Interview with A Plague Upon Us!

Band: A Plague Upon Us

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Genre: Deathcore

Q: Where did you get the idea for the name "A Plague Upon Us" for your band?

We just brain stormed and researched which band names had not been taken yet and took a vote out of 3 or 4 possible band names and we ended up on that one. The lyrical content of the first 6 songs from our self titled full length album is a concept about a "plague" being conceived, spreading, and destroying the world. 

 

We leave it up to the listeners interpretation to determine what kind of plague we are talking about, whether it be a physical plague, viral outbreak, religion, government corruption, zombie apocalypse, and so forth.

 

Q: You have been around since 2007, but only starting picking up attention in late 2012/early 2013. Why do you think that is?

We actually had a different name in 2007 and 2008, and I (Dave) got deployed to Iraq the entirety of 2009 so the band was on hiatus that year. When I came back in 2010 it was decided to change the name since several original members had been replaced. We had a 6 song self titled EP in 2010 and spent the year playing out, but had another lineup change in 2011 and decided to write new songs and scrap the ones from the initial EP. 

 

The first 4 we wrote ended up being released as our "In Witness to an Execution" 4 song EP, the following 6 songs we wrote were recorded a year later and all 10 songs were released in November of 2012 on our self titled full length. That was the first time we ever released a full length cd to the public so that could be the reason we saw an increase in the attention we were getting.

 

Q: What is the local metal scene like in Pittsburgh, PA?

We are about 2 hours from Pittsburgh so we don't go down there too often but we have always had good turnouts anytime we have played in the greater Pittsburgh area. Our immediate local scene is based out of the Dubois, PA area. It is a fairly small town but we usually have a full house anytime we do hometown shows.

Q: Your album, In Witness to an Execution, has received a lot of positive feedback from websites and fans. Can we expect your next album to be as good, if not better, than In Witness to an Execution?

Our In Witness to an Execution EP, which we recorded in 2011 is actually the last 4 tracks of our self titled full length which we finished recording in 2012, so we think that the first 6 newer tracks are better than the EP.

Q: What does the band do outside of making and playing music?

Work shitty jobs, hence why we want to make touring a full time career!

Q: What bands play an influence on your music the most?

Mostly the underground deathcore bands that are out there living in a van touring and trying to further evolve the genre we share. Wayyyy too many to name.

Q: Do you have any shout outs to give to the readers?

We definitely want to give a shout out to all of our fans, and all the kids that come out and support our band at shows, all of the people who only know us from the internet but still take the time to help promote us, and all of our brothers in the other local bands we play with. 

 

We are only a small piece of the local metal scene in our area it takes everyone supporting each other to have any success at what we do. We are incredibly grateful for the amount of support we have gotten and plan on repaying the favor with our music.

Thanks for taking the time to interview us!