(antiMusic) Welcome to Singled Out! where we ask artists to tell us the inside story of their latest single. Today we have a very special edition for you. Normally we have one member of a band tell us about their new song, but today we hear from all of the members of Age of Evil to really give us the inside story to "Cruel Intentions" from their new Get Dead EP!Jeremy, Rhythm guitar and vocal: Cruel Intentions is a song that really defines what we are all about. It is heavy, melodic, filled with twin harmonies and ripping solos, but still has an evil catchy side to it. I wrote the lyrics to match the style of the music in the sense that I wanted them to have intricate phrasing and dark lyrical content. The verse is almost impossible to sing and play guitar at the same time but I don't ever limit myself with lyrics that in turn limit the song. It actually pushes me to be a better rhythm guitarist/singer.
The lyrical content is really just about dominating your woman. It is not meant to be offensive but rather entertaining. When I was writing the lyrics I was thinking about what it would look like in a movie. It was important to me that I painted a picture with the words so that my fans could visualize what I was thinking.
A lot of revisions took place in this song and it evolved as we did. The composition changed many times and we really paid close attention to our chord progressions, hooks, and vocal melodies. I think the song turned out absolutely killer and I look forward to how it translates live.
Jacob—Bass : Cruel Intentions is one of the first songs we've written since our first album, "Living A Sick Dream". The idea for this song came a long time ago and the process of writing has spanned over a year or so.
I remember when Jordan first showed us the opening riff. Right when he went into the arpeggios, I knew this was gonna be a f**ked up song. It sounded so evil, like an evil metal roller coaster that makes you die or something.
The arrangement and composition for this song has probably changed 4 times since we wrote it. A band can change a lot in a year, and we knew we had to evolve the song as much as we did as a band. When we were recording it through garage band Jordan accidently grabbed the guitar track for the verse and moved it over slightly. It became what we know as a "happy accident". It's very rare to get one, but when you do it feels like some higher powers like, "Yo, this is how it should be, 'cause that's way f**king metal". So what you hear on the verse is our happy accident.
This song had no title for a long time, too. We didn't want to just grab lyrics and make those the song title. For a while it was "Guilty Pleasure", and it just wasn't doing it for us. There were a few other names, but they were never quite comfortable with everyone in the band. Garrett came up with Cruel Intentions while were in Europe and the name stuck.
Jordan, Lead Guitarist: When I wrote Cruel Intentions I was in a pissed off mood, thinking about all the people in the world killing other people. It sucks.
There is no special technique in my writing. When riffs come to me I just let it happen. Basically, all you need is inspiration and a LOUD F**king Marshall!
When we recorded this song, it was important to all of us to keep it as simple as humanly possible. I don't like when everything sounds so fake through editing, copying, and pasting. We really like to keep it RAW. If we f**k up we do it again till we get it right. The song has much more attitude this way.
Other than the guitar solo, my favorite part of Cruel Intentions is the verse. It's aggressive and tight as F**K. I like to listen to classical musical when I fall asleep. It inspires me in many ways. One of the ways it applied to this song was the classical chord structure.
The Get Dead EP is definitely metal, dude. Anything and everything that we do now and in the future will always show diversity because of our love for music. Be prepared for your brain to be split in two.
Garrett, Drummer: When we were in Europe over the summer, I was reading through the lyrics and noticed that the song was about someone trying to gain trust from another when ultimately, their intentions toward this individual aren't in good nature. Obviously, it's the title of a movie as well, but I thought it could be a cool title for the song. It's a catchy title, a catchy tune, and I really dig it!
Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself and learn more about the band and new EP - right here!
