Burial In The Sky is set to release its killer album “Creatio Et Hominus” on June 1st and figured I could dig up some information about the band and its members for your reading pleasure.
TMR: What’s the story behind your band name and it’s formation?
When I started writing for Burial In The Sky I wasn’t working under that name. I had split off with an old band and started to write for something new. I was approached by a friend who had a band that was looking for a guitarist. Burial In The Sky was initially going to be called Malignant Narcissist. We ended up going separate ways due to different visions of what the sound would be.
I started writing alone for a while. Eventually, Will came into the mix and we started working together again. We struggled a while with what we would call the project. Then one day it happened. Will showed me my first Sky Burial. It was amazing. Thus we named ourselves Burial In The Sky.
The name Burial In The Sky comes from a Tibetan ritual where the body of a recently deceased loved one is dismembered and laid out so that sacred vultures can come and pick the body clean. Through the eyes of some Western thinking people it may seem a bit intense but in all reality it no different than cremation or something of that matter. In a sense, it is truly giving what is left of you back to the Earth. I was enamored by it.
TMR: How has the band changed since Zach arrived on bass since kicking ass on the latest Rivers of Nihil album?
Zach has been such a vital member of BITS since he came into the mix. All of my bandmates are very thoughtful, talented, and interesting players. I am lucky to be surrounded by such class acts. Zach specifically has opened up an entirely new map of sonic avenues for the band.
TMR: What was it like working with the mighty Samus Paulicelli? I love Decrepit Birth!
Samus was a super professional guy. Always happy and receptive. He was awesome while working with us on the dynamics of certain parts and structurally what we were after while recording “Persistence of Thought” back in 2016. I have nothing but great things to say about him.
TMR: Pretty cool to see Brody take a guitar lead on the amazing title track “Creatio Et Hominus”. Must be cool to be buds with one of the most underrated progressive death metal bands in the scene right now……..you guys would totally make a great opener on a tour with them, just saying.
We were super stoked to have Brody play on the record. He was nice enough to take time out of his very busy schedule to play on the track. It meant a lot. I am sure I can speak for all of us in BITS when I say I’d love to see that tour happen haha. You will be able to catch us playing with them in Reading, PA on 7/19 though!
TMR: That’s a beautiful looking custom guitar you got made for you James……want to expand on the features and story of how that came to be? Love the whammy bar and natural woodwork on that!
I could probably go off on this for a while but I’ll try to keep it to a little less than a novel.
We are calling the guitar the C.Masta6. It is handcrafted by the phenomenal, almost otherworldly, luthiers at Stone Wolf Guitars based out of the U.K. They were willing to put so much into this machine and make it as ergonomic as possible. We started working together on a custom build for myself just under a year ago. I’m going to be putting together an entire video breakdown of the guitar before we start to play out again in June. Mike and all the guys at Stone Wolf really outdid themselves. Some of the notable specs would be Bare Knuckle ColdSweats, coil tap, 5 piece neck, Ebony fingerboard, custom wooden knobs, pale moon Ebony top and inlays, lumilay side markers, and the headless design. Truly a work of art haha.
TMR: Any upcoming shows the rest of the world needs to know? Plans for worldwide domination?
We have a tour in July with the awesome dudes in Crucial Rip. I mentioned the Rivers show on 7/19. Some others in Philly and NJ. Plus a lot more in the works at the moment. Make sure you follow us on Facebook to stay updated and catch us in a city or town near you this summer. Most importantly contact us if you want us near you so we can try for your area!
TMR: Bands like you guys…..Coma Cluster Void……Voidthrone……are really underrated and underappreciated bands. Bands willing to go against the grade and create real original music…..music that can’t be rehashed. What’s primarily motivated you guys to blend so many genres into one band? What has made yourselves want to experiment so much and not want to be another 4/4 band with 10 tracks an album averaging 3-minute song lengths and get radio play?
BITS has direction but I have never personally tried to confine it. I truly love music that makes you feel like you are on an adventure of some kind. I’ve always wanted BITS to entertain people yet invoke a plethora of emotions as they listen through a record. That is really the only inspiration. Writing music that we enjoy hearing.
TMR: What is everyone’s musical background?
Sam and Zach played metal together for a long time. Prior to BITS they were in a band called Burn The Empire which is how I came to know both of them. They also lived and studied music together at West Chester University. I was always self-taught until 17/18 where I took a crash course with a local playwright from my area named Vic Borris. I then went off and studied music for some time at BU and eventually ended up focusing more on playing out.
TMR: Death Metal or Grindcore?
That is a hard pick. I would have to say Death Metal though just for genre loyalty.
TMR: To Djent or not to Djent…..that is the question.
If you want to Djent you should follow your dreams. You should play/listen whatever makes you happy!
TMR: Sorry or Trouble? Both are classic board games…..
Trouble all the way.
TMR: What do you guys do when you’re not involved in Burial In The Sky? Any unique hobbies?
I really enjoy cooking. Especially with guests. Having friends over and making a nice meal they can enjoy is always a great time.
TMR: Kitties or Puppies?
Hard choice but I got me a puppy so I’m gonna stick with that. Puppies all the way.
TMR: Link anything here that you do outside of Burial In the Sky whether it’s musical or not. Thanks for your time guys! Congratulations on an amazing album!
I also play in a noisy/shoegaze poppy type of band called Noise Is Everything Else. If that sounds like something you could get into go check us out at
Burial In The Sky’s James Tomedi comments on Creatio et Hominus:
“We want people to feel certain things that sometimes can’t be as easily expressed with the extreme side of music. We focused a lot more on the psychedelic, progressive, and atmospheric sides to the band to help evoke those emotions. From the perspective of composition, we really wanted people to be able to just enjoy this record. We tried to make it a good balance of accessible yet sonically complex and intriguing.Conceptually, it travels into the world of perception becoming the creation of all life. The thought process is the way we perceive things guides own personal reality. So in a sense, our world is our own. The way that you see it could be vastly different than me. With this record, we take the stories of great thinkers, mathematicians, inventors, activists, etc to try and paint an entire picture of life and all its small yet beautiful nuances through the way these people perceived it.”
“We want people to feel certain things that sometimes can’t be as easily expressed with the extreme side of music. We focused a lot more on the psychedelic, progressive, and atmospheric sides to the band to help evoke those emotions. From the perspective of composition, we really wanted people to be able to just enjoy this record. We tried to make it a good balance of accessible yet sonically complex and intriguing.Conceptually, it travels into the world of perception becoming the creation of all life. The thought process is the way we perceive things guides own personal reality. So in a sense, our world is our own. The way that you see it could be vastly different than me. With this record, we take the stories of great thinkers, mathematicians, inventors, activists, etc to try and paint an entire picture of life and all its small yet beautiful nuances through the way these people perceived it.”
Preorder “Creatio Et Hominus” right here! It’s also available to preorder on iTunes if you’re picky about your platforms and other various digital services as well. You can also check out the band’s single from their upcoming album “The Pivotal Flame” just below here.
Categories: Death Metal, Experimental, Interview, Prog Death Metal
2 replies »