Faith based Ferret band Underneath The Gun just sent us back an interview we’ve been working on for awhile. That’s right, UTG talking to UTG. You knew it had to happen, so here it is!

UTGR: Hey guys, how are you doing today?

UTG: We’re doing great. Busy, but great!

UTGR: Now, “Forfeit Misfortunes,” has been out for about a bit now. How has the reception been (as far as you’ve seen)?

UTG: Pretty good I would say. A few people here and there with negativity towards us branching out from the straight death metal stuff, but definitely a lot of positive feedback from our fans, we’re stoked!

UTGR: There is a new feel to the music compared to your last release, what caused this change? New direction, inspiration, desire, or other?

UTG: Well we just wanted to make music we all enjoy. I don’t think we could have developed more as a band if we didn’t try to do something different. Sure we could’ve tried to make an album that was as heavy
as possible, but I think no matter what we could’ve come out with there’s bands like Suicide Silence, Whitechapel, and Impending Doom that just do it better. And if we didn’t try to do something to set us
apart, why would someone want to listen to our band when they can easily listen the next best thing.

UTGR: With the industry in the fragile state it is, a lot of bands are having trouble even getting talks for a record deal. How did you come to work with Ferret?

UTG: We were actually pretty surprised when we got word Ferret was interested in us. It kind of came out of nowhere. One day our manager called us and asked us how we felt about Ferret, saying that they were interested in us. And soon after we ended up flying out to New Jersey and meeting with Carl and it all kind of fell into place. He was an awesome dude, and he was stoked on the band, and we just knew right away that this was where we wanted to be.

UTGR: Along with the last question, we’ve seen a lot of bands who are successful without a label choose to abstain from signing to maximize profit and such. Why move to a label? You sold impressively well off
one release with no backing at all.

UTG: I think you can only do so much with the  “Do it yourself” mentality. I think we definitely worked really hard, and made somewhat of a name for ourselves with no label, but I think signing to a label was imperitive to the future of our band. I think its extremely important to have a solid team working behind your band that wants to see you  succeed as much as you do. I think that sometimes people might get so clouded by the idea of making every nickle and dime you can, that they don’t realize how much being on a good label can help.

UTGR: I read that you try to give positive messages with your heavy sound. Is this a faith based idea or just a general goal of the band?

UTG: Definitely faith based. We are a Christian band, and we use our music as our ministry. We try to shed some light into our scene that’s so filled with hate and negativity. And we also want to break down the
typical misconceptions people have about what being a christian is. A lot people put on this front of being some perfect person, when in reality were all no better than anybody else. Nobody is perfect, but
Jesus died so we don’t have to be.

UTGR: The artwork for the album is pretty simple yet interesting? What’s the idea behind the design?

UTG: The meaning behind the artwork was to portray a place of escape, or a place to let go of everything. The  picture on the cover is of a boy that made it to this calm lake in the middle of a forest. It sort of means that you can get to the lake(where you find happiness), you just have to get through the  forest first.

UTGR: Ferret bands are known for touring until…well…until its time to record again. What tours do you have planned for 2009?

UTG: Well right now we are getting ready to do a couple tours in the  next couple months. First we are doing a run with All Shall perish and Abigail Williams at the  end of February/ beginning of March. And Then
after that we’re going out on The  Atticus Metal Tour with Emmure, Winds Of Plague, Terror, All Shall Perish, and The Ghost Inside. But other than that we’re still waiting to hear from our agent what were doing for the  summer. We will be on the  road this summer, we just haven’t decided on what yet.

UTGR: We have a policy to not close with a final question. We find it always feels bland, so we found a solution. This is your space to make closing statement. The floor is yours, discuss anything you want:

UTG: Well our new record “Forfeit Misfortunes” is in stores now! Go out to your local Hot Topic, Best Buy, or FYE and pick it up. And be sure to catch us on the road this spring. And you can check our page at
www.myspace.com/utg for dates and info.

*Written By: James Shotwell*

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James Shotwell

James Shotwell is the founder of Under The Gun Review. He loves writing about music and movies almost as much as he loves his two fat cats. He's also the co-founder of Antique Records and the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. You should probably follow him on Twitter.

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