I've known Chris Latta for a long time as the soft spoken, literate guy from multiple bands who writes a lot of reviews. Now that he's been singing for Lavaborne for a while, I decided to ask him a few questions.
SJ: Describe Lavaborne for the uninitiated.
Lavaborne is a five-piece metal band from Indianapolis, Indiana. We like to describe our style as ‘power-doom,’ basically a fusion of power metal and doom with some thrash and classic metal tinges. Lots of guitar harmonies and double bass drumming but also dark riffs and baritone vocals.
SJ: How did you guys get together?
The band was founded in January 2017 when I reached out to Brandon Signorino about collaborating in this style. We wrote some songs together and he also helped polish arrangements for some material that I had accrued. We decided to record a demo as a way to recruit other musicians, which was released that fall with me doing vocals and playing bass while he handled the guitars and drum programming. The results weren’t the most professional, but it gave people an idea of what we were doing. From there, our other members Brandon Davis, Freddie Rodriguez, and Max Barber expressed interest and gradually joined. Since they’ve all played in the band Mask of Sanity together for some time, that made it easy for us all to gel and expand even further.
SJ: What's the toughest part of being in a band?
Coordinating schedules. After all, you gotta factor in everybody’s day jobs and other life commitments when arranging practices, recording sessions, and gigs locally and beyond. Fortunately, we plan well enough and find enough flexibility for these situations to not be too much of an issue. It’s just tricky to live in the moment when it feels like all the cool stuff you’re doing is still on the horizon.
SJ: Thematically, what are Lavaborne songs all about?
We’ve used a mix of fantasy, mythology, and religion for our lyrical themes so far. There’s pretty standard metal fare like Vikings and the Antichrist, but I like to think we put these topics under a questioning lens as opposed to playing them straight. You’ll die heroically in battle but did the guy you kill also die heroically? Was Medusa really the monster? What happens when the persecuted becomes the persecutor? Fun stuff like that.
SJ: If you were putting on your own heavy music fest, what would be your dream lineup?
There are a bunch of fests like Mad with Power and Legions of Metal that already have what I would consider dream bills. I tell you my dream headliner would be Candlemass though somebody like Annihilator would also rule. There are also a ton of newer bands like Smoulder, Visigoth, Cauldron, Haunt, Judicator, and Gatekeeper among others that I’d love to share the stage with. I sure wouldn’t say no if The Gates of Slumber were available either 😉.
SJ: Biggest influences on your singing & songwriting in Lavaborne?
Guys like Iced Earth’s Matt Barlow, Nevermore’s Warrel Dane, Blaze Bayley, Visigoth’s Jake Rogers, and Candlemass’ various singers have greatly shaped my vocal approach with Lavaborne. As much as I still want to be Bruce Dickinson when I grow up, the baritone singers in this sort of metal are the ones that made me want to do this ‘my way.’
As far as songwriting goes, I strive for songs that make memorable impressions. It’s always important to have catchy riffs and vocal lines, but it’s even better to have engaging lyrics and thoughtful structures backing them up. I’ve crafted a lot of our songs’ basic structures but having everybody else fill in the arrangements makes them much more complex and exciting than they’d be otherwise.
SJ: What other stuff do you guys have planned for 2020?
We are in the process of recording our debut album now, aiming to get that out sometime this year. We’ve also announced our first set of shows that’ll be happening locally. Once the album is released, we’re aiming to branch out into the greater regional area and beyond.
SJ: When did you first start playing an instrument or singing?
I actually started with piano when I was six or seven; I had lessons for a couple years but didn’t want to stick with it after the teacher I had moved away. I always wish I had in hindsight. I started doing choir in junior high, so it was only natural that I wanted to be a singer when I got into heavier music. From there, I picked up bass when I was about sixteen since I wanted to be taken seriously and had more aptitude for that than guitar. I was a vocalist/bassist in every other serious band I’ve been a part of so being the honest to gods ‘lead singer’ of Lavaborne has been a personal change of pace.
SJ: How would you describe the current state of the Indy underground music scene?
I think the Indy scene is always fluctuating but ultimately stays solid. We have plenty of reliable venues here (Black Circle, State Street, The Mel, Healer, etc.) and there’s always a healthy number of bands active.
As far as actual bands, I can’t speak for the punk or alternative scenes, but I do feel like metal is experiencing some changeovers lately. Bands like Thorr-Axe, Battersea, and my old group Spirit Division split with the musicians involved moving on to new projects. It might just be me getting too dramatic about a new decade, but I think there’s some sort of transition taking place. Either way, it’s always exciting to see what great albums and gigs will come out of it. I’m certainly excited to see how things move forward with the resources we have.
SJ: What advice would you give to aspiring young metal dudes?
You should always know what you want but also have the flexibility to see how someone else’s contributions can improve it.
SJ: Being in multiple bands, a good idea or great idea?
Best idea! All of us in Lavaborne are in or have been in multiple bands. As long as you’re communicating openly and properly coordinating schedules, it’s a great way to express yourself in ways that you might not get to otherwise.
Lavaborne is:
Chris Latta - Vocals
Brandon Davis - Bass
Max Barber - Drums
Brandon Signorino - Guitars
Freddie Rodriguez - Guitars
https://www.facebook.com/Lavaborne/
https://lavaborne.bandcamp.com/releases
