Out of a lot of bands to be chosen for this show I was especially excited to see WOVENWAR, formed from the former members of AS I LAY DYING, WOVENWAR are a new and very exciting band to be seen in 2014, from the start the band opened with the track "All rise" off of their newly released self-titled album, from the beginning of this set the guys brought a powerful combination of stage presence and attitude along with heavy melodicism and passion to which any fan would be excited to see in a live band of this caliber, though if you ask me there would have been some older fans of AILD hoping to see if the band would follow the chemistry of many bands that have regrouped in a fashion like this and play old tracks that they would know, to their surprise, they did, as WOVENWAR are a band of their own make and with that it will mean they have created something that is not only new but it gives the audience something to look at and think for a moment. All in all WOVENWAR brought what a lot of opening bands only dream of and that is bringing a show that the audience and new fans can absorb.
 

The next band to take the stage would be WHILE SHE SLEEPS, a Sheffield based Metalcore band that has taken the media by storm through various illustrations. The band started their set of with the track "Death Toll" taken from the bands two thousand twelve release "This Is The Six", through the bands performance I saw that they had quite the following, many of which are of course a younger generation of music fans to which have taken this music with pride, a strong and fast chord of sound can be heard from the band but at the same time I did not feel as satisfied as I thought that I would, maybe because it wasn't my type of music or maybe it is just because I felt that the vocals could have been done better, although the rest of the band in my own opinion sounded very heavy, very grooved and in there. I can't say whether I enjoyed them or not as I am still debating this myself, but I guess what matters is how the fans thought of it in the end.
 

Finally we come to the headliners of the evening, the Titans from Gothenburg Sweden, IN FLAMES. As with any IN FLAMES show you have the elements that make this band what they are, these elements are of course, Speed, Melody and Brutal vocals that all come together to make the band itself, in my opinion the band has never sounded better, though with some fans questioning the new record there are still those that are loyal no matter what and supported the band with this new change, I think that it is a decent album and with some of the tracks being played through this show I think many will agree that they work incredibly well for live shows in general, through the set the band played many fan favorites such as "Cloud Connected" and "Only For The Weak" as well as "Take This Life", through this new fans got the chance to hear some of the tracks that made this band what they are today. Through watching their set it brought back a lot of great memories for me for when I was still in high school and made me remember why I love this type of music. To conclude IN FLAMES brought their A game to the Manchester Ritz bringing heavy and powerful music to the masses as well as some new treats for the fans.
 

I'm doing great, thank you.

How is the tour going so far?

Yeah, this tour has been awesome. Obviously, when you're playing with a band like In Flames, who you've always looked up to and ultimately befriended over the years, it's positive for so many reasons. The crowds have been amazing, there's been a lot more people than a new band would normally be expected to play for, and then it's been a treat to watch a band that we love every night. As well as While She Sleeps; we've become friends with those guys because we're sharing a bus, so there's been a lot of good vibes within the tour itself.

Where does the name Wovenwar come from?

Wovenwar was just one of those names where we kind of had to come up with a name, because, in the early stages of the band when you're trying to feel it out, every idea that you have for a name that you might have, which could be the name which is a common thing in existence or a phrase, has already been dibbed by someone else, so we realised that we'd either have to do a really long name or make up one. So we made up Wovenwar out of the basic idea that at our core, all human beings are essentially the same, we're all born the same, so it's kind of a reference to the human condition. So we're all born with the same innocence and clean slates and pure hearts, and as we are raised, we are cultivated by the environment and the institutions and people in our lives. Sometimes that can be a negative thing, it can create enemies out of complete strangers and fabricate prejudices and biases, and I guess the name Wovenwar is the further extreme of those things.

It kind of sounds like "weaving" a war, and creating tension out of nothing.

Yeah, that's the thing. So many things are being created as we're raised, you know, these beliefs or these ideas about who complete strangers are and it's so insane to think that so many wars and conflicts that say our countries are involved in, you just have no idea how it is to be on the other side of that war. It's actually quite sad to think about, really, because all of these people all have the same range and spectrum of emotions as we do, you know. We're all the same at our foundations. So it's maybe not the most "Metal" sentiment behind the name, but I think that there's a lot positive intention behind it.

It's definitely a different take on a band name, because a lot of bands go for the more extreme sounding names, but this one has more of a personal touch to it. It's kind of a name brought together from an unknown occurrence or concept. You've obviously recently released your debut album, which is self-titled, so how did the writing and recording process go for that?

It was definitely a quick thing. But it was very natural, because me and the rest of the guys have a lot of history with one another, and having written and recorded records with them previously, so it was a lot of ideas being created individually, which we would then send back and forth, and we only chose to go with the ones that we found exciting or got really stoked about. It sounded a lot different from our previous stuff, it was definitely a departure from what we'd done before, and then we would all get together and rehearse all the songs together, in person. And, you know, to actually bring life and a human touch to the riffs and the drums away from a computer, it was definitely more old school for us. And then we got a hold of Shane [Blay, Vocals/ Guitars], and Shane, as great of a singer, guitarist and song-writer that he is, he focused more on actual vocal melodies and the lyrics and stuff, so the album came out great, and we're really stoked on it, but I think that there's so much more potential for what we can do in the future. For the next one we really need to utilise a whole new facet of his set of skills.

Well, this is only the first album, you'll still be getting the hang of what you're sound is, so there's definitely lots of potential to grow on the next album as musicians.

Yeah, that's the thing, this is our first album and we're still honing and developing our sound as we go along. We're constantly thinking of ways to grow as a band, so there's definitely plenty of potential there, and I hope that we'll eventually realise it.

How long has Wovenwar been around as a band?

Well, Wovenwar has only really been around as a band since about June 2013. So it's not that old. In band years we're about a year and almost a half into the actual existence of this band.

One of the questions I was wanting to ask you was about Shane. Obviously, he was in Oh, Sleeper prior to being in this band, and obviously all the rest of you were in As I Lay Dying. So, would you consider yourself a super-group?

Uh, no, I wouldn't say that we're a super-group. I mean, we all come from notable bands and different paths, but we're a new band and we're really trying to gain our own identity, and with super-groups, their kind of rooted in a musicians previous work. It's kind of like "Oh yeah, this guy who was in this band, and this other guy who was in this one" and people are just going into that kind of music attempting to find what they liked about any given musician. I think that sometimes the concept of a super-group is based around people's pasts, whereas we're trying to build this from the ground up. And that's why it sounds so different from our old bands, even though there's definitely some elements there of what we used to do. We've built this as a new band with a new sound, and hopefully people will see us as that in the future.

Well, obviously, with regards to this band being formed and the way that your previous band dissolved, would you say that those elements have seeped into the lyrics or the song writing in any way?

It's funny really, because this whole melting pot of Shane and the rest of us presented us with an opportunity to touch on the past but also bring in Shane's history as well. We didn't want to write about anything specific, you know, like pointing fingers at anybody or discussing certain incidents, but there's a lot to be said of the overall themes of failure and dissolution and trying to figure out your life when it crumbles around you, and I think that Shane felt a lot of the same things too. So I think it's a broader lyrical theme, but with this album, because of where we came from and also what happened to Shane, it is kind of rooted in the past. But I'd say that the album is more about optimism and positive resolve.

So, when you were working on the songs on the debut album, what exactly were influencing your lyrical themes?

I always have a hard time trying to pin point specific influences, but I think that as far as what we were going for, we were trying to get some really cohesive, intelligent songs. The sort of songs that someone could listen to and enjoy, or a musician could listen to them and think about how cool the arrangements were. Were weren't trying to go too far "out there" or experimental with this record, we just wanted something that was more focused and direct. I guess we were just trying to make the statement that you can make something that is pretty simple, but still beneficial to your musical growth.

As you've said, you've got a very big tour going on with these guys, but once it's over, what are your plans for the immediate future of Wovenwar?

For now, we're just trying to play to as many people as we can. This is actually our first major tour for the record, and we still haven't done the states yet, and we're planning a tour there in about January with another band, but I don't think that's been announced yet, so I can't give any details. We want to play to as many people as possible, because we're still kind of at that weird stage where we're a relatively new band, and maybe a lot of people are expecting to see a lot of the old style, and it can be hard when they're coming in with those expectations and they're seeing something completely different. Right now, we're just trying to establish that this is what the band sounds like, and see who wants to come with us. So we want to play in front of as many people as possible and peak interest in the record, see if people check it out, and hopefully gain fans that way.

I think that way of going about things seems to be working quite well. For a relatively new band, you've already gained a pretty big audience for yourselves and developed a reputation to some extent, which is impressive when you consider that the band is little over a year old. Does it feel weird going from doing large tours to doing relatively small ones in comparison?

I wouldn't say that it's weird, it's just reliving a past that was many years behind us. We're now a small band again, and so we have to pay our dues all over again, and unload our equipment and set everything up ourselves. And that's fine, we've never been prideful people who thought we were all above that, and we'll do anything we can in order to continue to play music and perform to people. It's a lot easier doing all this stuff together, just the five of us, because it completely gets rid of the illusion of being larger than life, you know, we'll do it, no problem. Well, for a band that was caught up in a certain level, I think that it can definitely make you more grounded, but I think we've always been grounded, so it's a different type of touring than we've been used to doing for the last few years, but we're loving it all the same. We're just enjoying being out here and doing it all again. I mean, this time last year, I didn't know if I'd ever end up coming back to places like Manchester or London ever again. I certainly wasn't sure if I'd be up on stage playing guitar in front of people again. So, everything that we're part of now, even though it's slightly uncomfortable, is a joy for us, because we're thankful for the chance to do what we love.

Before we go, do you have any message for your fans?

Yeah. For any of you out there that was a fan of us when we were in As I Lay Dying, whether they like the new band or not, we really appreciate you helping to shape and build our lives and careers. You've made the ride excellent. It was upsetting and really unfortunate how the band fell apart, but it was out of our control. And you're letting us keep that flame alive and do what we love, which is music. I know the music is a bit different and it might not be for everyone, if you are coming along with us, I want to thank you for the support, and if not, I still want to thank you for that support you gave us four guys.

One very last question before we go. Say you are stuck on a desert island, and you can take two things, one food dish, and one thing you couldn't go one day without, what would they be?

The object depends on whether or not I get to use self-service?

No, it's just you and a monkey.

Well then, my object would then have to be an axe; something I could use to build a life on the island with. You could use that for making a shelter, or even hunting to provide for myself. But if a plate of food just magically appeared in front of me everyday, it'd be Burrito's, no question.

It would be more like you get, for example, one of every item, like a gun with one bullet.

OK, then I'd have to go with something that would last a while. I'd just bring one of those huge pieces of salted meat you see in some butchers, because they're preserved, they'll last a long time, so if the axe thing doesn't do anything for me, then at least I can survive off of that.

Thank you so much for your time man!

Thank you!