Luckily for me, I got to talk to Truth Be Known, way before their set. Having a MySpace headline that read “Most alcohol induced band in Singapore”, I was excessively worried and had no idea what to expect. But fortunately, these guys were so easy to talk to. Not only were they sober and cooperative, Subash and Gene might just be some of the most decent and nicest guys I’ve ever met.

Shout!: Are you guys nervous at all for your upcoming slot with Defiled and Hydrophobia?

Subash: No.

Gene: No, we’re sorta already used to this.

Subash: It’s just that we’re sober right now. We’ve never been sober for any of our gigs. And this one will be no different.

S!: What do you think of the crowd today?

Subash: It was surprising, to be honest. We were very worried about the turn out as it’s the festive season like Hari Raya (Muslim holiday) here, but the metalheads did us proud!

S!: I heard the song “Build The Hate”, on your MySpace page. It’s pretty intense. How did that song come about?

Gene: Usually for most of our songs, our guitarists will start out by producing the riffs and I’ll follow up with the drums.

Subash: Lyrics will usually come last. After the composition of the guitar and drums, I’ll come in with the lyrics. It also depends on the song structure. Sometimes, if neccessary, I’ll do a bit of research to get the lyrics together.

S!: Research?

Subash: Yeah. I’ll carry out research on certain subjects or people to get inspired. For example, we have a song based on a philosopher called Frederick Mitchell.

S!: So lyrically, what are your songs usually based on?

Gene: For this album, most of the lyrics are based on religion.

Subash: The material on this album is mostly against all religions.

S!: So you guys are Atheists?

Subash: For me, I don’t believe in any God. My own personal belief is that the evolution of men started from the apes. [laughs] Of course, my other band members do believe in God. We’re not Atheists. Agnostic maybe.

[Gene leaves interview to attend to some equipment mix up]

S!: You just released your album, Just Another Lamb about 2 months ago. Tell us how you arrived at the album title.

Subash: Intially, we wanted to name it “Just Another Sheep” but that obviously didn’t sound right at all. [laughs] The meaning is pretty generic. Noone is leading and everyone is a follower. Sorta like lambs to the slaughter, you see. [laughs]

S!: You guys have been around for three years now. You’ve not only performed locally, but also in Thailand and Indonesia. Are there any differences in performing locally and overseas?

Subash: It depends on the genre of the whole gig and where we’re performing. For example, the Thais and  Malaysians in the scene are very much into and hyped up about death metal and metalcore. I think we are more suited to the Indonesian and Malaysian crowd as our sound is pretty much old school and they seem to dig it. But we do try to accommodate every crowd we play for.

S!: How about the response you get from these crowds?

Subash: The response has been amazing. When we were in Thailand, there were a couple of white guys who were surprised at the type of music we were playing. They were like “Where the fuck are you guys from?” and when we told them we were from Singapore, they were shocked that there’s actually people playing metal over here. [laughs] And I also have to add that the bands in Thailand, or just Southeast Asia in general, are awesome.

S!: How has the band changed musically?

Subash: Well, as most other musicians, we’ve evolved from gaining experiences all these years. I think for me personally, I’ve also changed as a lyricist. We try to maintain and not change our sound too drastically, but we do try to keep improving in terms of band tightness, which is important in every band.

S!: We heard that you are going to be part of Truth Corroded’s Asian Tour. Are you excited?

Subash: We’ve actually played with them before when they were here in Singapore. Those guys are a pretty intense. They were also surprised at our local scene. So it’s kind of like a reunion for us.

S!: Any last words for the readers of Shout?

Subash: Keep listening to metal, buy our CD and support the local Singapore scene!

• MySpace URL: http://www.myspace.com/truthbeknownsg