Music

A man in black lights a cigarette. As he draws in that clean-as-it’s- ever-gonna-get Los Angeles air, he stares straight into the deceiving December sun and says, “I don’t ever remember an instance when I wanted to do something and couldn’t, based on restrictions posed by METAL whoever thinks I should or shouldn’t be doing it.” The man in black is Souren Mike Sarkisyan, guitarist and founding member of the Grammy-nominated metal band Spineshank, and that’s how he OVER takes on his day – with controlled angst and an unruly smile. MATTER Text Ara Tahmassian

eports were out that a vehicle had said, ‘dude, get your ass over here. Me and you are Rcollided with an electrical pole, and about seven doing an acoustic set.’” Pausing to take a puff of his square blocks of Ogden, Utah were without power. first cigarette, he continues. “The place was packed, A crowd of devoted fans who had waited the better and these kids wanted to see us play.” Armed with part of a decade for their new album, Anger Denial only electric guitars on tour, lead vocalist Jonny Acceptance to drop, had gathered outside a local Santos and Mike borrowed two acoustics from a venue to see Spineshank perform. With no power in couple of guys in town, re-tuned them, and kicked off sight, not even a flickering street light, the crowd an intimate set for their grateful followers. “There began getting restless – and so did Sarkisyan. were no lights, no amps – just us, the fans, and some “I called our singer, who was still in the hotel, and candles – lots of candles. It was beautiful.” In 2004, Souren Mike Don’t hold your breath for a Spineshank acoustic Sarkisyan and Spineshank Christmas album anytime soon because it doesn’t were nominated for a Grammy take long to see that Mike is more of a cigarettes over candles type of guy. So to their loyal base, in the category of Best Metal whose support for the band has translated into Performance, alongside Korn selling hundreds of thousands of records worldwide and allowed them to share the stage with Slipknot, and Marilyn Manson. They Metallica, Disturbed and the like, don’t you worry lost to some unknown band about a thing – Mike’s not going soft on you. “You have to stay true to who you are,” he believes. named Metallica. But when you’re a kid, forming that identity can be difficult, especially when you’re different, like an Armenian metal-head different. Today Mike looks back at those days, when he was bullied and forced to mix it up in schoolyard brawls, as mere growing pains. “I think everyone goes through some degree of difficulty, whether it’s because of the way you look, your music preference or whatever,” he says, as he lights up another one. “It developed my sense of individuality pretty early on.”

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For the musician with a fan base that spans the confesses, referring to the period of personal pain beautiful to do the latter. You have to find a way to be things with the guitar. It ruined my life,” he laughs. globe from New Jersey to Spain, the little things he endured while making the new album. “But shit resilient and carry on.” “I picked up the guitar, and it’s been a constant don’t seem to bother him much. So when the waiter happens. What are you gonna do?” When I met Mike, the country was going through chase ever since.” mixes up Mike’s order, he responds with a gentle “no Anger Denial Acceptance is Spineshank’s fourth studio its own stage of grief. It was two weeks before the Mike was signed to Roadrunner Records when he worries, this is cool too.” album, released under Century Media Records, and New Year, clear and crisp as the day can be, yet there was 20. Bands like Rob Zombie, Mötley Crüe, and He might be unapologetic in his articulation, but I produced by Sarkisyan and drummer Tommy Decker. was a sobering wind that kept reminding us of what Young the Giant, have called the label their home. can’t say he’s not polite, because he is. The title refers to the various stages of grief and had happened less than twenty-four hours ago on the Their debut album Strictly Diesel was released on His bad-ass vibe is noninvasive, perhaps even reflects the band’s sentiments during the creative other side of the country in a place called Newtown. September 22, 1998, about a couple of months after conservative, like the ink on his upper arms, which is process. Although he refuses to share personal stories Trying to make sense of a senseless act, the media System of A Down released theirs. barely visible beneath the short sleeved basic black of pain, he does however say that “there was insanity posed all kinds of questions that day, including “It was a good time to be in music; we enjoyed tee. He’s in his mid-thirties, but shows no major around us, people in our lives were just dying left the gunman’s musical preference. As a musician actual record sales,” he points out. This was before visible signs of being a Keith Richard-esque aging and right, divorce...things ending in general. You can it saddens Mike, but he’s heard it before. Isolated Napster – and way before record stores ended up on rock star. His wrinkles, however, are inside. either move on or choose to give up.” He leans back, incidents, like that of the depressed teenager who milk cartons. For those of you with a Justin Bieber “I would rather have not made this record,” he moving closer to the sun’s rays, and says, “Life is too took his own life while listening to an Ozzy poster hanging in your room, a record store was where you went to purchase music. It was a physical place, and they could be found in local malls and shopping centers all over the world. That is, until is they started disappearing at an alarming rate. “The balance between digital and physical record sales has shifted, but metal still sells physically. It’s a matter of a kid looking at the art work and the liner notes. We spend a lot of time and energy on that.” In 2004, Spineshank was nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Metal Performance, alongside Korn and Marilyn Manson. They lost to some unknown band named Metallica. Mike recalls Anger Denial Acceptance that night. “It was kind of surreal – it still is. I Spineshank’s fourth studio remember sitting near R. Kelly, and it was around album and produced by the time he got busted for that sex-tape or whatever. He had a Zorro mask on. I thought it was hilarious.” Sarkisyan and Tommy Decker. Although their current album is not nominated, The title refers to the various Mike thinks it’s the pinnacle of his career. One of the tracks is titled “Everything Everyone stages of grief and reflects Everywhere Ends” – it’s probably not going to be the band’s sentiments during on your wedding DJ’s playlist, but it could make the divorce party. The track opens like the raging the creativeOsbourne's process.song, or when false reporting claimed the temper of a derailed train and continues until it hits Columbine murderers were influenced by Marilyn a brief sonic seclusion, and just as all hope is lost, Manson’s music, have caused a stigma to shadow slowly rising from the wreckage you can hear the metal music like perhaps no other genre. Sarkisyan duduk take form. “I’ve always wanted to use it in the believes that “if you connect with music, then it context of a metal song,” he shares. This haunting helps you get through the pain; it doesn’t help you woodwind instrument is a glimmering light in an cause pain to others. If it does, then that’s not a true otherwise dark piece. And for Mike, who grew up in connection.” Armenia and lost his father when he was just nine, “Music saved my life,” he says. “I wasn’t a good kid, it’s his way of coming full circle. but ultimately I chose the guitar over anything else.” The sun, which had almost exclusively kept the At about six, Sarkisyan started taking classical piano man in black warmly lit throughout our interview, lessons and admits not having a passion for the was fading. He took the last puff of his cigarette schooling aspect, noting that “it’s been a reoccurring and finished, “Whether in a poem, a song or any pattern in my life.” Instead he was attracted to the other medium, an artist chooses to express his or creative process. By seven, little Mikey was writing her experience. The point is to let someone else his own compositions and using them for exams. know that they are not alone. People don’t want One day he heard Randy Rhoads’ guitar lead in “Mr. to feel lonely; they want to feel like they belong Crowley,” an Ozzy song. “Randy was doing these somewhere.”

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