WRITTEN INTERVIEW: Brittney Slayes of Unleash The Archers

Unleash The Archers is becoming a full force to be reckoned with. With the release of their 2015 album, Time Stand Still, Relentless touring, an amazing set at ProgPower USA 2015 and a very successful North American run with Crimson Shadows, The band is showing no signs of slowing down. Back in November I had the opportunity to send vocalist, Brittney Slayes a few questions:


That Drummer Guy: Thank you for taking the time to do this interview. I had the pleasure of seeing you guys at ProgPower USA back in September and you left a HUGE impact with the crowd that won't be soon forgotten.  Unfortunately with your ProgPower appearance, it came with the sad news that the band you were to be supporting for a North American tour, Hibria was not able to come to America due to visa issues. Was it a hard decision to be able to carry on and make it a headlining run with the same dates?

Brittney Slayes: The hard part wasn’t carrying on, it was leaving them behind.  Driving away from them as they were standing on the curb waving goodbye was the worst.  I totally cried hahaha. We were all so excited to hit the road together and we waited as long as we could, hoping the visas would come through last minute but it never happened.  The shows were booked and UTA had all the required paperwork so we had to uphold those commitments.  We couldn’t announce until last minute either and so some fans didn’t find out until we
arrived without them.  It sucked, to say the least.

TDG: Crimson Shadows is an absolutely perfect choice to tour with you guys. Were they on
standby in case of something like this was to happen or did they just so happen to be free
at the time and it all worked together?

BS: We have been really good friends with the Crimson boys for a long time, so we were
partying with them in Toronto whilst waiting for the visas to come through.  When we
told them Hibria was most likely going to have to drop from the tour they said they
would do anything they could to help us out…  So we asked if they wanted to come
instead!  They had literally just gotten back from tour with Nekrogoblikon the day before,
so they were pretty road weary, but if there is a group of guys that is always up for
anything it’s them  ;)  They sorted some stuff of real quick and were able to meet us part
way into our first US leg at our New York show.  This majorly lifted our spirits, because
even though we lost Hibria, we got to tour with some friends we have been dying to get
out on the road with for years!  It’s was just as great as we had always imagined it would
be ;)  Waaayyyy too much partying hahaha!

TDG: Unfortunately for me, I was unable to attend the Minnesota show due to a family
emergency. Were the crowds on the tour receptive to you guys as much as I and the rest
of ProgPower were?

BS: Actually, yeah!  Especially in the Midwest!  We had some rad shows in some really rad
cities.  There are still a few we need to infiltrate a bit more but for the most part the tour
was very successful.  You have no idea how wonderful it feels to hear an entire crowd
singing along in a city you’ve never played before.  My heart was exploding all over the
place :)

TDG: Now that we are at the end of the year, how is the new album, Time Stands Still
holding up for you guys? With all the attention you guys have been receiving as of
late, has there been any time to think about the next album? Or is the focus more on
touring?

BS: It’s hard to tour in the winter, what with treacherous mountain passes blocking us in on
all sides, so we are shutting ourselves in for the winter to write the next album.  When the
thaw comes again in Spring we will hit the road once more!  TSS still has a lot of
momentum so we definitely want to keep touring this record.  We have our sights set on
Europe and South America, as well as the western US.  We’ll hopefully hit the studio for
the next album some time next summer, but until then we are going to try and pick up as
many tours as we can! 

TDG: Now that you've had a headlining run in North America, do you enjoy the idea of
headlining 3 albums into the game? Given the opportunity would you still accept any
main support slots on any upcoming tours?

BS: Absolutely we’d be so down for support slots!  Headlining is cool but it’s also very
strenuous.  You have to take it easy the whole night in preparation for the show, and you
can’t relax until it’s done and by then everyone is gone home for the night.  I’d love to
have some time to enjoy the night, and if we are supporting a band we like then that is
even better!  So rarely did I get to actually take the time to watch Crimson Shadows’ set
because I was always warming up and getting ready, so I relished I the moments when I
would get to sing along.

TDG: Now that 2015 is about to come to an end, do you have any favorite 2015 music
releases?

BS:There were so many awesome albums released in 2015!  And still a few more to come.
I would have to say that the new Ghost album, Meliora is one of my faves, as well as the
new Powerwolf, Blessed and Possessed.  Both so catchy!  The new Symphony X was
good, as was the new Soilwork.  Maiden was good but it was very similar to their last two
releases so it might take a few more listens before I really get into it. 

TDG: Thank you very much for taking the time to do this interview. Hopefully the next time
you guys hit Minnesota, I'll be there. Before we are done, is there anything else you'd like
to mention that I haven't brought up yet?

BS: Thank you so much for reaching out!  We’ll definitely come back to Minnesota so don’t
you worry  ;)  I guess just thank you to all of our fans for your incredible support on this
last tour and always and we’ll see you next time!  Or come hang out with us on Facebook
or Twitter or Instagram we always try to answer messages and comments and stuff so
don’t be afraid to say hi!

Unleash The Archers- Time Stands Still is available NOW via Napalm Records!