I recently had the opportunity to conduct an online interview with Thomas Wilson, the lead vocalist of two Ontario, Canada based bands Unforsaken and Incarnate. Unforsaken released its full length debut Not Alone in 2005, while Incarnate recorded a single/EP entitled Believe In Me in 2002 and is currently at work on a full length follow up effort. Please read on for more details.
AR - I would like to know more about the history of Unforsaken. When did the first version of the band form and when did it disband? Also, when did the second version of Unforsaken come together?
TW - OK, here goes... I was starting a band way back in late 1992 / early 1993. I met Jon Hooper in the spring of '93, then moved to Toronto in the summer of '93 where I met Sheldon D'Costa in early '94. This was the first formation of Unforsaken. I don't remember exactly when it was that we "disbanded", but I think it was a couple years later. I continued in a solo career still using the name Unforsaken, and the demo CD in 2000 (original cassette version of it was released in '98) and the "Prison Walls" EP in 2004 were both recorded in the spirit of a solo project. But with the help of Jon on the "PW" EP and with Jon and Sheldon both having played such large roles on the demo, it always came out feeling more like a band effort than a solo project. After releasing "PW", Jon got very heavily involved in the making of "Not Alone", which was also supposed to have been recorded as a solo project. But because Jon was SO involved in the album, it just naturally became a band again instead of a solo thing. So Unforsaken never really stopped, at least in name, but it really became a band again in late 2004 / early 2005 with the recording of "Not Alone".
AR - One of my favorite songs off Not Alone is “Prison Walls”. Would you please go into detail about where its introduction takes place? It sounds like the scene from a nightmare.
TW - Yeah, I can definitely see how you would interpret that intro as a nightmare sequence. In fact, there has been one case of a 13 year old girl who listened to the CD and chose not to buy it because that track scared her too much! The idea I wanted to convey was that of a person being held in a metaphoric prison, either spiritually or emotionally. The idea is that the person has come to a realization of their imprisoned state and is desperate to find a way out. Satan is taunting the prisoner and doing his best to keep them bound in this current state, but in the end the prisoner can hear Jesus trying to show them the way out, indicating that to be free, they must take the first steps and follow Him. Although the concept of a nightmare was not my intention when putting together that intro, a dream is definitely one way that this kind of spiritual or emotional revelation could be manifest. I myself have had more than one instance of dreams making me aware of a spiritual or emotional need or preparing me for something I was about to go through in life. So if that intro brings about imagery of a dream, then I am glad, because that is something that I know many people can relate to.
AR - Please tell us more about the cover of the Siloam song "Here I Am Again" (from the album Sweet Destiny). The Unforsaken version, for example, moves in an acoustic based direction while the original as performed by Siloam reflects a melodic hard rock vibe.
TW - I always loved this song, ever since the first time I heard it. Musically it was very cool, and lyrically it was so full of meaning and emotion. But I felt that a lot of the emotion in the lyrics was lost in the energetic radio-rock presentation, and I wanted to perform this song in a way that would allow the deep feelings behind the lyrics to flow out and really be felt. As for it being so different in style from the original... If I do a cover song in tribute of another band, I do it in my own style, not theirs. I'm not them, so I don't feel that I should copy them. Different songs will strike different feelings in me, and my cover of a song will reflect what that song does to me personally, not just imitate the original recording. When I see a band copy another band's song exactly, all that tells me is that they are good musicians, capable of learning a song note for note, but may not have any originality of their own.
AR - I really enjoy how Unforsaken makes use of the acoustic guitar throughout its debut CD Not Alone. Will this trend continue in future releases from the band?
TW - Well, there will probably be less acoustic on our next album, because the next album will be heavier in nature with fewer ballads on it, but I love the way acoustic guitar lends a certain feeling to the music, even in heavy tunes. So our music will always be laced with acoustic to at least some extent.
AR - It is my understanding that Incarnate started as a collaboration between you and Sheldon D'Costa. Is Sheldon still involved with the project? And what instruments did the two of you play on the two tracks and the sampler on the "Believe In Me" single/EP?
TW - Sheldon played all instruments in the songs on the EP. He wrote the riffs, I arranged them into songs that would support vocals, he recorded the songs, I wrote lyrics and sang the vocals. All engineering was done by Sheldon, all mixing was done by me. Unfortunately, Sheldon no longer has any involvement with the project. He recorded five songs, and I am keeping only the guitar and bass tracks from those songs. I am recording another five or so songs of my own, re-mastering Sheldon's original tracks, re-recording the vocals on the original five songs, and re-programming the drum tracks. So in the end, the project will essentially be my own with a few tracks recorded by Sheldon.
AR - You said Sheldon plays all the instruments on the EP. Does this include drums? You mentioned that the drums are being re-programmed. Does this mean a "drum machine" was used?
TW - Yes, Sheldon played ALL instruments on the "BIM" single/EP, including the drums... but the drums are technically not 'played', they're programmed. Though I am a drummer, I am not so much into all the fast double-bass stuff that Sheldon wanted for Incarnate's faster and heavier songs, so we went the drum machine route. As I listened to the tracks recently, I was not happy with the beats he had programmed way back when we started the project, so I decided to re-do them.
AR - When was Incarnate formed?
TW - Sheldon and I began to work on the songs somewhere in late 2000, but I can't remember exactly when. I know it was after the Unforsaken demo was put onto CD in 2000, because originally "Believe In Me" and "Fallen Star" (the first two songs written) were to be Unforsaken songs appearing on the first full length album. But when Sheldon ended up writing a few other songs for me to use that were much heavier and didn't go well with the songs I was working on for the Unforsaken project, we decided to make it a separate project altogether. I'm not sure EXACTLY when that decision was made, but it must have been sometime in early 2002, because the "BIM" single/EP was released in late 2002.
AR - Is it true that you are going to be changing the name of the band from Incarnate? And if so what has led to this decision?
TW - It has recently been discovered that there is an apparently satanic death-metal band from Holland called Incarnate, and further research has revealed a total of SIX bands going by that name. Though they do not seem to be very well known globally, it has been suggested that perhaps I should change Incarnate's name in order to avoid association with these other bands. I have given this a lot of thought, and have come to the conclusion that there is no need to change the name. There will always be many small bands out there somewhere using the same name as each other, so it's almost impossible to find a name that has never been used. Since there are no other bands using the name Incarnate in Canada, I don't see it being a problem.
AR - Will Apothoesis remain the working title of the upcoming full length album?
TW - No, the album title is being changed. I have done some research into the meaning of the word "apotheosis", and have found that we were using it incorrectly... it means something totally different than what is being conveyed in the title track of the album. The song is about Jesus, and the meaning of the word "apotheosis" definitely does NOT apply to Him or His nature as EITHER a man OR God's Son incarnate. Again, I can fill you in on more details once a decision has been reached as to what the new album title will be.
Interview by Andrew Rockwell
