Speed of Silvertung

by Deb Rao
– Senior Columnist —

These days it is so hard to catch attention in the music business. One band that is making waves on the East Coast in Baltimore is Silvertung. Led by vocalist and guitarist Speed, Silvertung has a captivating hard rock sound that leaps out at you. It is evident in their video “Coming Alive.” Silvertung is on the verge of something big. Influenced by Pantera, Silvertung has a modern day hard rock that is a cross between Godsmack and Disturbed.

Hardrock Haven is proud to issue an exclusive interview with Speed of Silvertung. In this interview, we discuss the making of Devil’s In The Details.

HRH: Speed, welcome to Hardrock Haven. Let’s begin by discussing your new release Devil’s In The Details. How did you come up with that cool title?

Speed: It is kind of an inside joke or secret. My bass player uses that a lot. He has said it so many times to me. I said that is got to be the title for the album.

HRH: How long did the album take to all come into fruition? Tell us about the writing process.

Speed: The writing process took quite a while. Because we asked the fans to help us with the album. Everyone asked, “How did the fans write the album?” What we would do is, we would take a song and we would play it live at three or four shows. If the reaction were good with the fans, all the way through we would keep it. If it wasn’t, we would take it back. They were a part of the process. They would tell what they would like and what they didn’t like. We kept what they did like.

HRH: Did they come up with song titles?

Speed: No, they didn’t really come up with any song titles. We kind of just reworked what they really didn’t care for. It was a really cool process. I told the fans, you guys are the ones that are purchasing the CD’s. You have a right to say what goes on it. It was kind of us being our own iTunes.

HRH: The new video “Coming Alive” is a great new song. Tell us about the video.

Speed: It was different places. We are actually working on a new video. The video that is out there now is basically just a promo video. But there is a video in the works. It has a lot of live shots of the release party. It is going to be a very fun video.

HRH: What was it like working with producer Steven Wright?

Speed: Steven Wright is amazing. He doesn’t get enough credit. He will get you to do things that you think that you couldn’t do. There were certain notes that I didn’t think I could hit, and he kept telling me you can trust me. Try it this way. He kept pushing me.

HRH” Do you have any favorite tracks on the CD?

Speed: I like performing them all live. I don’t really have a favorite. One of my favorites. is “Burden.” Which was the very last song that we wrote. It almost didn’t make the album. After we recorded it, it sounded really tight. It is kind of about today. It is really cool.” Coming Alive” was a band agreement, producer agreement, and other people we had in the industry who agreed that should be the first single.

HRH: I like that song. It really catches your attention. How would you describe your sound for fans getting turned on to the band for the first time?

Speed: It kind of has that heavy groove. It is kind of a mixture of everything. We are kind of like a hybrid band. I know that is kind of weird because no one has ever taken that title. We are a little bit of everything. If you listen to the entire album, you can hear our hard rocking tones, our metal influences, and our country influences. We just have a mixture of so many styles and genres. Mainly we are just a hard rock band. We just take a little bit of everybody that we learned.

HRH: How long has the band been together?

Speed: This version I would say a total of six years. It has kind of been a revolving door. When I first put the band together, I just wasn’t happy with it. I shut it down for a year. I wasn’t sure if I was going to bring it back. Finally, Stu heard some tracks and fell in love with them. He said you guys have something great here. Let’s just rebuild it. We kind of did that. We replaced a few members here and there. But we finally got that group of guys who are best friends, business partners and really cool experience.

HRH: The band has opened for so many great bands including Godsmack and Disturbed. What has your favorite shoe been so far?

Speed: I would have to say the Uproar Tour with Godsmack, and Shinedown. That tour we actually wrote “Coming Alive.” I had this riff in my head. Show, after show all these people would come in to see us. They didn’t know who we were. But by the end of our set, they knew exactly who we were. We got a chance to talk to a lot of people out there. Come to find out, these people spend a lot at these shows. That is where “Coming Alive” came from. You see these people and talk to them and hear their experiences. They are having the time of their life. That is where I got “Coming Alive”. At that point in time they are coming alive and being who they want to be.

HRH: You can feel the energy in the video. Have you ever played the M3 Festival in Baltimore?

Speed: No not yet. I think because of our genre.

HRH: Yes, it is more ‘80s.

Speed: I think that is the issue. We didn’t really grow up on any of those bands but we still respect them. We just haven’t had that opportunity yet.

HRH: Is the band going to be touring soon?

Speed: We are trying to. There has been some talk of us flying out to the West Coast. Right now we are getting ready to head out to the Mid West. We are talking about touring with Saving Abel in the Summer time. And possibly Salvia in the Summer time.

HRH: How is the rock scene in Baltimore these days?

Speed: It is good. It is a small scene. But it is very supportive. Everyone thinks Baltimore is a big city, but when it comes down to rock it is kind of a small city. But Maryland itself has been, we have been blessed. We have met so many people and so many fans. We are gaining a lot of fans from the Mid West. We are getting excited and people are getting excited.

HRH: That is awesome. We wish you the best of luck.

Visit the band: https://www.facebook.com/Silvertungband