Void Eater is an Atlanta based-metal band whose sound is self described as “Peach State Beatdown.” Fans of Desolated, Acranius and Kublai Khan may also like Void Eater.
Before Void Eater’s Feb. 12 show in Cumming, Georgia, drummer Aaron Pounds talked about how he began playing drums, the bands writing process and what’s next for them.
How did you get into playing drums?
“Growing up listening to all kinds of music from alternative bands like The Strokes, my brother got me into System of a Down, which led me to Slipknot, where I watched Joey Jordison videos for hours and hours and hours and realized ‘Hey, I want to do drums.’ I complained to my parents and asked for three years until they bought me a drum set for my twelfth birthday. I’m all self taught. It’s been one of the greatest things of my life. Hands fucking down.”
Who are some of your drumming influences?
“A lot of punk drummers like Travis Barker of Blink-182, Joey Jordison was probably the biggest one, [Jimmy ‘The Rev’ Sullivan] of Avenged Sevenfold and lots of old stadium metal bands. I started going to a lot of smaller venues and meeting all kinds of locals and they pushed me to be better.”
What is the writing process like for Void Eater?
“Usually, we write a song and construct it in multiple ways. What they will do is go record it and set it in Reverb and throw a rough drum track on top of that. Then, I’ll go in and restructure the song with fills and repeat the drums. Most of the time, the guitarists write most of it and then change it as we see fit.”
Pounds added that vocals are always the last thing added to their songs.
What is coming up next for Void Eater?
“We wrote a song, it’s done, we just did a music video for it and it’s a completely different style… We’re going to continue writing in that style and see where it goes.”
The song he mentioned is “Shadows & Cigarettes,” which can be heard on Spotify and Apple Music. The music video can be seen here.
Favorite local Georgia metal band?
“Six. They’re phenomenal guys. They’re wholesome, really really nice dudes who make you feel welcome no matter what and there aren’t many bands around that do that at all.”
Along with Void Eater, other local bands Six, Torn Soul, God Tongue and Gornormity performed at the Feb. 12 concert at His Rock record store.
Void Eater consists of singer James Thornton, guitarists Greg and Kevin Nolan, bassist Justin Strong and drummer Aaron Pounds.
Void Eater can be heard on Spotify and Apple Music, as well as on Bandcamp and YouTube. Their merchandise can be found on their Big Cartel website. They are also on Facebook and Instagram.
