Interview: Into The Storm

Into The Storm

Into The Storm has released their fifth album, Where The Merfalo Roam on Living and Breathing records on LP, CD, and digital. It can be ordered here.

Recently, they took some time out to help us get to know them.

Glacially Musical :So, tell me about your new record, Where The Merfalo Roam.

Into The Storm: 'Where the Merfalo Roam' is the most accurate representation of seeing us play live we have ever recorded.

The concept is a journey through discontent, oppressive governments, dystopian eras, and the connection between the cycles societies go through.

The artwork depicts the mouth of a giant mythical creature that devours chunks of societies with bits of them still stuck against it's teeth and the creatures that are still feasting upon them.

Where the Merfalo Roam is a call to a bygone era where great waters covered much of the open the plains and large aquatic mammals grazed, Merfalo. You can still see evidence of this time in the derelict buildings scattered beside the highways of America.

GM: Bandcamp is a great way to gather some information on an artist that's not in the standard press release. The "Limited Edition Merfalo Survival Bundle" caught my eye. It also kind of scared me.

Why am I scared of Merfalo now when I don't know what they are?

IS: “The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown”

― H.P. Lovecraft, Supernatural Horror in Literature

This is society.

GM: The vinyl edition of Merfalo is on Mermaid Blue and White Tear Drop vinyl. How did you come up with this color scheme?

IS: On our 'Captains' album we referenced Mermaid tears which according to the lore we used would grant someone who injested a tear a wish.

With the chaotic waters adorning the cover art for this album it seemed appropriate to continue that theme on into the color of the vinyl itself. Shark gummies.

GM: Living in Seattle I have to assume you're Sounders fans. Am I right?

IS: Go sportsball!

GM: How has living in the Pacific Northwest influenced your songwriting?

IS: Nature is all around us and feeds our creative spirits.

In the light that glistens off the top of the ever imposing Mt Rainier that reminds us that at any moment that shit could explode and kill all of us. Burying us in nature. Nature.

GM: Coffee or Tea?

IS: Coffee. Black. Chased with a redbull

GM: Lager or Ale?

IS: I'll take the cold one.

GM: What are the five most important albums of all time?

IS: - Botch 'We are the Romans' - Metallica 'Kill'em All' - Deftones 'White Pony' - Kodan Armada 'A Collection of Songs' - Fleetwood Mac 'Rumours'

GM: When will we be seeing your smiling faces here in St. Louis on tour?

IS: Hopefully sometime in 2017.

Maybe over across through Montana over to Chicago down through St. Louis to Texas and back across through Arizona to California and Nevada through Utah and Idaho then Oregon and home again. That's the dream.

GM: Is there anything I missed, if so, tell us now?

IS: Our album is coming out soon. November today.

Everyone listen.