Interview: Inimical Drive Talks New EP ‘Enemy’
Saint Louis metal outfit Inimical Drive has returned with their crushing new EP Enemy. The 5 track EP marks their first full release since 2017. The release fits right alongside heavy hitters such as After the Burial, It Dies Today, Killswitch Engage and Atreyu.
‘Enemy’ was written as an outlet for vocalist Joel Colby to tell his life story and the hurdles he’s overcome in recent years. Inimical Drive’s objective with the EP is to keep their longtime passion for metal going strong and release their most progressive music to-date. Colby said the following regarding the release.
“The heavy is all there on Enemy, but we also wanted to make the music accessible without thinking too hard about the process. Everything on the EP was written amongst close friends, hanging out in the studio, with zero agenda and all just before the pandemic hit. The time is right to release this into the world, this is a reminder of how heavy music connects us all.”
Since their formation in 2002, Inimical Drive has built quite the following in their hometown of St. Louis. Fans nationwide are eagerly anticipating their return to the stage post COVID and this new album is a great holdover.
Two of the tracks on ‘Enemy’ were produced and mixed by the late Matt Amelung (Story Of The Year, Greek Fire) who passed away in 2016. The band completed the EP with friend Jack C Daniels (War of Ages) for a 2020 release. The album is now available on all streaming services
Enemy EP Tracklisting:
Once we listened to the EP, five tracks simply weren’t enough. We asked the band’s vocalist Joel Colby to give us a behind the scenes look into the new release and how it evolved. You can read the full interview below.
It’s great to hear new music since the band’s last full release in 2012. Has your recording or writing process changed since then?
Absolutely. During the writing for Signal the Sirens we were together all the time and actually lived in the studio for tracking. The process is much more independent now and then we try to just bring it to life in the studio. When you have a good relationship with your producer you can trust that it’s going to be amazing when it comes together.
How did you guys make the new Reckoning video so awesome under COVID constraints?
First, we appreciate that so much! J. T. Ibanez directed the vid and killed it. We had been talking pre-COVID and had to put it on hold. He contacted me and said he was able to host us in a private facility where we could all be safe and feel comfortable. He did just that.
Your Inside The Studio mini doc came out great! Did anything crazy happen that didn’t make the cut?
Shout out to my guy CJ Canter! We barely even noticed he was there with us and I couldn’t believe he had so much to work with! He did an excellent job capturing the creative vibe. There are a few things that didn’t make the cut. I’ll just say uh, well… they didn’t make the cut!
Are you guys planning on doing another track by track deep dive video like your last
release?
We kind of did that with the mini doc. I wanted that to be more in depth than just tracking guitars or a look inside the studio. The mini doc was also supposed to be released AFTER the EP but when COVID put us on hold we decided to put that out so fans could share in the excitement we had coming out of the studio. We do have some additional content that will follow the next official video as well!
Enemy has had a great response. How have you guys accomplished so much with an
independent release?
Great people all around us. We made it clear that We wouldn’t release the EP independently without having everything in place. Bob with Bradley Publicity has been a supporter for years and we are beyond grateful to work with him on this and future projects. A label is a team of people (hopefully) working in your best interests. Our team is a family of people that have supported us for years.
I saw you talked about fake mustaches on Rock Paper Podcast. If you guys had to adopt a gimmick like Kiss what would it be?
We are a party. It’s no gimmick. We have done spandex, Star Trek suits, a parody film and even ‘changed’ our name for a show to “Body Touch”. We wrote an intro and had choreographed dancers on stage after being announced as Body Touch. I’ll say that we are currently branding ourselves as “Mustache Metal”. So there’s that.
Are there any local St Louis bands we should put on our radar?
St. Louis is making its mark for being a music town. Quality music across many genres. Currently, you can find some great new tracks from our friends in Discrepancies and Isabella and several more with music on the horizon.
Is there anything else you want to say to the readers of By The Barricade?
We’re overwhelmed by all the love for the music! If you dig it, drop us a line! 🤙🏻
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You can hear the latest from Inimical Drive on Facebook, Instagram, Youtube. and Spotify.
More About Inimical Drive:
Hard-rockin’ party boys hailing from St. Louis, Missouri. Inimical Drive brings the thunder! Drawing various elements from classic metal melodies, to modern American-metal brutality, the band has developed their unique and undeniably powerful sound.
That energy quickly makes its way onstage backed by high intensity, full production live shows. Inimical Drive has set the standard among the St. Louis rock scene, and gained wide recognition from fans, bands, radio stations, and clubs while building an extensive resume of radio festivals, and sold out venues.
Together since 2002, Inimical Drive has developed their unique and undeniably powerful sound with vocals from Joel Colby, guitar by Nick Blackburn, drums by Mark Nicol and bass guitar by Dan Winter. After signing with Authentik Artists out of Los Angeles, CA in 2012, Inimical Drive released their wildly successful EP, Signal the Sirens, which gained them national recognition through numerous outlets including iHeartRadio, Revolver Magazine and MTV’s The Challenge Rivals II.
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