Perish the Land

They say practice makes perfect. If nothing in this world is perfect, what are they striving for? Excellence, I assume.

You can always distinguish those who strive for excellence by their perfect timing, melodic transitions, and overall professionalism. So when you're interviewing a band, what better place to meet up than at their sanctuary? They spend countless hours and days working into the late night in this garage, burning through guitar strings and drum sticks trying to lay down that perfect riff. We can feel the energy flowing through the room as Jesse, drummer for Perish The Land, discusses the band's growth and development since its inception.

"We wanted something that had some meaning behind it,- said Jesse, explaining that the band had been practicing for two years before coming up with a name. "At that point I was going through some rough times in my life. We all get that feeling when we just want to say 'F**K the world.’ You don't want to use that as a band name so instead we thought of Perish the Land. Perish as in 'destroy or conquer.' At first the guys hated it , but a few days later we all agreed it had a nice ring to it so it stuck." When asked how they would describe their style of music, Edward, lead vocals for the group, articulates, “Heavy F**king Metal." As he opens a new can of Bud Light he adds, “Actually, we prefer Texas Metal."

The band is currently taking a break to gear up for their upcoming CD release show May 15th at Jack's Patio. The show will feature themselves along with Deadpool, In Ovo, and Brink of Disaster. "Basically what we are trying to do is make sure this show kicks the most ass possible," Edward states. "We're doing everything we can to make sure we have some bad ass shirts available. We're all putting a lot of money into merch, flyers, and, of course, the CD. We're gonna make sure this show turns some heads." Their self-titled CD will have a 3 track demo that was mastered by Chris Leak, who has done some work with Cinderella and Van Halen, to be followed by a full EP release coming out in early 2011.

Perish the Land's outstanding confidence and talent is visible on and off stage. It was apparent even in the quick but awe-inspiring personal show they gave us. The obvious respect they have for each other is apparent, especially between Rene and Josh, as they try to push each other to strive for more. Jesse's amazing double-bass, in sync with Blue keeping the pace and Edward's voice, brings it all together. All of them share the noticeable passion for music burning inside. Aside from being inspired from such bands as Pantera and Lamb of God, some of the members also have other musical influences that they offer to the group. "Josh puts in a lot of blues, classic, and rock stylings," Jesse shares. "Along with metal, rock and death metal that we all grew up listening to."

"With a little Southern flavor," Edward adds.

Perish the Land knows the meaning of patience and dedication, something that many bands in San Antonio, should take note of. The band practicing three to four times a week -- sometimes up to five hours a day -- and everything seems to be falling in place. "We are reaching every goal we set for ourselves in almost half the time," Josh says. "Right now we're just getting everything ready so when our tour dates come around we’ll be prepared."

"We always run into bands that we see struggling," says Jesse. "We never pass up the chance to offer a helping hand, just as our friends Deadpool did for us. Many successful bands our there will see you struggling on the floor and they'll just walk by and kick dust in your face. We don't want to be that type of band so we try and help our the scene as much as we can."

Perish the Land has come a long way since its formation almost three years ago, and they show no signs of slowing down. Self-proclaimed as one the hardest working bands in San Antonio, the group aims to bring metal back to Texas. "We don't just want to be a band on the radio," Jesse states confidently. "We want to be a movement, the next big thing out of Texas."

We wish them luck as they attempt to carry their success above and beyond the Alamo City.

Conquering the Land - Backbeat magazine- story by G Tomas V