GMA Interrogation: Torrin Alexander King of Edenlust

"Edenlust isn't considered straight "Gothic" but we keep that dark aura within it".

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Country: USA
Genre: DARK ROCK / METAL
Label: UNSIGNED

So GMA found time to pull aside Torrin from Texan rockers Edenlust to have a quick chit-chat, this was quickly followed by a rodeo of which we lost.


So Torrin how did Edenlust come about and how does the band differ from the many Texan bands out there?

Edenlust was formed by Taylor Dennis (guitars) who also fronts Revengeance, Nick Crane (bass), and myself (vocals) back in mid fall / autumn of 2009, just the 3 of us. Nick and I have been friends since high school and so he introduced me to Taylor who both were already jamming at the time and brainstorming ideas for a new, at the time labeled, Gothic metal band. That first night of us being together we sat down in the middle of Taylor's rehearsal room and wrote our first song "Baptized In Winter Blood".

Throughout the next two years the line up would grow into a 5 piece group with some member changes here and there. Currently it's back to Taylor, Nick, and myself which we all felt that just like the beginning of Edenlust, is best for us creatively and mentally. Comparing to most of the bands back in Texas there would be the Pantera (which I love by the way) influenced groups metal wise, and occasionally something way past different from any of them. But it wasn't just all of that, many bands that I've heard or have seen are all very different as possible. With Edenlust, my personal goal was and still is to make it stand out a little more than most others. Nowadays the sound of the band has become more open in terms of musical, lyrical and mental influences and has been a personal goal of releasing personal feelings, whether it being from my own experiences, others, or the entire world for that matter. I wouldn't so much say that now, Edenlust isn't considered straight "gothic" but we keep that dark aura within it. Our brand new song "Frozen Red" comparing to the more popular "Kiss The Rain" track really explains that evolution and maturity of Edenlust.

Given the Texan climate, do tornadoes affect the band's activities and if so how? Have you seen or been affected by any?

There have been tornado or thunder storm warnings here and there, I say that it has ever rarely affected a small portion of audience members for an entire show with us playing alongside 4 other bands from showing up in order to remain safe. However we are still to this day very grateful for all of their support and coming out and having a good time anyway. I wouldn't say I've been so close to a tornado, but a decent distance away to know one was around, that had to been around 4 years back.

What would you say the biggest challenge was for American bands these days?

In my own perspective, it's pretty tough when your a local band working really hard to promote a show or whatever while most people seem to be more interested in major acts, which is completely understandable and I have no hard feelings towards them. If one decides to attend a local show, you won't regret that $5 or $10 bucks you've spent checking out 5 to 12 unknown bands. You may like them all, you may like only a few or only 1, probably none, but you never know what you could be missing out.

How would you describe your music without using genre tags or cliches?

As mentioned before, it was common for us to be labeled as a Gothic Metal band in the beginning. I hear the sound of Edenlust... well, just Edenlust! Haha! It's tough to really describe it other than dark, melodic, often monstrous, catchy metal / rock.

You're now a three piece, what happened to the past two members?

There are about a total of 4 ex members. All I can say is that 1 of them was due to creative and personal differences with us 3 while the others have gone their own ways for something else whether it being for himself, work related, it could be anything. I'm not saying that we should forget the past, but the rebirth of Edenlust is all for moving forward. I'm still appreciative of the ex members contributions though.

How did you personally get into singing and who inspires you? Idols? Influences?

Ever since I was a child, growing up to Pantera, Metallica, and amongst many other well known groups, I've always wanted to be a singer / frontman but I've always wanted to be involved with writing and creating music, which I do with the others for Edenlust or for fun anyway. A lot of my favorite bands come from the Japanese Visual Kei Music scene. Dir En Grey, my favorite band, is a huge inspiration for me not just musically, but the energy consumes me. It's surely a damn great feeling if a band is able to do that. Amongst the other influences are Slipknot, As I Lay Dying, Sentenced, U2 (huge fan believe it or not!), The Misfits (Graves Era preferably) and the list goes on. Other than that I want my voice along with the lyrics I be heard as a moving message.

Finally any hello's, thank you's to your fans?

A shout out to all of my friends and family back in Texas, I love you all! Huge thanks to Taylor and Nick for remaining in the dream, the bands we've share the stage with, my fiancé who had put up with me and my nonsense. Haha! A thank you to YOU who have given the chance to interview me and learn a bit about Edenlust, and most importantly... The Fans, the Victims! Without any of you we would be absolutely nothing, this is only the new beginning... YOU ALL RULE!

https://www.facebook.com/Edenlustband