Prog funkers (yeah, you read it right!) from Boston, Sound Struggle are definitely one of my most favourite new bands, and I cannot wait to hear their second studio album “Rise” once it’s out on September 25th. The band has been active since 2012, and in June last year they came up with the full-length self-titled debut album. The six-piece band from the Massachusetts largest city are ready to take on the prog world with “Rise,” and bassist Joe Calderone and singer and guitarist Cameron Rasmussen talked with Progarchy about this.

Tell me about the Sound Struggle beginnings.

Cam: It started with me realizing that at Berklee College of Music it is very hard to be inducted and accepted into a band or other kind of group that has already been rolling for a while, or at all, and if you could you would have to really like the music they were making. That made me start from scratch on my own band that would be exactly what I wanted and would have the people I wanted in it.

The main idea behind what I wanted it to be was a very heavy metal band with improvised solos that have lots of jazz influence. I like to play a lot of jazz and jazz influenced things, so when I solo I like to steal from those influences and the harmonic vocabulary from that. I had some songs already somewhat written and had other ideas that I flushed out onto sheet music scores and charts for different guys to read through when I was finding the first lineup that the band would function with. From that starting point we have evolved to “Rise”!

Funk and prog metal – that’s a really crazy combination. Where did this idea come from and how much of a challenge it is to mix these two genres?

Joe: It’s a really fun combo. Funk and metal were both styles that we were all really interested in and enjoyed listening to and playing. The two styles can be melded different ways too. So I don’t think there is much of a challenge, because were just combining our biggest musical influences into our songs, the influences just happen to be a pretty diverse spectrum of styles.

You are about to release your new album titled “Rise.” What can we expect from the record, and how does it differ from the self-titled debut?

Joe: On the first album the interpretation was very much straight Funk section, and in the same son straight metal section, and they were a bit disconnected. On Rise we really took a more integrated approach, where the funk comes from something like the guitarists doubling thumbing guitar like Victor Wooten, but in a metal context, or possibly using jazz and funk harmony on a metal riff.

Cam: Yes it’s more of a fluid and integrated approach as opposed to the almost bi-polar method of the first album.

What kind of gear did you use to record “Rise”?

Joe: We used whatever we could find. All the guitar and bass, and even some EWI (electronic wind instrument) parts were recorded through a Fractal Axe FX II. I recorded most of the album on my trusty Fender Geddy Lee signature jazz bass, downtuned to A-E-A-D. The guitars were done with a Strandberg Boden OS 7, a custom Carvin 7, a Fender Strat, a Yamaha Nylon String acoustic, and a few other guitars thrown in. Joey loves the sounds on his Motif piano, and you’ll hear a lot of them, but there are also a few soft synths being used too from plugins like Massive. Another change from the last album is the introduction of the EWI. Since we don’t have a full horn section anymore, Mike will switch between a tenor sax and an EWI, and the EWI really expands what he can contribute musically. It’s been a really cool addition to the sound. Joey also engineered the drums to perfection and we used whatever mics the studio had to get a great drum sound.

How does the name of the band reflect on the music you create?

Cam: Well we originally picked Sound Struggle because it was the right mix of serious sounding and comedic value to describe the music we were playing. The “Struggle” is just a funny comment on how we use all of the genres we like in our writing, whereas some people might still say nowadays that you should stick with one genre and that’s it. That doesn’t sound like much fun to me!

What was the toughest moment in the band’s career so far and how did you go about overcoming it?

Cam: The toughest part so far was probably members leaving the band or having to let people go. We have had a few members who we were really happy with, like the first solid lineup that we played our first show with, but a few of them had to leave because they needed jobs elsewhere or went to other colleges. We really miss those guys like. I have also had to kick a bunch of guys out, which is never fun, but if its not working its no fun for anybody.

To overcome it we just did our best to find people who would be killer players and friends at the same time, and when we were short on people we got whatever work we could get done, done, so that we weren’t sitting around waiting for new members. Not having a band makes having a band a really hard thing to do. (laughs)

I have watched all videos you uploaded on YouTube, and it seems that you guys have lots of fun. Does funk make it easy for you?

Joe: Well it’s all fun! We really enjoy playing funk, and we really enjoy playing metal so we’re always having fun. The metal riffs are challenging enough to keep us on our feet, and the improvisational funk sections are just inherently jammable and entertaining to us.

Name five albums that had huge impact on the musical direction of Sound Struggle.

Cam: Probably:

1. Vulgar Display of Power – Pantera
2. Ego – Alex Argento
3. Heavy Metal Be-Bop – The Brecker Brothers
4. Silent Machine – Twelve Foot Ninja
5. The Joy Of Motion – Animals As Leaders

Are you satisfied with where you landed in the music scene?

Cam: Yes, I think we all are! Earlier in the bands history we were wondering if we could market ourselves as a funk band, as well as a metal band, but we pretty much realized that …no. So, though our approach to music hasn’t changed we landed in a metal scene that we all really like!

Where do you see yourself in the future? Can you read your own story?

Cam: Well, every member of this band is a genius to me, and they all do so many things of their own outside of Sound Struggle, I do as well. I have a feeling that we will all support ourselves financially with our other skills while doing Sound Struggle in tandem in the months and years to come, until it becomes a big enough enterprise that we could call it our job.

If that happens sooner, then I’m positive we would be all over it!

What is your favourite beer?

Joe: I’m a sucker for Sam Adams, especially the seasonal stuff. Or anything brewed with chocolate and coffee.

Sound Struggle’s second studio album “Rise” is out on September 25th, stay tuned via Facebook and Bandcamp.