Columbus, Ohio’s Like Moths To Flames are pumped about their new record, Dark Divine, released Nov. 3 via Rise Records. The band went out on tour in fall of 2017 with Fit For A King, In Hearts Wake, and Phinehas, and drummer Greg Diamond says that show attendees responded almost surprisingly well to their new material right from the start of the tour, singing along to parts the band didn’t expect them to know yet.
The positive public image of the album mirrors what went on behind the scenes, with Diamond explaining that the band went in a somewhat new direction for the production. In the past, they worked with Will Putney of Fit For An Autopsy, but this time around, they went with Erik Ron, whose style helped put a new spin on things. According to Diamond, “We did the record in halves. We basically wrote out everything we wanted to do for the record and recorded six of the songs first. Once we finished that, we listened back through them and picked what went with those songs the best. […] We really wanted to avoid having an album where the songs mesh into each other.”
For Dark Divine, Like Moths To Flames “wrote the whole record as a unit,” and Diamond says that they produced way “more songs than we ended up using.” He personally gave “influence for the rhythm and drum stuff,” and he’s happy that, as he describes, “we kind of were able to do whatever we wanted.”
Their methods of developing their songs have “definitely” gotten better, according to Diamond. He says of the recording process, “We went in with a huge ton of music, so we could pick the best songs. I think it was a much more open experience. We didn’t have to settle for things.”
He knows that Dark Divine might not be as heavy as some would like, but he’s not fazed—neither are the vast majority of their fans according to Diamond’s description of their fall tour. “We’re a heavy band, and we have heavy past records, so you’ll get the proper amount of those saying it’s not heavy enough, but we have more to offer,” he asserts. “I think there’s something in there for pretty much everyone.”
Part of that has to do with vocalist Chris Roetter’s performances, and Diamond says, “I think we kind of never really stepped out of the box and let him do his own things.”
Diamond has been into making music for most of his life, so he has a lot of experience to draw from. “I started playing drums in middle school. At one point, I was in a jazz band. I either started or joined a band in eighth grade,” he recalls. “I’d known the guys [in Like Moths To Flames] for a long time before I actually joined the band. We all actually got along really well. When the drummer they had at the time left, I came on. It all just happened at once.”
On tour, Diamond likes to stay away from listening to metal and hardcore, preferring stuff like new Post Malone, Knuckle Puck, and Turnover. Although he doesn’t think Like Moths To Flames would ever end up on a tour with a pop punk band, there is one group he would love to tour with: UNDERØATH, who he calls his “favorite band.” “If we could ever tour with UNDERØATH, that would be great,” Diamond says, adding that he looks up to Aaron Gillespie as his favorite drummer. He cites a show at the Starland Ballroom in New Jersey, while on their Rebirth tour, as the “first time I’d been in the crowd actively participating in a while.”
Ultimately, Diamond concludes, “I hope everyone goes out and gives Dark Divine a listen. Hopefully some people come out and jam along.” He’s sure Like Moths To Flames will be announcing tour dates for 2018 in the near future, so fans will get a chance to jam along soon.
Photo by Alan Snodgrass
