Ways. are a Metal Alternatif / Post Hardcore band from Paris, France. Mixing several influences and musical styles, Ways. offers a powerful, dynamic and melodic music close to alternative metal and post-hardcore. The band is most prominently influenced by bands such as Architects, Alexisonfire, The Ghost Inside, Thrice, Underoath and more.
After releasing two self-produced EPs (Watching From Afar in 2016 and Aftermath in 2018), Ways. took a more incisive and impactful direction, presenting a new version of their single «So Far So Good» (New version in 2022), produced by Nicolas Exposito from Landmvrks. In February 2023, Ways. returned with their brand new single «Why do We Fall?» once again produced by Nicolas Exposito. This single gained significant attention from national and international media, including numerous editorial Spotify playlist features. A second single, «ERASE» was released on july 2023. The final single from the EP, entitled «World Worn Out» was out on February 9, 2024. Now the band shares de full EP "ARE WE STILL ALIVE?" on all streaming platforms, listen here!
ARE WE STILL ALIVE?: https://open.spotify.com/intl-pt/album/3QMa7JW51VYKEzCk9kNpG7
In this new interview, we talk with the band about their music inspirations, their history, french metal scene and more. Check it out bellow!
Can you give me a brief history of the band; where did you all meet? Nico: The band has been active since 2016. Bruno (guitar) and I are brothers and have been playing together for many, many years. Clément (vocals) joined the band in 2015 and after several years the line-up changed in the rhythm section with the arrival of Etienne on drums and Anthony on bass. This name of the band is about direction, the way to go to find some solutions and move on again and again. Nothing is blocked, there is always a way, an alternative to move on. We found this name at the beginning of this project. The idea was to find a short name that speaks about direction and alternative solution to find a way and move on. Ways. was the perfect choice.
Talk to us a little about this new EP and what it means to you all as a band. How has it been composing this album? Nico: We started work on this EP during Covid. We had to learn to work remotely in order to progress with the composition and arrangements of the songs. We composed a lot of songs, but over time and with the line-up changes, we only kept a few. The composition phase took a little longer than usual. We really wanted to ensure that each new member of the band could bring his or her own universe and ideas to the table. We started working with Nicolas Exposito (Landmvrks) on the EP's prods. Nicolas produced 3 tracks on the EP, and due to time constraints, we ended up working with Robin from Resolve. We really like Landmvrks and Resolve, and we're very happy to have been able to work with two members of these bands on the prods for our new EP. "Are we still alive?" is a question we've regularly asked ourselves about the band's situation over the last three years. Between the two years of the COVID crisis that prevented us from seeing each other, rehearsing and playing live, the line-up changes and certain life changes for some of the band members that have impacted the way we work, compose and record, we've spent a lot of time hanging on and finding solutions to keep going. We're proud to be here and to be releasing this new EP. Of course, the various themes addressed by the songs on this EP are also consistent with this question.
What are 3 words to describe this album release? Nico: Intense, Alive, Angry.
What inspired this album? Nico: Our main inspirations when writing the first songs were bands that Bruno and I really love. Bands like Counterparts, The Ghost Inside, Poison The Well and Norma Jean. Then, as time went by, arrangements were made, and passages were added or removed from the songs, everything evolved. But yes, we are very much influenced by these bands in our creative approach.
If you had to pick one track from this album for a new listener to check out, what song would that be and why? Nico: It's not a simple question. Each song has its own atmosphere and soul. I really like all of them, but if I had to choose one, I'd say World Worn Out. It's our latest single and brings together a lot of the things we love about music. It's edgy, melodic and groovy all at the same time.
What´s the idea behind artwork´s album? Nico: It's a two-way message. First, it's a message about our situation. We've been around for a while, and despite all the good things we've done, we've had a hell of a lot of hard times. We've clearly spent an inordinate amount of time adapting and finding solutions to keep us going and moving forward. When Covid came along, we had 2 very complicated years, and we asked ourselves several times: are we still alive as a group? Do we still want to go even further? Clearly, yes. And it's also a message about our world, our society and our relationship with each other and with other species living on this planet. Choosing a symbol like the santa muerte is a way of embracing this idea of spirituality, of questioning our continuity to exist despite the impression at times that we no longer know, but also an idea of wisdom. This symbol really depends on the choice of title for the EP.
How is your local scene? What other bands from your area should we be listening to? The local scene in France is pretty incredible. Of course, we don't need to mention bands like Landmvrks, Resolve, Ten56 or Ashen, but on a lesser-known level, the French scene is insane. For example, I'd encourage you to check out bands like Lies We Sold (of which Anthony is a singer), Colossus of Destiny (where Etienne also plays drums) and other really great bands like While Oceans Burn, Revnoir, a bitter end, PROSAÏC, Everaged. and so much more.