Yesterday, we reported some bummer news, as longtime All Shall Perish guitarist Ben Orum announced he was leaving the band.
The decision wasn't an easy one, as the last 10 years of his life were spent being in the band, but with having children and a business to maintain, the touring lifestyle was no longer for Orum.
We e-mailed Ben to elaborate on his statement yesterday, and he checked in with some exclusive details on how he left the band, as well as being gracious enough to give us a taste of his new band, with an exclusive track.
On when the decision was made to leave All Shall Perish permanently…
This decision came on very quickly after some realizations I had made having stayed home from the last two tours.
Touring and families rarely mix unless you're the .00001 percent of artists who can just bring them on the road with you. With how sad the state of the music biz is these days (especially metal), it was really hard for me to want to keep going when I had so many things to look forward to at home.
The time off had opened my eyes to what I have been missing out on in life and who I need to be… which is a father and a husband who is home and present. A father who's kids can count on him when they need him most. Leaving on tours is difficult enough on an emotional level, But but the hardest part about what we do is coming home and trying to fit back into a life that has gotten used to you being gone. It can crush you.
After telling the band that I no longer wished to tour, they talked it over and came to the conclusion that it was either 100% in or out.. so sadly, I had to choose 100% out. After 10 great years.. it was time for me to move on.
On his fondest memory in the 10 years of being in All Shall Perish…
I would say the fondest memories I have of the band were the events leading up to us getting signed with Nuclear Blast Records. We were so young at the time, and everything was so exciting! We had no idea what was in store for our little band! The story goes like this…
Our drummer Matt got a call one day from a very excited Dino Cazares (Fear Factory, Brujeria). Dino had been handed a copy of our initial pressing of Hate Malice Revenge by our friend Silver Gutierrez and what he had to say blew my mind. He said "I really like what I am hearing here, why don't you guys come down to LA and hang out". My jaw dropped.. Being a huge fan of both Fear Factory and Brujeria in the 90's, this seemed like something out of a dream!
So the band headed to LA to meet Dino. We were all pretty nervous, but once we sat down with him at his house that quickly changed. Dino had nothing but amazing things to say about ASP. Our record, Our sound, Our delivery, He was a huge fan. Dino helped us get in touch with the right people, and soon ASP found themselves playing shows for the likes of Metal Blade, Nuclear Blast and a few other interested labels. We played our hearts out at these shows. No fancy equipment, no costumes or lights or smoke.. no bullshit. Just 5 kids, giving it all they got.
We knew after speaking with Nuclear Blast after the show that they were the right fit. They weren't concerned with our look, or any of that superficial bullshit that came with the rise of the metalcore scene. They were pumped on the music, the intensity and the execution. It was shortly after that we inked a worldwide deal with NB. It was a dream come true for this young metalhead, and the kick-start we needed to really get the band rolling.
On how he ended up working with Oblivion…
I have been friends with Oblivion's main songwriter, Nick Vasallo, since 1996 when we met in high school. Back then we played in a local crust punk band together called YFH (You Fucking Hippy) and together formed our first serious band Antagony in 1999. I parted ways with Antagony in 2002 to pursue All Shall Perish full time for the next 10 years while Nick went off to school and became a highly regarded classical composer and professor of music.
During those 10 years, Nick and I have remained really close friends. I have always shared with him all of my projects I was working on for All Shall Perish and he would always dazzle me with his classical music compositions, and recently his work with Oblivion.
The idea of me coming in as the bassist happened recently after Nick had accepted an appointment as a tenure-track professor at a prestigious university and wouldn't be able to juggle all the hats of singing, composing, and playing bass for OBLIVION. So that's where I come in – I'll be fulfilling his duties as a bassist on top of being a contributing songwriter.
So here we are, talk about a full circle! OBLIVION has become the perfect fit for me. We are all grounded people with absolutely no desire to tour. Our one and only mission is to create great music and get it out there for people to enjoy.
Being the kind guy that he is, Ben offered us this exclusive preview of his new band, Oblivion.
You can pre-order the full CD on Bandcamp.
