As we bid farewell to 2023, come along with us for a series of interviews with a few artists. We’ll chat with them about their experiences, challenges, and successes throughout the year. These talks give you a close-up view of what happened in the metal music scene in 2023. We chatted with SLASH THE SMILE to see how the band have experienced 2023.
Towards the end of the year, SLASH THE SMILE released a new single, “Terror – Error – SMiLE!!.” Was most of 2023 dedicated to writing new music?
This year has been dedicated to recording our debut album. The songs were already written, mostly in 2022, but some of the tunes were written in 2021. We made the entire album ourselves (except for mixing and mastering) and took the time to ensure that the songs sound as good as possible. Since we’ve become more confident about our songwriting during the making of the album, we’ve been working on new material.
Were there any valuable lessons you learned in 2023 musically that will stay with you for the rest of your career?
We self-produced our debut EP “Two Faces” in 2021, and it served as a kind of kickstart for us to make an entire album by ourselves. The EP took longer to complete than the album we made this year, so we definitely knew better what we were doing. We also learned to set standards for the quality of our music. This may sound obvious, but we want to release only good or brilliant songs! Also, from a production perspective, we took a big leap. We believe that the new record will sound bigger and better than anything we’ve released before.
What was the most challenging part of 2023?
Admitting that the album is ready, and now we have to release our baby to the cold, evil world. [laughs] Seriously speaking, there haven’t been big challenges since we know what we are doing. We planned this year carefully, and it really paid off. Also, the dynamics between the band members are better than ever, so it’s been a pleasure making SLASH THE SMILE bigger and better.
Have you (re-)discovered any new music during 2023?
We live in an era where you can discover new music almost daily. So, we’ve found lots of new music this year. Some of the bands or artists include FLAT BLACK, MORS SUBITA, GETTOMASA, ME & MY, HOPSIN, and OLIVER TREE.
What can we expect from SLASH THE SMILE in 2024?
We are starting a new era for SLASH THE SMILE. This means our visual image changes, and we continue the lore of the band. And, of course, our debut album will be released. With the album, we want to showcase what our band is all about.
