(Andy Synn doesn’t do many interviews any more, but made an exception for this one)
The main reason I don’t do many interviews any more is due to the fact that I feel like a good interview – not just one that regurgitates the same old boring, boilerplate questions that you can find anywwhere else – is one that you dedicate a bit of time to, and time is something I’m almost always in short supply of these days.
I’d also say that a good interview should be a form of dialogue, one where you get a sense of the personality of the interviewer through the questions they ask, which in turn leads to a more natural and (hopefully) illuminating interaction with the interviewee… which also takes a lot of time to get right.
And did I mention that I don’t really have that much time to spare at the moment?
That being said, when the opportunity fell into my lap to interview the one and only Candace Buckingham (née Kucsulain), formidable frontwoman of Metallic Hardcore legends Walls of Jericho (a band I’ve been a huge fan of for a long, long time, and whose upcoming new album is the sort of record which tempts me to dip back into my big bag of clichés for terms like “comeback”, “revival”, and “renaissance”) I knew I couldn’t turn it down.
So, without further ado, let’s see if I still remember how to converse with another human being, shall we?
My first question, the most important question, is a general “how are you?” Where are you at today, how is life treating you, and what are you up to?
Candace: I’m well! I’ve been busy balancing work, life, and fun. I’m at home in Massachusetts right now, drinking hot chocolate and relaxing.
Following on from that, what have you been up to since the release of the last Walls of Jericho album (2016’s No One Can Save You From Yourself)? And what have the rest of the band been doing too, outside of – at some point, obviously – writing the new album?
Candace: We kept playing shows, doing festivals, and enjoying playing music every chance we could. Most of us have kids or own businesses, and we’re all really passionate about our lives and what we do with our time. I spend a lot of mine in the mountains, at home with my family, or in the gym.
Obviously, as you’ve said, the band hasn’t been exactly inactive by any means, but what made now the right time for your big “comeback”? And how long has it been in the works… was it a spontaneous, “it’s now or never” kind of thing, or was it something you always knew would happen, eventually, when the time was right?
Candace: It just felt like the right time. We’ve got some fresh blood in the band, and there’s this new energy between all of us that’s been really fucking fun on stage. It feels exciting again, and we wanted to capture that, to make a record together that actually sounds and feels like the band we are right now.
That feels like a pretty nice point to segue into talking about the new album directly… so I want to ask you what (if anything) makes this one different from its predecessors and what, in your opinion, hasn’t changed at all about the way you do things?
Candace: I think we’ve all changed a lot in ten years because life changes you. We have kids, businesses, careers, and all these other things we’re passionate about outside of the band. I think we know ourselves better now and probably have a different perspective on what actually matters to us.
For me personally, I’ve spent a lot of those years pushing myself in completely different ways, building businesses, coaching, guiding, spending a ton of time in the mountains, and I think all of those experiences find their way into who you are creatively.
But the thing that hasn’t changed at all is the heart of this band. We’ve never been interested in chasing what’s current or trying to become something we’re not. Walls of Jericho has always been about intensity, honesty, heavy fucking music, and getting on stage and leaving everything we have up there.
If anything, I think this record is all of that with ten more years of life behind it. There’s some fresh energy in the band now, but the foundation is still very much us.
This one might be a bit like asking you to choose your favourite child… but I’m going to ask anyway… what are your favourite songs on the new album (I’ve got my own picks, but I don’t want to influence yours) and why?
Candace: “A Brighter Fire” is probably my favorite because it has my only child on it, lol. Aaron, our bass player, wrote the music with his son Matthew, and my daughter Patsy and I did the rest.
After all these years of making music together, having our kids become part of that process was such an incredible full-circle moment. It feels like a celebration of where we came from, where we are now, and this whole life we’ve built around music.
My next favorite is “The Reckoning.” That song is about processing trauma and abuse, a topic I refuse to sweep under the rug and one that still burns a hole in my soul. Healing isn’t this straight line where one day you’re just done. It’s a process. It changes, and you change with it.
Where I am in that process right now is somewhere between fiery anger and beautiful reclamation. There’s a lot of power in taking back the pieces of yourself that were stolen. We are the fire we let burn in our hearts, and what we choose to do with that fire is what matters.
And, as a follow-up, were there any that were particularly hard to get right?
Candace: This time the process was really different for me. I wrote a lot of the words first and then had to figure out how to fit them into the music.
Usually I hear the vocal patterns first and then build the lyrics around those patterns, so completely flipping that process was definitely trickier. It challenged me in a different way, but I think that also made it a lot more rewarding when everything finally clicked.
Speaking of the lyrics… I’d love to learn a little bit more about them (especially since there are certain lines, in songs like “The Flame”, “Untouchable” and “Agency” in particular, which perhaps feel even more personal than usual), so what were the main themes and drivers this time around, and what one thing would you want people to take away from the album?
Candace: The lyrics are always personal for me, even when I’m writing about something social or political, and writing has always been a way for me to process what I’m feeling and what I’m seeing around me.
This time, a lot of it came from watching people I love and friends around me struggle, but also noticing how I was feeling every day just from constantly consuming what other people were posting and experiencing through social media. It made me realize how much suffering is happening around us and how much of it we’re taking in all the time.
I think the climate we live in right now is just so clouded with information, distraction, anger, opinions, trauma, and everyone telling you how you should feel about everything, but there isn’t a lot of space for actual resolution or processing. Obviously none of that is new, but the amount of it and the fact that it’s constant feels different. So a lot of these songs became about processing that.
Obviously this is nothing new for Hardcore (or the band) either, as the genre has always worn its heart, and its ideals, out on its sleeve, but was it still easy to get back into that confessional, confrontational mind-set this time around, now that you’re a little older and wiser?
Candace: There is so much happening around us that we simply can’t change, and with that helplessness comes anger, frustration, and sadness. We need somewhere for all of that to go.
For me, music has always been a place to express it. And when we express it together, whether we’re writing it, screaming it, or standing in a room singing it together, it reminds us that we aren’t alone in this fight.
More than anything, that’s what I want people to know and feel when they hear this record.
Similarly, it’s a long-running tradition for you to have a softer, more sombre song towards the end of every album, and System Error is no different in this regard, but “A Brighter Fire” might just be the best of them, and certainly one of the most poignant. How hard was it to allow yourself to be this open and vulnerable (something which really comes across throughout the track)?
Candace: In person, I can actually be a woman of very few words, lol. Writing has always been where I’m able to really express what I’m feeling.
My daughter is singing with me on this track, which makes it incredibly special to me. She has been my greatest source of inspiration in life and has taught me so much about the importance of leading by example.
Because of her, being vulnerable and putting those feelings out there isn’t as challenging as it once was. I want her to be brave, so I have to be willing to be brave for her, too.
Of course the guests on “A Brighter Fire” aren’t the only guest appearances on the album… so how did you decide a) who you wanted to join you on the new record, and b) what songs they needed to be on?
Candace: Guy (Kozowyk) from The Red Chord and Randy (Blythe) from Lamb of God both do guest vocals on the record. We’ve known Guy for probably 20 years now and have toured with The Red Chord a ton over the years and, beyond music, we just genuinely care about those guys as people. So having him be part of this record felt really natural and special.
Randy was actually a surprise for us. We were recording the song, and there’s something really beautiful about art and music and the way it can move you, inspire you, and make you want to blend yourself into it. That’s kind of how it happened, and it was super fucking sick. The whole experience was.
Working with Kurt (Ballou) was incredible too. He’s such a straightforward, authentic person, and I really appreciated that. He keeps things raw and true to who you are instead of trying to turn you into something else. I’m really thankful for his direct communication and the way he hears all those little things that can completely change a song. It made the whole recording experience feel very honest.
I know you’ve got a special appearance at Damnation Festival coming up (in fact it was the announcement of Walls of Jericho that convinced me to get my ticket for this year’s fest) so I’m wondering if you have any surprises in store, or might at least be able to give me/us a hint about what to expect or any deep cuts you might be pulling out for the occasion?
Candace: First of all, that’s fucking awesome that us being announced was what convinced you to grab a ticket. Thank you!
We’re really excited for Damnation. We’re going to do what we do, bring big energy, and hope everyone in that room gives it right back to us. We’re there to have fun and fuck shit up, and hopefully everyone joins us in doing the same.
There may be a few things in the set for the people who have been with us since the beginning, but that’s about as much as you’re getting out of me…
For my penultimate question I wanted to get a little introspective, if that’s ok? Walls of Jericho have been a true pillar of the Hardcore scene for several decades now, and I’m curious as to how often you stop to reflect on where you are and where you’ve come from? And do you still see the band’s influence in the wider Hardcore (and Metal) scene (because I certainly do)?
Candace: I don’t really think of us that way, which makes this a hard question to answer, honestly. We’re pretty humble people. All we’ve ever really known how to do is show up, be ourselves, make the music we want to make, and give everything we have when we play.
But when I actually stop and think about it, I’m incredibly proud that we’ve been doing this for 28 years. I’m proud that we’re a female-fronted band that came up in a world where there weren’t many of us, although thankfully that number keeps growing every day.
In the beginning, there were absolutely people who called us a gimmick or questioned whether a woman belonged doing this kind of music.So there is something pretty fucking cool about still being here almost three decades later and knowing that we were a part of showing it could be done, and done well, by women.
As far as our influence, that’s probably for other people to decide. It feels weird for me to say, “Yeah, we influenced this or that.” We just keep showing up as who we are and trying to be the best version of ourselves. If that helped open a door, inspired someone to start a band, or made another woman feel like there was a place for her in heavy music, then that means a lot to me.
And, after 28 years, the fact that the scene still shows up for us is fucking sick. We show up, they show up, and we get to keep doing this thing together. I don’t take that for granted.
Last, but by no means least… is it too early to hope that we’ll get some more material after the release of System Error: Humanity? Not that I want to put any pressure on you, but it’s a very good album, and it definitely feels to me like you’ve still got a lot left to offer, and a lot left in the tank, as a band.
Candace: Bilbo Baggins said it best: “It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.” That’s kind of how I feel about this band.
System Error: Humanity – produced by Kurt Ballou, mastered by Nick Townsend, and featuring art by Aaron Ruby – is out November 13 on Napalm Records.
Walls of Jericho will be touring Europe in November, including an appearance at Damnation Festival in the UK.