INTERVIEW: Alessandro DeCaro
PHOTO: Matthew Taylor
For their fourth full-length album, Victim 1, Cleveland, Ohio-based hard rock outfit A Killer’s Confession have gone deep into the most visceral corners of the human subconscious. A Killer’s Confession, the musical brainchild of ex-Mushroomhead frontman Waylon Reavis, have offered a hair-raising concept record that tackles the Seven Deadly Sins and presents the listener with a paradox between the shocking acts of a brutal killer who may also be a victim himself due to the harsh reality of a morally corrupt world. In other words, The Killer vows to eradicate evil and restore justice by any means necessary and Victim 1 might as well be his manifesto.
While the main character in Victim 1 is fictitious, Reavis has found a way to insert his critiques of society in vivid detail, touching on topics such as sex trafficking, the political divide, and the failings of a social media-dominated world. The result is a psychological journey between right and wrong told through the Killer’s perspective over a backbeat of crushing guitars, impassioned vocals, and razor-sharp hooks produced by Dusty Boles (Make Me Famous) and Evan McKeever (Nine Shrines). With Reavis being well over two decades into his musical journey, with several critically acclaimed albums under his belt between A Killer’s Confession and his previous band Mushroomhead, Victim 1 may very well be his magnum opus in terms of scope and overall concept. Even through the dark imagery and metaphorical bloodshed, there is still a message of hope and unity that is relatable in more ways than one.
In a conversation with A Killer’s Confession frontman Waylon Reavis, we discuss the band’s latest psychological concept album, Victim 1, the topic of sin and morality, Reavis’ eclectic musical influences, and so much more.
You have been very outspoken about your latest album, Victim 1, being the strongest material of your two-decades-plus career thus far. Why do you think that is, and what has kept you so hungry to keep pushing yourself artistically after all these years?
Waylon Reavis: I've got arrested development, it just took me a while to mature. [Laughs.] It's never too late, and I always tell my [band] that you have to work for anything worth having in this life. It's all about digging in and putting the work in, and when you do, you will find greatness and that you are stronger than you think you are.
With Victim 1 being the first entirely conceptual album for A Killer's Confession, was it daunting to undertake a project with such an enormous scope and story to convey regarding sin? On the other hand, was it also helpful to have a template to go off?
Reavis: Yes, it was [helpful]. First things first, I'm writing about a killer who has the ability to find people and see the skeletons in everyone's closet. Initially, I thought each song would be a [different] victim, but I realized that would be too easy. How many times can I sneak into someone's bedroom and take care of business? [Laughs.] I also didn't want it to be a B-rate slasher type of thing, so I wanted it to be deeper than that and realized, what if he [the killer] is the victim himself? What if he's a victim of himself and he's become what he hates? So, a lot of this album takes place inside of his own mind because he has a split personality. He's a killer, but he also wants to help the world, so there are a lot of [internal] arguments on Victim 1.
With the song "Voices," which features Aaron Nordstrom (Gemini Syndrome), I had Aaron play the voice of reason, and I played the voice of vengeance. This [album] was bigger than I ever expected it to be, and when it finally came together, it all started to make sense where everything was in the same realm. In the album, there really is only one victim, and that's purpose. The rest of it is him dealing with it or sending out warnings like "Greed" or "Martyr," where I'm like, I'm not ashamed, I've got blood on my hands, but I'm protecting the innocent. It was a challenging [process], and the hair I had left fell out during the writing of this, but I can sit back now and say, Wow, I pulled this off. [Laughs.]
Obviously, the character you have developed for the album's story is fictitious, but are there elements of your personality within the character? I imagine you are trying to exercise a lot of things that you find wrong with the world through this story.
Reavis: Well, trafficking had a lot to do with it. After I left Mushroomhead, I worked with children and learned the underbelly of the real sex trafficking world, and that was a big push. With A Killer's Confession, we take a hard stance and mean what we say, so it really comes across. Also, sitting on social media, I saw all these people and influencers being greedy. I can't stand the word "influencer," I'd rather have educators. I don't want to be influenced; it feels like a cheap version of begging for money.
That kind of stuff pushed me, as well as the world and the division we have where no one can have a conversation anymore. I don't care what side you're on, but we all have to be morally correct, and I think it's due to our lack of communication. We've forgotten that brilliant ideas come from both sides, and we need to listen to each other to find the ultimate solutions. I have a platform and voice and want to use it to be proud of something where, thirty years after my death, people can see that I'm trying to tell people to come together and [recognize] right and wrong. I'm putting so much out there to get people to unite because the worst place we can be is when we are separated.
The Seven Deadly Sins are a huge plot point for Victim 1. With that being said, was there a particular sin that you found to be the most intriguing to explore from a lyrical perspective?
Reavis: "Wrath" was the most intriguing sin to explore. The [opening track] "Tongue" represents that sin on the album. Wrath really pushed the thought of anger where I want to be able to do something to a person who deserves to be at the bottom level of hell, locked in a pit. It was definitely fun to go into and write about my own personal anger and put it [into a song]. "Envy" was a fun sin to explore on the track "Sun" and how one side of the brain is envious of the other in terms of who is in control.
For Victim 1, you brought in Dusty Boles and Evan McKeever to bring the production and arrangements to new and uncharted territory. What would you say the two of them brought to the table for this record, and can you remember any lightning-in-a-bottle moments in the studio?
Reavis: Dusty and Evan are my writing team now, and we write everything together. I knew I needed new blood and a new direction, and Dusty was like, I got something for you. The first thing he sent me was the track "Sun," which represents that Mushroomhead style but in a modern way. Evan came in and did the vocals with me. He is such a good guy. As soon as I got [to the studio], he was like a bolt of inspiration, and we ended up doing six songs in five days. This album could be some of the best vocal work I've ever done, and I have to credit Evan because he brought that out of me.
What influences were you pulling from new and old to make Victim 1 such a musically diverse album?
Reavis: Definitely Bad Omens, Tool, A Perfect Circle, Puscifer, and really anything that has Maynard [James Keenan]. When all else fails for me, I go to Maynard for inspiration — he could read the wanted ads, and it would still sound amazing. [Laughs.] I also listened to Sleep Token, Slipknot, and even some old-school Mushroomhead with (former lead vocalist) Jason "J Mann" Popson. Jason and I still have a great relationship, and I have the utmost respect for him.
I'll pull from stuff you'd never expect, whether that's Phil Collins, Cyndi Lauper, or Peter Gabriel, more so than I do from newer artists. There's a reason those artists' songs are so timeless because there was a magic back then. I feel like songs are getting overproduced to the point where they are great, but maybe ten years later, will they have the same impact? I say it all the time, I'm gonna end up being Picasso where this stuff's gonna get discovered once I die, and that's okay, as long as it gets discovered. [Laughs.] I want to write something that's generational, not momentary. I don't want to be on the front of the charts for five minutes; I would rather be a slow burn that lasts 70 years.
Aside from music, were there any movies, books, or media that inspired the album's concept and vibe?
Reavis: I'll give you two: On the song "Kill Or Be Killed," I say "All Hail The King," and that comes from the movie Army Of Darkness (1992). With the song "Rain," I say, "How many teardrops does it take until I choose to stop this?"That line comes from the owl in the Tootsie Pop commercial who says, "How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?" To this day, I can't see a tootsie pop without thinking of that. [Laughs.] Other than that, I put on American Horror Story, A Clockwork Orange, and Natural Born Killers. I wanted this [album] to be psychological like an Alfred Hitchcock movie or Quentin Tarantino where it's not laid out in order.
What are you looking forward to the most about your upcoming tour with Drowning Pool?
Reavis: A Killer's Confession has never been a physical band in the sense that we have mosh pits — we more so have listeners. We just did a show in our hometown of Cleveland, Ohio, and played the new album, front to back. The album hadn't even been out a week, but everyone knew all the lyrics and was singing so loud it was hard to hear them over my monitors. [Laughs.] That's what I'm looking forward to! The biggest gratification of what we do is when people sing it back. I don't care about a pit, I don't care about crowd surfers, and I don't care about violence — I care about people knowing about what's being said. The sing-along means more to me than any award or any money.
Watch the video for “Greed” by A Killer's Confession below + catch the band on tour with Drowning Pool this fall!
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