Photo By Christiaan Westgeest

Windhand erupted into the world several years ago with their dark melodic and deeply crushing guitar sounds with distant vocals. Their self-titled EP made them well recognized in the Stoner/Doom Metal scene but their ability to infuse other styles also has earned them many fans. Hailing from Richmond, Virginia they went on to produce their second album SOMA which has further built on the success with hits like “Orchard” and “Woodbine.” In this article we talk with Garrett Morris: guitarist, founder and chief recording engineer.

Tell us about the live album. What goes into the recording and mastering of the songs?
The live album was a total surprise to us. Roadburn liked our set enough to do a live LP. It was a total honor for us. They only pick a handful of bands to ever do those so it was pretty amazing that they even asked us. They sent us the mixes, we approved them, and they sent it off to be mastered. We gave them some of Asechiah’s original artwork for the jacket and Parker did most of the layout. The whole process was pretty simple. I’m really excited it turned out that well. It’s scary enough hearing yourself back live like that and on top of it there were some technical issues during the show and I think everyone was super nervous. But in the end I think it all turned out pretty cool.
It seems like you’ve been pretty much touring non-stop since the release of SOMA. Are there any particularly memorable moments or interesting stories you’d like to share?
The last four years have been such a blur. Particularly the last year, but some of the things that stick out are our recent shows in Eastern Europe and how amazing the people were. The High on Fire tour we did last December was pretty awesome. Recently we opened for Sleep which was super cool. Taking a tour of Athens at 2am after our show was pretty incredible. There’s just so much. Honestly the fact that we’ve been able to put out some records and travel is pretty awesome in itself.
What are your thoughts so far on the SLUG pickup?
It’s awesome! Asechiah and I have been using them in our SGs. It has a nice warm, well-balanced sound. It’s super clear and punchy as well. I feel like I can hear everything clearly and it gives chords this cool smooth sustain. It doesn’t get all mushy sounding when you start running pedals or turning the amps up either. It’s pretty amazing.
http://youtu.be/bj7g6bLgZaA
What gear do you use to get that thick, cold, driven guitar tone?
Asechiah and I both use old Matamp GT-120’s with some old stock Marshall cabinets. Pedal-wise it’s actually pretty simple. We used Rat pedals for years but lately we’ve been using these great Big Muff clones from Stomp Under Foot. I’m really in love his stuff. Other than that I use a delay and wah on some stuff and that’s pretty much it.
We hear you are using some old school equipment to record your albums. What are you currently using and what challenges and benefits do you think that gives you?
Yea my recording equipment is pretty archaic to say the least. It’s all analog for the most part. I keep it set up at our practice space so we can use it whenever we want. I’ve got some old Tascam stuff from the early 90s. The tape machine is an MSR-16 1/2″ 16 track machine. But I’m actually down to 14 tracks because 2 of them have decided to quit working on me. Other than that I’ve got a couple RNC compressors, a couple entry level Lexicon effects units for delay and reverb, and a ton of SM-57s, some D-112s, and a few cheap condenser mics. That’s about it. It’s like a home recording nerds starter kit circa 1991. But it works and it’s what I learned on so I just stuck with it. I’ve always liked having the limited track space. It forces me to think where I’m going to put things on the tape. Honestly I think having those limitations forces me to be a little more creative most of the time. I bought all the equipment just so I could make demos I honestly never thought in a million years I’d be making albums in our dirty warehouse space with it.
What’s your approach to songwriting? Do you just sit down and noodle until you come up with something cool, or do you have a concept beforehand that you work to create?
Personally I tend to collect riffs. I’ll be sitting around playing guitar, noodling while I’m watching TV, or sitting outside with an acoustic and come up with something I like. So I’ll just grab something to record them on, like a 4-track or my phone, that way I won’t forget them. Then when I have enough of them I’ll start piecing them together on my 4-track and bring them to practice so we can start working them together. Asechiah does the same thing for the most part. He’ll have some riffs he likes and we’ll jam on them until we’ve got a song structure down. Dorthia will usually have an entire song with lyrics and everything finished and just bring it in to practice so we can all hear it. I don’t think there’s ever a concept from the beginning really. Certain riffs will lend themselves to a mood, but I think once everyone puts their ideas into the song itself it tends to take on a life of it’s own. Then the album really starts to take shape conceptually.
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