Interviews

Ignacio Orellana of Pirosaint talks with PCN Magazine about their long awaited debut album ‘Know Thyself’

New York/Chilean thrashers Pirosaint have just released their long awaited debut album ‘Know Thyself’ which was recorded between 2013-2016 and 2020-2021 at Oily Sounds Studios NYC by drummer Ignacio Orellana. Orellana who is no stranger to both the Chilean and New York City metal scene for his work as both a musician and a photojournalist for Army Of One. Normally running into Orellana at shows in the pit and chopping it up about the usual, this time caught up him to talk about the return of Pirosaint and the recording of their debut album ‘Know Thyself.’

PCN Can you give us an insight into the timeline during the recording of Know Thyself, and did the pandemic play a crucial role in the finishing of this project?

I can go long and longer!  So I will do this

2010-2012  I came out of Downfire after a tour with Ronny Munroe former vocalist of Metal Church, I told Ron Bucker that i was leaving and if he wanted to go, he said I’ll go with you, and then I went off to another tour with Sacred Oath out of Connecticut where I met Bill Smith so I invited him to join us, so that was it, we were starting to rehearse the three of us.

2012-2014 I have started in 2010 with midi files so by 2012 I could record my drums via midi to my computer using Cubase / Ez-drummer. So after I showed the guys they liked the results and we started to track their parts for a couple of demos and since I asked Gonzalo he joined us from Chile but he had a bad accident and his house was burned to the ground so he had to leave the project.

2014-2016 We looked for a local replacement for Gonzalo and we found Billy Vanders. He learned all the songs we had from demos and previous EPs so we went out and played live around NY but he didn’t have in the end what we were looking for for the new tracks.

2016-2019 I have moved to Manhattan so the distance became a major factor + we couldn’t find a new replacement for us to continue.

2019-2020 Gonzalo reached out to me and said that he was in conditions to continue, so he did but Covid-19 put once again everything on hold as restrictions and stuff did everything impossible for him and for everyone.

2020-2021 Restrictions were lifted he finished his tracks one weekend at the time and since I have been working on the sound of the music since day one, once I had his parts it took me nothing to finished it.

PCNWhat were some of the difficulties you may have run into while recording with members spread throughout different countries?

Language, technology, time and personal effort to say something. You need people that are committed 100% to the idea if not they will leave you after you have worked hours and hours. So I guess committed people so hopefully you don’t waste your time and theirs.

PCN – Where did the concept arise for the title and album artwork?

It came out of the movie ‘The Matrix’.  There is a scene where Neo and the Oracle talks about why she didn’t say to him what he had to do. In the end you do what you do because you feel it, because you know that you are capable.

So that was the premise for the music and it was translated to the cover when Bill Smith our guitar player started one day to talk about social media and how we see ourself reflected on it versus how the world sees us but what you see as a result is what our Chilean friend Claudio Bergamin took from us and added his futuristic vision and sci-fi background. He said it on one of his posts on instagram. 

PCN Did the current state of the world play a major part in choosing the release of your first two singles which you have lyric videos for?

As a band we have always said what we feel and it comes from our experiences so in this case we just felt that in part these songs were 100% what is going on with the world but definitely what is going on with us, everyday of our lives.  Music is our driving force and what always have played against it is the rules, the government, society, work, and all the adult things … so i guess our younger inner side it is still screaming back to all of those factors.

PCN – Does playing a role on both sides in the music industry, one as a musician and the other a photojournalist make it easier for one to take the focus away from another?

Funny story, I am a drummer since I was 14 years old so by the time I went to college I had already a couple of demos recoded in studio and several live gigs under my belt so with all of that I studied Television as a way to make videos for the music that I have already recorded. In the end I was looking to extend the skills I already had in me to make something bigger and something better but life has a funny way to make things work for you so I ended up working in TV, Radio and such and playing became secondary at times.

I do most of the things I do because of that, I am a musician with a vast experiences in audio and video so for me it is one thing of the other, a way yo find balance between what I love versus what I make for a living.

Music is always one way or another in my life and if I am not making it well I am promoting someone else’s. In the end I am in the system.

PCN – Have there been any talks of playing live anywhere?

So far we are promoting the album. So yes of course but with the pandemic still around, festivals been cancelled and tours been postponed we are not sure of anything just yet.

PCN – What’s next for Pirosaint?

Music video, and look for a way to play live. In the meantime writing some more so we can continue to do metal music which is what we want to do.

Track List:

01) Better you than me

2) Bleed

3) Know Thyself

4) The Debt

5) Juanzer

6) Awaken my conscience

7) Everyday’s War

8) Faster than before

9) Tonight

10) A new yesterday

11) Pirosaint

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