"A Word" With Patrick Pintavalle From The Absence !

The Absence are a Melodic Death Metal band from Tampa, Florida. Formed in 2002, the band released a demo and 2 full length albums 2005's "From Your Grave" and 2007's "Riders Of The Plague.

The first time I watched the video for "From Your Grave" I was blown away, mainly because of the monstrous riff, and plus for the fact that Jamie (Vocals) sounds very similar to the almighty Tomas Lindberg of the legendary band At The Gates. (Offcourse the beards where something that caught my attention aswell)

I was so fucking psyched when I first heard The Absence (anyone that knows me, knows I'm a diehard At The Gates fan), these guys dont only pick up where bands like At The Gates left off, they kick more ass then their Scandinavian Idols (thats right!) the band's second full length album "Riders Of The Plague" was produced by Scar Symmetry's awesome guitarist Jonas Kjellgren. The album also features guest appearances by James Murphy (Testament), and Jonas Granvik (Edge Of Sanity).

The band recently announced that they are working on their 3rd full length album. I got really pumped up about the news, so naturally I was slapping people around calling everyone a "shit'fart" until I got the chance to have "a word" with the band's kick ass guitarist Patrick Pintavalle (who also co-founded the band), about their upcoming album, his favorite Scandinavian bands, today's metal scene, Trivium and alot more.

Here's how it went:

TMR: First of all I'd like to thank you for this opportunity, hows everything going with The Absence ?

Patrick: Its going great man, We are just song writing at the moment.



TMR: You recently announced that your working on your third album, what can you tell us about the record so far ?

Patrick: So far it sounds like The Absence but its cool because the songwriting we feel has really improved so much. The lead sections are pretty cool and different from the normal metal lead sections.



TMR: You did a cover of Testament's "Into The Pit" on your previous album "Riders Of The Plague", can we expect another cover on the new album ?

Patrick: Yes you can. We were going to cover a carcass song but we decided that if we did that it wouldnt really sound different from the original so we scrapped that Idea. We know what we are covering now But I wont spoil the suprise. Just know that its going to be a well known song by a well known Artist.



TMR: When can your fans expect a taste of the new album, are you planning on putting up a teaser any time soon ?

Patrick: Yes, we are planning on putting up some videos on Youtube and here at myspace. We just dont want to let the cat out of the bag yet. We just launched our official Youtube account. So there will be plenty of videos to see in the next year.

Founders Of The Band

TMR: You guys are influenced by the Gothenburg sound, which are some of your all time favorites from the genre ?

Patrick: Edge of Sanity, Soilwork, Entombed, At the Gates, Carnal Forge
Theres a bunch of bands that we like from Sweden but I really dont listen to these bands much anymore. The bands that I like from Sweden and Europe these days are like Evergrey, Mercenary, Opeth, Scar Symmetry, Ensiferum and others.



TMR: With all the new genres emerging in the scene today, do you think metal is getting a positive push ?

Patrick: I dont know about that. It seems like they are all sub genres of metal. Its wierd. I dont like this new death metal scene thats for sure. Its wierd that the top of the list death metal bands are scenester/screamo looking kids. The lables are smart though because they know these kids will sell records because they all wear white belts and have pink and blue t-shirts.

The METAL !

TMR: What did you think of the latest Testament album ?

Patrick: I didnt hear the whole record but from what I did hear it was cool I guess. I listened to them back in 7th 8th grade so I dont really listen to them much anymore. I really liked "The Gathering" as far as later Testament albums are concerned.



TMR: Are you guys fans of any newcomers in the scene ?

Patrick: I dont want to piss anyone off but no not really. Gojira is awesome but I dont really think they are that new. I like the record they made before this last one though. So I guess Im already not as much of a fan.



TMR: How did you end the Trivium T-shirt trade idea, did you end up burning the pile? and can you tell us a bit about the whole thing ?

Patrick: HA HA HA, I guess we didnt really have a plan for that it was more of a publicity stunt to tell the truth. I have a garbage bag full of Trivium shirts at my house now. I guess I will give them to good will or the Salvation Army.

(TMR sidenote: Burn it... BURN IT!!!)



TMR: Thank you so much Patrick for doing this, would you like to add anything ?

Patrick: Thank you very much. Be sure to keep your eyes open for the new record. We will be announcing the title and cover art very soon.



Make sure you head over to the band's Myspace to check out some brutally awesome heavy metal and to get the latest updates about the band's upcoming album. (Dont forget to check out the band's cover for "Into The Pit")


Here's the band's latest video for the song "Dead And Gone" from their latest release "Riders Of The Plague":