Dreams in Peril are a five-piece deathcore band from Kansas City Missouri.
Having formed in 2018, they found positive reception straight away, having won the Headbang for the Highway Summer Slaughter
Showcase, the band went in to play the Summer Slaughter tour, ahead of the release
of their 2019 debut album Mephobia.
I asked bassist, Dalton Collins, a few questions about this
album and the next one in the works. Here’s what he had to say.
1.Which three influences can be most easily identified in
your sound?
Answer: Deftones, Suicidal Silence, The Acacia Strain
2. Recently, the band has welcomed two new members, a singer
and a second guitarist, tell me about those guys and what they bring to the
table.
Answer: Lucas, formerly of the band Torn Asunder and is also
a member of a band called Moosebite.
We initially tried him out on vocals, but after a few weeks
of having him at practice, we soon noticed that his talents were best suited
for the guitar position in the band. We needed another guitar player to help
give strength, definition, and thickness to the sound, along with giving the possibility
of layers of guitars in a live setting. And he does and gives us just that!
Dakota soon came after Lucas, we asked our friend, Dotty, a
local scene photographer if she would be willing to help us look for a new
vocalist and she came through perfectly for us! Sending us links to videos and
sound bytes to different vocalists wanting to try out.
We came across Dakota who did a video of him doing parodies
of other songs that are NOT metal songs but in a metal vocal style. Not only
did this show personality right away, but his vocals were spot on for what we
needed!! As soon as we had him out. We knew he was the guy!
All in all, both guys have been solid addition to the band
and have helped us to ascend to the next level.
3. Which emotions motivate you to write? Where do you find
inspiration?
Answer: we find inspiration from several different emotions,
such as anger, depression, and faithfulness as well. We use all the emotions,
though most of them come from a negative place, we usually turn them into
positive outcomes.
4. You had explained in an earlier interview that the name
of the band comes from the way you all felt about your careers when the band was formed in 2018. That was an uncertain time for all of you. Do you still feel
a little hungry? A little like it could all go tomorrow? What kept you all from
quitting?
Answer: Quitting was never really an option because we all
love music so much!
But to answer the question, we all knew each other in the
scene, since we all played shows together when we were all in different bands,
one day we found that we were all out of bands, and so we decided to make this
one. We named the band Dreams In Peril, due to our past failures in our past
bands, as a way to mock those failures and bring forth new light and success
to this one. We all felt like our dreams were in peril, and the name stuck! And
yes, we are as hungry as ever, we continue to press the envelop every time we
step into the practice space and when we step on stage. We are always pushing for
more!
5. When there’s a difference of opinion at practice, how is
the final decision made?
Answer: Democracy! It's simple, we take a vote! Whichever
the vote lands are the final decision. Because whichever way the majority
decision lands must be the better outcome. We don’t really fight, and if we do,
it isn’t hard to talk it out.
6. The album cover art for Mephobia features a bunch of
zombified men in business suits and ties. The sixth track of the album is
called Neckties and Nostalgia, what’s the statement being made here? Who did
the artwork?
Answer: out of all the interviews I have done, you are
possibly the only one to ask this question, and by far it is probably the best
one!
The word Mephobia means,
"The fear of becoming so Awesome that the human race can not handle
it and everyone dies!" ~urban dictionary
The album art is a visual of who we call "Mr.
Mephobia" who is a businessman who is so awesome, that he is melting
everyone at his office that he works with. Hence, everyone dies! Lmao
It’s something we researched and came up with at the
practice space, and figured it worked perfectly with our scheme of redemption
within our music scene.
The song Neckties and Nostalgia is an extension of that. The
song is about our music scene, talking about our failures and how our music
scene has been slowly dying here in Kansas City, however, we are vague in
explaining that in the song, if you look at the lyrics, you can put two and two
together, "ascend, survey the land, it crumbles in my hand" and
"so, try and outlast me, so try!"
This just explains that we keep going on pushing forward.
Making the statement. So try and outlast me, while our scene crumbles.
The artwork for Mephobia
was done by Rifki Haq, an Indonesian artist.
7. The song before that Porcelain is an ethereal
instrumental and not quite two minutes long. Why was this included? How do you
decide which order you should put the songs in on the record? Is there a
cohesive storyline from first to last?
Answer: The way in which they were put on the album is
just due to how they flow into each other. Porcelain was a song that was just an intermission song for the listener. A pretty, yet emotional interlude to the
rest of the album.
8. Searching google for the etymology of the word Mephobia
didn’t yield anything helpful. Why did
you call the album that? What does it mean?
Answer: as stated in a previous question. The meaning is
"The fear of becoming so awesome, that the human race can not handle it
and everyone dies"
Its symbolism to our personal uprise within our musical
careers and within our local scene.
9. The third track, Seldom Solace sounds like it’s about a
person walking away from a relationship where they aren’t getting their
emotional needs met. What is it about?
Answer: we left it wide open for the interpretation of the
listener. But… you are very correct. And on a level for us, we are essentially
walking away from everyone who had doubted us.
10. When is the new album coming out? What is it called? Can
you tell me a little about it?
Answer: we had just finished tracking the second album and
will soon be working with setting things up for the release, though, we are
looking at possibly releasing it at the end of this summer or early Fall.
I can't give the name of the album, but.. recently within
our posts, we give small hints 😉.
11. You’ve been very busy with the return of live shows.
What are the pros and cons of performing for an audience compared to recording?
Answer: Well, the recording process is tedious and
meticulous. Trying to make an album that will be taken seriously and will make
headway and be received well and marketed well.
While playing live is so much fun and we get to interact
with people! Playing live brings the album to life!
They are very much different for sure. I don’t personally
enjoy recording because it's a huge process and it can at times be frustrating.
But I enjoy the end result when I get to hear it back!
12. Where can we find you on the web?
Answer: We are everywhere on the web, Spotify, Facebook,
Twitter, Instagram, iTunes, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube... anywhere you
can find music. Most likely, we are there!
Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7osPUxIGcZ0DnoBIcn5Kuu?si=QOUW7feYRt-i6O5ojT34ZQ&utm_source=copy-link
Facebook: www.facebook.com/dreamsinperil
Twitter: www.twitter.com/dreamsinperil
YouTube: www.youtube.com/dreamsinperil
Instagram: www.instagram.com/dreamsinperil
13. Is there anyone you would like to shout out to, plug or
thank?
Answer: we would like to give a shout-out to Dotty Turner, Stacy
Dawn, and our Manager Greg Shaw Aka Mum! Love you, Mum!!! HaHahaha hahaha!
Thank you, Dalton, for hanging out with me
answering my questions.
Dreams In Peril are:
Dakota Otte - Vocals
Joshua Crocker - Guitars
Lucas Munoz - Guitars
Dalton Collins - Bass
Jeffrey Adkins - Drums
