Right now, industrial techno music is all the rage. While you’re listening to the new acts or reliving some pioneers like Nine Inch Nails, there’s an up-and-coming artist you should be noticing. Negative Earth takes a modern twist to some industrial dark rock. Or, as Trev Kill likes to call it, electronic gravity rock.
“I think that most of today’s genres are a bit inane. There are so many new classifications out there for music that it gets ridiculous. I hate to categorize myself into a genre, but to attract the right listeners to my sound I need to label myself somehow. Electronic Gravity Rock is just a more interesting way to describe the sound as being of the Heavy Electronic Rock genre,” he says. “It was kind of a joke at first but it started to grow on me.”
Negative Earth is mostly made up from the efforts of Trev Kill, mixed with producers that he works with on the recordings. “When I began writing songs for Negative Earth, I was the only one to have any part in it. I would show a few ideas to people from time to time and gain perspective from their opinion on different elements in my sound. Until I made the move to work with my producer, I was the only one to write the music, lyrics and melodies. Once my producer (Myron Wegner) and I started tracking the songs, he would start to infuse his vision on some parts that were weak or not yet written. He was great to work with because he knew when to assist, and when to sit back. If he did not contribute in the parts that he did, I feel the songs would not be as great as they are in their final state.”
Cut Implant Stitch is one of my favorite songs off of Negative Earth’s EP. There’s enough of an instrumental introduction to let you breathe in the song before Trev Kill’s vocals kick in like a sultry storm above the sea. The drums and guitar work in this song really kick things up a notch and show Negative Earth’s raw talent. Trev’s influences are bleeding through on this number – it has a very strong Trent Renzor vibe (with or without Nine Inch Nails backing him).
But his influences may shock you. While he gives an obvious nod to bands such as Nine Inch Nails, Tool, and Type O Negative, Trev says there were other artists who he grew up listening to. “Growing up I would mostly just listen and play whatever was around the house or whatever people were playing,” he says. “Some of the earliest stuff I remember feeling connected to when I was young were artists like Survivor, Johnny Cash, the Beatles, and Michael Jackson. As I grew older and made music with other players, I then started to broaden my musical intake.”
Ear Seed, the song that Trev feels would best define Negative Earth, feels the most like something that would fit right in with some of the popular industrial-feeling tunes of today. The song is heavy on the beats, almost feeling like there’s a fog surrounding your ears, and the vocals don’t pop through as much as some other tracks. This lends itself to hearing more of the bass lines of the song – both bass guitar and the incessant drum beating. “The lyrical content creates a portal that leads directly into the battle grounds of my head. Seems to be the thing that’s anchoring, and it’s the same thing itself that levitates me. This is what Negative Earth is. An inner conflict that resides inside.”
Gloomy Sunday has a great backing rhythm to the harder sounds that take first approach. The song left me nodding along the entire way through, feeling a connection with the track.
“When I hear certain songs or sounds, I feel a vibration within. I want to achieve this with other beings. My lyrics may be abstract and distant from true definition, but since perception is diverse, one song can effect everyone differently,” Trev says.
Slither exhales so much strength that you almost feel transported into another dimension. The sounds to start off are so intriguing, it has you turning up the volume little by little to get closer to the beats. The next verse kicks in and comes out at you, making you almost feel like the music is acting out the song’s title. Between the beat of this song and the slow back and forth progression between verses in this song, this would be greatly suited for a film.
“At a young age I was introduced to music by my parents who both played in a band. I remember having the most interest in drums. I would steal my mother’s wooden spoons to beat on various objects until I learned a few simple beats to practice. At the age of 15 I began to learn guitar from my father. He and I would play old songs together that he would teach me. After playing in different bands with other local musicians, I acknowledged that the only way I could achieve my vision musically was to start a solo project. At the age of 25 I moved to a new city, began working with a producer and started tracking my songs in the studio. The whole recording process was much more than just creating structure with sound, it was a learning experience in producing my own music. This is when Negative Earth began and started to evolve.”
Looking ahead on the year, Negative Earth has some exciting things coming up. “A music video for the song Slither is in the final stages of being completed. It was filmed in the middle of last winter and early this year. I will not disclose too much information about it as of yet, but for updates on its release visit the official Negative Earth website. As for other plans, there are a lot of new events surrounding Negative Earth with new information being posted on Twitter and Facebook.“
If you want to connect with Negative Earth for more information or updates, you can do so on Twitter here and on Facebook here. To listen to tracks from the upcoming EP, visit the official website here.
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Going back to the music with Trev Kill
What’s the top played song/album on your personal iTunes?
Songs that I would wear out if they were on cassette!
Man in the box – Alice in Chains
Bleed – Meshuggah
Angel – Massive Attack
Revenge (some get back) – Necro
Lateralus – Tool
Just So You Know – American Head Charge
Throat full of Glass – Combichrist
the Real Thing – Faith No More
Shake Hands with Beef – Primus
Selling Jesus – Skunk Anansie
Deception – Tesseract
Firestarter – the Prodigy
Too many to list to complete this question.
What’s the strangest thing on your personal iTunes or the thing your band mates would be surprised to see on there?
Oh wow. Do I really have to admit to this? I would honestly say that people might most be surprised to see material from artists like Prince, Michael Jackson, the Ohio Players, Spooky Ruben, and !!! (chk chk chk).
A good friend of mine introduced me to the Austin, Texas duo and on first listen, I had chill bumps. Second listen evoked tears. I knew I was hooked at that point. I’ve been listening to that album since. I follow them on Facebook and when I realized a new album was out two days ago, I bought it without a second thought. I’m just now getting a chance to listen to it.
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