It's early days yet, but progressive deathcore outfit Anna Pest have released what is easily the best album of the year so far. Dark Arms Reach Skyward With Bone White Fingers II: Be (Not) Afraid is a sprawling musical and narrative epic, that blends brutal technicality with complex progressions and blunt emotion in equal measure. With a mix like that, you know we had to take a trip down to Terminal Dogma to see what makes them tick, revealing a list of impactful influences that might not be that surprising, while also remaining utterly sublime.
APRIL (VOCALS, COMPOSITION, LYRICS, PRODUCTION, GUITAR)
DISCORDANCE AXIS – THE INALIENABLE DREAMLESS (2000)
If there’s one album that has inspired me the most in shaping the sound of Anna Pest, it’s this. The band’s early output mostly consisted of refined and repackaged demos that I’d accumulated, and didn’t yet have a signature sonic identity. Inalienable was a gateway to an entire ecosystem of heavy music that unlocked my creativity, and it was only then that the sound of Dark Arms I started to take shape.
The riffs on this thing are incredible. Hooky yet manic, technical yet accessible, mysterious yet immediate. I also love the harmonic palette, which is quite bright for this kind of metal. They favour augmented fifths over diminished fifths, major 7ths over minor 3rds, 9ths over standard power chords. And the lyrics—they were the first to show me that metal lyrics could function as poetry proper, and that I could actually write poems to serve as lyrics. That was massive for me, especially since I had studied poetry in university and fancied myself a decent writer, and it greatly informed my lyrical voice on the two Dark Arms records.
VEIL OF MAYA – [ID] (2010)
I don’t listen to much deathcore, but when I do, it’s usually this record. The compositions are next-level—there’s so much harmonic interest. Mark Okubo is a wizard, the way he manages to sneak interesting intervals, chord shapes, and voice leading trickery into every little riff and breakdown. The last minute and a half of “Dark Passenger” has some devastating high drama going on compositionally, but rhythmically, it just rips. That combination is incredible to me. Proof that deathcore can be elevated, adventurous, ambitious, and serious.
THE END OF EVANGELION (1997, DIR. HIDEAKI ANNO)
There are three aspects of this film (and the series that precedes it) that I will always respect and aim to honour in my own art:
1. Its spirit of anti-escapism. Don’t be a pussy, face the music, do what you have to do. You’re stronger than you think, and you can handle it. That's a message I needed to receive.
2. Its commitment to narrative. This was the film that taught me that I am no longer interested in making albums that are mere collections of songs. I am interested in worldbuilding, in cinema, in myth, in legacy.
3. The visceral honesty with which it depicts the ravages of despair. There are moments when characters self-harm, when they physically attack each other out of loneliness, when they compulsively masturbate out of panic. It’s disgusting—and it’s real life.
JOHN (GUITAR, VOCALS)
BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME – COLORS (2007)
Listening to Colors was one of those pivotal “before and after” moments in my life. I still remember holding it in the music section of Borders Books. I remember looking at my mom’s stereo after 15 minutes to realize that I was, in fact, listening to the third track of the album. None of my friends knew how ambitious metal could be, how one album could contain literally everything.
Colors changed how I listened to music, how I wrote music, how I thought about being in a band. To say I was obsessed with BTBAM and this record would be an understatement. A running gag in my friend group was someone’s girlfriend coming home to find a couple of us stoned, lying on the floor listening to Colors. I saw BTBAM on just about every tour they did for 10 years. “White Walls” live is a religious experience!
ALL SHALL PERISH – THE PRICE OF EXISTENCE (2006)
I don’t remember what I thought about deathcore in 2006, but I remember the cowbell on “Wage Slaves” and that this record ripped my face off. I was listening to metal at the time, but mostly what an ungenerous 'head might call “white-belt metalcore”; nothing with this level of intensity and ugliness had yet battered my ears. Eddie Hermida lays down high-pitched screams here that shake my soul, and I’ve been chasing that tone in my own voice ever since. Matt Kuykendall’s drumming on this record is absolutely wild.
The first time I heard tritone breakdowns was here, and I had no clue you could do that! The Price of Existence taught me how to really write a breakdown and to expect more from the drummers I played with. There are other albums that I find more formative/important/whatever, but the lessons I took from this one most inform how I approach playing in Anna Pest.
COLIN (DRUMS, VOCALS)
DREAM THEATER – TRAIN OF THOUGHT (2003)
These guys were my favourite band growing up throughout my teen years, and Train of Thought was my gateway to eventually getting into heavier music. To this day, I still think it’s one of the heaviest albums that doesn’t have harsh vocals. The riffs on it are insane, and Mike Portnoy’s playing behind the kit always impressed me.
Train of Thought has so many grooves and tasty fills that I’ve taken inspiration from in my work on more extreme music, because even the heaviest music needs good grooves, right? Songs like “This Dying Soul” and “Stream of Consciousness” have really creative drumming, and the way it impacted my style has introduced at least a little prog influence into my style in almost every project I’m a part of. Sorry, not sorry for that. Haha!
I should also mention that I wanted a good snap/ping from the snare on Dark Arms II, and this album is a big part of the sound I want from my drums. It’s organic, yet so pounding and aggressive.
BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME – COLORS (2007)
This one fits more with how Dark Arms II came out in terms of drumming style. Colors has that seamless flow between tracks—that was also something I pushed for when creating music with my bands. Blake Richardson is an absolute beast here. So many sick ideas, very versatile without depending on specific grooves to make it sound “safe”, and also a really interesting sound that took time for me to grasp. When I got into BTBAM, it was before I truly could call myself an extreme metal fan. It took years before I got as into extreme music as I am now.
While being more progressive metalcore, the fusion of elements from death metal and mathcore scattered throughout this album made it truly innovative. I think it makes sense to say that Colors was one of the records that’s stuck with me spiritually, and has had a bit of an influence on this record we created.