During in a recent interview with United Rock Nations, All That Remains frontman Phil Labonte talked about the songwriting process of their latest albums.
He said:
“I tend to write about stuff that I’m familiar with, stuff that I’ve experienced. I don’t feel like I can craft a good song about something that I am unfamiliar with. I don’t feel like I can really say that I’m familiar with things that I’ve read in books, or that I haven’t at least studied a lot.
A band like Iron Maiden, Steve Harris and Bruce Dickinson, they can take a story and turn it into a really, really compelling picture of a historical event, and I don’t feel when I write stuff like that, it’s compelling. I feel like the only time that I write stuff that I really feel is good is if it’s something that I’ve experienced.
That could be just because I get an emotional reaction out of it… It is nice to be able to articulate negative feelings that you’ve had, and it is a bit of a catharsis. A lot of times, I’ll write something, and I don’t have my head really wrapped around exactly what I was feeling or thinking until I can actually put it down and re-read it. It helps me understand myself.”
On their inspartions, he said:
“On every record, I try to write a least a couple songs that can inspire people to disregard critics, disregard people that are going to shit on them for whatever reason. I think the most important thing that I’ve ever been able to impart on someone else is remind them to believe in themselves, because for the most part, except for your very close circle of friends or your family, you’re probably the only person you can rely on.
Belief in yourself is one of the most valuable things you can have, because without belief in your own ability to achieve things, you get stuck in a rut of not starting and not trying, and the fastest way to fail is to not try.”
You can watch the entire interview below. Click here to source of the statement.
