How is it going in your world of musical productivity?
It’s going very well! I’m on tour right now with Twitching Tongues. We’re out on a pretty odd tour for us right now with Veil of Maya, Volumes and Upon a Burning Body. Tonight is a headlining show in Ann Arbor so it’ll be a little better for us. As soon as I get home, NAILS begins recording our second LP.
The fact that you are so prolific, I must ask this question: did you grow up in a musical household?
Yes. My father is a drummer/engineer and my mother plays piano. I grew up with all instruments laying around so I just picked them all up a little bit.
At what age did you realize that heavy music was what you wanted to create? Can you let the CVLT Nation readers know what bands you are a part of right now?
At a very young age. I liked Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath before I could read. I remember going to a record store with my dad in maybe 3rd or 4th grade. I told him I wanted something that went “jun jun jun”. I picked up Metallica – Ride the Lightning but he said no and bought me Soundgarden – Down on the Upside instead. Not a terrible substitute, but not what I was looking for. I soon found Pantera and Sepultura. Those were the gateway bands for me and they led to me finding other things. After that I came upon Hatebreed, Grimlock and Sick of it All. Those bands opened the door to hardcore for me. I started my first band with friends in 5th grade. I played drums and we were called The Sk8ters but we never finished writing one song.
Currently I play in Twitching Tongues, NAILS and Disgrace. I also play in Ruckus, who is fairly inactive.
When did you start your studio The Pit, and what was the first record you worked on?
I did a few demos between 2004 and 2008 but it wasn’t until the World of Pain demo in 2009 that people actually heard something I did. I started building the studio with my father in 2007 and it was completed in 2011. The first LP I recorded was Twitching Tongues – Sleep Therapy which was finished in June 2011, but it wasn’t released until April 2012. Rotting Out – Street Prowl was my first full length album that wasn’t a band of my own.
When I listen to The Pit records, it seems that you have developed a sound that is all of your own…how did this come about?
I think it just comes from liking most forms of aggressive music from hardcore punk to death metal to whatever. Most studios don’t specifically cater to this style of music but I like to. It also comes from not being technically trained. I couldn’t tell you the names of most of the shit I have, but I know how I like to use it, and I know how I like things to sound.
I was blown away when I first heard Twitching Tongues – could you explain how important the use of melody is with this band?
Peter Steele said something in an interview once, regarding his transition from Carnivore to Type O Negative, along the lines of “any idiot can yell into a microphone, but it takes something else to sing.” My brother and I decided we’d try to use some of our favorite bands with melodic vocals as influences for a new band. It started out as a mesh between Only Living Witness and Type O Negative, but we’ve put much more into it since then, and created an aesthetic to go along with it (almost accidentally with help from others). The melody is important in the sense that we want to have the songs be catchy and gripping. We also want to be heavy and aggressive in a different way.
Tell us, what is a good day in the life of Taylor Young at the The Pit?
A good day would be an easy tracking day with a great drummer and a great guitar player. In Southern California, I have a lot of good days.
What do you want to see The Pit to grow into in the next five years?
I’d like to start doing more metal bands (and I don’t mean Trivium or anything like that) as well as watch my usual guys grow bigger. Xibalba and Soul Search were some of my earliest bands and they’re blossoming and making my name bigger by the day. I’d also like to eventually get a bigger space for the studio, as I’m running into space issues with all of my gear.
Outside of music, what are some the things that make you happy?
I have a lovely girlfriend who makes my life easier by the day. Other than that, the world is a miserable place and I use music to cope with it.
What band would you like to work with that you have not already, and why?
I would love to produce a Kickback album. They are the most extreme band in the world right now, and to have my name attached would be ridiculous. I’m not holding my breath though.
What can the world expect from the new NAILS album?
It’s heavier, darker, dirtier and angrier. We’ve spent a lot of time on this record and we’re extremely proud of it. Spring 2013
Photo by Carrlyn Bathe
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