Heavy and in-your-face, Traverse the Abyss fuse elements of metalcore and various metal sub-genres to create something truly unique. Searing riffs, bouncy grooves, dynamic harsh vocals, and powerful lyrics all come together to build an intense sound.

Please list all of your band members and their roles in the band.

Traverse the Abyss is :

Eric Abyss - Vocals

"Iron" Mike White - Guitar

Mike "Bnoc" Bieniecki - Bass/Backing Vocals

Jamie Macheska - Guitar

David Wilczewski - Drums

For starters, what bands were you guys a part of prior to Traverse the Abyss? How long has the band been around?

The three that started the group (Eric, Mike, and Bnoc) were in a band called Without a Martyr in the early 2010s, which for most of us was our first band. Eric and Mike went on to play in Threatpoint in 2015, which eventually in late 2015-early 2016 left to start Traverse the Abyss. Traverse the Abyss has been a public band since October 1st, 2016.

What’s the origin of that name and have you changed the band’s name before?

The band name came from the video games Dark Souls and Destiny, but we took our own interpretation to the name as in you need to go through the dark times in life for the good, we all have our dark places in this life. We have not changed the band name since forming.

Who writes your songs? What are the main themes or topics for most of your songs and do you think these topics will change over time?

We try our best to write everything as a collective group. Iron Mike will come up with the majority of the starting and connecting riffs, then we add drums. Once we start to hear out the rhythm, we extract the bass to correspond to the drum pattern, guitar line, or own bass walk in the sections. Then we can play around with what Jamie can add that makes the song better, whether it is harmonies or just fat chords behind the riffs. Vocals are usually last, I (Eric), will pitch vowels and screams on where I want, then I really feel out the emotional vibe I get from the music and write accordingly to the pure, raw emotion.

Most of the topics are very polar opposite. We have inspirational songs like Diamonds, Family, and 2nd Place Superstar. Then on the opposite, we have songs that are very depressing, nihilistic topics like Ghost and Inner Demons. With the latest writing, a few of the topics are about living your life and cherishing the time you have with people because it is not always guaranteed they will be there. I feel the topics will change over time, as we do as people, but still relative to personal experience and thoughts.

What bands are currently inspiring the music that you’re making?

We are all over the place with musical influences so it is really hard to nail down specific bands, but lately I can say Trivium, The Devil Wears Prada, As I Lay Dying, Bleed From Within, and Bodysnatcher are some bands that we have been listening to a bit more than usual. We all listen to different genres almost regularly. On our Spotify we have monthly updated playlists where the band members pick their top 10 songs over the past month.

Was there a particular band/artist or concert that inspired you to start a band?

I always wanted to entertain as a kid. My mom would blast The Rolling Stones, Guns n Roses, Black Sabbath, and Aerosmith while I was growing up, so the love for music was always there. Daydreaming about being on stage and performing. Slipknot, Disturbed, and System of a Down were the first metal bands that made me feel like I need this because something about this music really calls to me. Sure enough at Mayhem Fest 2008, my first festival concert, with Slipknot headlining and Disturbed co-headlining, I was hooked and said to myself this is what I want to do with my time on this rock.

What do you do to prepare for a show? Any flexing, exercises, ect …

We always stretch before shows. We are jumping and running around the whole set so our bodies definitely feel it afterwards. Vocal warm ups too, our vocalists do two runs through The Zen of Screaming by Melissa Cross before performing. Room temperature water since cold shocks vocal cords.

What has been the biggest highlight of the band’s career so far?

Biggest highlight for the band's career so far was playing right before Motionless in White for their hometown Christmas show back in 2018. MiW hadn't played a local club show in almost 10 years at the time, and we put in the work to play right before them at the return hometown show. Performed to a packed solid room of over one thousand people, sold completely out of merch, and met some incredible people and die-hard fans along the way. Our music video "Blink" is a recap of the show.

If you could tour with any bands, past or present, who would they be and why?

If we could tour with any bands past or present, I feel like it would be a lot of fun to tour with The Devil Wears Prada since they are one of our favorite bands. Slipknot would probably be pretty crazy. Trivium would be amazing too since I'm a twitch streamer and Matt is as well, so I'd love to talk games, music, and entertainment with him. Honestly, it would probably be pretty off the wall to do a run with Attila. I'm sure their after parties are no joke and the whole run would be a party.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

We would like to thank you for your time and support of our band! We have a bunch of new music, merch, and videos on the way so stay updated with us on our social media and our website traversetheabyss.com!

| Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube | Spotify | Website |