Adestria guitarists Russell Klein and Brian Stump reveal the serendipity that led to forming their 6-piece metalcore outfit—which in four short years has hammered out a stunningly brutal sound full of intricate layers, time signatures, and catchy melodies.
“If I didn’t do this, I’d regret it for the rest of my life,” says Russell Klein, as he discusses the difficult decision he made when he dropped out of UC San Diego’s chemical engineering program in 2010 to tour with metalcore sensation Adestria as lead guitarist. It was a serious gamble to risk a lucrative career prospect that offered financial security for a life potentially filled with Taco Bell combo dinners as a road warrior. And while many others who’ve made similar bets in pursuit of their dreams live in some sort of limbo waiting for their day to come, it appears that Klein’s risky move is starting to pay off. In the four short years since the band’s inception, Adestria has accomplished what most bands spend their whole careers trying to achieve, and their success story is, in many ways, the stuff music dreams are made of.
Adestria got its start serendipitously at a party when singer Matt Anderson met up with people who shared similar musical tastes. Over drinks, the initial talks began and a casual jam session was arranged. But no one had major expectations. “I don’t think we had any idea we were going to get as serious as we have,” says rhythm guitarist Brian Stump. But it happened, and it happened fast. In 2010 the band recorded an EP, Oh the Places You’ll Go, which generated a ton of buzz almost immediately upon its release and resulted in Alternative Press magazine naming them the No. 5 unsigned band. This led to a deal with Artery Recordings in late 2011, and they recently released their full-length debut, Chapters.
Adestria’s brutal breakdowns and virtuosic, effortless-sounding fretwork might give the impression that these players were child prodigies, but that’s hardly the case. Keyboardist Mikey Colasardo first picked up his instrument upon joining the band, and it has taken Adestria—whose members are largely self-taught—quite some time to develop their finesse. “We all weren’t that great in the beginning,” says Klein. “It took a lot of hard work and practice together to reach a point where we were all at a mutual ability that was good enough. Our older music wasn’t nearly as technical.” Stump echoes that: “The musicianship has come a long way since we started, and it’s still getting better and better the more and more we play.” Currently on the road with the SoundRink Tour, Klein and Stump discuss their band’s evolving chemistry and the art of keeping order in a young six-piece band.
Chapters is like an epic odyssey—
there are so many layers
and parts that come out of
nowhere. What’s your typical
writing process like?
Russell Klein: It always starts
off with some sort of riff for the
guitar, then we add drums, and
from there we add keyboards
and additional layers. We
modify it as we go, section by
section, and work on the parts
to make sure it’s not too long,
or we’ll move a part from one
place to another, or change a
note here or there. Lately, we’ve
been doing a lot of writing on
the computer.
Brian Stump: We’ll build a foundation, then tweak from there. Everyone’s opinion definitely comes into effect.
With so many people in the
band, do each of you have to
make a lot of compromises?
Stump: Yeah, it makes the writing
process a little difficult at
times, but nothing good ever
comes easy. I don’t mind taking
the hard route.
How do you communicate the
riffs to each other—do you
write them out in tab or give
each other mp3s?
Klein: Brian and I just teach
each other how to play the
parts. Generally, we all write
together as a group. We practiced
four days a week, so we
were all together during the
writing process.
Stump: I also tab-out riffs using a program called Guitar Pro. It’s an incredible app that I’ve got it on my iPhone. When we’re on tour, even if I don’t have my guitar handy, I can sit and bust out a couple of riffs. I can do it over and over, because god knows I’ve got plenty of time on the road.
With two guitarists, a bassist,
and a keyboard player, it must
be easy to clutter things up,
sonically. How do you arrange
things so that everyone has
their own space?
Klein: There’s a lot to contribute,
and sometimes someone obviously
has to take a backseat. Our
keyboard player holds a lot of
rhythm notes down and then
accentuates a lot of the lead notes.
For the most part, we haven’t run
into too many problems there,
because we have things designated
as “when we [the guitarists] do
stuff” and “when the other person
is taking the lead.”
Stump: Basically, Russell takes the leads and we use our keys as less of an in-your-face, techno, secondary lead instrument and more for creating atmospheric textures.
But there are several moments
on Chapters, like in “More
Than You Know” and “1984,”
where the piano is the featured
instrument.
Stump: Piano’s great over
breakdowns for certain parts.
That’s kind of where we give
Mikey his moment to shine,
and I’ll keep a solid rhythm and
harmonize certain lines in these
spots. None of us are overly
zealous to be in the spotlight all
the time. It’s nice that we can
kind of balance it between us.
On songs like “1984” and
“Compromised,” the guitar
parts under the vocals are
almost like a shred etude, with
nonstop 16th- or 32nd-notes.
Did you do that to differentiate
the parts?
Stump: Yeah, we definitely try
to keep ourselves busy. It’s nice
to have your part in a song and
just kind of hand the torch
over—keep it rotating around.
So it’s not because, if Brian’s
playing chords and Mikey’s
adding stuff on the keyboards,
then playing fast, perpetual
motion lines is one of the only
other textures left?
Klein: Yeah, that’s pretty much
the reason behind it. We just
want to make sure that the parts
are interesting even without the
vocals and other stuff. We want
to make sure that there’s always
something going on.
In the breakdown in
“Compromised,” you play a
series of arpeggios that are
executed with some tricky
rhythms. Where does that
rhythmic chicanery come from?
Klein: That idea came from our
producer Nick Sampson, who
plays a lot of styles like that. He
likes those “off” timings. We
shot some ideas back and forth.
We wanted to do a breakdown,
but we also wanted to have a
lead over it. It was something
we’d never done before, and it
turned out pretty sweet. When
you get another mind in there
helping you write stuff, you get
stuff you wouldn’t necessarily
come up with on your own.
Nick’s band, I Am Abomination,
was a huge influence on us.
What other bands or players
have influenced your music?
Klein: A major influence when
we first started playing was As
I Lay Dying—you can hear it
in our music, for sure. August
Burns Red and the Devil Wears
Prada are other huge influences.
We try to do a mix of the heaviness
and style of Devil Wears
Prada, but get a little more
technical and add guitar riffs
and little things like that.
Stump: Yeah, we’ve been compared to the Devil Wears Prada before. I guess the melodic breakdowns are where people make the connection. I also like jamming on my acoustic guitar and really like Andy McKee. He’s pretty mellow. If I’m lying down and I want to relax, I listen to that.
Would you ever try to incorporate
some of Andy McKee’s
influence into your writing?
If taken from the right angle,
it could probably work with
your music.
Stump: Definitely, with a lot of
the tapping. It would be awesome
to somehow incorporate that in.
Did you do anything deliberate
during the Chapters
songwriting process to differentiate
yourselves from
your influences?
Klein: Yes—we didn’t want to
do the usual heavy-metal riffs
nonstop, and then breakdown,
and then break down the breakdown.
We wanted to add a lot
more musicianship to it, so it’s
not necessarily just heavy breakdowns.
We’ll have a part where
we have a lot of guitar work,
and then a lot of drums—a lot
of cymbal hits between a lot of
fills—and then we’d have a part
with the piano. At our shows,
we do have heavy breakdowns—
and we like it heavy here and
there—but we don’t want it
to be only that. We wanted to
show that we’re not just any
hardcore band. We wanted to be
taken seriously as musicians.
Was it hard in the beginning to
find like-minded people who
also had a similarly high level
of technical ability? Because
your music’s not easy …
Klein: In the beginning, it was
definitely a lot less technical.
The skill level has definitely
grown majorly in the last four
years. We’ve all kind of done it
together. We all worked on our
songwriting together to develop
this style that we all liked,
because we all are into slightly
different styles and we tried to
get it to mesh together. Russell
has also kind of taken me under
his wing.
Did you take lessons or are
you self-taught?
Stump: I started real young,
playing trumpet, and then
played drums in a punk band. I
moved to guitar when I was 18.
I’ve mostly been self-taught, but
I’m definitely open to getting
lessons. Learning on my own
is awesome, but it’s getting to
the point where it helps to have
that different brain.
Klein: I took lessons for about a year when I was in elementary school, and then I actually stopped playing guitar for about five years. When I picked it up again in high school, I taught myself from that point on. I read a lot of Wikipedia articles trying to figure out theories, and I also talk to a lot of other guitar players. In San Diego, there are lots of really talented musicians and they’ll be like, “Have you ever tried doing something like this?” or “It helps me remember different chords by doing it this way.”
Although it seems like it’s
worked out very well for you
guys, one of the tricky things
about teaching yourself is that
if you learn something wrong,
there’s no one there to help
you fix it—and it could lead
to bad habits.
Klein: A lot of people have a lot
of bad habits. I have a couple of
bad habits, and it took me a while
to teach myself to not do that
same thing over and over again.
Like what?
Klein: Some people hold the
pick with the side of their
index finger and put their
thumb on top of it, whereas
some people hold it with their
fingertips, using the index,
middle finger, and thumb
together. The first is the standard
way, and the other isn’t.
Is there a disadvantage to one
way or the other?
Klein: Yeah, with one you use
more finger movement, and the
other you use more wrist. When
you move your wrist, that’s the
proper way to do it and you can
get more control. But Brian uses
more of a fingertip style, which
works for him. It’s just two different
styles of guitar playing.
Is it true that Mikey couldn’t
really play keyboards when he
first joined? If so, that’s pretty
remarkable. Even though he’s
not playing a lot of virtuosic
runs, it still takes a great deal
of musicianship to keep it
together and not get lost.
Klein: That’s right. He first
picked up keyboards when we
started the band. But he also
took a couple of classes at the
college where we went when he
started out, and he started getting
a lot of practice there. He
got on the ball with learning
how to play really quickly.
Let’s talk about gear. What
guitars do you use?
Klein: Right now Brian and I
both use ESP LTDs. I’ve got
an LTD Viper 1000. They’re
not quite the custom ones, but
they’re a little over a $1,000
brand new. We’re working on
getting an endorsement from a
couple of different guitar companies,
something a little more
high-end.
Stump: Mine has a Les Paullike body and is flat black, with EMG pickups. The EMGs are like butter—they pick stuff up a lot better. I’ve never really messed around with a whole lot outside of EMGs. I just picked it up and loved it from the beginning. I don’t feel like I need to change anything.
Yeah, EMGs do pick up a lot
of details.
Klein: When we were recording,
the EMGs picked up so
much from the open strings
that we had to tape those
strings off.
Do you do that live, too?
Klein: No, not live—it’s pretty
much indistinguishable live.
How about amps?
Klein: Right now, I have a
Peavey JSX with a 5150 cab.
Stump: I use an EVH 5150 III. It’s got 6L6 power tubes, which give it an incredible tone.
Do you guys EQ your amps
differently to differentiate
your parts, or do you set them
similarly to create one big
wall of sound?
Stump: My amps usually are set
with a little more low end. But,
in general, our tones are pretty
close. We don’t want it sounding
off balance and lopsided.
How about the oft-overlooked
components of tone, like
strings and picks?
Klein: My favorite picks are
1.14 mm Snarling Dogs Brain
Picks. They’re really thick and
have a special grip on them,
which I like because I get pretty
sweaty when I play and lose
traction sometimes. And we’re
both using Dean Markley Blue
Steels strings, .011–.052.
Stump: We’re looking into thickening the gauge, though, just to give it a little more beef. But right now it’s kind of like, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” As far as picks, I don’t know why but I can’t play on anything except those grippy nylons. I guess I’m just spoiled because I started from day one with them. Anything else just kind of strains my fingers. I like the nylon .88s—they have a little bit of flex, but aren’t too flimsy.
Russell Klein's Gear
Guitars
ESP LTD Deluxe Viper 1000
Amps
Peavey JSX head, Peavey 5150
4x12 cab, Mesa/Boogie 4x12 cab
Effects
Boss DD-20 Giga Delay
Strings, Picks, and Accessories
Dean Markley Blue Steel .011–
.052 sets, 1.14mm Snarling Dogs
Brain Picks, Mogami cables, Line
6 Relay G50 wireless, DiMarzio
ClipLock straps
Brian Stump's Gear
Guitars
ESP LTD EC-1000
Eclipse Deluxe
Amps
EVH 5150 III head, Mesa/
Boogie Dual Rectifier
head, Marshall JCM900
4x12 cab
Effects
Ibanez TS9 Tube
Screamer
Strings, Picks, and Accessories
Dean Markley Blue Steel
.011–.052 sets, .88mm
Snarling Dogs Brain
Picks, ISP Decimator
noise-reduction pedal,
Boss TU-3 tuner, Monster
cables, Line 6 Relay
G50 wireless, DiMarzio
ClipLock straps
Russell, a lot of shredders like
light-gauge strings to facilitate
speedy lines. Are you still able
to easily shred with the .011s
on top?
Klein: Yeah. A lot of people use
even thicker strings than that.
This is actually a thin gauge for
our style of music. I know a lot
of people use .012–.056.
Judging by some of your
promo videos—where you’re
downing a lot of shots—you
guys party pretty hard. How
do you keep it together playing
music this difficult with
alcohol-impaired motor skills?
Klein: We’re pretty strict about
not partying before we play, and
we’re really good at not doing
too much beforehand. After
we play, we go absolutely nuts,
but beforehand we might do a
drink or two together just to
ease the nerves.
Rule number one for me is: Keep your head straight until after you play. You’ll play a better show. Everyone’s on the same page about that. We enjoy partying, but we don’t want to project that image ... maybe our videos are doing a pretty poor job. We don’t want to project an overly party-band image, because a lot of kids come out to our shows and I don’t want to be coming up to them smelling like booze, totally trashed, and making an idiot of myself. We do party, but we try to keep it at a level—at least at shows— where it’s very controlled.
I’ve played shows where I’ve partied a little bit beforehand and I wasn’t happy with my performance. We’ve all done the same thing but, if we’re not in the right state of mind, we’re just not happy with ourselves—because we’re our own worst critics.
YouTube It
Watch Russell Klein and Brian Stump lead Adestria’s live aural assault.
Adestria kicks off this August 2011 gig at the
Bottom Lounge in Chicago with a ruckus, maintaining
a totally pro and upbeat performance
despite the stunning lethargy from the small
crowd—which was clearly made up of a lot of
kids waiting for the headlining act.
Klein nails blistering arpeggios starting at 0:30,
just before the vocals begin.
Several songs into the same Bottom Lounge set,
Adestria fi nally breaks through to the shy, reserved
kids in attendance. Singer Matt Anderson
beseeches them all to get moving, and Stump
actually reaches out and pushes a couple of kids
in the front row—prompting a bona fi de mosh.