Loudside. com managed to sit down with Through The Eyes Of The Dead's mainman and lead guitarist Justin Longshore, during their stint on the As I Lay Dying headlined 'An Ocean Between Us' tour (which was prior to the eventual exit of then new vocalist Nate Johnson). Justin filled us in on how the tour was going with them being the only real extreme band on the bill, the writing and recording of their sophomore full length, 'Malice', and their more death metal oriented musical direction, as well as what it was like working with Erik Rutan, going through consistent member changes, and what fans can look forward to from TTEOTD in the year to come......

Louside.com: Alright, now being that this tour isn't necessarily geared toward a more death metal crowd, how has this tour been going for you guys in terms of fan attendance and crowd response?

Justin: Umm, it's been going pretty well. It's probably one of the best tours we've ever done. Like, we did Sounds Of The Underground, which is a huge festival, so that was probably the highlight for our band. But getting on this tour, it's just crazy because we're really good friends with As I Lay Dying already, and we've never toured with All That Remains, so it's cool to tour with them. And Haste The Day we've never met either. But as far as crowd response and everything, I was a little sketched out, because we're the only band that doesn't sing on this tour, so I was a little worried that we wouldn't go over too well. But it's probably the best actual tour we've done, other than the festival tour, ya know. So we're just stoked to be on it, and merch sales are awesome, and kids are just really getting into it. I mean, I don't think some of these kids have ever heard of us, ya know, so it's really cool to get our name out there, and do what we do.

Loudside.com: Alright, cool. Now it's no secret that fans of death metal and metal in general harbor a bit of hostility toward the "metalcore" fans and their "hardcore dancing". So from what you've noticed so far, have there been any issues between your fans and the rest of the crowd from night to night?

Justin: Umm, no not really. I mean, you have a fight here and there, but I think everyone's getting a little more accepting nowadays, ya know. I think they're getting over the whole metal and hardcore and metalcore, and you know, I think everybody's realizing that good music is just good music, ya know. I think people are just getting over the whole fact of that. It's weird though, because we can draw metal kids because we have a whole lot of metal going on, and we can also draw hardcore kids because we have heavier parts and breakdowns here and there, so I think we kind of benefit in that way. And back in the day, there used to be a lot of fighting at our shows because we drew the different crowds. And I mean, we've toured with everyone from Terror to Children Of Bodom, and Children Of Bodom is as metal as you can get, and Terror is as hardcore as you can get, and we would do well on those tours, which is kinda crazy. But yeah, earlier on, there were definitely a lot of fights, but it's simmered down a little bit. And this tour, there's been fights, but nothing outrageous.

Loudside.com: Ok. Now in regards to Nate joining the band, aside from him, were there any other well known or established vocalists that auditioned for the spot?

Justin: Yeah, we were actually in the studio recording the record, and we had a TON of vocalists that....well, Prosthetic set up this thing online, basically an email address, where you could just email your......what we did was we just said post a link to your band, or some work you've done or whatever, and we'll check it out. And from then on, we would just have people audition. And there were a few......there was actually this kid from this band ,On Paths Of Torment, that are from Connecticut, and he was up there with Nate. But when we heard Nate, we just knew that he was the one. But there was another kid from this one band, and I really don't wanna say who it was. He asked us not to tell anyone, because it might get back to his band, and I think that would be kinda shady if I said anything right now (laughing). But yeah, we had a lot of good vocalists that tried out, and we had a lot of bad ones too (laughing). But we definitely won out with Nate anyway, so we're happy, and everything is perfect now.

Loudside.com: Ok, and what exactly was it about Nate that made you guys choose him over all the rest?

Justin: His vocal style was really raw, and aggressive, and it's powerful, but at the same time it's really clear. And that's something that we've never had before, ya know. Like you can actually understand what's going on with Nate, as opposed to Anthony, our old singer. He had a lof of effects on his vocals, and it was really hard to touch them up, because it just never got the best performance out of him. So we just wanted to kind of stray away from what we had before, with something more powerful, to kind of compliment the music that we were writing. Because you know, our newest record is a little more brutal than our last record. It gets a little more brutal with every record (laughing). So that's pretty much it. We just knew it off the bat, we were like, 'Yeah, he's the one'. And we just all looked at eachother and we were like, let's get him on a song and see how it goes, and the rest is history. We kind of flew him out on a whim, and we were just scared that he was gonna have the worst personality ever. We were like, he's gonna have the sickest vocals, but the worst personality....but it ended up that he's just one of us, and it's just kind of crazy, like how it worked out. We're definitely lucky. (laughing).

Loudside.com: Ok. Now how much of the album was written before Nate came on board, and how much was he able to contribute?

Justin: All of the record was written before, because we actually went straight to the studio with all the music, and we went through pre-production and all that. So everything was worked out, and he kinda got in, and we were already...we were sending him the songs as we were recording it, so we were like, 'see what you can do over here'. And him and I actually wrote all the lyrics on the record. I've actually never written lyrics before in my life, so it was a time issue thing, because I didn't plan on writing any lyrics. But we had the concept of 'Malice', and him and I just kinda went back and forth. He wrote most of the stuff, but ya know, I definitely helped him out a little bit. But the next record will be all him anyway, because we'll have way more time and it won't be rush, rush. But ya know, the thing is, it doesn't sound rushed to me, which is really cool. Cause literally, our first full length, 'Bloodlust', we literally wrote that really fast, and you can hear it on a lot of parts, like the song writing's not all there. But on 'Malice', musically it wasn't rushed, but the vocals, I think we had about a week and a half to record them. Which is plenty of time, but we only had like a month to write lyrics for it, and we didn't have anything up until then. But it worked out for the better, ya know. We just really worked hard, and I think we work really well under pressure.

Loudside.com: Well it definitely doesn't sound like a rush job......

Justin: Yeah, it definitely came out great, and we're definitely stoked on it....(laughing)

Loudside.com: Cool (laughing). Now on another note, Chris recently exited the band....

Justin: Yes....

Loudside.com: Is there any negativity because of that, or was it more of an amicable split?

Justin: I dunno. It was a weird thing, like, we never suspected.....Chris was a really quiet guy, ya know, he just hung out. Like he'd play guitar, and then just hang out. And that's all he would do, ya know. There were never any problems, like ever. He never expressed any problems to us, but after our last headliner of secondary markets, he sent an email, and was just like, 'Hey, I'm just really burnt out on touring'. Like he didn't call me or anything, just sent me an email. And Chris is a really good friend to all of us, so it was a really big let down. But we never give up on anything. It's like, let's do this, we gotta make this happen. But I guess he just wasn't......some people are cut out for touring, and some aren't. Chris had been with us for a while, and like I said, it was a real big let down. But we got our original guitar player back in the band, and he's now permanent, so it worked out for the better. But we're definitely on good terms with Chris, and we understood. We would have liked for him to have at least finished out this touring cycle, because it was kind of hectic to find a guitar player. And actually, our old guitar player, he was my best friend, like for years, and we hadn't talked since he quit the band, like in 2003. So I gave him a call out of nowhere and was like, 'Hey man, I'm not usually one to give second chances, but dude, if you wanna come play with us or just fill in'....cause he was just gonna fill in, but now it's worked out to where he wants to be in the band, so we're definitely set for now. I'm just so tired of member changes, it's like it just sucks so bad, and it's not like we could help it. But this was like, an acceptable one, because the original guy came back. Because he and I actually started this band, so we have really good chemistry as far as writing goes, so I can't wait to do the next record, cause it's gonna be awesome!

Loudside.com: Right on. Now onto the new album, you guys worked with Death Metal legend Erik Rutan this time around. What kind of influence, if any, did he have in terms of pushing to get the best out of you guys?

Justin: Umm, that's just his thing. I mean, Erik, he's an old school guy, he's been in Morbid Angel, he's in Hate Eternal, and he just knows Metal. He's been there for so long, so we definitely looked up to him. And he's not the type of person that relies heavily on Pro Tools. Like a lot of bands out now are definitely.....you can hear it, ya know. I'm not saying any names, but you can definitely hear it. And Erik's just all about the performance. Even like some guitar.....I mean, you can play riff by riff on Pro Tools, you can do whatever, it's crazy. But with him, he's all about like, the mood of it all. Like playing wise, like drumwise, he wants it all just to be.....like if he could, he'd want the entire performance in one take. He's all about getting that best performance out of you, and we definitely weren't used to that. He just pushed us the extra mile, and as far as song writing goes, he helped us out a little bit with structuring. And with the vocal patterns, he definitely contributed. And like I said, he just knows Metal, so we just kinda let him do his thing, and produce it. And it just came out amazing, so I think we're definitely gonna go back with him again, if he's available, and we can fit into the schedule or whatever. I'm sure he already knows that (laughing). Because we actually became really good friends after the sessions, so it was really cool.

Loudside.com: And what was different about working with him, as opposed to working with Jamie on 'Bloodlust'?

Justin: Like I said, he doesn't rely on Pro Tools. Jamie King, I love him to death, but he's not about the performance part of it. He's about getting it done, and let's move on. Which is cool, ya know. A lot of people do that, and it gets you by, but it's not real to me, ya know. Like, with Rutan, we came in and we really wanted a warmer sound, like really analog.....or at least as close to analog as we could get, without going to tape, ya know, cause that would take forever (laughing). But we just really wanted a fat sound, and he definitely achieved that, and it sounds way different than our older stuff with Jamie. Not that the stuff with Jamie doesn't sound good, it sounds great. But ya know, it's just different styles, different methods, and we're really happy with the way Rutan does things.

Loudside.com: And as far as that goes, I mean, I know Erik is a musician himself.....

Justin: Yeah, and that helps a whole lot.....I mean, Jamie King is actually a musician, he plays drums though, but Erik plays guitar though, so.....(laughing). The guitarist....like Erik and I always joke, because the guitar players always knows what's up in the band, ya know. They're usually the ones that start it, ya know (laughing). So it's just a guitar player thing (laughing).

Loudside.com: (laughing) And he does vocals as well....

Justin: Exactly! So helping with patterns and stuff like that, he was great. I definitely would love to go back and work with him again.

Loudside.com: Ok, now getting back to the new record.....the overall feel of 'Malice' is decidedly more Death Metal than 'Bloodlust', with no real hardcore breakdowns or influence. Was that a direction that you guys wanted to take things in, or was it just more of a natural progression from the last record?

Justin: Umm, it actually was a natural progression. Like we didn't really sit down and say 'we're gonna write this record, and it's gonna sound like this', ya know. It was just like, this is the first record with this line up, so let's just write the best material we can write. And we just went from there. Chris and I wrote all the music, and Jake, our bass player, actually wrote a song on the record too. And umm, it just had a lot of input from everyone, and you can definitely tell, we worked our asses off on it. I mean, we definitely knew we didn't wanna go 'softer' (laughing). You know, some bands tend to get softer and softer as time goes on, just to make more money or whatever you wanna call it. But we were like, 'Nope. We just wanna write music that we like, and that we're gonna stand behind 100%', ya know.

Loudside.com: Right on. Now in regards to videos, you guys have the video for the track "Failure In The Flesh". Are there any plans to do another one somewhere down the line, and if so, are there any ideas as to which track it would be for?

Justin: Yeah, we're actually working on one right now. We are trying to go in January, if everything allows. And we're definitely gonna go with the same director, David Brodsky, because he did an amazing job on the last one. We were really stoked, and he's a great guy to work with too. It's probably gonna be in January. We're thinking about doing the track we've been playing on this tour, it's called "To Wage A War", and it's going over really well with the kids. Not positive yet, but we've talked about it, and it's like 'Yeah, this is probably the song' (laughing). And we may be doing a sequel to the last video, ya know. Cause you know there was a zombie theme on the last one, and so maybe we'll do a sequel, see what happens to the girl, and all this stuff so....(laughing).

Loudside.com: That would definitely be cool....

Justin: Yeah, we'll probably add alot of other cool stuff in there too (laughing). Make it interesting.

Loudside.com: Ok, now what about an official DVD?

Justin: We've been talking about it for a while. Nothing is really......we have a lot of footage, a lot of live shows, fucking around in the van....(laughing)......and just whatever, ya know. But Prosthetic definitely were just like, 'Hey, shoot as much stuff as you can, cause one day, we're gonna do this'. I'd say in 2008, we'll probably put something out, cause we definitely have enough stuff right now, to put out a really LONG DVD. We don't want a boring one though......(laughing)

Loudside.com: For sure (laughing). Ok, so what are the plans for the band after this tour, and what can we look forward to from Through The Eyes Of The Dead in 2008?

Justin: We're actually taking two months off, ya know, for Christmas. And then were taking January off, and then we're going to do a big huge tour with Throwdown and Soilwork actually. We just got confirmed for that, so we're pretty stoked on that. It's Throwdown's U.S. headlining tour. We were actually supposed to go to Europe, with Decapiated and Cephalic Carnage. But the tragedy happened with Decapitated, so that was all up in the air. But we plan on going there, so we're probably gonna go and do Europe for a short amount of time. Maybe do some festivals or something, because we've only been to Europe once, so we gotta kinda establish ourselves over there, because it's a totally different scene over there, ya know. And then we're looking to do like a Summer Festival. We're trying to plan it all out, and we're hoping to do a Summer Festival, not sure which one, but hopefully it all pans out. And I think there are talks of us doing another headlining tour sometime next year, and then we're just gonna write and do it all over again.......(laughing)......it's what we do.