Andrew Lee’s Ripped to Shreds has gone from a one man death metal project to a fully fledged band in the course of their first three albums. The third, their Relapse Records debut 劇變 (Jubian), fundamentally put them on the map. Now with its successor 三屍 (Sanshi) on the horizon, the things that Lee was once happy with are no longer sufficient. He’s still seeking to improve the work he did for an already established band.
Andrew and I spoke about all things related to the band, from the relatively humble beginnings to the critical reception of their last record and the HM2 fueled madness that helps keep this train on the tracks. Being the busy man that he is, we talked about how to balance the heavy workload of having multiple projects to manage at the same time including helping to run the great Nameless Grave record label, the concept of his unique Metal Archives picture, what he is doing when not playing in his bands or working on his absolutely hilarious social media image and what 2024 looks like for the band. Read on for more below.
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Andrew, what is it like to write and tour with a full band as opposed to the band’s somewhat humble beginnings?
Not much has changed in my writing process, but the goals definitely have. At the start I barely had any idea how to write music and I think it was directionless; I just wanted to put a cool part with another cool part and have a collection of cool parts. Now that I have specific players to write for on each instrument, my mindset going into a song is “What parts can I write that will maximize each musicians’ strengths?” For instance, Mike is a capable shredder, so I can write fast harmonies or have big solo tradeoffs in a way that I wouldn’t have written if we were still a three piece like in 2020. Of course, having more members is more challenging for touring, since we have to coordinate more people’s schedules, but the bigger sound and greater variety of songs we can pull off live was well worth it.
Did you think the project would take off as it has?
I consider RTS to be my first “actual” band as the previous one only made a demo and never played a show, so I didn’t really have any conception of what “success” would look like. At the start, the idea of anyone putting out a vinyl record for me was as good as winning a Grammy. The momentum that we’ve seemed to pick up year after year always comes as a pleasant surprise.
What is the inspiration for the particular guitar tone with RTS?
When I started listening to metal again in the mid 2010s, after a long foray into fusion, I listened to a ton of swedeath revival and Entombedcore, and most of those bands were powered by HM2, like Tribulation, Nails, (early) Horrendous, Black Breath, Morbus Chron, Spinebreaker, etc. From there I went back to basics with Entombed, and when I started experimenting with writing my own riffs and music it was a natural choice to also use the HM2 sound. For live shows, HM2cult made me this sick LHW clone, with an acid etched housing showing off the cover art of 埋葬, that I run into a Line 6 HX stomp on a rectifier sim. For the new record, I used a Decibelics Angry Swede with all the knobs maxed stacked into a HM-2waza with all the knobs at noon, into a poweramp straight into the cabinet.
What new ground did you want to tread for 三屍 (Sanshi)?
Guitar solos and making better use of our two vocalist set up! I recorded ‘劇變 (Jubian)’ around the same time I did all the leads for Pharmacist’s second LP, and when both records came out I felt like the solos I did for RTS weren’t as inventive or interesting, and the solo density was much lower. So I really made an effort to stuff the new record full of guitar solos with licks and patterns that I hadn’t already overused. With the 3rd LP Mike joined when everything had already been recorded so he wasn’t able to contribute, but this time I could write vocal tradeoffs and big shout choruses. Our delivery on those parts are inspired by Razor or Demolition Hammer, meant to be punky and high energy. High/low tradeoffs are classic Razorback style, but I thought it’d be more interesting to keep our vocals in the same register and allow our personality and unique vocal qualities to differentiate the parts.
What is the meaning behind the album’s name and the giant figure on the album’s cover?
The cover art features Yanluowang, or the king of Hell, a common figure across many Asian folk religions. Also known as Yama Raja, Enma, or Yeom-ra. He governs the afterlife and judges the deceased on their earthly deeds and sentences them to the appropriate afterlifes. Those deeds are recorded in the Book of Life and Death, a registry of every living being, and in the cover art there’s a demon clerk reading it to Yanluowang. The title of the record, ‘三屍 (Sanshi),’ refers to a Taoist conception of three demonic entities that live inside of each human, spying on them and reporting their misdeeds to the celestial bureaucracy. A lot of Taoist alchemy and immortality seeking was based around expelling these parasites to achieve a pure body.
What particular parts of Chinese folklore did you want to highlight?
I think there’s a rich conception of the death and afterlife that is opaque to a western audience. Christian conceptions of God, Satan, and demons have been beaten to death in death metal, but more importantly, I feel like Christian mythology lacks personality with a very black and white idea of morality, and a mostly unchanging central deity. In contrast, the Jade Emperor, who rules over all the other gods, was once a minor immortal that ascended to his position through millions of years of merit and deeds. My impression is also that it’s more openly syncretic than many other world religions that have crystallized their traditions.
How do you balance your projects with this one such as Andrew Lee’s Heavy Metal Shrapnel, Houkago Grind Time, and your label Nameless Grave among others?
There’s very little I do day to day for each band. RTS averages less than one practice a month, and the rest don’t practice at all or only right before a show. I usually pick a single project to write music for and focus on that until it’s finished. I didn’t bounce in between projects, until very recently where I’ve had long periods of writer’s block for HMS lyrics. For label work I pretty much just rubber stamp Brandon’s YOLO signings or do audio stuff, it’s not much time investment there.
Based on your socials you seem to want to nerd out about a multitude of things beyond music, what are your favorite music-free activities?
Cooking, video games, and anime! I’m not a MeatGuy™ but ever since I found a butcher near me that does great dry aged, there’s zero reason to ever eat steak out. Also typical simple Chinese fare like tomato and scrambled eggs, yuxiang eggplant, luroufan etc… There’s something similar in perfecting a dish to practicing guitar or audio engineering. For vidyas I used to tryhard at Broodwar/SC2/dota, but I refuse to play all multiplayer games now cause it’s just not good for me. Mostly cRPGs like Pillars of Eternity, Pathfinder, Underrail, or visual novels like Raging Loop for me now. I read more manga than watch anime because anime just takes up too much time, but shoutout to Shikanoko Nokonoko Koshitantan.
Does a self-body pillow offer the maximum in security and comfort?
I sold the last one I had to Blayne from Banger because it was creeping me out, staring at me in the Weeb Dungeon. I think it was trying to usurp my life and assume my identity.
What’s the rest of 2024 looking like for the band?
We have a sick album release show in the works with some of my favorite California bands, and maybe one more show at the end of the year. We’re gonna hit the ground running with a tour early next year though.
Did you have anything else you wanted to highlight?
Mike’s Hemotoxin just put out a sick new record that I produced and mixed on Pulverised Records, Houkago Grind Time is putting out “Koncertos of Kawaiiness: Stealing Jon Chang’s Ideas, A Book by Andrew Lee” next week [Out now here]), and Doomsday is about to enter the studio for their debut full length! A busy time for all RTS members.
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三屍 (Sanshi) releases September 27th via Relapse Records.
