by Kenneth Morton

Raging out of the OC music scene is the mighty Antagonst, whom after nearly a decade of aggression, is finally receiving the attention and respect they deserve. Newly signed to Prosthetic Records, the label that has unleashed Lamb Of God and All That Remains unto the world, Antagonist now find themselves in a position to spread the OC metal gospel to the worldwide extreme music masses. Their latest CD entitled Exist is one the year’s very best, and will surely take the band on to even greater glories. Here is an interview I recently conducted with founding member Carlos Garcia.

What changes have you seen in the overall Orange County music/metal scene since you first started the band?
Oh wow, there have been a TON of changes. When we started the band, the nu-metal thing was alive and kicking, and as that faded away, we saw plenty of bands go along with it. We kept going, and the underground got huge again with metalcore; and now more recently, the whole "deathcore" scene, as well as good old fashioned hardcore. Through it all, we've pretty much stuck to our guns, and have always been playing melodic, thrashy metal that's evolved very naturally for us. We were always the odd man out, never really playing the style that's cool at the moment, and we're still like that to this day.

At long last, you are signed! How did the deal with Prosthetic Records come about?
I know, finally!! A friend of ours who works in the industry slipped our CD to EJ a while ago, and it pretty much became a beer coaster for him. Then he saw us at a show in Santa Ana and said, “Who the hell are these guys, and why haven't you told me about them?" And my buddy just replied "I DID MONTHS AGO!" The rest is history.

Is there any story or concept behind the CD title Exist?
There wasn't at first, but I always like to tie all the songs together to make one, cohesive message. In this case, it's the idea that the human race has come to a point where it must work together as one, in a positive way, in order to better themselves and the world around them. Not for pride or personal fortune, but merely to exist. The way we're going right now, with the earth being destroyed, the economy crashing, and society spinning out of control; we have to put aside our differences to escape complete annihilation. There are definitely negative and angry songs on the record, but I always try to incorporate a glimmer of hope, that light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak.

Where did you get the ideas for some of the lyrical content? Please cite a few songs and what they ate about.
I could only write speaking from personal experience, so the lyrics mean a lot to me. The title track, Exist, pretty much encapsulates the theme of the album, and states that alone we can be very helpless, but if we work together we can accomplish great things. Bomb Shelter is similar; it talks about breaking free from isolation and opening your eyes to the world around you, even though it may be ugly at times. Of course, I have my ‘girl songs’ like Marana and Awake, a song about a friend of a friend who was killed during the war (Final Words for an Unknown Friend), and the downward spiral of depression (Failure on Repeat). All the songs can stand alone in terms of lyrical content, but they all contain an idea of hope in some form or another.

What initially got you guys into heavy music and who were some of your earlier influences?
The Grunge scene of the early 90s was a definite influence on us early on, and still is to this day. Bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Alice in Chains started it off for us, which led us to bands like Metallica, Pantera, Black Sabbath, Megadeth, etc. And at the same time, a few of us were really into punk rock, as well as good old radio rock, and the classic rock stuff our parents listened to. We listen to so much stuff; it's no surprise why we incorporate so many styles into our own music.

Producer Fred Archambault has an impressive list of credits included The Deftones and Avenged Sevenfold. What did he contribute in the overall production of Exist? And did he offer any advice along the way?
Fred rules! He really helped us fine tune our songs during preproduction, which we've never done before, and he really kicked our ass to get the best possible performance out of us. And since we had much more time to do this record, we really had lots of time to get a cool sound and play with a bunch of pedals and other awesome little toys. And he's a big goofball like all of us, so the vibe was very relaxed and very fun, which is EXTREMELY important in a recording environment.

How difficult was it to release all of your earlier recordings on your own?
Well, everything was self-funded, which obviously sucks! But we had to do what was necessary to get our music out there, so we did it, and we did it a lot. Unfortunately a lot of bands don't do that anymore, they think MySpace will do it all for them...Which to a point, it does. But, it takes a lot more than just posting bulletins every day to get your band somewhere. Kids these days make a MySpace for their band before they even write a song! It's actually pretty sad.

Will Prosthetic be re-releasing any of the older Antagonist CD’s or EP’s?
God, I hope not!!!! The only CD I would ever want to re-release is our self-released full length "The Architecture of Discord." We got it remastered and added a bonus track, and we still play one or two of the songs live; so it'd be nice for kids to be able to pick it up. Our old label, Dwell, is supposed to re-release it, but who knows if that'll ever happen. I have my fingers crossed.

When you look back on your earlier recordings, what do you think of them now?
I honestly don't think of them! We've done SO many recordings, more than I can even count, and some of them are just HORRIFIC! Just having to hear my voice is like nails on a chalkboard. But you know, there are a couple of EPs and demos that have some really cool songs for the time we recorded them. And, kids STILL ask for them at shows, which is pretty funny. Some of the old stuff really frightens me, but some of it is damn good, I'm not going to lie.

What advice would you give a band just starting out in the OC when it comes to booking shows, putting out your own CD's, etc?
GET OFF YOUR ASS!!! MySpace is a blessing and a curse. It's good to post bulletins with show flyers, but go out to shows yourself, make some punk rock black and white flyers, and pass them out!! You have to learn to book your own shows, even if that means selling a bunch of tickets for the first year; you have to earn your keep! Don't expect ANYTHING to be handed to you, ever. And most importantly, WRITE A FUCKING SONG!!! Don't just piece together your favorite breakdowns and sweep picking and bree bree bree vocals; take time to write a good song that's worth listening to. I can go on FOREVER about this, but you get the point.

What is the best and worst part about touring and being on the road?
The best is getting to travel, seeing new places, making amazing new friends, and of course playing shows. The worst part is the sleep, or lack thereof. And the shitty food you have to eat. Oh, and NEVER making money. Yeah, we still have day jobs; we're not Suicide Silence, alright?

What is the most embarrassing song someone would find on your IPOD?
Good question!! But I'm honestly not embarrassed by anything on my iPod. Some stuff people might not expect are Boyz II Men, Ace of Base, Linkin Park, New Edition, Seal, LOTS of Michael Jackson...oh, and of course Paramore, which has been my favorite band of the last two years anyway. Hayley will be mine, oh yes, she will be mine.

Who in Antagonist would you say is on Myspace WAAAAYYYY too much?
Me, definitely me. I have no life, what can I say?

Any new touring coming up in support of Exist?
We're doing some dates here and there locally, but we won't be touring until November when we'll be going out with Rose Funeral, The World We Knew and a couple other bands for about three weeks. Hopefully we'll get on some stuff afterwards as well. Is that Carson Slovak of Century who designed your artwork? How much input did you have on the artwork and what made you chose Carson?
Yes, it's definitely Carson! He was completely open to any kind of input, so I explained the theme behind Exist, and he came up with something that was pretty much exactly what I imagined in my head. So I must say, he did a great job!

Any messages for fans out here in the LA/OC area?
Thanks a bunch for all your support over the years! Please pick up the new album if you get the chance and the money to do so, and we hope to see you soon!

The Antagonist lineup is Carlos Garcia - vocals & guitar, Matt Lopez – guitar, Paul "Pauly" Salem - bass & backing vocals, and Lond Garcia – drums.

Antagonist links

Antagonist: Their Official Myspace Page!
The Highwire Daze Home Page: Return to the Main Page!

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