ION INDIE MAGAZINE December 2015, Volume 19 | Page 42

out live for a year, and we were like, ‘What are you talking about?’ So, we went through so
many ideas until one fit, and then we added the solo and everything on top of it. We were
actually mixing the album, getting ready to send it out for mastering and we were still
screwing with the structure of that song.”
The sound that Behind The Grey has burrowed into over the past year is open to
interpretation. It’s Active Rock-friendly fare, with slyly soulful vocal twists and sequencing
layered into fantastic melodic structure. Chevelle, Breaking Benjamin, Sevendust
comparisons may seem appropriate, yet not defining this band’s rather unique take on heavy,
ambient, emotionally-charged 21st century rock.
“When you’re writing for yourself, you understand what you’re trying to do,” began Saypack
in response to the often-asked question regarding what Behind The Grey’s sound actually is.
“When you try to explain it to someone else, I try to find a comparison--we may sound similar
to some of that stuff, but don’t copy it.”
“As a musician, you learn all these little tricks and trades, and tools,” says McDonald, “but
when you get in the room to play with these guys, it naturally changes into different modes.
You might play a blues riff over a metal riff--those sorts of interpretations just come
naturally.”
The band has a rather broad spectrum of influences--a fact that wasn’t lost on each member
upon this current lineup solidifying.
“When Eric joined the band I told him that we covered Killswitch Engage’s ‘Last Serenade,’”
Perna began. “He said, ‘That’s great, but who’s that? Same with Sevendust--I had to give him
the CD. It was cool to hear Eric’s interpretation of our music as someone that wasn’t familiar
with a lot of that type of heavier stuff.”
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