Hell Spawn

 - A Talk With GORDON TITTSWORTH (Vocals / Rhythm Guitars)

Bringing his own musical project to life in 1998, singer/multi-instrumentalist Gordon Tittsworth's debut, self-titled Images Of Eden album was a solo product... actually all about a first class musician seeing his dream come true. Two decades later on now and Images Of Eden has since been grown into a fully-fledged formation that recently released a fifth album entitled "Angel Born". It is a pleasure to let the Gordon speak about the creation of "Angel Born" and other matters related to past/present and future activities.

 

What was the response of press and media to "Soulrise" and in what ways did you get to experience this album?

Gordon: "Soulrise" was very well-received from press/ media as well as fans.  Matter of fact, it was because of "Soulrise" and our producer, Bill Metoyer, that we were able to sign a deal with Pavement Entertainment then subsequently go on a full US tour with 2 veteran international metal bands.  It was definitely the "springboard" we have been waiting for. Furthermore we did multiple "one-off" high-profile shows playing with acts such as Geoff Tate, Stryper and The Iron Maidens, but our biggest accomplishment with that album was a US tour with Metal Church and Doro Pesch.

 

I was wondering if you have ever played on European soil?

Gordon: Not yet but we are working very hard to get there!  We really feel that our biggest core audience will be in Europe so we are "calling all cars" with our "Angel Born" release in hopes we can make it happen.  We also have a few other possible upcoming opportunities so we might have the backing that we need this time around.  Any word you can put into anyone over there to expedite us getting there would be greatly appreciated!  

 

Stefan: To conclude the "Soulrise" chapter, how satisfied can you be in retrospect?

Gordon:  I am extremely happy with "Soulrise" for many reasons- we reformed the band, got signed, went on tour, became an officially recognized national act, AND.... It paved the way for "Angel Born" and with so many more doors already open and many more chess pieces in place.

 

Stefan: What made you decide to record a fifth album - did the corona pandemic play a role during the recording process?

Gordon: I actually started writing "Angel Born" in spring/summer of 2017 before "Soulrise" was even mixed/mastered.  9 of the 11 songs flooded out in record time, but... we had so much going on that we could not just drop things to devote time to tracking "Angel Born".  Everything was officially starting to "happen", so we had to juggle live shows, touring, video shooting, etc with tracking the album.  We had most of it completed by the time COVID hit.  Matter of fact, we were filming our video for "Autumn Is Burning" the day that the US was shutting down. We were not happy at all with COVID and everything that it brought but the silver lining for us was that the timing for the shutdown was perfect (if it had to happen).  It allowed me to take extra time to get vocals recorded and to make sure we were all 100% happy with the tracking of the album.  We also utilized the time to film and edit 4 videos, do a live show, resign a deal with Pavement and travel to Hollywood, CA to wrap up the album mix.  We wanted to make sure that we stayed busy and used the time to our advantage.  Well, it was time well spent and we're ready to jump as soon as the world opens back up.

 

Stefan: Who wrote the songs - can you give us an idea of what topics are portrayed on this new album?

Gordon:  Yes, I write everything- music and lyrics.  Whenever I start writing a new album, I never have any ideas in mind.  I start with a blank canvas then just start laying stuff down as I feel it.  For "Angel Born", I will say that this is by far, the most personal album to date, well beyond everything else I have ever done.  This album is for all who have suffered devastating losses and/or are "broken" (abused, neglected, hurt, beaten down, low self-esteem). There are also 2 running themes throughout- 1) Working through and healing from grief, mourning and devastating loss, and 2) It is a reminder that we were all born as perfect "angels", pure and unblemished.  We need to remember that the world is what sours us, beats us down and causes that purity to fade.  This album reminds us that no matter what we see in the mirror, no matter how much we do not like that person, that we need to forgive ourselves and remember that we are loved unconditionally by our creator and are still that perfect "angel".  We cannot let the world beat us down.

 

Stefan: How difficult is it to take charge of the production of your own albums? What is your approach to this?

Gordon:  Unusually easy!  I will explain...  When I start writing, I simply start a new session with my recording app, set the tempo and go!  I lay down scratch guitar, scratch drums, vocals, etc until the arrangement is 100% complete.  At this time, I send the files to Steve Dorssom to start the "assembly line" process where he first tracks his drums, sends the drum mix to me, then I track all guitar except for the leads.  At this point, I send everything to the rest of the band then they do their parts then send me the final tracks when complete.  Once I have all of the tracks, everything is sent to Bill Metoyer to mix.  Believe it or not, the process is seamless and tweaked.  We are about to start the assembly line for IOE #6 in the upcoming months.

 

Stefan: To finish it all off, you called on a legendary name, the one and only Bill Metoyer ! Tell us a little more about your collaboration and how it came about.

Gordon:  One of the best decisions we could have made.  Because of Bill, not only do we have 2 phenomenal album mixes, but he also got us signed with Pavement which took us to the next level!  Working with Bill was amazing. He was very encouraging and so cool to work with.  No matter how many times we had him change stuff, he never once batted an eye.  Total pro and class act!

 

Stefan: Regarding the sound on "Angel Born", how satisfied are you on a scale of 100?

Gordon:  This is the first time I can honestly say 100/100.  For every other album, there is always a list of stuff I wish I would have done differently or better.  In retrospect, there is literally only one word I wish I would have changed in one specific song.  Other than that, this is the best album to date.

 

Stefan: Images of Eden has added a new guitarist to the ranks, who is he, where has he played in the past and for what reason did you recruit him as a full member of the band?

Gordon:  Victor Morell was actually the guitarist in a band I was in with Steve Dorssom in 2014 called Born of Fire.  IOE had issues in the last few years with keeping guitarists so when it came time to look for another player, we didn't even have to.  Steve and I KNEW Victor was the man for the job. He is THE most METAL guitarist we have ever had.  Beyond that, his lead guitar solos are incredible.  He can shred when needed and pull back and be melodic when needed.  He writes his solos based on the song needs and is not worried about showing off unnecessary technical wankery like a lot of lead players in the genre.  He focuses solely on song structure.  Beyond that, he is a beast when he plays- all over the stage, long hair windmills!  He inspires me to get amped up even more on stage.

 

Stefan: Which song(s), do you prefer.... why?

Gordon:  Some of the songs on "Angel Born" are some of my all-time favorite IOE songs= "Angel Born", "In Memory Of Me", "If?" among others.  When I started writing the album, it was right after a very devastating loss for me, and I truly believe that I connected with God who was healing me through the writing of this album.  I KNOW this for a fact because as I was writing each new song, I felt internal healing and sorrow just "falling off".  I knew that if this album had such a healing impact on me during the writing process, I cannot imagine how it will affect others.  The songs mentioned above are the ones that I felt the greatest healing from.

 

Stefan: As far as I'm concerned, it's clear, "Angel Born" is the best album IOE has released to date. The difference with the previous album is minimal, it's mostly about small details in the finish. Do you guys agree with my exchange of thoughts on this?

Gordon: I completely agree 100%.  "Soulrise" is a heavier album, but Angel Born" is more fine-tuned with regards to the songwriting, melodic "hooks" and production.

 

Stefan: In what way are you going to promote the new effort?

Gordon:  Everything we possibly can do, LOL!!  We have a big team at Pavement so we are hitting radio hard (US/ Europe).  We have so many more players to help us get it out there all over the world.  We also scored a deal with SONY to move our videos to their VEVO platform.  Beyond that, we have people on the ground in Europe working for us over there.  We also plan to tour as much as possible for this album and have a few irons in the fire right now.

 

Stefan: Maybe I'm wrong but I suppose your familiarity in Europe is rather limited. Is my assumption correct or not?

Gordon: Well, hard to say but considering we have never been there, probably so.  However, we seem to have a good amount of press contacts and supporters there considering the limited resources.  I have a feeling that once we get there, that will change.

 

Stefan: So many wonderful bands belonging to the US Metal scene get far too little exposure here in Europe, and I deeply regret that! Have no explanation for this myself but like to ask for your opinion Gordon.

Gordon:  I would agree!  It is hard for a US metal band to get over to Europe unless there is backing, and it takes time and money to get backing.  So, without these things, the outreach is limited.  I feel like many more bands would probably have so many great opportunities there if they only had the chance.

 

Stefan: I want to come back to the nasty Corona situation.... to what extent is normal life re-establishing itself in the USA, are live concerts already being organized ?

Gordon:  It is taking much longer here than I thought it would. There are some restrictions being lifted but it is up to the individual governors of each state.  The governor where I live in Pennsylvania is a tyrannical globalist Luciferian (can you tell my true feelings, LOL) and he would love to keep us locked down forever and bankrupt the state.  But, we are starting to talk about touring and making live show plans for later in the year.  It is just challenging now because it is early.

 

Stefan: I sincerely hope that this very nasty world crisis is over as soon as possible, back to normal life is everyone's goal and desire. May I ask what are your plans that you'd like to realize in the coming months/years?

Gordon:  Yeah, we spent the last year recording, filming, solidifying deals, etc so the next step is to tour as much as possible and do everything we can to get "Angel Born" to every corner of the world.  I will also be completing the writing for IOE #6 so we can all start tracking that as well.  This will happen in-between outings for "Angel Born". Always good to be ahead of the game with the next album since everything always takes longer than expected.  We definitely want a fairly timely follow-up release after "Angel Born" to keep the buzz going so the key is to start early!

 

Stefan: Then it only remains for me to say thank you for the good cooperation and rapport. Quite an honor to have you on board again, maybe one last word to our readers? Thanks a lot brother !

Gordon: Absolutely!  You have been an amazing supporter for many years and we hold you as one of our preferred press contacts.  You get everything we do before the rest of the press/radio.  We cannot thank you enough for everything. Also, we want all of the readers to know that if there is EVER a time to support music and the artists you love, that time is NOW!!!  As artists, we don't get paid for radio/ YouTube plays or having thousands of listeners on Spotify.  The only way musicians can keep creating music and continuing on is to sell records and/ or play live concerts.  Since concerts will still not be back for a little while longer, why not give the ULTIMATE support right now and buy the CD / digital album/ LP and have something that gives back to you every day? THE WORLD HAS CHANGED AND WE NEED YOUR HELP TO HELP KEEP MUSIC ALIVE!! Thanks again for everything!!

 

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