ID Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?

Armando Collazo- Our name is Id, we're from Austin, Texas, and we play death metal. Jason and I work together and started jamming in late 2010 when we discovered our mutual adoration for extreme music. Sterling came into the fold some months later after a mutual friend of his and Jason's suggested we get in touch with each other. Alex was introduced to Jason and I by Sterling, who initially wanted him to come check out the music the three of us had been working on already and maybe do vocals for us. Turns out Alex played bass too, so he hopped on board and almost three years later, here we are.

2.So far you have released one full length and demo, how would you describe the musical sound that is present on both recordings and also how do they differ from each other?

Armando- To me, the main difference between the demo and the full length is that, having recorded the demo very early on, the demo shows a band still getting comfortable with being a band; whereas on the full length, the songs are a bit more fleshed out. The songs on the demo were mostly written by Jason and I before we even met Alex and Sterling. Save for the songs that are also on the demo, the music on the full length was written and arranged with a lot more input from everybody, which I think made it a little more diverse, a little more dynamic, and that much more exciting for us to play.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the newer music?

Armando- Some of the topics we cover lyrically include possessions, dementia, and the end times. There's really no continuous theme or message behind our lyrics, though. Personally, I just enjoy writing cool stories. We definitely write about dark topics, but we try to do it without falling too much into the cliches of typical death metal lyrics.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'ID"?

Armando- The name Id came about when Jason and I realized all the cool, one-word band names were already taken. When trying to name the band, all the death metal sounding names we kept coming up with had way too many words, so none of them really popped. When I started looking for inspiration in philosophy, science, and psychology, the word 'id' just stuck out. In Freudian psychology, the id is the part of the psyche that houses basic needs, impulses, desires, aggressive drives, and acts primarily as a pleasure seeker. It's an intense concept that tries to explain the raw, aggressive, animal side of human nature. We play intense, aggressive music, so it felt like a good fit.

5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?

Sterling: All of the Rio Grande Valley shows we have played have been kickass. People know how to get down over there.

Alex: I absolutely love gigging in Austin. Houston and most of our home town in the Harlingen have been awesome, but we have gathered some really awesome support from

a scene that most people hadn't much associated with extreme metal in recent years.

Armando- Agreed. My favorite shows are always ones played in small, local venues with our friends in the audience. As far as stage performance, I think we just like to get up there and have fun jamming. Standing in place staring at a fretboard is saved for the practice space haha.

6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?

Alex: We are currently finishing up the booking process for our first Southwest US tour with our buddies in Blast Perversion from McAllen. Jason had previously worked with them, and they have been with us since our initial inception.

7.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or open to working with one in the future?

Armando- Doing everything ourselves has been working out well so far. It's very satisfying to see positive results come from all the work we've put into the band, from booking shows to recording and releasing the album to getting merch made.

Alex: Thanks to modern conventions, doing things independently but having fans all over the world is actually possible. We wouldn't say no to the potential of label support, but even that has started to lose a lot of credibility over the years with more and more horror stories of rights disputes from up and coming artists.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of technical death metal?

Armando- Feedback has been awesome so far. Unexpectedly so, too, considering we're still so young as a band.

Alex: We have fans that have contacted us from Asia and Europe enjoying the music. As a huge reddit addict, it was awesome posting on r/deathmetal and receive a good response.

9.According to the Metal Archives page a couple of the band members are also involved with a couple of other bands, can you tell us a little bit more about them?

Jason- The craziest thing to think about is that Alex's, Sterling's, and my previous bands performed together a number of times years ago before we ever formally knew each other.

Alex: I can't stay put. It is too much fun to play and record in side projects, but Id is the main gig right now.

10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

Armando- We're just going to keep writing music that challenges us as a band and that we enjoy playing together. That's been the mentality since Jason and I first started writing riffs. If it turns out that our jams are catchy and make people headbang, so much the better.

11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

Sterling: Monstrosity, Deeds of Flesh, Dave Weckl, and anything with a good drummer. Listening to nowadays? Bat Castle..

Armando- Most of my influences as a guitarist come down to lead players like Marty Friedman, Michael Amott, and Michael Romeo. In the extreme metal world, the music of Decapitated, Carcass, Napalm Death, anything blackened, and anything Swedish really get me in the mood to play more guitar and write more riffs. I pull a lot of inspiration from outside metal as well. Lately I've been jamming recent releases from a lot of Texas bands. Whore of Bethlehem, Clit Eastwood, Bat Castle, Ballgag, and Vex have been putting out awesome material. Celeste, Beastmilk, Hexis, The Secret, Young and in the Way, and the new Gridlink have been in constant rotation as well.

Alex: Steve Harris, SteveDigiorgio, and Jaco are my heroes. Like these other guys, I have just been absorbed with the amazing releases from our fellow Texan bands. Whore of Bethlehem, Vex, Cleric, Oceans of Slumber and Bat Castles last releases have all been stuck in my car.

12.What are some of your non musical interests?

Sterling: Dogs. Scrabble. Beer.

Armando- Horror movies, drawing, and cooking.

Alex: I am a huge video game fanatic. The independent development scene is just awesome to check out, and it is something I would consider taking part in down the line.

13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

Alex: Thanks for the interview and cheers from Texas.