For more than a decade, WITHIN THE RUINS has reigned among the elite of modern death metal, injecting the angsty attack of thrash and the attitude of hardcore punk, while mining the best of deathcore. Audiences quickly grew to understand that WITHIN THE RUINS overlaps into several extreme subgenres without limitations from any of them. The determination and skill evident across their six studio albums and three EPs are outmatched only by their devastating live presence, seen on tours with groups like Killswitch Engage, The Black Dahlia Murder, Suicide Silence, and As I Lay Dying.
Vocalist Steve Tinnon arrived for his full-length debut with a mountain of things to get off his chest, screamed throughout the songs with both intensity and dexterity. He previously fronted another band that included WITHIN THE RUINS bassist/vocalist Paolo Galang, making this version of the outfit a supergroup of sorts, combined with co-founders, guitarist Joe Cocchi and drummer Kevin McGuill.
WITHIN THE RUINS represents the pinnacle of possibility when a band keeps their feet firmly rooted in the foundations of modern death metal, chews upon tidbits of classic thrash, and all the while reach upward to grasp toward new creative heights of their own design, with hunger and skill.
INFRARED MAG: We’re on with STEVE TINNON vocalist for WITHING THE RUINS. First and foremost we want to thank you for taking the time to speak with us here at INFRARED MAGAZINE.
STEVE TINNON: Yeah, man. Glad to be here. Dude, thanks for having me on.
INFRARED MAG: What first got you into metal and made you want to be a vocalist?
STEVE TINNON: Yeah. I think the first part of that question, I’d have to say, I remember specifically that I was at a sleepover when I was in elementary school. I want to say it was on TRL, I saw the music video for “Freak On A Leash” by KORN. I kind of just got blown away and the started picking up other bands like LIMP BIZKIT and LINKIN PARK kind of going from there. That’s kind of what got me into heavy stuff. I really just would buy those albums and put in my boom box and start singing along in my parents basement like as loud as I could. Not really knowing what I was doing, but just trying to mimic them and the sounds they’re making and hit the same notes. I think that’s kind of what inspired me to start trying to sing and mix heavy music with melodies and stuff. It was just really intriguing to me. I think that’s kind of where it all started is probably like late elementary middle school around there.
INFRARED MAG: That kind of touches on this next question. Who were your vocal and musical influences that led to you fronting a band such as WITHIN THE RUINS? You mentioned KORN and some others there, would you like to expand on that a little bit?
STEVE TINNON: Oh yeah. That’s definitely some of them. I mean, guys like JONATHAN DAVIS or you know CHESTER BENNINGTON. COREY TAYLOR is a big vocal influence. I was always intrigued by hearing how raw and emotional some of those those screams and lyrics would be, and then they could just go back and forth between doing something so aggressive and raw like that and then singing really pretty melodies and harmonies and stuff like that. It was always super interesting to me. So I was just hooked immediately and wanted to just start mimicking it. A lot of those guys were definitely big vocal influences for me getting started. Then you try and take inspiration from a lot of places. Like, lyrically, I like guys like EMINEM a lot and other hip hop artist, but I also like MICHAEL BUBLE and FRANK SINATRA and stuff like that, you know, just not even close, but you try and draw from all over the place, at least I do.
INFRARED MAG: We touched on your musical and vocal influences. Where do you find your inspiration for a lyric? Is it personal? Where does inspiration come from?
STEVE TINNON: Oh, man, it’s almost always been personal. I think what I’ve always wanted to try and do is to try and reach out to the same people that are listening to the stuff that I do. I want them to get a similar feeling that I got when I was first getting introduced to bands and first started going to shows and listening to certain music that has some emotion and feeling to it, not necessarily sadness all the time, but sometimes anger, like people get upset about stuff. If you connect to that and it makes you feel something, too, that’s what it did for me and I was always inspired. You know, there’s other people out there that feel that stuff too. I usually try and either just through metaphor or personification of some kind. Sometimes I’ll just be very upfront with what I’m talking about. It’s almost always personal stuff. Whether I’m angry about situation XYZ, what have you. I’ve always wanted to give back music that has some feeling to it and not right about random stories that aren’t relevant to anything or just stuff that people can’t really connect with. I’ve never connected with that, so I’ve always wanted to give back personal things.
INFRARED MAG: You’ve been with WITHIN THE RUINS for a little over two years now. Can you tell us a little bit about how your journey with WITHIN THE RUINS came to be?
STEVE TINNON: Yeah. So our bassist Palo, me and him are in a band together previously called SILENCE THE MESSENGER. I was in it since about 2007, and he he joined a couple years after that, I want to say, around 2009. A little after he joined, RUINS was signed to Victory and they put out, ‘Creature’. They had just started touring from the MySpace days. We hopped on a show that they did at ‘The White Rabbit’, you know, way back then. I want to say it was probably around 2009. I just remember I was sitting in my car doing vocal warm ups, and Tim walked over to my car, knocked on the window, and he was like, Hey, is that [inaudible] screaming? I was like, Yeah, he’s like, Dude, I do that stuff too. He said, Are you guys up next? And I was like, Yeah, so he can. He watched our set and our bands just became friends, like, right away. And so any time they would come through, we need to play, play the show with them, or come hang out or what happened. So our basketball is just kind of been connected for over 10 years now, And, uh, towards the end of silence, the messenger they to fill in, not a guitar, but on base for all stars tour. And he ended up sticking around and STM fell apart. And I was kind of sitting around for a couple of years, uh, just twiddling my thumbs, really? And Joe texted me out of out of the blue, uh, during a big U S headliner they were doing about halfway through and was like, Hey, man, uh, remember when we stole your guitarist and I was like, Yeah, he was, um he was like, Do you think we could possibly steal you too, for a tour that we have? And I was like, Yeah, I guess so, Uh, when is it? He’s like, Oh, it’s right now. 00 Okay. Okay. So, uh, I got a good with my my job At the time I flew, I put the all the lyrics all together in a binder that I typed out and I was just studying I mean, because I’m already familiar with all the music. But then once you have to actually learn all the details and performance van, like within the room, and it’s not easy to dive into and just replicate. So, um, so I was just studying, and I did the last half of that tour, and then, uh, basically, after a few months after that, Joe was like, Hey, so we’re at a point where we’d like you to do this full time and just hop on board if you’re ready to do it. And I was a little hesitant at first because I was getting used to regular life, you know, um, not being in a band anymore. I was kind of getting used to that idea like maybe my time was done. But then after I gave it some more, thought I was like, No, I’m I’d be an idiot not to do this. So, uh, I hopped in and, uh, trying to just kind of go from there. We started playing shows, and I’ve not got a couple of singles called rolled on down and research in to give people an idea of what I sound like. And then I did some more shows and started writing this this record and here we are.
INFRARED MAG: you you speak of, uh, within the roads, being something that was kind of difficult to learn. And I just, uh, just happened. Um, for someone who has never heard from within the ruins, how would you describe y’all sound to them?
STEVE TINNON: Um, I hesitate to use all the sub genres because I’m not really a fan of those, but everybody’s familiar with what they are. So I would really kind of say it’s a a mixture of metal core death court, and then definitely some gent the kids love that gent. Um, I’d say I’d say to make sure those just progressive progressive whatever you some for all that stuff in a blender. And, uh, you’ve got within the rooms.
INFRARED MAG: what is the, uh, songwriting process like for you
STEVE TINNON: It all starts with Joe. Joe has his own studio up in Westfield, Massachusetts, and he sits down for just extended period of time, hammering stuff out, and he sends over song ideas and a dropbox usually mostly completed songs. Or if we’re kind of just hanging out in the studio, then he’ll play clips and stuff that he’s been working on or stuff that he hasn’t used in a few years and just to get an idea. But for the most part, and I live in San Antonio, Texas, and Drummer live out in Massachusetts. So there’s a lot of Dropbox action that goes on there, will send over pretty much fully formed songs. And then, uh, I’ll just pick one that I want to write to, and I’ve got to my phone just that I’m usually constantly writing in the notes section when I come up with ideas and I’ll pick one, pick one and just out in the night or so And then when we get to Joe Studio in Massachusetts, then we kinda just try to do two or three within a week or so. Uh, but it all starts with him. Then it goes Dropbox to my brain, to the studio.
INFRARED MAG: So So basically what you’ll do is is he right there, demos it in his, uh, studio, and then y’all add to it and then you get together for the final recording process.
STEVE TINNON: Yeah, like Joe, uh, hand, write all the guitars and stuff. It’ll program drums to it so we can hear what everything sounds like. And then I will just open the song and Dropbox and have it connected to a little Bluetooth speaker. I’ll listen to it on headphones and just kind of play it and hit. Repeat. I’ll just go over sections over and over, Um, and just listening to the track, and I’ll kind of mouth the words and right out in the order that I want. And then, after I’ve got, like, a few prepared, then we would power and I would fly out to Massachusetts for about a week or so and time with, like, two or three tracks during that week and then back home. So the whole process, really the whole process really took us a while. Uh, once I started writing it, but after a few songs and we really found our group and we kind of just we would, you know, like a handful of recording sessions, kinda got it all knocked out. But it was a It’s a process of, you know a couple of months in between power and I flying out there to to do it. But the recording is pretty much all of us together in the room. But, uh, the writing process is we’re kind of split in half since we’re in different states.
INFRARED MAG: Okay, can you describe the new album Black Heart a little bit for us?
STEVE TINNON: Uh, yeah. Uh, it’s it’s pretty much just a straight forward, uh, angry emotional record I had. Oh, I’ve had over the past few years. A few different things kind of happen in my life where I’m I was just upset about things. There’s a really bad girl situation, uh, job situation. But one of my best friends, uh, took his own life a few years ago. Um, it’s it’s It’s been a combination of a lot of stuff, kind of just going on with me personally, and I at the time didn’t have an outlet for any of it. And after I joined ruins, I was like, Okay, I put some of this, put this out there and get it off my chest, and it’s a very straightforward, personal pissed off record. I mean, uh, it’s all kind of I think with the exception of maybe one or two tracks, it’s all it’s all kind of connected in a way, um, either about certain events or dealing with the afternoon how you’re affected by it, Which is kind of what black heart really, really is. It’s about kind of accepting a personal change, uh, within you and not necessarily for the good. Maybe in a broader sense. But, uh, not everything that happens is gonna change you for the better. And I think it’s kind of the acceptance of that is why we ended up just let’s just be straightforward and call it black heart. Uh, it’s just kind of changes people on the inside, and you have to deal with it. So is what it is, Right?
INFRARED MAG: So you guys have dropped two singles from the from the, uh, out in black, including Deliverance and the title track. Black card. Uh, to me, both those are very powerful statements on that that speak to very personal stories of the trail. Um mhm. What is your policy?
STEVE TINNON: Oh, yeah, they absolutely are. Um uh, Blackheart. Really. Everything on the record kind of stems from black part. I would say uh, delivering. Bring one of them. And, um, it’s about some of the, um, personally, it’s about just certain certain people that I have in my life. But I wrote it in a way that you can actually apply it to, um, people that people you might have in your life personally or that you’re aware of, say, in the media or politicians or, uh, whatever. Whatever you find meaning in it. You know, they’re just those people that are out there, um, that you may not see it coming, but a lot of people have their interest in mind over yours and won’t hesitate to stab me in the back over it. And that’s what uh, deliverance is is about and kind of realizing that people just are that way. And honestly, you kind of just have to wait a lot of them out. You know, eventually those people will die off, especially the older politicians and stuff that you don’t really trust. Some people are just that way, man. You can’t You can’t change them. So, uh, kind of just about just about waiting, waiting that out? Um, a lot of them are related, though. Yeah, a lot of funds are all related to specific events. So
INFRARED MAG: do you have any favorite tracks from the album?
STEVE TINNON: I do, Yeah, I mean, it’s it’s It’s really hard to pick one, because when you write tracks that are personal for you, then it’s kind of hard to pick one baby out of those, you know, But on honestly, yeah, the title track is one I do. Deliverance was one of the final tracks that we wrote where we really got into our group at the end. Um, and we were just like, this is this is the one we got to come out with. We got to come out swinging. So, uh, I have to include that one. And, uh, for another reason. I like the the third single that we’re about to drop, called Devil and Me is, uh, another. I just think it’s a very well structured song. It’s very perfectly written song. It’s It’s easily a favorite of mine as well. It’s it’s really hard to choose, and there’s a couple that are aren’t singles as well. Um, yeah, it’s it’s really tough issues. It’s hard, but for sure, the single I think that’s why probably chosen in the first place because there one that we thought was sure,
INFRARED MAG: Speaking of coming out swinging, ‘Blackheart’ is your full length debut with WITHIN THE RUINS. Does the band your addition as a new beginning for the band?
STEVE TINNON: It does. It does and it’s something. I think if you asked any of the guys that they would tell you that for sure. It’s a new beginning for me coming out of a a different band, and taking it to this next level with the guys. But I think the, uh, I’ll tell you that, Yeah, it’s kind of a new chapter. Um, things were just not going not going back to the band, but just kind of losing steam, maybe a little bit getting a little stale. And, uh, there was just some behind the scenes that she was going on, uh, that they just weren’t really getting any enjoyment from And so it’s kind of coming to a place where, like, well, what are we gonna do now And then, Uh, when jo called me out, that was kind of the final straw for, uh, for Tim, and it kind of all the switch from there. And so once show figured where I was coming to the album with lyrically, he kind of realized like, Okay, he’s got some stuff he’s got to say he’s angry and they were kind of angry with some of the certain things that the band was going through. And it was just this perfect alignment of Hey, we’re both in a certain place right now. We need to We need to make this happen And, um, especially with a new singer, I It’s stuff for any bands. A lot of times that that singer is what people know and, you know, not as focused. You know, I would openly admit that within the room, just very guitar oriented, uh, a lot of heavy focus on Joe and always has been. But when you change figures, that’s kind of a big deal. So, um, we really try to do see the best that we could coming in with this local change, so yeah, man, New chapter, for sure, definitely.
INFRARED MAG: Um, our country right now is going through a lot of turmoil with the coronavirus pandemic. Uh, the protest against police brutality. We have the presidential election last night. Uh, what are your thoughts on where we’re at as a country divided man?
STEVE TINNON: Uh, it’s tough. I mean, it’s it’s really hard not to pick, pick certain size right here. Uh, because everyone’s got their own political views. I mean, uh, the guys in the band, we all pretty much agree on a lot of the same stuff. Maybe certain, uh, financial things. We might differ on that. For the most part, we agree on a lot of social issues and things like that. But nation itself is, uh, honestly, it’s on the spot. Man, There’s not really an easy way to say it. Um, but one. I think one good thing that’s kind of coming out of this is, uh, at least from my perspective, is that there are bands that are still willing to put out music and want to and kind of give the people something to take them, take their minds off of where, where the country is right now with the election and everything. Um, so even though touring can’t be a thing right now, if there’s one thing artist can do, it’s provide what they do best. Even if you can’t play shows off of your music right now, like you can at least do something, you know. And so I think even even though everything sucks, uh, this is helping, I think putting out music. I mean, there’s been a ton of stuff that’s come out recently that I’ve been listening to. I was like, Man, I needed this. I needed to hear something new. And, you know, there’s no reason to put a halt to it. The music and changing lately anyways, so it’s, you know, just put the music out. Well, the best that we can. So, yeah, everything sucks. But at least do something we can help with, you know? Eh?
INFRARED MAG: And we just touch a little bit of But, um, with the, uh, 19 Pandemic, the live music scene has changed. It looks like for the foreseeable future, uh, one of the plans for within the ruins for after the release of black card on November 27th.
STEVE TINNON: Oh, it’s tough, man, because you you’d like to be able to say that their tours coming down the pipe and that we’ve got all these plans and stuff, and it’s not that it’s not that We don’t have ideas, but as far as playing live shows, it’s it’s really tough to say There’s not a for sure answer to that question. Uh, I mean, I know that behind the scenes we are kind of looking to we’ll probably do a live stream. It’s just kind of the thing to do, at least at least right now. Uh, it’s fun for bands, and it still gives the fans something to interact with. And, uh, to the best of our capabilities provide you with a live show, um, some something to watch. Um, especially now we can play some of these new songs and stuff. That would be a lot of fun, but like actual live shows in a venue, I mean, who knows if it’s there’s no way to tell. And if it if it is soon this very strong possibility, it would be in the U. S. First. You know, other countries are getting their shit figured out before we aren’t. Then you have to play somewhere else first, but again, just kind of is what it is.
INFRARED MAG: You guys just recently announced a limited edition collaboration with TIN BRIDGE BREWING COMPANY. Can you tell us a little bit about that?
STEVE TINNON: Oh, yeah. Um, it was a, uh, super cool idea. I mean, so Jo Jo owns his own brewery, Westfield, Massachusetts called 10 Bridge Blurring. So it’s, uh, him and his brother. Um, and obviously those are the two main brewers of everything. Um, and it kind of just made sense. We were like, Well, we should have a beer. We should have a beer for the album. And, uh, it was something that probably wasn’t really in the cards back when half the human came out. But, uh, now, everything was just kind of smooth sailing, and they started to do more canned stuff. And we’re like, we we just I just need to make this happen. And it’s tough because, uh, people want people want that, and it just it makes sense to me. You’ve got a time. The band that bruises on beer, it has a brewery. Why wouldn’t you do it? Uh, so it made all the sense on paper. It’s just putting into practice was a little bit tougher because you can’t just sell beer online. You don’t know who’s gonna be buying it So you run the risk of selling it to minors and stuff. So you have We have to put restrictions on it and figure out how payment is gonna work. Um, and you just have to go in person to the brewery. So, I mean, if you wanted to order it from California and make a trip out there to go pick some up, that’s on you. But, uh, that’s the easiest way we could really get figured it out is to, you know, you have to be amazed to purchase alcohol, so bring in need of the brewery, and you can pick up your package. But, um, I haven’t gotten to take a chance to taste it yet, but I’m looking forward to I think there’s a chance we might be out there sometime in the next few weeks or so. So it might be close to done by then, but, uh, it just seemed like an obvious choice, you know? Let’s release the record and do a beer for it. Sounds fun. So maybe the best we could.
INFRARED MAG: What is it that you would like a listener to remember the most When here in the new WITHIN THE RUINS album ‘Blackheart’ for the first time?
STEVE TINNON: Um, listen, listen to the album, uh, with an open mind, I guess because one, because I’m the new I’m I’m the new guy. So you’re gonna have to, you know, you’re just not not even That’s a bad thing. It’s just that you’re so used to hearing 11 person’s voice for, you know, over a decade that it changes just strange to people. So, uh, for that, but also because it is such a personal, angry record. Uh, there really wasn’t a whole lot of songs that were like that the ruins has done on previous albums. And so this is coming from a different place, lyrically and emotionally, that the band hasn’t done before either. So certain songs might have a different feel to them for those for those couple of big reasons. Uh, but I would say Listen to it with being open to the idea of change, just kind of like we talked about earlier. This is a new chapter for the band and not necessarily rebranding or anything, but it’s, uh it is a different version of the band now, so I would say go into it, uh, being open to the changes that the bandits done. And we’re all very stoked with it and how how it turned out. Um, but, you know, just be prepared for it. You know, don’t go into it saying, Oh, this isn’t him or they’re still singing or whatever. You know, just go into it willing to listen to it for what it is.
INFRARED MAG: Where can fans listen to and purchase the new album?
STEVE TINNON: Uh, the link is on all of our instagrams and we in our bios, and we posted pretty much any time we promote the album, Um, you can just go to within the ruins slash I’m sorry. Within the type and black heart dot com Uh, the news videos are there. You can get all the pre order bundles from there, and then the singles are on Spotify and apple music. Right now, um, everyone drops to find it in stores. And wherever you listen to music, it’ll be everywhere.
INFRARED MAG: That’s all of our questions. Do you have any parting words for WITHIN THE RUINS fans out there?
STEVE TINNON: Thank you, guys. Just so much for all the support and all the love and positive, uh, feedback on the teacher actually released so far. I know that. No, not every single person out there is gonna be open to having a new new guy in the band. Especially the singers, like, uh, for everybody that’s been willing to give it a shot. I appreciate the time. Uh, I can’t wait to get things rolling in this next chapter. The band appreciate you guys a lot, right?
More info can be found on WITHIN THE RUINS at:
www.WithinTheRuins.com
www.Facebook.com/WithinTheRuins
www.Instagram.com/WithinTheRuinsOfficial
www.Twitter.com/WithinTheRuins
www.YouTube.com/WithinTheRuins
Open.Spotify.com/WithinTheRuins