your fans?
• ADAM — Suck it! (laughs) Nah, thanks for buying our new album!
• JON — Yeah, and thanks and sticking with us over the years, checking out our new album, and let’s get hammered on tour!
• PAT — Come meet us at a show. We’re always at the merch table, and we’re always up for a party!
• MPJ – Awesome. Thanks for the interview, guys!