An Interview with Praelium

A fierce new release from Praelium delivers a wonderfully aggressive crossover between heavy-handed alternative rock, metal, and a hint of punk, all rolled into one massive and sonically driving track that hits like a sucker punch to the gut.

"Frame of Mind" is a track that blends those heavy rock genres pretty much seamlessly, and they do so by taking a slew of influences and creating something refreshing with it.

The guitar tone alone is thriving, aggressive, and edgy and isn't afraid to thrash out with that punk undertone, but also isn't afraid to get a little trudgy in classic metal palm-muted style.

I love those two combinations as a whole. The thrashy metal and punk style, and the crunching, palm-muted heaviness, because it gives the song a range of intensities and energy all throughout its course.

It's got a great intro, and the riff itself is pretty classic but super driving.

The drumming is pretty much everything here. Honestly, I feel like everyone just feeds off the energy of those drums, but again, it also feels like this entire track was just recorded live on the floor, and everyone was feeding off each other's energies the entire time.

I was there so, of course, I'm not sure how exactly they did it but I know that listening to this track makes you want to go see them perform it alive simply because if they can capture that kind of energy on record like this, then seeing them perform a live would be a real face-melter.

The bass guitar adds a nice thick low end to everything, but also gets a little experimental and outside the box when it wants to, not always following the guitars but doing its own thing.

The vocals are where things get rambunctious.

There's a lot of cool stop-go time signatures, and during those segments, you get a grueling, almost death metal feel vocally, but a lot of the other time, you get these high-end screams that are just fiery and bursting with energy and punch.

I love this simply because the vocals match the energy of the music. Sometimes, you get a great band but the vocalist falls a little bit short, but here it's completely the opposite.

There are some cool little surprises and semi-breakdown sections in the track before breaking back into that main driving riff, and the whole thing has a downright wild approach.

Being someone who loves heavy music, I thoroughly enjoyed how they brought those genres together to create something that hit really hard but also had a little bit of its own vibe.

It made me think of a bunch of bands, and I do indeed feel like that energy level is a huge part of what makes this song so unstoppable.

This release had such a whiplash of furious soundscape and tone that you have to listen to it a few times to really catch everything.

You can tell this is coming from a band with a real love for their craft and when I say that, I don't just mean people who love playing their instruments or singing, I mean a band that loves writing songs together.

This track had a heavy-handed impact, and although it reminded me of some classic bands that I have always loved, they aren't exactly reinventing the wheel here, but they did it in their own way, and they put heart behind it that really shines the entire time.

These guys have a love for heavy rock music all around.

This single speaks volumes for the band simply because they were able to drop a track that thrashed out with a vengeance and gave off that live performance undertone with slamming instruments, and again, this sort of aggressive approach.

Now, this is pretty much a debut single for these guys, and I certainly hope that this represents the band's sound well because I certainly can't wait for more.

It's a really new song, so if you have a soft spot for metal, punk, hardcore, or even alternative rock, and are looking for something worthy of your ears, check this one out and don't be afraid to turn it up.

This is a song meant to be listened to nice and Loud.

With the release of the single, we wanted to have a chat with Praelium to find out where this came from and what may be coming next.

Here is what happened.

Buzz Slayers: Let's talk about "Frame of Mind"! This thrashed out with a number of heavy rock and metal approaches! Where did this track come from?

Wolfy(vocals): Can't really speak musically in regards to the first questio but lyrically I'd like to say it came from a very real place emotionally for me, losing a friend because of their disassociative mindset and trying to put myself in their shoes to deal with it.

Phoenix(rhythm guitar): would say the song came from a punk rock influenced place but I thought that I always wanted to write a punk song in drop c. Most of the song just came naturally from my head.

Kevin(lead guitar): I remember early on in the year when Phoenix brought this song to us, it was an interesting and aggressive track. It kinda just spawned out of an early demo. Ronan (drums): Phoenix showed us the riff during practice and we then went about writing the song. I wanted this song to sound punky and aggressive which I kept in mind when writing my parts.

Jamie (bass):Roscommon, we transported it to limerick to work on it via horse n carriage. 

Buzz Slayers: 'm hearing a few different styles to this song! Who are some of your biggest musical influences?

Wolfy: Biggest musical influences for me are a lot of nu-metal based bands - Slipknot, Linkin Park mainly. My vocals take a lot of inspiration from artists like Chester Bennington, Caleb Shomo (of Beartooth) and Spencer Chamberlain (of Underoath) Phoenix: My biggest influences, especially at the time of writing the song were system of a down, hence the drop c tuning.

Kevin: On my end, I’m hugely influenced by bands like Pantera, Lamb of God and Avenged Sevenfold. But honestly as musicians we take on so many small elements of everything we hear and like so there’s just tons of bands I’ve taken on small elements of. 

Ronan: I listen to many different bands and genres but my biggest influences are Tool, Deftones and some early Biffy clyro material. Jamie:King Von 

Buzz Slayers: When did this all start for you as a band?

Wolfy: I was asked to audition by the bassist Jamie back in September of 2024. It took me until December to finally come around to it, and then by January, we were settled in as a complete lineup, practicing weekly at first to really tighten up the live performances. Phoenix:I joined the band and met the lads through music generation, a musician education service in Ireland.  

Buzz Slayers: Are you performing live right now? Any touring in support of this release?

Phoenix: We are hoping to tour in August and September around Ireland.

Buzz Slayers: Did you record this in a home studio setup, or did you go to a big studio for this?

Kevin: This was recorded in a local studio, dry lane studio in Limerick. It’s a cozy  spot and the engineers working there are very sound people aswell.  

Ronan:We recorded it in a local studio  Jamie:Recorded in a skip near Henry Street 6 Wolfy: Next is more music & more shows! We've got an EP on the way and a tour to support it.  

Buzz Slayers: Now that this is out, what's next for you as a band?

Wolfy: 4 We're performing live throughout the year, and we've taken part in a festival that was raised in awareness of Missing Persons Aid Ireland - which came about due to that same friend going missing

Buzz Slayers: Who's in all your headphones right now?

Wolfy: My headphones: in terms of metal, a lot of Fit For A King, Tide7 and Architects. Non-Metal, I'm listening to Stephen Wilson Jr. and OCT a lot.  

Phoenix:We're all currently listening to different stuff atm, which I think will make an interesting mix of sounds together. I'm currently listening to bands like zao, and deftones. 

Kevin: Right now I’m in my headphones I’m loving Limp Bizkit, System of a down and Killswitch Engage 

Ronan: We all listen to different music and have different influences which we mix together when making music. My favourite band at the moment is Tool. 

Jamie:No one is inside my headphones currently 

Buzz Slayers: This was a pretty big track! Was it a big undertaking? How long did it take to finish this?

Wolfy: A day to record initially - but I went back and redid the chorus and some extra bits because I wasn't totally happy with my performance. Then about a week to mix and master 

Phoenix: We were in the studio for two days and the instrumentals were done on the first day, in roughly an hour. The vocals were recorded on the second day but our singer wasn't happy with it and went in an extra day to re-record his track. 

Kevin: The song took a decent bit of time to get tight with the band but it payed out in the end.I definitely feel that there was a real sense of passion in the vocals. In the end we got a massive sound so we were all happy. 

Ronan: We finished all the instrumentals in one day. The vocals were originally recorded on the second day but wolfy went in again to rerecord. The track took about a week to mix and master.

Jamie: Bruh I don't even know the bass line for the track, I can't remember shit

Buzz Slayers: What would you tell people they can expect on this release?

wolfy: expect a lot of rage and serious riffage, super punk  mixed with heavy chugs, non stop energy. 

Phoenix:what wolfy said.  

Ronan: what wolfy said. 

Kevin: Heavy riffs and screams, system of a down fans will love it.  

Buzz Slayers: Before we go, what would you like to express to fans of the music? 

Wolfy: For me, music has always been a way THROUGH every day life, not just out of it. If you feel something from a song like this, if you can relate, don't be afraid to speak up.

Kevin: keep your eyes peeled for us! We’re only just getting started. 

Ronan: Thanks for the support love ye loads

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