So many rock bands liter the scene, many come and many go without a trace but that will not be the case for We As Human. Their debut S/T record motivates the mind and makes you feel, a rare trait for freshman releases. Metal Exiles reached out to Justin Cordle about whats behind this amazing debut and he revealed much behind its process.
An interview with Justin Cordle of We As Human.
By Jeffrey Easton
Metal Exiles: You are out on tour with Filter. What has the response been so far for you guys?
Justin Cordle: It has been great. We are still getting to know each other but the response for us has been great.
Metal Exiles: When I saw you play Aftershock, you came out in a dark hoodie and seemed to have a dark aura about you. When you are in the live setting what kind of image do you like to portray?
Justin: I never put any thought into what we do or wear when we are on stage. We just get ready to go on stage and then do what we do. We just go out and interact with the fans and if it comes across as darker it just depends on how we are feeling. We might be somber some nights but others we might go out and throw down and get some energy out. We have a set list but otherwise we do not plan out our shows or what I say when I go out. I think that the fans appreciate that authenticity from us.
Metal Exiles: You just put out your first full length, you’re getting the big festivals and a lot of tours. For those who just discovered the band, what is behind the name We As Human?
Justin: We as the human race, we are all in this together with the commonality of struggles and successes and I love that throughout my life when I was weak people around me were strong. We always held each other up. Our name represents that, as humans we need each other to get through this life and also our not being complete as humans, how we need to reach for something higher than ourselves. My brother came up with that name and we have come to embrace it.
Metal Exiles: As a singer for this band, what motivates you to put these words to music. What has to be there for you?
Justin: I have to have some sort of emotion attached to it or otherwise I just forget the song, it will come and go really fast. I have to have experiences with the lyrics, I have to feel sadness, happiness or anger, take me to another time or place in my life. If it doesn’t have that there is no point in singing it. I do not want to sing a song for the sake of singing it or be in a band for the sake of being in a band. I want to be able to feel what we are doing and creating. A lot of times we will write a song and we will sit on it for a month and if we still feel it when we come back to it we will keep it, there is something there that maybe we should pay attention to.
Metal Exiles: There are a lot of moods on this album. What did you want to get out of your system for this album?
Justin: When we were writing this album we moved from 2400 miles from home, leaving everybody behind, moved to Nashville and got a record deal. There were so many life changes during the recording and it also involves the joys and struggles of being on the road. There wasn’t any particular direction for this album, we just wanted to start writing and see what comes out which is why the album has a varied feel to it. Think about the contrast between Zombie and We Fall Apart, they are two very different songs but they came from the same place and we mean every word we put on the album. They come from life experiences like the song Take The Bullets Away, I wrote that about my sister in law who was going through a terrible time in her life so I was in an emotionally vulnerable spot at that time. The song Sever was written about my nephew who was battling cancer before his third birthday. Songs like that are raw and heavy and also sad but hopeful at the same time. There is always hope in all of our songs. There is also Taking Life, its about making the most of the time we have on this planet and with each other so it the album really runs the gamut and is an emotional roller coaster.
Metal Exiles: I think the most poignant song on the album is Let Me Drown, what motivated that?
Justin: I wrote that about coming into a new life and letting everything that was holding you back in the past, all of the failures, just fall away. It was one of the deeper songs that we wrote; you need to dig into the lyrics.
Metal Exiles: A lot of outlets have put the Christian band moniker out front for you guys. Do you like that or do you want the fans to find out through your message?
Justin: We do not mind it at all. If someone comes up to us and asks us if we are Christian we will tell them yes. We are not hiding anything, it is just like in our song I Stand, we do not let what people think about us motivate us one way or another. We are who we are and we encourage other people to do the same. We play in the Christian market which we are happy to do, we play in churches, tour with Christian bands and then we will do tours like we did on the Carnival Of Madness and tour with Filter. We all have the common struggle, we all have things that we go through, Christian or not but we are happy to reach out to any audience. We do not go out and advertise ourselves and if someone asks what we do we say we are in a rock band but if they want to know more we are happy to tell them.
We As Human is not just another rock band to hit the scene, they are monolithic band that will change the way you think as you immerse yourself in their message.
Official We As Human Site
BUY We As Human
An interview with Justin Cordle of We As Human.
By Jeffrey Easton
Metal Exiles: You are out on tour with Filter. What has the response been so far for you guys?
Justin Cordle: It has been great. We are still getting to know each other but the response for us has been great.
Metal Exiles: When I saw you play Aftershock, you came out in a dark hoodie and seemed to have a dark aura about you. When you are in the live setting what kind of image do you like to portray?
Justin: I never put any thought into what we do or wear when we are on stage. We just get ready to go on stage and then do what we do. We just go out and interact with the fans and if it comes across as darker it just depends on how we are feeling. We might be somber some nights but others we might go out and throw down and get some energy out. We have a set list but otherwise we do not plan out our shows or what I say when I go out. I think that the fans appreciate that authenticity from us.
Metal Exiles: You just put out your first full length, you’re getting the big festivals and a lot of tours. For those who just discovered the band, what is behind the name We As Human?
Justin: We as the human race, we are all in this together with the commonality of struggles and successes and I love that throughout my life when I was weak people around me were strong. We always held each other up. Our name represents that, as humans we need each other to get through this life and also our not being complete as humans, how we need to reach for something higher than ourselves. My brother came up with that name and we have come to embrace it.
Metal Exiles: As a singer for this band, what motivates you to put these words to music. What has to be there for you?
Justin: I have to have some sort of emotion attached to it or otherwise I just forget the song, it will come and go really fast. I have to have experiences with the lyrics, I have to feel sadness, happiness or anger, take me to another time or place in my life. If it doesn’t have that there is no point in singing it. I do not want to sing a song for the sake of singing it or be in a band for the sake of being in a band. I want to be able to feel what we are doing and creating. A lot of times we will write a song and we will sit on it for a month and if we still feel it when we come back to it we will keep it, there is something there that maybe we should pay attention to.
Metal Exiles: There are a lot of moods on this album. What did you want to get out of your system for this album?
Justin: When we were writing this album we moved from 2400 miles from home, leaving everybody behind, moved to Nashville and got a record deal. There were so many life changes during the recording and it also involves the joys and struggles of being on the road. There wasn’t any particular direction for this album, we just wanted to start writing and see what comes out which is why the album has a varied feel to it. Think about the contrast between Zombie and We Fall Apart, they are two very different songs but they came from the same place and we mean every word we put on the album. They come from life experiences like the song Take The Bullets Away, I wrote that about my sister in law who was going through a terrible time in her life so I was in an emotionally vulnerable spot at that time. The song Sever was written about my nephew who was battling cancer before his third birthday. Songs like that are raw and heavy and also sad but hopeful at the same time. There is always hope in all of our songs. There is also Taking Life, its about making the most of the time we have on this planet and with each other so it the album really runs the gamut and is an emotional roller coaster.
Metal Exiles: I think the most poignant song on the album is Let Me Drown, what motivated that?
Justin: I wrote that about coming into a new life and letting everything that was holding you back in the past, all of the failures, just fall away. It was one of the deeper songs that we wrote; you need to dig into the lyrics.
Metal Exiles: A lot of outlets have put the Christian band moniker out front for you guys. Do you like that or do you want the fans to find out through your message?
Justin: We do not mind it at all. If someone comes up to us and asks us if we are Christian we will tell them yes. We are not hiding anything, it is just like in our song I Stand, we do not let what people think about us motivate us one way or another. We are who we are and we encourage other people to do the same. We play in the Christian market which we are happy to do, we play in churches, tour with Christian bands and then we will do tours like we did on the Carnival Of Madness and tour with Filter. We all have the common struggle, we all have things that we go through, Christian or not but we are happy to reach out to any audience. We do not go out and advertise ourselves and if someone asks what we do we say we are in a rock band but if they want to know more we are happy to tell them.
We As Human is not just another rock band to hit the scene, they are monolithic band that will change the way you think as you immerse yourself in their message.
Official We As Human Site
BUY We As Human
