Saying Hey (For Doomsday) with The Amatory Murder

Saying Hey (For Doomsday) with The Amatory Murder

The Amatory Murder is a Brooklyn-based alternative rock band led by vocalist, songwriter, and producer Xian Murder. Beginning as a solo project, the band has grown into a powerful four-piece with Scott Genovese (drums), Binx Noir (bass), and Jake Haimowitz (guitar). Blending the heart of classic rock with modern alt-rock edge, their sound is cinematic, emotional, and driven by sharp songwriting and dynamic arrangements. With influences like Pink Floyd, Muse, The Cult, and Nine Inch Nails, The Amatory Murder creates music that connects through intensity, melody, and meaning.

Highwire Daze recently interviewed vocalist Xian Murder to discuss the amazing new album The Sounds of Seven Angels which includes their standout single Say Hey (For Doomsday)!  Read on to find out more about this compelling new band on the rise…

Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in The Amatory Murder, and how long the band has been together.
My name is Xian Murder. I am the front man/vocalist and one of the songwriters in The Amatory Murder. I also engineer and produce our music. TAM as a whole, and this record in particular, could only come from lived experience. So right now, we have the right people in the right places. This lineup has been together approximately 2 years.

Where is the band based out of and what is your local music scene like there?
Our home base is Brooklyn, NY. While the local music scene here is pretty eclectic, it can often times feel very cliquey and close-minded. Sometimes it feels antithetical to the mission of rock n’ roll; too clean, homogenized and–dare I say–corporate. A lot of people here just want to be “seen” and the art is secondary. That isn’t to say that we haven’t played some absolutely amazing shows with some awesome bands, but we definitely love touring outside of New York.

Is there any overall story or concept behind The Sounds of Seven Angels album title?
Yes. Revelation, especially the symbolism of the seven angels, is a metaphor for judgement, transformation, and the chaos that comes before clarity. I think most people can agree: we haven’t been very good to each other lately. Fear and uncertainty seem to bring out the worst in people—myself included. As a band, The Amatory Murder have dealt with a lot of up-and-downs, especially where we live. The So7A story takes the listener on a journey beginning with isolation and ending with the reckoning we all face in some way. How do we treat our fellow humans? Can we do better? The band and I believe that we can.

What is the inspiration behind the single Say Hey (For Doomsday)?
That age-old story of “divide and conquer”. The vulnerable are indoctrinated into submission, conditioned to obey under the guise of safety; comply or the world will fall apart. Questioning the narrative is branded as a threat. Meanwhile, the architects of this system watch with quiet satisfaction. The game is not to save us but to see how far we can be pushed.

Select two other songs from the new album and what inspired the lyrics?
This is a hard one, because they’re all our children, haha! But I’d have to say Velvet Noose. It’s one of the singles we released off the record, and it’s personally one of my favorites. As previously mentioned, a big theme in The Sounds Of Seven Angels is how we treat our fellow humans. When meditating on this subject, I was reminded of Dr. Stanley Milgram’s famous psychological experiments from the 1960’s that were summed up in his article The Perils Of Obedience. He wanted to understand how an entire country of people could’ve allowed Nazi Germany to happen. His findings were depressing. People will generally do whatever an authority figure tells them to. I carry this with me in today’s world where I see how easy it is for people to go against their convictions based on fear when an authority figure tells them to do so. So, lyrically, this is almost like a warning to the listener.

Another one that I’d say is pretty inspired is Speakeasy which places the listener in the seat of a dive bar. It’s a “composite character” in the literary sense. Pubs are one of those places that most people can relate to: you go there to celebrate; you go there when you’re sad; you go there when you don’t want to feel alone. Be careful if you go for the latter two because that can easily turn into your identity. I think it’s important not to get too caught up in those places. It’s not a knock, but are bartenders and regulars really your “friends” outside of that situation? Will they even remember you if you stop imbibing with them for 3 months? 6 months? Longer? Out of sight, out of mind is the usual case. I find it’s a place a lot of people go to when they’re feeling miserable or isolated, only to realize they’re still those things while they’re surrounded by other people who feel miserable and isolated. It can turn into a dangerous time suck. “Finding solace in this misery” was so profound for me to write. One can get used to feeling so miserable that it’s all they know. They think it’s normal, but it isn’t.

What could one expect from a live The Amatory Murder show?
I can confidently say this band really brings it to the stage! You can expect a stadium-quality show no matter where you see us. The Amatory Murder really pride ourselves on the energy we bring to our performances combined with musicianship. As a lead singer, I always try to channel greats like Bono or Dave Gahan, front men I’ve always looked up to. We’re really big on crowd participation. At most shows you can see Jake (guitarist) and Binx (bassist) running into the audience and throwing down with the crowd while Scott (Drummer) helps me amp things up. We’re so grateful being able to share this gift of music with people in a live setting.

Has The Amatory Murder ever played here in the Los Angeles area, and if so, how did the show go? If not, is there any chance of your band playing out here anytime soon?
No! We’ve been to the West Coast before but have yet to play in LA. The Amatory Murder love California! I believe the last show we did out there was in San Diego, and we had a blast. We definitely plan on hitting LA in the near future—it’s a rock n’ roll staple!

If The Amatory Murder could open for any band either now or from the past, who would it be and why?
Ooof, that’s another hard one! Current bands we have on our list to throw down with include Muse, The Cult, Jane’s Addiction, Smashing Pumpkins, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club—they’re legendary, it would be an honor to open for them and I think their fans would dig our sound! Muse and The Cult in particular have been such an inspiration. We’ve also been into what more recent acts like The Warning, Imagine Dragons and Highly Suspect have been doing. They’re really channeling good, classic rock n’ roll. It would be so cool to hop on tour with them.

From the past? Obviously bands like Pink Floyd and Nirvana!

What made you decide to cover the epically underrated I’m Afraid Of Americans song by David Bowie – and what does that song and the David Bowie legacy mean to you?
David Bowie and his legacy is another huge inspiration for us. The way he would experiment with different genres, sounds…working with different producers, aesthetics, etc. That’s something The Amatory Murder can totally relate to. We really like to mix it up from song to song. Even on The Sounds Of Seven Angels, you’ll hear us go from hard rock to jazz to ethereal and on–I even tried my hand at Gregorian Chanting (during the song Revelation)! So yeah, Bowie wasn’t afraid to take the listener on a sonic journey even if it went outside the “box” critics attempted to put him in. Geez, like listen to his very first album David Bowie then Space Oddity then The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust. That span of time alone shows you how versatile (and even fickle) he was. Then listen to The Earthling. The man wasn’t afraid to take risks.

I’m Afraid Of Americans has been a favorite of ours for a long time. Especially the version he did with Trent Reznor, I think that’s one of the greatest collaborations in rock n’ roll history! Actually, I’m jealous of people who got to be there during that era, to really take in that art and see it live. I mean they had David Lynch in the mix when they started working together! How cool is that? Covering that track and making it our own—I added some new lyrics in the choruses—seemed like a no-brainer with how divided our country seems this last decade or so. People are not only “afraid of Americans”—they’re afraid of the Americans living right next door to them! Suspicious of their neighbors, friends, family…it just felt like the right time to release a song like that, and fortunately our fans “got it”.

What’s up next for The Amatory Murder?
We’re hitting the road again to continue promoting The Sounds Of Seven Angels. We have some dates coming up below with more tba. It’s been a great year so far touring and we can’t wait to see everyone and continue this journey together.

Thursday, 8/14 – Wild Air Beerworks – Asbury Park, NJ
Thursday, 8/28 – Haltom City Theater – Haltom City, TX
Friday, 8/29 – Reno’s Chop Shop – Dallas, TX
Sunday, 8/31 – Boozer’s Rock Bar – Corpus Christi, TX
Monday, 9/1 – The End – Houston, TX
Saturday, 9/27 – Brewstock Music Festival – Gastonia, NC

**MORE TBA**

Any final words of wisdom?
Always remember to be good to yourselves and each other. Remember, we are all human beings doing this thing called life together. Try your best to be a good person.

The Amatory Murder is:
Xian Murder – Vocals, Synth, Programming
Binx Noir – Bass
Jake Haimowitz – Guitar
Scott Genovese – Programming, Percussion

(Interview by Ken Morton)

The Amatory Murder in Instagram