The Ascension of Dying Desolation

The Ascension of Dying Desolation

Dying Desolation is a metalcore quartet from Cleveland ready to break out and make their presence known all across the nation and beyond.  On the verge of releasing an EP entitled Paroxysm, Dying Desolation is sure to leave a lingering impression on all who give a good listen.  From the ominious refrains of the introductory Ascension, Paroxysm slams into supersonic gear with the almighty refrains of Tick!  Also included on the EP is standout track Parasite, featuring special guest Christian Grey from Villain Of The Story.  Highwire Daze recently caught up with Dying Desolation’s guitarist Gabe Gazic to find out more about this dynamic band on the rise.  Read on…

Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in Dying Desolation, and how long the band has been together.
I’m Gabe, and I play guitar and do heavy vocals for Dying Desolation. The band has been together for almost three years now, having formed in the summer of 2017.

Where is the band based out of and what is the local music scene like there?
We all live in small cities around Cleveland, and the local music scene there is great. It’s one of the biggest cities for rock and metal in all of the States, and it’s home to some of our favorite bands. It’s also been very welcoming to us as new blood in the scene, and we make a ton of new friends at every show we play there.

Is there any overall story or concept behind the Paroxysm title?
Yes! Paroxysm is a medical term that means “a sudden recurrence or attack of a disease; a sudden worsening of symptoms”, and this applies to all of the songs on the EP in a different and unique way- from the worsening of global climate change and pollution in “Tick”, to the recurring fear that your partner may be unfaithful in “Leave Me”.

Select two songs from Paroxysm and what inspired the lyrics.
Two songs from Paroxysm that I had a heavy hand in writing are the aforementioned “Tick” and “Leave Me”. We’ve covered the topic of the “end of the world” in the past, like on “Doomsday”, the lead single from our self-titled record, but that was handled in a more subtle and nuanced manner. With “Tick”, I wanted to take a more straight-forward approach and give it a sense of urgency to reflect the severity of the situation. It’s one that I’m very passionate about, and I wanted to really make it a call-to-action more than anything else. The timing of the release of that song also worked out in our favor, as it took on sort of a double-meaning with the whole COVID-19 thing going on. As for “Leave Me”, that song was written about a relationship I was in where I felt as though a dark, grey cloud of doubt was constantly lingering over me. Most songs written about relationships are very black and white- it’s either all about how deeply in love you are, or it’s about the pain or anguish that comes from a falling out. I’ve never heard a song about the in between- where you’re in a relationship that should be everything you’ve ever wanted, but you can’t escape the feeling that something just isn’t right.

How did Christian Grey from Villain Of The Story become involved with the song Parasite and what was it like working with him?
I discovered Villain Of The Story shortly after the release of our self-titled, and I knew right away that I wanted Christian on one of our tracks. I hit him up at some point in May of that year, which was before we had very much of anything written for the EP, but he was down to collaborate with us. Later in the year we started sending him demos for “Parasite”, exchanging ideas through phone calls and email. Working with him was an amazing experience, and his contributions, which ranged from writing instrumentals to doing vocals, helped turn the song into something great.

Who produced Paroxysm and what was it like working with them?
Our good friend Scooter Fort from Rewire Recording Studios produced Paroxysm, and working with him was an absolute blast. He was very precise and professional, but we would still joke around, eat way too much fast food, and have a good time day in and day out.

How has the pandemic affected your band and live shows in your city?
It’s been a double-edged sword for us. On one hand, we’ve been able to double down on content creation and the planning surrounding our new releases, and since everyone’s been holed up in their homes on their phones and computers now more than ever, we’ve been able to reach more people. However, with the limitations that have been placed on public gatherings, we’ve had to postpone or cancel multiple shows altogether. This has especially affected our next headliner, which we had hoped to play on the day of the Paroxysm EP release (July 10th), but are now having to reschedule for the second time. We all miss playing shows, but at least now we’ll be able to practice way more so that once we finally get back on stage, we’ll be better than ever.

What could one expect from a live Dying Desolation show?
If you were to come to a Dying Desolation show, you would be met with an absolute beast of a performance. We always strive to give the audience a stadium-worthy show no matter the size of the venue or amount of people that show up. We’re high energy, with an engaging visual show that’ll keep fans’ eyes in awe of the stage, always wondering what’s to come next. Our goal is that you leave the show with a smile and adrenaline soaring through your body with the desire to do it all again as soon as possible. We’re constantly working to improve our sets and change things up so that fans will never see the same show twice. If you like how that sounds, consider coming to one. You won’t be disappointed.

What was it like opening for Mushroomhead and did you get to meet or hang out with them at all?
Opening for Mushroomhead was a blast- they’re a very influential band in the Cleveland metal scene, and it seems that almost everyone in the area knows someone who’s either in the band or has some sort of connection to them. We didn’t get the chance to meet them that night, but we’re full of secondhand connections to them, so I’m sure our paths will cross again sometime in the near future.

If Dying Desolation could open for any band either now or from the past, who would it be and why?
Personally, I would have loved to have opened for Linkin Park before Chester passed away- their live shows were insane, and they were a huge influence for me when I was getting into the kind of music I make today. As for the rest of the guys, I know they’re huge fans of Slipknot, so I’m sure that playing with them would be a dream come true as well.

If the music of Dying Desolation was a donut, what kind would it be and why?
The Dying Desolation Donut would probably bear the most resemblance to an “everything donut”- since we started writing together, we made it clear to each other, as well as to our fans, that we’re not going to limit ourselves to one style of music. We’re all super diverse in our tastes, and we try to incorporate a wide variety of influences into our music while staying true to ourselves and making sure that people still know that they’re listening to Dying Desolation.

What’s up next for Dying Desolation?
We plan on releasing a few more singles before dropping the Paroxysm EP on July 10th- after that, we’ll be working on a few more music videos, live sessions, new merch, and more supplemental content like that to keep fans happy until we can start doing live shows again. As for new music moving forward, we want to let the Paroxysm songs sink in for a bit before we start recording and putting stuff out there, but the four of us are always writing and demoing new music, so I’m sure there won’t be too long of a wait on new material.

Any final words of wisdom?
Stay strong- we’re in the midst of a freaking plague, and apparently UFOs are real now too, so we’re in some pretty strange times right now. Regardless, we’ll make it through all this together.

Band Members:
Vocals- Gavin Kerr
Guitar/Vocals- Gabe Gazic
Bass- Simon Kanaris
Drums- Jordan Gannon

(Interview by Ken Morton)

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