Orange County's Eighteen Visions is no stranger to the hardcore scene; in fact, they've been working hard for almost a decade. Eighteen Visions is a band whose members have never been afraid to be themselves and it shows in their music and image. Early albums such as Until the Ink Runs Out and The Best of Eighteen Visions contained a sound that mixed both hardcore and grind yet remained fresh and original in a sea of musical doppelgangers. With Vanity, their sound became cleaner and more organized while the band began donning suits and ties when playing live. However, that just wasn't good enough for them.\nObsession, the band's latest effort, is a landmark album for them. It's more mature than prior releases and finds Eighteen Visions at its creative best. The filler is all gone and instead has been replaced by track after track of energetic riffing and well-organized song structures. Weekend had the opportunity to sit down with guitarist and founding member Keith Barney at their sold-out show in Indianapolis at the Emerson Theater and this is what he had to say about their success:
Weekend: How is the current tour going and how did you end up with the rest of the bill?\nKeith Barney: The tour is going really good; about three-fourths of the shows have been entirely sold-out and we've been getting great responses. All the bands were kind of randomly picked for this tour. We went looking for some hardcore bands; we knew we wanted to have a Christian band and that's where Emery came in. As far as other bands, Misery Signals came up first because we were looking at the Ferret Records roster, and then Remembering Never was on there too so we went with them. We had never toured with any of these guys before and we didn't know them at all, so it was a brand new experience.
Where do you see Eighteen Visions going this coming summer? \nKB: We're currently working on that stuff right now. The only thing we know we really want to do is go over to Europe to do some of the big festivals over there. We just got offered one of the ones in Germany and all of that stuff is getting worked out right now. We'll do another U.S. tour for sure, but we're not sure what the tour will be like yet.
What was your inspiration/influence behind making Obsession?\nKB: There are always lots of inspirations and influences behind making an album. Musically, it was kind of just what we did on Vanity. We knew after Vanity that we wanted to make more to-the-point songs because a lot of them were long and had filler riffs. It was cool for its time, but we wanted to be more focused on this album. We wanted to take the best parts of each song and cut out the filler. It creates a better song and it has been proven by plenty of bands over time. So we worked really hard on that. \nI can't really speak for the other members of the band, but for myself the idea of Obsession came from being in a relationship with my girlfriend for about five years and we broke up. That's where the whole idea of "Obsession Desire Depression" on the opening track came from. The obsession of the whole break-up because we were together for so long and were going to get married; the desire to have her back; and the depression of knowing it just wasn't going to happen. Lyrically and musically the vibe of the record played off of that.
How did you end up collaborating with producer Mudrock?\nKB: He was referred to us by our manager. We had never worked with a producer before so we didn't really know what it would be like. James (Hart, vocals) and I demo-ed four songs as the band and then we went to meet him at a studio in Los Angeles. We knew he had done work with Avenged Sevenfold, Godsmack, Alice Cooper and Chimaira so we went in to talk to him and he really liked our stuff. He liked the change that was going on from Vanity to the new songs. He was really excited about that and it was really awesome working with him because we were getting an outside opinion from a professional. He really picked apart our music, but in a good way. He never picked up a guitar and wrote a riff but he tried to steer us in the right direction with this album.
How has your long-term fan base reacted to the direction you've chosen on the new album?\nKB: I'd say about 95 percent of it has all been positive. Everyone has just been really excited. We wouldn't have the numbers of kids at our shows if it wasn't, because we look out into the crowd and we see hardcore kids. It is a little weird to us, though, because we thought there might have been a backlash. We were ready for it even though we didn't care, but we were just really surprised by it all. I think a lot of people respect us for our musical integrity and wanting to try new things. As long as you write a good song, whether it's melodic or heavy or whatever, that's all that matters. A lot of people thought we changed the sound because of the major label stepping in. In fact, we had (written) the Obsession album for Trustkill Records. After the record was mixed was when a major label stepped in and picked us up.
What song would you say is your favorite song off the album?\nKB: When playing live, "Tower of Snakes" is always the most fun to play just because of the crowd response. The most fun for me personally writing was probably the song "Crushed" which is also very fun to play. It doesn't get as big a reaction as "Tower of Snakes," but for me it's just really fast, energetic, heavy and it also has the melodic bridge. I even add a little solo in there. It's just a good, heavy rock song.
Which direction do you see the next album going?\nKB: Yeah, you're not too early with that one. We've probably demo-ed 15 songs already. With the laptop and recording songs into the computer and demo-ing stuff, we've just been playing around. Nothing is set in stone; we're just on the road and we have the time to do it. We always like to write. "A Long Way Home," which is the second-to-last song on Obsession, was the first song written three weeks after the Vanity record was done.
Do you guys have any side projects going on currently?\nKB: No, not anymore. Everyone is pretty much 100 percent Eighteen Visions now. We used to kind of dabble in some stuff here and there, but it's gotten to the point where we're so full-time that we had to make the decision to go all out. We really need to just focus now on writing songs for this band and everyone agrees that's the way to go.
When Eighteen Visions isn't on the road or in the studio what do you guys like to do?\nKB: Well, I generally just like writing (music) and figuring out the programs on the laptop like ProTools and stuff like that since we use them in the studio when recording time comes. Other than that, we play video games, watch DVDs and stay up until 7 in the morning. (laughing) My schedule is just ridiculous right now; I've never been so retarded in my life. It's like going to sleep at 7 a.m. and then waking up at 5 p.m. and walking in to do sound check. It just feels really messed up.
What else do you guys hope to accomplish in the future of Eighteen Visions?\nKB: We've been recording a lot of footage for a possible DVD, something we'd hopefully release around the end of this record cycle just to cap off the success. Then we don't even know where it's going to go. We've got the next single for "I Let Go" coming out on the radio stations next week so we'll see where that takes us. We really want to tour over the summer and then hopefully do some shows in the fall in Australia and Japan. We're not sure when we'll record again next. It depends on the radio and how the record keeps doing. We'll have a better picture by this summer but right now the idea is just keep touring.
What do you think of the current Orange County scene?\nKB: It's really strong. A lot of the bands are just getting bigger and bigger. All the shows are selling out like crazy. You can have different shows on the same night and they still go really well. We've actually thought about doing a package tour with some of the other O.C. bands. We know that when Avenged Sevenfold releases their new album they want to take us on the road and we know we'll do another tour with Atreyu since we've done tours with them before. Overall, it's just a great scene to be part of.
What is your favorite part of being in a band and on the road?\nKB: All I want to do with my life is be artistic whether I'm at home painting or doing graphic design which is what I went to school for. I just like creating stuff ... sitting at the computer and writing new songs and having something to show other people on the bus. Ken (Floyd, guitar) does the same thing, Mick (Morris, bass) does the same thing and we can all just collaborate together on it. It's fun to be creative. It feels good waking up knowing that's all I need to be happy, and then go play some shows for some kids and that's fulfilling.
Eighteen Visions is ready to take the world by storm with their new sound. With two hit singles maintaining heavy rotation on radio airwaves and "Headbanger's Ball," with sold-out shows across the nation and their fashionable image, Eighteen Visions is poised for future success. They're a band loves everything they do and it's all due to three simple things: "sex, hair and rock 'n' roll"
