The story behind Faultlines is an intriguing one. Just over a year ago Jake Noakes, Benji Wilson, Chris McIntosh, Oli Parkinson and Sie Gordon came together, wanting to experience with their core metal sound. However when it came to adding a melodic vocalist to the jigsaw, they found salvation via YouTube. In recent years, Christina Rotondo has developed a following on the site for her impressive set of covers of songs by Bring Me The Horizon, Being As An Ocean, As It Is and more. So having discovered Christina, the band reached out to her and ask her to fulfil the vacant spot.
With Christina on board, Faultlines have been honing a melodic metalcore sound with forthcoming ‘All We’ve Ever Known’ being the result of their hard work. As songs such as ‘Buried’ and ‘Drowning’ have recently shown, their sound combines crunching riffs, stringent drum work, electronic effects with Noakes’ harsh screams and Rotondo’s impassioned and soaring harmonies.
To find out more about the emerging metallers, Already Heard spoke to Christina and guitarist Benji Wilson about a number of subjects; their formation, ‘All We’ve Ever Known’, Christina’s YouTube channel and more.
AH: So for a lot of people Faultlines is a very new band. You only formed a year ago and now you’re preparing to release your debut EP. As cliché as it is, how did the band come together?
Benji: It basically came about after the break up of our old band. I had loads of musical ideas and wanted to explore different routes within the metal genre. After trialing a tonne of vocalists we got in touch with Christina, after seeing one of her YouTube covers, and it all developed from there really.
AH: You’ve been described as a “melodic metal band”. Can you give us a better idea of what we can expect from the EP stylistically?
Benji: Musically it mixes a lot of different elements. We have very melodic sections, synths, heavy riffs, electronic FX and so on. We retain that we’re within the ‘metal’ genre but I wouldn’t say we fall underneath that umbrella entirely.
AH: Collectively who do you consider to be your influences?
Benji: We all listen to different styles of music so the main writing influences are varied. We’re all big fans of The Amity Affliction, Being as an Ocean, Pvris, Our Last Night but expect elements of mainstream pop in there.
AH: Some people may know Christina from her time in Searching Alaska but perhaps more importantly through her YouTube covers. Does having that platform (YouTube) help or hinder Faultlines straight from the start? I’ve seen some comments where the focus has been on Christina and not the whole band.
Christina: I think it will help us overall because the whole point I continued to work on my YouTube was only ever to gain more traffic towards my previous band, and thats exactly what I’ll continue to do. I’ve always been very honest with my followers that I do find it difficult to write original music, and my main goals in life are to be in a band, so my original music is with Faultlines.
Whenever I do see comments that focus specifically around me I always try to respond and encourage followers to listen to the band as a whole, for example the guitar riffs, and Jakes voice – I’m only a very very small detail in such an incredible band of talent.
AH: Your EP is called ‘All We’ve Ever Known.’ Would you say the title sums up what Faultlines is all about? Taking everything you’ve known and put it into the EP.
Benji: The EP title is a lyric from our first single ‘Buried’ but it has a more general meaning in terms of capturing our feelings towards the release. We’ve all been in bands collectively from a very young age so it’s about us all having a mutual connection to creating and playing music.
AH: To coincide with the EP announcement you shared a track called ‘Buried’. Lyrically we get the feeling it’s about confronting people and asking them to be honest. Are we correct?
Christina: You are! It’s about being stuck in a situation where you’re being manipulated by the people who are meant to be helping you, and hearing things that have been twisted and said about you behind your back, but staying true to what you believe in. We’ve all been there, and is relatable for probably everyone I know.
AH: What other subjects does the overall EP take on?
Christina: Overall I wanted to keep the EP very relatable. I just spoke about experiences, whether that was stuff I had been through or things I had watched people go through. Relationships, families, questioning yourself, the usual young-adult thought process. We started working at Faultlines at a time where I was (and still am) questioning so much about myself and my life, and you’ll be able to hear that in the lyrics.
AH: Does ‘Buried’ give us a good idea of what we can expect from the EP?
Benji: Very much so but the whole EP has lots of variation so not every track is as full on as ‘Buried’. There’s a lot of dynamic elements and every track has its own identity.
AH: We notice you don’t have shows lined up at the moment. Can fans expect to see you all on a stage soon?
Christina: Definitely. We’ve been working on everything for so long, we hope we’ll have a really good foundation before we start announcing shows.
AH: Final question – what are the bands long and short term goals?
Benji: Short term were looking to establish ourselves within the scene and get some killer shows booked, perhaps a tour this year. Long term who knows? We’re going to keep on the gas pedal so the sky is the limit.
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Words by Sêan Reid (@SeanReid86)