Previously known as Only The Strong (LISTEN HERE), this two man band has returned under the new moniker of The Lucid Archetype. With this paradigm shift, there have been slight sonic changes to how they approach music. Essentially, their sound comes down to a powerful Deathcore force with elements of Progressive Metal and Mathcore thrown into the mix. All in all, it’s a good kick in the chest.
We recently debuted their single “Actus Reus” right here on The Circle Pit and now we’re back with an in-depth interview! Go ahead, have a listen to the music and learn more about what makes this band work!
MB = Matt Bernal (Producer / Guitarist)
BF = Brian Fulks – (Vocalist)
TCP = The Circle Pit
TCP – First off, how the hell are you?
MB – I am good, thank you for asking! And thank you for the opportunity to have this interview. Hope all is good on your side.
BF – Doing great man, living the dream!
TCP – Aren’t we all? You guys were once known as Only The Strong and even put out an EP towards the end of last year. What were the deciding factors in dropping that and picking up with The Lucid Archetype?
MB – With the new year approaching we really wanted to take what we were doing more serious. We started with utilizing a local studio this time, hoping to improve our sound quality. We decided that the name of just didn’t seem right, and it didn’t fit our sound. I wrote the entire first EP by myself before Brian joined. With the new EP I knew I had to work better with Brian’s brutal vocals. When it came down to it, “Only the Strong” just did not fit us and what we were going for. Plus neither of us came up with the name.
TCP – Is there a specific meaning or story behind the new name?
MB – Well sort of. I called one of the new songs The Lucid Archetype before they had actual names. At the time I was reading some psychology books and came across a unique concept for Archetype which had to do with dreaming and I have a lot of lucid dreams. The song had a dream-like feel, so I kinda combined the two terms for the song. When we decided to change names I brought it up as an idea. Neither of us were sold at first, but eventually we realized it really fit everything we were going for.
BF – I don’t have lucid dreams. They are either weird, random things, or nightmares about zombies. TWD was already taken, so Matt’s idea won.
TCP – You’re currently planning the release of your debut EP (not counting Only The Strong). Can you tell us about that and what went into making it?
MB – Well this EP was a lot better then the first in my opinion. It was nice to have someone other then myself for feedback on the material. We were able to achieve a lot of things we both wanted for the first EP. I wrote all the instruments and Brian dealt with all the vocal stuff. On the first EP I came up with the concept and names, but on this EP Brian did all of those things and did a phenomenal job! We were planning on recording it ourselves, but in a last minute decision we decided to go with Darkened Dreams Studios, who we knew for their work with Smoke Signals and Becoming Saints.
BF – This EP was fun for me because I chose what I wanted each song to be about. The last EP was originally an instrumental, with themes already made for each song. For the new EP I had a blank slate that I could put whatever I wanted on.
TCP – You’re currently a two man band. Do you have any plans of expanding the line-up moving into the future?
MB – Until recently we haven’t pushed to play live. We have always had trouble finding members locally, but we are expanding and really pushing to add more people. But we plan on playing live, even if its just the two of us.
BF – It’s been quite difficult to solidify a full lineup. Part of that is probably because we don’t have that exposure of playing live. We definitely plan on pushing forward, even if it’s just Matt and I along with some backing tracks. But if you live in Arkansas, are a good person and guitarist, drummer or bassist then hit us up!!
TCP – On that note, what are your plans for the rest of 2016 into 2017?
MB – Live shows and getting the new EP out! Making some more connections for expanding our reach, maybe even touring at some point.
BF – I’m gonna get married next year!
TCP – Congratulations, man! Speaking about making connections, if you could collaborate with any artist(s), dead or alive, who would you work with?
MB – Man there are a lot of musicians I would love to collaborate with. Between the Buried and Me, 12 Foot Ninja would be fun, Architects (my hearts out to them for), Queen during the Freddie times. I could seriously go on and on, but these are the few that pop in my mind at the moment.
BF – Would be pretty interesting to work with lil Amadeus, but I’m sure getting shown up by a child prodigy isn’t all that fun.
TCP – I would imagine not. What bands or musicians do you think more people should more people know about?
MB – For sure Between the Buried and Me. I know they have been receiving a bigger fan base, but I believe more people should know about them. They are all very talented musicians. Another big one for me is Animals as Leaders. All three of those guys are very talented musicians as well.
BF – This Will Destroy You, Johari, and Native Construct.
TCP – What music would we find on your “guilty pleasure” playlist?
MB – Unfortunately, there are a lot. Panic at the disco, Katy Perry, and Michael Jackson are a few of them.
BF – Abba and Ace of Base, but I don’t feel all that guilty about it.
TCP – Random Question – If you could have one (and only one) of these, which would you choose: A spaceship that can travel to anywhere in the Universe or a time machine that works only on earth?
MB – I think I would choose to have a time machine. The reason I choose that is because one of the biggest things on many minds are “where did we come from”. With that being said I could cure myself and humanity of that question and it would change the world. Not only that, but I’d visit all the beautiful places on earth, see things being built and the see people who fought so hard to get to where we are now.
BF – Spaceship.
TCP – Any last words before we wrap up here?
MB – I will wrap it up by saying that I really hope everyone enjoys the new EP. We worked really hard on coming up with something unique to call our own and hope people can appreciate it for what it is. I hope to see some of our fans at shows. A big thanks to Simon Pettiford and Eric Stewart of Darkened Dreams Studios for providing some good quality production. Would also like to thank Allison, my girlfriend, for hanging in there while I recorded, practiced, and wrote all the material all day and night. And just wanna say I’m really proud of how hard Brian worked to improve his vocals. I am really excited for everyone to hear how much he has improved since the last EP. It’s been such an honor to work with him and have him as a friend and bandmate. And of course I wanna give thanks to The Circle Pit for helping to promote our music and all of our fans who have supported us thus far.
BF – I concur.
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