A Chat with Severed Angel
Photographs by James DimaSevered Angel is a melodic metal band made up of veterans in the northeastern metal scene. In 2018 Wayne Noon (Phoenix Reign, Project Resurrect) started the Rat Salad Review network to promote the metal scene. One of the shows on the network is the Music is Life podcast hosted by Lou Mavs. The two would eventually collaborate on recording covers which eventually evolved into writing new music. With Noon on drums and Mavs on guitar, the two recruited keyboardist Marc Muchnik (The Nightmare Stage), bassist Alex Repetti (Tension Rising, Project SEAR), and guitarist George Dimitri (Timeless Haunt) to form Severed Angel. After releasing a series of singles, Severed Angel recorded all-new music and dropped their debut album this past May. Lou Mavs agreed to talk to Death Moth Press about the band’s formation, songwriting process, and their sometimes shady dealings with the recording industry.
Before hosting the Music Is Life podcast you were involved in various bands. After leaving the band life for a while, what made you want to get back in it?
Wayne was persistent in starting an original project with me. I was hesitant because I had just left a cover band I was in around November 2020, when shows were non-existent due to the pandemic . I didn’t want to play music with others because I had been burnt out by bandmates who had an extreme lack of musical talent and character. I was perfectly happy doing cover songs with Wayne for Rat Salad Review, but people were enjoying our cover songs, and the cover of Def Leppard’s “On Through The Night” made it into an actual Def Leppard tribute album. We were told it was their favorite one. George did that track with us, as well as Jawn Whitten of Shockwire from Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, while Alex did it. Wayne kept asking me and said I was the missing piece. I didn’t have any inspiration to write, but I sent him a demo of a song I did back in 2010 called “Dogs of War.” It was written as entrance music for my cousin Robby Plotkin, an MMA fighter. Wayne loved it, showed it to George, Alex, and Marc, and we updated the song. Once I heard it, I felt inspired to write and record again. Thus, Severed Angel was born.
Severed Angel is made of seasoned members of various other bands between the NY and PA scenes. How did this line-up of Severed Angel come to be formed?
We all started as friends first before we became a band. I’ve known Wayne since 2002, and we were both in different bands. His band Phoenix Reign was more power metal-based. The guys I was playing with wanted to do more emo/hardcore-style music. Think Drive-Thru or Vagrant Records style. I wasn’t a fan of that style of Punk; I was more into The Cro-Mags, Carnivore, and Minor Threat. Metal was always my favorite genre, but I could listen to anything from Soilwork to The Birthday Massacre to Fury Weekend for inspiration. I met Alex through Wayne when he was promoting his bands Tension Rising and Infinite Spectrum. Wayne introduced me to Marc, who I was a fan of from his band The Nightmare Stage. George, I became friends with after we first did our cover of Van Halen’s “Atomic Punk” with Ralph Viera of Thrash or Die on vocals. Wayne was really the Svengali who put it all together. It was his brainchild, but all of us have equal input. We all have played different styles of music, and we wanted to do something different than we were used to. We’re not a “traditional” metal band in any way, and that is fine. We love the challenge. It really is the best situation a musician can be in because we’re friends who actually enjoy the writing and recording process.
Melodic metal seems to be seeing a resurgence as of late with new bands forming and original acts being rediscovered. Why do you think that the time seems to be right now for melodic metal?
I think people are looking for an alternative to the heavily produced, overly compressed, formulaic sounds of what is considered modern pop music. Don’t get me wrong. There are a lot of pop songs I love, like The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights,” but I think between that and what they call rock radio today, which seems to be the same playlists from 30 years ago, music fans may be looking for something different. They’re looking for a “danger” element to their music to give them excitement. I know when I first discovered bands like Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Helloween, and Mercyful Fate, that danger element was there. It was fun, exciting, and it made you feel emotionally invested. That’s why I think melodic metal is making a resurgence. People want to feel something, whether it’s confidence, joy, or hope. They need it to function, and melodic metal gives them that.
Severed Angel's self-titled debut album was released on Sliptrick Records. I understand the band has already left the label. Can you explain what happened?
Without giving too much away, let’s just say that everything looked good on paper, and it seemed legitimate. However, after months of not having our questions answered, we realize that they were not working in our best interest. We do not use bots for increased listeners or views, and when our analytics didn’t match theirs, they told us that “YouTube and Spotify numbers were not in real-time,” which is a lie. You can google that. Next thing we know, our numbers jumped 5 times what was originally there. If anyone understands search engine optimization, bots are the fastest way to go down in search rankings, and we knew this would hurt us in the long run. We called them out on it, and we realized that after a while, anytime we tried to communicate with them, one guy at the label told us to refer to another guy from the label who then told us to then speak to the first guy. It was a lot like that “hold on; let me put my brother on the phone” joke from Jim Florentine and Don Jamison. We got sick of it, put in a PayPal dispute, and got our money back. We are not associated with that label, and thankfully, it was only a 2-year non-exclusive licensing agreement. No big loss. Also, if it looks to your readers as though I’m being slanderous, don’t worry - I have receipts.
The first video to promote the debut album was "In the Red." The song itself is very progressive. Prog metal is one of those genres that never seems to get mainstream attention, but it also never goes away. It still attracts followers. What is the appeal of prog metal to Severed Angel?
I think it’s more “Power Metal” than Progressive. Songs like “Attachment Unavailable” or “With Wings Anew” are more Progressive, but I’m glad that Progressive Metal fans are digging “In The Red.” We like to challenge ourselves as songwriters and musicians. Again, I think people are looking for that danger element in music. Does it take them on a journey? Is it fun to listen to? Does it give them a jolt of electricity every time they listen to it? I have to be honest, “In The Red” was musically influenced by the idea of what would happen if I tried to write a Soilwork song in the vein of Unearth. Lyrically, Marc wrote about an experience of being in a toxic relationship where he tried to help someone but they wouldn’t help themselves. That’s the beauty of the song - it’s anecdotal, but anyone who has had that experience can relate to it. But I think prog metal gives us credence to write songs we want to hear that we are fans of without being tied down to having to live up to expectations from a record label, producer, or an A&R rep. We do what we want as long as it sounds good to us. No boundaries. That’s the appeal of prog metal to us.
The video for "Attachment Unavailable" seems to be anti-tech, in particular people's obsession with their mobile phones. Considering that Severed Angel has an online social media presence, how does the band navigate how to be critical of tech while knowing how to use it effectively?
We’re not anti-tech. We’re pro-human experience. What you see with us on social media is who we are as people. We love engaging with people who love our music. Tech is obviously an everyday part of our lives, whether it’s communicating with people for your job, organizing things with family or friends, or promoting your friend’s work. So we’re not denying the importance of it. We just don’t think it is so important that you can’t put the phone down for a few hours to engage with people in person. The worst is when you have these keyboard warriors acting like tough guys behind a monitor trying to stir people up and get them upset. We will block that kind of idiocy. We also know when we’re in the presence of friends, family, and loved ones, our responses to texts can wait. I was at a family event where I saw a family member of mine just sit on a bench, ignoring everyone around him, and looking at his cell phone the entire time. I found it really insulting. I like to take advantage of the time I have with people at the moment because time is always fleeting. My daughter is four going on five. It’s important to me to be involved with what is going on with her as she grows older. That’s what “Attachment Unavailable” is all about.
The latest video from Severed Angel is "A New Beginning." What is the message that Severed Angel wants to convey with that song?
I began the songwriting process as a way to grieve my mom who passed away from covid in February of 2022. It’s the most personal song for me. When I penned down the lyrics It was how I was feeling at the time. There was a lot of anger. I was finally able to process the loss and heal from it. Writing the song was my way of saying I’m at peace with it.
It’s basically the “Hero’s Journey” through the five stages of grief, with the end result being a resurgence of hope. It’s part two of our three-part “Severed Angel Suite,” consisting of that, the title track “Severed Angel,” and “With Wings Anew.” I think the message of that song sums up what Severed Angel is all about. We’re not a religious or politically affiliated band. When the band started, it was during a period when it seemed as though the United States was very polarizing in viewpoints. I’m a bit of a linguistics nerd, so I was looking up a synonym for “polarizing viewpoint,” and it came up with “severed angle.” I typed that to my bandmates, and thank God for autocorrect, because Alex typed back “severed angel,” and we said, ‘That’s it!’ Immediately, I thought of this guardian or protector who was broken, beaten, battered, and scarred, and it worked. It’s a symbol and a song of hope.
Prior to Severed Angel you and Wayne collaborated on a tribute to Eddie Van Halen. You also released the Rat Salad Review & Friends’ “Cover Series, Part 1” EP where you covered legends such as Kiss, Def Leppard, and Iron Maiden. Since forming, Severed Angel has covered "Square Hammer" from Ghost and "Time Stand Still" from Rush. What criteria do you look for when you select a song to cover?
We just wanted to pay tribute to Eddie by covering one of the most beloved and underrated tracks in the Van Halen catalog. As far as our criteria go, it is simple. One is if we like the song to cover it, and the second is if we can make it our own. With every song we’ve covered, I think we added something about ourselves into it, making it special for us. We’ve done Kiss, Stratovarius, Van Halen, Iron Maiden, Rush, Dio, Ghost, and Def Leppard. One thing we’re always told is “We like your version because you added a different touch to it.” We were told by Ghost fans that they like our version better because we made it heavier with better guitar solos. We were told by non-Ghost fans that they like our version in general. Wayne picked most of the cover songs, but I picked “Atomic Punk” and “On Through The Night.” We listen to each other when it comes to ideas. I actually have to give George the credit for “Square Hammer” because he wanted to do it with his last band, and Wayne jumped at the opportunity when Severed Angel was formed.
Among the singles Severed Angel released before recording new material for the debut were a couple of holiday songs. The Halloween-themed "Bump in the Night” and The Grinch origin story, "Professor Finch." How does Severed Angel balance writing tracks that are serious and tackle major issues with the occasional humorous song just for fun?
Good question. The simple answer is this - we do what we want. We don’t have to worry about someone in the studio telling us what to do, how to play, how or what to write, or who to write with. We are free to do what we want without restriction. If we wanted to write a song like “Mt. Cyanide,” we will. If we want to write a song like “Bump In The Night,” where you can hear an obvious homage to Motorhead and the Misfits, we will. If we want to inspire people with a song like “With Wings Anew,” we will. Music does not have to be one-dimensional. You can do what you want with it. It’s art. You can’t force a painter to paint something they don’t want. Once your passion becomes a chore, it’s dead. We never want that to happen with Severed Angel, where it becomes a broken stagnant parody of itself. We want to keep growing as songwriters and musicians.
For the record, the second album is already done. We’re looking to release that next year. We’re writing the third as we speak. I can’t tell you where it’s going but I will say that as songwriters and musicians, we are going on an upward trajectory.
What are the future touring plans for Severed Angel?
Logistics at the moment make it difficult for us to perform, with four of us in New York and one of us in Pennsylvania. But that could change. If people are really digging the music, and want to come see us, we will see where we can take it. Until then, we are constantly creating, writing, and recording, and we’re happy with that. Time will tell.
We have to make sure we can pull it off live. I don’t want to play against a backing track and have people accuse us of lip-synching. And I don’t want to go on stage and people say, “They are not as good live as they are on record.” When you come to see Severed Angel we won’t just be ready to perform. We will be ready to destroy.
