RICKY MYERS confirms “this is going to be a new era, a new chapter of SUFFOCATION”
13 min read![SUFFOCATION Latin America TOUR 2022](https://metalphetamine.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Solo.jpg)
SUFFOCATION Latin America TOUR 2022
Right from the studio, where he´s working on the new SUFFOCATION album, Ricky Myers talked about his new work as a frontman full-time, he also told us about the future of DISGORGE and many more kinds of stuff.
How about you Ricky these days?
Right now, I live in Las Vegas, I’m from California and I moved to New York for SUFFOCATION so now I’m over here but we got a house here in Las Vegas, it’s hot out here right now, I’ve just been going back and forth working on new stuff a lot here and then going back and forth to New York.
Music-wise, what are you working on right now?
Just new SUFFOCATION at this moment all my focus is on new stuff.
How’s about this new music, because this is your first album with them, isn´t it?
Yeah, it’s definitely it’s gonna be different obviously Frank’s not on it and we are trying to incorporate some new ideas, but we’re trying to keep it the supple style but maybe even more brutal we’re trying to go it’s definitely going back to the older days to where it’s heavy I think we got a lot more chunk down breakdowns in this in this album for sure.
Oh nice, I love that, old school is still the best
Absolutely, I love it, I mean effigy the forgotten pierced from within, I mean those are some of the higher pinnacles I think to believe more stuff.
All the fans also, know you because you used to tour with SUFFOCATION, don’t you?
Yeah, absolutely it’s like I’ve been doing this now with them for eight years now so my face is out there with SUFFOCATION but this would be the first time that I’ve actually been on an album with themselves, exciting.
And also, Frank loves you.
Yeah man, Frank is awesome he’s like a brother man I mean he’s all for it he promotes it and he’s a good guy man he’s really good.
So, it’s like a brotherhood station.
Yeah, absolutely all of us are family we still talk to Doug Cerrito, Doug Bohn, we talk to everybody, still, we all keep in contact and we’re all still close, so great, it’s a good situation for all of us to get that approval from past members that actually started the band so it’s good.
How did you make it through the pandemic with all the restrictions, no live gigs nothing, how was it for you?
That was hard man, it was really hard on all of us really, we couldn’t get Eric (Morotti, drummer) into from Canada for a while and stuff like that so at that time I lived in New York during the pandemic so I would go to (Terrance) Hobbs still and we would work on stuff and stuff like that but yeah it was hard no touring that killed us, I mean, just mentally it’s like you do something your whole life and all of a sudden it’s gone so it was definitely hard.
Did you play live since then?
We did three shows we did some in Maryland we did one in Atlanta and stuff like that but just three shows we haven’t toured the upcoming tour right now with ATHEIST and SOREPTION will be the first tour we’ve done in two and a half years so wow we’re excited yeah.
How did it feel to be on stage again after two years of hiatus?
It was great, I mean it’s just like riding a bike man, you get up there and it’s all-natural, but it’s not good just to see fans and be able to interact with your friends and stuff like that, so it’s really cool.
How do you actually feel before the live gigs are you still a bit nervous or anxious?
No, I don’t get nervous no more it’s we’ve I’ve done it for so many years it’s just like it’s something that you love to do so you’re just anxious to get out there and do what you do.
Very cool, so full of energy.
Yeah, you get pumped up right before the show, man, you just want to get out there and perform, well, that’s what you practice for so.
What’s your expectation about touring again, like around the world this summer?
Yeah, we’re just ecstatic right now because this will start off all the time, we’re about to do all the European festival dates and stuff like that this summer and we got this U.S. tour and then after that we just got stuff lined up for the rest of the year, so we’re excited, really excited.
Touring and new album, really an excellent year.
Yeah, this is going to be a good year for us, going into the next year also so, we’re excited.
Are you planning to come to South America again?
Yeah, it’s gonna work right now, as far as I know, that and Australia they’re working on right now.
Have you ever been to Australia?
Yeah, I’ve been there a couple of times, I went there with a DISGORGE, and then also I went there with SUFFOCATION.
How about the other band? Because I heard that, that’s quite brutal.
Ah, DISGORGE yeah, we’re actually talking about doing maybe EP and stuff after I get all this stuff SUFFOCATION album stuff out stuff like that but right now, I’m totally focused on the supplication thing it’s my main priority.
It’s quite difficult to tour with both bands, isn’t it?
It’s non-stop because they put me on tour every month, it’s DISGORGE, SUFFOCATION, DISGORGE so I’m never home, it’s not a bad thing, I mean, I love it but yeah it gets tiring for sure.
How about the family, when you are living out of tour?
I have a fiancé, and I don’t have any children but I do have animals that I treat like my children but yeah that does make it harder now that I’m in a relationship and I’m about to get married and stuff so it doesn’t make it difficult to leave home and stuff like that but she understands she’s like she’s a really cool girl and I’m lucky to have her and she lets me go on tour and gives me that, she is a metal head, absolutely, she knows she sees how much I love this and this is what my passion is, and she would never interfere with that.
Man, I love that world, how can you describe the passion for music?
I don’t know, ever since I was a child, five years old I listened to KISS I just listened to metal my whole entire life so I’m very privileged to be doing what I’m doing, I went to my first kiss show when I was five years old.
Do you see yourself playing live when you’re 70?
I don’t know and to be honest with you, it’s like do you really KISS fortunately they get to wear makeup so they don’t look like that, what I mean, I don’t want to be the guy holding on to something but I would love to always record and stuff as far as touring it takes a toll on your body for sure, so I’m not sure if 70 would do it, we’ll see I’m aging okay right now, but who knows later on about another five years or so.
For example, Frank is enough for him to tour and stuff and he’s younger than 70s.
Yeah, he’s way younger, and I just think he has other things in his life going on you know he’s got a wife now they bought a house out there in New York and I think that’s the life that he loves, new chapter in his life and that’s it, that’s what he’s choosing to do.
Sure, how’s about the new music, did you collaborate with the new album, or is just Terrance writing on it?
Oh no, it’s the whole band, Terrance wanted this album to be not just the Terrance show, he wanted it to be SUFFOCATION so he’s letting the new members, Charlie (Errigo, guitarist), Eric (Morotti, drummer), me, I’m writing the lyrics, the patterns so he’s giving us the freedom so we can work with it, of course, they’re giving us their opinions like maybe not do this, maybe not do that, but it’s been great, it’s been really good man, we’re really excited about this album.
What are you writing about, how do you construct a song?
I just write about my experiences, my beliefs, things that I heard through my life and stuff so I’m just going by that and as far as the patterns going by SUFFOCATION and introducing some different things and stuff like that but trying to keep it as close as we can, they got a nice flow with their lyric patterns and stuff so.
What’s your favorite subject of lyrics, what do you love to write about currently?
Currently, I’m writing about the deception between man and gods, how it’s a deception, this whole life is a deception, so I’ve been worried about that mostly on this album.
When it’s going to be out the new album?
We’re looking at the end of this year or the beginning of 2023, we’re anxious too but we don’t want to rush anything it’s got to be right, we gotta make sure that it’s heavy and brutal, we gotta make sure it’s good.
When you’re gonna start some of that to show us, some singles?
Probably around September, I believe that’s what we’re looking for, we’re shooting for right now.
What brought you originally into singing actually, how do you discover your vocals?
Actually, I was doing the DISGORGE pre-production for it and I came on the tour bus with SUFFOCATION and was letting them listen to it, and they asked me if I could record a suffocation song because Frank was on his way out, he’s gonna retire or whatever and I said “yeah, sure” so they sent it to me and from there, that was it, man I got the job so it’s awesome, it’s amazing.
How do you practice your voice?
Actually, I got everything set up here, I got my wireless and all that and I just sing, I have the live tracks with no vocals on it and that’s how I practice and stuff like that, practice my tones and stuff like that, listen back I practice a lot actually getting ready for this so.
Do you have some time limit to practice your vocals?
Yeah, anytime I feel any kind of like tightness or anything like that, I know then that I’m actually doing wrong technique or something, I’ll stop for a little bit like that but yeah two hours is probably good, an hour and a half, two hours, it’s not bad.
Was it hard for you to find the right technique?
It took a long time, I watched actually a lot of online videos of other singers, what they were doing, their techniques, and stuff like that, so it’s been really helpful.
Which are your influences as a singer?
Well, obviously Frank, that would be one, of course, man, there are so many good singers I mean, especially nowadays there are so many good singers even the new kids, you got LORNA SHORE coming out SIGNS OF THE SWARM, you got all these guys, and their vocals are just, they’re pretty sick, man.
It’s always interesting for me to see how the metal scene is evolving, do you have any specific recommendations or any band which came out this year?
Those bands that I mentioned and those bands right there, those bands are right now, you can see where they’re headed right there, you want to keep up to date with these bands you don’t want to get caught in the past, it’s not bad to get caught in the past but add some new elements to it which we also SUFFOCATION is trying to do and that’s why it’s a little bit different, but you want to keep it brutal, you want to keep up with the times and stuff, definitely.
You have to keep it alive also on the music level, and the innovation was kind of a big missing.
Right, I agree, you can tell SLAYER is SLAYER, you can hear that and I think that’s where it’s going to separate us is because we are changing into a new vocalist now, this is going to be a new era, a new chapter of SUFFOCATION, people there are looking for the same old SUFFOCATION, they’re going to get elements of it, but it will not be what it like that before, we’re hoping that people like that.
So, it’s not just a change it’s an evolution of suffocation this time?
Absolutely, you have one remaining member in this band, Terrance, who has kept it us together for all these years and he’s never disappointed, the guy is amazing during the shaky riots it’s just phenomenal the guy’s a gifted musician and he will never let SUFFOCATION stay away from that, so we trust in everything he’s doing.
How about the covid stuff, because you were sick and how did you get it?
We got sick, we all got covid, we got covid in Atlanta or we think we got it in Atlanta but one of those three shows that we did when they let us go over there and play, we all got came home and got sick, we all got covid tested positive for it, I was bedridden for like a week, I was really bad and I had the shot because we had to have the shots and I still got really sick, so.
Do you have any long coverage symptoms or any remaining symptoms?
It’s been eight months and my lungs are just now starting to feel better, I was wheezing a lot, coughing a lot, I couldn’t get rid of it but finally, it’s gone now, it was brutal, I’m fine now, I sing every day and I’m good to go.
Are you still playing drums?
Actually, I haven’t been playing drums too much lately I’m not gonna lie, but after this tour, I’m gonna go ahead and start picking it back up, I want to do something with DISGORGE but as far as that right now I’m slowly just on vocals right now, this album is so important to us that I really need to stay focused on that.
Totally understandable, I admire also all the musicians that can play multiple instruments.
I think for me the drumming has helped me with my singing with timing as far as that goes but yeah, it’s fun all music’s fun to play.
It’s unbelievable for me, it looks very hard to play drums and sing at the same time.
I couldn’t imagine doing both at the same time, that would be insane actually, haha.
How is the metal scene in the States nowadays, is there a young metal scene around, specifically in Las Vegas, for example?
Actually, here in Las Vegas I haven’t been into it, I just recently moved here so I haven’t been out and about and stuff like that especially because of the covid thing and all that so as far as I know here, they got a small scene, they got EYES OF PREDATION and stuff like that, but I don’t know too much, too many bars and stuff like that or clubs out here that hosted.
In New York it will be full, of course, I assume.
New York you got grammars for, you know, theater, you got sane eyes, all kinds of stuff out there right now.
Great, t’s the right place to live in New York
Yeah, it’s a great place man, people are awesome, I love New York.
Absolutely, personally, I just stick with New York much better than with San Francisco.
I agree, but I could be biased because I lived there for years so, so I think New York’s a great place and people are awesome, it´s a place you have to go.
How was the first time on stage for you actually with SUFFOCATION?
It was hard because I was playing drums the whole time but then I came to vocals and it was really nerve-wracking because I’ve never been in front of the crowd, I was back, so yeah that was nerve-wracking for me, but you get used to it but yeah, I was really nervous.
Did you have to learn how to communicate with the crowd?
Yeah, it was totally different it’s like you’re talking to nobody before and all of a sudden, I gotta communicate and try to get the crowd going and stuff so it’s definitely a different animal for sure.
So, do you feel comfortable as a frontman?
Yeah, now I felt like just go out there and do it now, those fans are there to mostly see you, so it’s like your family, we don’t even call them fans, they’re all family, you meet so many people in this ring of community that it’s cool, it’s easy.
Did you come to South America?
I’ve been in South America twice, with SUFFOCATION and DISGORGE, but both a while back though when I did that with SUFFOCATION that was probably like 2016, I think, something like that, yeah so it was a while ago, later on, this year we´ll be back.
FOLLOW RICKY at SUFFOCATION and DISGORGE:
Official Website: https://www.suffocationofficial.com/
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