Parasyche’s Matt B.C. interview

Parasyche is one of the most interesting new bands that South America has to offer. Coming from Chile, we already interviewed them back in 2018 when they were promoting their debut album, the fantastic and highly recommended Insanity Origins, and the band has gone through enormous growth, reaching more people each year and developing as a group, with new singles that they have recently released and writing their follow-up album.

I had the opportunity to once again do an interview with their lead guitarist, the talented Matt B.C., and we discussed a lot of things, such as the band’s current plans, how they have dealt with the virus situation, their song writing process and a lot more. I hope you enjoy it!

Thanks for doing this, Matt. I hope it’s all okay. First of all, how are you dealing with the whole virus situation?

Everything from home. I am living with my girlfriend and we are together here. I work as a software engineer, so work from home is included. Fortunately, my family and loved ones are in good health. Hopefully that will continue.

Focusing on music, what can you tell us about Parasyche recently?

We are currently working on our second album. We have already released 4 singles, and overall we are happy because they have had good reception from people. We are satisfied with the evolution and results obtained in our productions since we started our career. Now what matters most to us is to continue maintaining and improving quality, but to progress faster.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PV5ckvevNN8

Tell us a little bit about the song you recently released, Rebelión. How was the process to make that song?

This track has been something very curious. And it has absorbed various historical elements that have affected Chile and the world in recent times. The song existed as a demo since the spring of last year, approximately. Then in October the protests (in Chile) occurred, which made us relate the aggressive nature of music to the contingency of Chile. When we launched Vile Rejection, in January 2020, it was the turn of Boneback (original title of the Rebelión demo). Then COVID-19 arrived and delayed everything. We had to manage to do everything away from each other. Literally, we did not meet even once to carry out this work. Even Nico España (Parasyche’s drummer) invested and set up a home studio to record drums at his parents’ house!

Then the music was ready, and it was the video’s turn. And it was here that Nico Borie visualized the idea: occupy the “quarantine format” to make a video that would become a kind of virtual protest, where everyone could participate by sending their videos from home. You could see the result…we were really very happy and excited with this whole experience.

What do you think are the differences in the way you make music now compared to when you were starting?

We have constantly been improving and building our way of working. At Parasyche we are 3 main songwriters, so managing to give space to all the ideas and get them into one song is not easy, especially considering that we all have regular jobs apart from music to make a living. So writing, recording and releasing a new song is not as fast as we would like. In this new process we take turns in the “director’s role” when making a song. So we all have the space to propose a main idea, and the rest of the musicians contribute and build on it. Currently we are happy with the results and we hope to continue improving regarding the work methodology.

And focusing on you personally, how do you think you’ve grown as a guitar player since the release of Insanity Origins?

I feel like I’ve made a lot of progress, especially with regard to gradually finding an identity as a guitarist. It is that one does the typical thing: you are based on what your idols do and you try to replicate it. However, it is a process to condense all that into something that becomes your own style, and that is also sensible with your interpretation skills, which is essential when it comes to styles where fast and virtuous guitar solos are used a lot. I think that little by little I have acquired technical tools and absorbing the influences of some of my idols in order to build my style. I am still in process. Never stop learning and improving.

Obviously, we talked to you guys when you were promoting Insanity Origins. What can you tell us about the growth of the band since they released that album?

Our growth has been radical. Perhaps from the outside perspective it is not so evident, but when one from the inside sees how each member of the band develops and matures their conception of music, when little by little we find working methodologies that make us feel good and obtain good musical results, it is when one realizes that there is growth. In our first album there were several successes, and the foundations were built for what comes later. Today we visualize each step a little more before taking it, thinking about where we want to be and how we intend to achieve it.

Musically speaking, what can we expect from you in the next songs?

Hmm, the first thing that comes to mind is variety, because as I told you before, we take turns as the directors for the songs and not all of us write the same way. The second thing is Thrash Metal, because in some way that is always a marked influence, although is not 100% the protagonist. The third is a lot of melodies and transitions. Nico Borie has grown a lot with his YouTuber career and is reflected in his vocal lines with Cris Chrowler in the gutturals sections. And well, making transitions and that the themes have a kind of “trajectory” we love, so we will not stop doing it, hahaha

You and Nico Borie are the two guitarists in the band. I wanted to ask how is that collaboration between you guys when it comes to making music together.

Nico is a complete musician and has a very good ear and musical intuition. He does great riffs and he also has great taste in chorus lines. For my part, I have acquired some theoretical knowledge of harmony and scales that I love to apply in our songs and in the riffs I do, which fortunately has been complemented well. In addition, with Nico we grew up listening to practically the same bands, a lot of Thrash and a lot of Progressive bands, so playing the riffs that the other creates has not been so difficult for us.

What would you say is your favorite part of playing guitar? The riffs, the solos, the melodies?

Uff, playing a riff with the whole band and pitching together with the audience is the best! I also like it when we play more harmonic sections, where each one plays his part, but the end result is only perceived when you listen to everything at once. It is like lying on a musical mattress. And the solos… well, it’s your time hahaha, it’s great to be able to express yourself like that on stage, although the pressure of not failing is always there hahaha.

Who were your main influences as a guitarist?

For the riffs, Megadeth, Metallica and Gojira. For the solos, Marty Friedman, John Petrucci, Viktor Smolski. Regarding the aesthetics of the songs, Opeth, Dream Theater, System of a Down.

Considering your musical tastes, have you ever thought of doing alternative projects to Parasyche where you can make music that perhaps does not fit with this group?

Yes, I am curious to experiment with new challenges, meet new musicians and try new styles. I’m not ruling it out for the future, but for now I’m focused on finishing the second album with Parasyche, which has me VERY excited.

I know it is complicated because of the virus situation, but what can you tell us about Parasyche’s plans in the near future?

Finishing the album, try to spread it with everything. Get good audiovisual material, and when you can, go out and play as many stages as we can!

Thank you very much for this opportunity, Matías. A last message for our readers? Where can we follow you and Parasyche on social media?

You can visit my artist profile, Matt B.C. on Instagram @matt_b.c. I will be uploading content related to Parasyche and how to play some riffs and solos. And to get news from the band, follow @parasyche.official and visit us at www.parasyche.com where you can find the latest news, you can buy merch to support us and download our official songs in .mp3!