One of New England’s newest bands is metalcore band Wish You Death. They released their debut EP “Mortis” earlier this year, with the lead single “Annihilation.” The band traveled out to Chicago in September 2021 to record the music.
The single release was accompanied with a visual and some vinyl via top down records, a New England based Record Label.
Their first two shows were on June 24 and June 25 (more on them in the interview!), with the show on June 25 being a mixed bill with Ghost Fame, Everyway, Keep Flying, and With The Punches.
Wish You Death will be playing Sunday of the Act Like You Know Festival with Pummel, Scowl, Anxious, Spaced, Last Gasp, Strange Joy, Constraint, and many others.
I had the chance to chat with the band about their debut, playing shows, the festival, and more! Read it below.
Hi! Thanks so much for taking the time to answer some questions in support of the Act Like You Know Fest in November! Would love to start off with a quick introduction to you and the band. Who is Wish You Death? Describe the band in three words.
Wish You Death is currently Dylan Lampro, Jamie Soph, Logan Cochran, Jared Stallker, and Mike Parsram, and we are an amalgamation of many bands and ideas pre and post COVID.
I think the 3 words I would choose are Balanced, Energetic, and Dynamic.
One of the main reasons for this interview is to highlight your expected performance at the Act Like You Know Festival in Tulsa. Like many of the other bands on the festival, you are a newer band! What does it mean to be included on such an amazing festival as a newer band?
It’s exciting! Aaron is a good friend and he was super supportive of my last band and seeing his desire to continue supporting my output is a dream come true, especially with opportunities such as this. What it means for us is that we can hit the ground running and at least capture the attention of our contemporaries. My biggest hope is to meet new people and make new connections and friends to share these fleeting moments with.
What are you looking forward to in Tulsa other than the festival? Are you planning on visiting any local restaurants or shops?
Firstly, it’ll be nice to meet up with friends from Tell Lies that I haven’t seen since pre-pandemic. We had such a connection the last time we played and toured together, it’ll be nice to see them and catch up. There’s also this coffee spot near the Vanguard I went to back in 2018 that I’d love to hit again, huge coffee guy on the road! I also know that COVID caused a lot of spots to close down, so I’m hoping to discover a new favorite record store as well!
What other bands on the lineup are you excited about?
Many! Gates To Hell, Rejection Pact, Chemical Fix, Scowl of course, Anxious, every day is packed with first timers for me so I’m excited to expand my palate.
Your first show(s) were at the end of June, the 24 and 25. Can you talk about the experience of these two shows? Are there any stand out moments?
It was a nice return to what constitutes being in a traveling band, despite the immeasurable amount of road blocks we had come to by that point, as our members are spread over states and countries. Mike couldn’t get a passport renewal in time so finding a replacement on a week’s notice was nothing short of a nightmare, then your typical growing pains of finding a way to travel, packing it efficiently, making sure everyone in the group is comfortable, etc. I’ve been out of practice!
Biggest standout for me was hurting my back real bad during the second gig. I need insoles on a regular basis and I didn’t have them for the show, and of course I suffered the consequences lol. Otherwise, we played well and played to many!
The one show was also with With The Punches, a band with a different sound than you. What was playing this mixed show like? Could we expect you to do something like this again in the future? Who would you want to play with?
We like to think there’s a lot of overlap in pop-punk scenes with metalcore, and Dustin is a great friend of mine, so we were happy to do the gig in any capacity and will be doing gigs like this in the future for sure. We love mixed bills. If I can attend a show where I end up enjoying 3 or more bands all from different genres and backgrounds, I’m much happier.
Personally I’d love to play with Four Year Strong, even though I can’t see that realistically happening lol, they were quite a hot listen for me back in high school like With The Punches, so if that WTP gig happened anything can I think.
Let’s chat for a second about the EP. Your first EP “Mortis” was announced in January and then released on February 1. The track “Annihilation” was the first single. Why did you decide to release this track first? How does it compare/contrast to the other tracks on the EP?
We felt that “Annihilation” was the best example of our overall sound. Most people these days don’t have the attention span to get to the 4th or even 5th track on an EP, so couple that sonic expression with making our single the last track, we can hopefully combat that fatigue that people experience when trying to keep up with releases. I am a full album kind of guy, so any way that I can entice people to enjoy music as a whole experience rather than a couple bangers and deep cuts, I’m satisfied.
What themes/messages did you decide to focus on in the EP and why?
This is more of a Mike question, I basically told him to write what he knows and feels. I’m not someone who exists to dictate someone else’s truth, and I chase authenticity and honesty above all else. Mike and I have been good friends for a long time now and I trusted him to put out lyrics that he’s proud of.
If you had to pick one track for a new listener to check out, what would it be and why?
“Single Event Upset,” personally. I think that while the mathier leanings aren’t explored further on the EP, it gives a good indication of what’s to come and where our writing is heading as we explore these different parts of our sound.
If you had to leave us with one last comment, what would it be?
Make the music you want to make, authentically and earnestly, and don’t give that up to chase a “formula” that works.”
Listen to Wish You Death’s debut EP “Mortis” on Bandcamp below.
