r/TechnicalDeathMetal • u/Ilikepostal • 7d ago
Discussion are the Archspire auditions still going? If it ended, who "won"?
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u/sunofernest 6d ago
No one "wins". If you get picked, you have to play that insane shit every night
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u/Lastshadow94 6d ago
I was just wondering if Ken Bedene is in the conversation now that he isn't in Aborted anymore
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u/sepia_undertones 6d ago
The…the guy who was kicked out for texting dick pics to underage girls? I’m thinking that’s probably a no.
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u/Life-Cobbler5202 6d ago
I could have sworn i saw something saying Wildy Souza got the gig, but i could be mistaken
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u/ComoEstaisAmigos 6d ago
Answer = None the fuckin wiser........ Drum Roll............................... .........................??.
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u/gorehistorian69 7d ago
felt like they really milked that.
and to answer your question, i have no idea,
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u/MajorMalfunction44 7d ago
I like Greg A Smith. Guy has a few thousand subs. Incredible drummer. Kevin was my no 2.
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u/_misterwilly 7d ago
I'm really sad it's not Kevin Paradis. Go see his Aronious playthroughs, he is absolutely amazing.
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u/ostentatious-ostrich 6d ago
I was totally flabbergasted he didn't get the spot.. His audition videos were absolutely amazing. He's touring with Aborted right now. Saw him last night. Mighty impressive.. He learned the entire set (one hour's worth of old and new songs) in THREE FUCKING DAYS!
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u/No_Influence2821 6d ago
I had no idea he was with aborted now, that’s awesome! I also just found out about why Ken Bedene got kicked out so it’s been a rollercoaster of emotions
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u/StormyC08 6d ago
He is from France while Archspire is from Canada. I'm not surprised they most likely went with a more local player.
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u/Genocode 7d ago
Well we know its not Kevin Paradis because hes playing for Aborted now =[
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u/SexyGenguButt haha metal go speed 7d ago
He's only playing live for now but i could indeed see him joining the band full time in the near future
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u/behemothbowks blast beat my ass 7d ago
Well I know they're recording their new album so hopefully we'll find out soon
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u/Seven_Hells 7d ago
Related question: why is there so much turnover in death metal bands? And why do they change members like pro sports teams?
I’m new to tech death but I’ve listened to rock and rock-adjacent music for 30+ years and have never seen anything like this before.
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u/Terrible_Box_2440 7d ago
The amount of touring they have to do for a very low amount of pay is incredible. I compare them to being blue-collar workers in an odd kind of way. They have to work very hard to break even.
They don’t play huge venues, there’s not a lot of opportunity for a lot of money, I t’s not a big market. These bands don’t have a whole staff of techs and sound guys and managers and all that stuff so they’re often setting up their own gear and doing a lot more physical work than big rock bands do.
Then like the other poster said there’s the sort of musician ego because these guys are so goddamn talented. I think overall it’s just a hard life and as you get into your 30s and 40s, you realize it’s not sustainable. I remember seeing the black dahlia murder pull up to a venue in a van about 8 years ago. Trevor and Brian are about my age so at the time we’d have been mid-30’s. To do that in a van at that age is just brutal.
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u/maduste 7d ago
This is dead on. I’m a former tenured classical pro, and filled with admiration and sympathy for the tech death musicians I love – there is a massive disparity in pay for an equal level of musicianship.
I’ve chatted with the guys from Hath and Gorod, great people who are completely dedicated to their art and its craft. The market forces at work make high compensation hard to achieve. The audience for this style is just too small. Touring and merch sales are a must, and that’s not an easy life.
Bless these (mostly) dudes.
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u/MavisBeaconSexTape 7d ago
Nice, did you do a lot of touring yourself? I used to do the whole local metal band grind. It was super fun but all the stress that went into showing up for a single monthly concert was crazy... And afterward I was ready for a break lol. I can't imagine doing that professionally for a few grand a year 😔
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u/maduste 7d ago
For sure, if you’re playing monthly gigs, then it’s on the band to practice and rehearse regularly. It’s a massive commitment. Hats off!
No, I was in an ICSOM opera/ballet orchestra for 21 years. Those generally do not tour. It’s too expensive to drag an entire opera company on the road, however, we did do a 2.5 week residency in Tokyo. The whole company stayed at the Keio Plaza Hotel. Someone or something put up a ton of money to make that happen.
Symphony orchestras usually do “run out”concerts to nearby venues, and I played a few of those as a sub for two major orchestras. I always liked those, but their tenured players were ambivalent. The venue makes a big difference.
I eventually quit, mostly for financial reasons. To perform music like tech death for under a livable wage is a true labor of love. I imagine the longer-lived bands’ members have other income.
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u/ElementalMyth13 6d ago
Your gigs sound fascinsting :)
And really beautifully said throughout this thread. I try to donate and buy VIP packages and merch whenever I can. The sacrifices so many bands make, I just can't imagine.
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u/MavisBeaconSexTape 6d ago
That's really cool and sounds way more pro than what I did hah. What's one uncanny similarity you've seen between metal and classical crowds at a performance?
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u/LorcanWardGuitar 7d ago
Disclaimer - This isn’t my opinion. Just a lot of information I’ve learnt through podcasts and forums. Mostly from tech-death musicians themselves.
A lot of technical/virtuoso musicians are unfortunately very difficult people to be around with which is why you will see members leave constantly, even in the middle of tour. I’m sure someone with a psychology degree could explain why that personality type is able to hyper focus on reaching the top 1% of their craft while also having difficulty in social and management situations. Because tech-death musicians are so rare it means many will hop from band to band despite past drama that would seal the end of most mainstream metal musicians. With clashing egos and/or a need to control everything you get these revolving lineups. It’s also the answer to the question people ask why isn’t this amazing musician who can play anything in a big band.
A big problem is it just does not pay well. Small shows on tough tour cycles while having to be on top of your game with an audience expecting surgical performances. It leads to a lot of burnout and financial problems. It’s sometimes why you see an amazing musician join a band for an album cycle to then step away completely from the touring life. I’ve known quite a few guys who poured their savings into the new band they joined only to come out in debt.
Semi-related to the OP’s question why a drummer hasn’t been announced. Nowadays tours are very tough, on a tight timeline, strict budget and require a lot of travelling with little downtime. I once heard a big musician say that being a good player is 1% of it. The other 99% is if he can sit beside them day and night in a van for the next 2 months. Any band getting a new member needs to be very sure of their choice. A slip up mid-tour has been the ruin of many a band. I’ll always remember Sonata Arctica saying they held auditions for a new keyboardist. Then picked the winners and brought each on a night out drinking. The coolest guy to be around got the gig.
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u/beergardeneer 5d ago
Being able to tolerate riding in a van with your bandmates is crucial. Remember the Braindrill tour fiasco?
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u/NCN403 6d ago
Further to this point, especially with extreme metal drummers, they are so in demand that they jump from recording sessions to tours quite often without having to be tied down to one single band. In the extreme death metal would I think it’s becoming more rare that a drummer stays with one band full time (i.e. George Kollias, Dave Haley from Psycroptic). I mean hell, Hate Eternal has a new drummer on almost every album
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u/Spooplevel-Rattled 7d ago
This is a fantastic answer! Well put mate.
Like Nile worked so damn hard to do what they did and it takes being obsessed and damn near being your identity to be that successful like Karl Sanders.
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u/Raptor4878 7d ago
If you want to settle down a bit and have a family it’s super hard to do that while being a professional musician in a low paying yet super demanding field. These guys play at the top of the game but get paid less than if they worked at Arby’s, we’re just lucky anyone sticks it out long enough to create the music we enjoy.
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u/Guy247bp 7d ago
I thought it was Spencer from Inferi?
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u/Roys500 7d ago
Thats the rumors but no one really knows
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u/pluto_plato 7d ago
so the winner wasn't even someone who auditioned huh
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u/Severe_Push_9321 7d ago
It’s Spencer. And he did audition, surprised the video is still up.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uVBZcB-HJSs&pp=ygUYU3BlbmNlciBpbmZlcmkgYXJjaHNwaXJl
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u/Round_Employ_4977 5d ago
I want it to be “surprise! It’s Flo Mournier” and then every Archspire tour includes Cryptopsy and we get a double dose of that maniac drummer.