Photograph: Dazey Doom
Philly act Kaonashi have been grinding within the heavy underground for a very long time. Initially shaped in 2012, the band rapidly gained recognition within the metalcore scene however earlier than lengthy, the trio started incorporating numerous parts of progressive steel and chaotic, 2000s-style mathcore into their sound. Now, 13 years later, Kaonashi have simply launched their newest album, I Need to Go Dwelling, which concludes a narrative the band started telling years in the past.
Decibel spoke with Kaonashi vocalist Peter Rono about I Need to Go Dwelling, rising as a songwriter and the pressures of fan expectations. I Need to Go Dwelling is out now.
You simply put out a brand new report referred to as I Need to Go Dwelling. Is that this thematically linked to your different information?
Sure, it completely is. It’s the fourth installment of our story a couple of ficitonal highschool character that goes to a ficitnoal highschool. That is the fourth and closing installment of the Lemon Home saga. The primary one was in 2021, that was the debut LP on Equal Imaginative and prescient. Then it was the 2024 EP referred to as The Three Faces of Magnificence, then one other 2024 EP referred to as A Second Probability at Eternally, and that is the fourth and closing installment.
Do you’re feeling in some methods then that that is the tip of an period?
Completely. It appears like the tip of an period—it’s the completion of one thing we’ve been engaged on for 9 years. Every little thing we’ve finished since 2016 has been targeted on this story: the merch, the music, the music movies, the tour flyers, promo photos, every part. That is completion.
These ideas and tales are belongings you’ve been engaged on since Kaonashi turned a band with a little bit of consideration behind you, proper?
It’s what took us to the subsequent stage. It’s what took us from junior to skilled, novice to skilled. There may be some nervousness behind it as a result of it’s all I’ve targeted on for therefore lengthy, however there’s additionally pleasure, as a result of I noticed the end line from the beginning and I’m so glad I noticed it via. I’m truly on the end line.
You guys have put out a variety of music in a short while. What’s the course of of creating these albums and EPs? Do you write when you’re on tour and let these songs evolve on the highway, or do you write if you’re dwelling and buckle right down to get issues finished?
It’s sort of writing as we go alongside within the studio. We take outdated components, we make them into new components, but it surely’s principally simply dedicating studio time, stepping into and writing songs. This report, I Need to Go Dwelling, is the one time we did pre-produciton. We went up, we wrote, we left and got here again. That was a change on this album; every part earlier than this album, we simply went in and threw issues on the wall and noticed what caught. I grew as a songwriter with this album as a result of it was truly laid out [instead of] simply writing issues with no timeline.
The truth that that is the final installment, there are a variety of details I had already set in stone that I needed to refer again to. The completion of the story referred to as for extra ready songwriting.
In some methods, watching from the skin, Kaonashi has slowly change into a extra progressive band over time, the songs have gotten extra difficult musically and thematically. It’s a pure level to come back to the place you’re feeling the necessity to enhance how severely you are taking it.
It obtained extra severe. We’ve simply grown as performers, as writers. I by no means deliberate on being this storyteller. I by no means needed to be an creator, however we’re writing a narrative. There’s characters, there’s occasions, there’s locations and issues. I can’t contradict myself in order that simply naturally got here with it.
Kaonashi is a hodge podge of various genres. You began as a metalcore band, now there’s a variety of progressive steel and emo in there. Do you assume being a band that’s onerous to pidgeonhole has helped you or held you again at occasions?
I feel it’s been useful. To say maintain again may be very pessimistic; I don’t assume it’s held us again. Anybody that wasn’t going to love it wouldn’t prefer it any extra if we had been easy. They had been going to hate it regardless; it’s separated the actual from the pretend in a method. Should you like us, you’ll settle for us for who we’re and we’re simply eclectic folks, we simply take from a variety of locations. I feel it’s helped as a result of it’s attracted the fitting viewers to us.
After I see folks discuss concerning the band in individual or on-line, folks really feel very linked to the music and to the tales. It looks like it’s touchdown with the viewers it’s in search of.
It took years of refinement. We put it out for the entire world, half of the world stated “no” and two % of the world stated “sure.” I really feel like that course of solely comes from milling and touring again and again, discovering these folks.
Would you say that in depth touring and doing exhibits with bands like Protest the Hero has affected the best way you method writing or doing issues?
It completely has. Earlier than, it was me simply making an attempt to beg the world: “Please hearken to me. Please look in my path, I make music and I promise it’s adequate for you hearken to,” and now we actually have an viewers.
I can’t lie, I write music for myself. None of it’s contrived, however I’ve that in thoughts, the truth that there’s a child in Scotland who has each report or a child in Fort Wayne, who has a tattoo. These items are on my thoughts whereas that wasn’t even the case at first. It’s inevitable I really feel like, to have these issues have an effect on your writing. I simply attempt to maintain it as near the supply as I can.
