Rebel Extravaganza: Tell me about the orgin of the band. Had you played together in other bands before Sanctity?

Jared MacEachern: Well, Jeff and Jeremy formed the first version of Sanctity back in…1998, I think. They played for awhile with another singer before me. How I came to the band was that I was attending college in the town we're from, and happened to catch a show they (Jeff and Jeremy) were doing at a local club. I just really dug what they were doing, and the way they approached the songwriting. I jumped up on stage with them at the end of the night, and we did some old covers, some '80s stuff. I think that's where it all started.

RX: The name Sanctity doesn't really jump out and scream "Metal!!!!" when you hear it. What's up with the name, and do you feel it typifies the music you create?

JM: I think a lot of people are going to assume the church-oriented connotation, and that's fine. The band had the name before I came along, but I like it. It sticks out, and isn't your typical “death/blood/fire” name. The way I think of it, Sanctity is a purity of metal, a binding force within the band and its fans.

RX: Do you have any prior albums, or is the Roadrunner disc going to be your full-length debut?

JM: We had a couple demos before this one (the album). Well, actually, when I first joined the band, we did one full-length with like eleven songs. That and the first demo were just something to pass around, use to get gigs. They were literally CDRs and we'd write on them with a Sharpie or whatever (Laughter). We did a second demo, like four more songs, and that one Roadrunner financed. So, yeah, this new album is going to be the one I think we're going to call the first full-length, because that first one wasn't really for mass consumption.

RX: In all fairness, I'm sure you can hear them now; "Oh, great! Another band snapped up to a major label before getting a chance to pay their dues.". Anything to say in response?

JM: I think it's understandable that that's going to happen. There's gonna be people out there who don't know the band's been around as long as it has, - mostly people from outside our geographic area - and they won't pay attention just because they don't recognize the name. I think more often than now, though, the people who have open ears to something new that still has great respect for the purity of what heavy metal was at the start will be more like “Wow!”.

RX: What initially brought you to Roadrunner's attention? I mean, Asheville (North Carolina) isn't known for it's thriving metal scene.

JM: Actually, the whole thing probably started when we got on a bill with Trivium and Fear Factory at a local club where we play a lot. We were lucky enough to develop a friendship with the guys in Trivium especially. Matt (Heafy) ended up taking our first demo, and putting it into Monte's (Roadrunner A&R) hands. They financed the second demo, and on the strength of that, signed us.

RX: Yeah, Trivium are really down to earth…great guys. (Laughter) I remember on Trivium's first Road Rage tour, driving Cory around to a couple sporting goods stores, because he'd forgotten his wristbands the last stop. They had to be all black, of course!

JM: (Laughter) That's so funny! They've gotta be black, you know!

RX: That's not even the funny part, man! We couldn't find all black ones at two major sporting goods stores! He wound up getting ones with the Nike symbol and using a Sharpie to colour over the white swoosh!

JM: That's hilarious!

RX: It's one of those things that's only funny because it's true! Tell me about the video. You did that in an old prison, yeah?

JM: Yep! We shot it in an old prison outside Charlotte. Our bass player set it up, because he knew the guy that owned the property. We paid him $150 to rent the property for the day, just went in and did it. It turned out pretty great for what we did, especially on zero budget.

RX: Your MySpace profile only has the one song, 'Zeppo'. Are we going to hear anything else before the album comes out?

JM: We had a few tracks from the first demo up there until just a few weeks ago, really. The version of 'Zeppo' that's up now is from the first demo we did around June or July of last year. As far as new stuff, we may get another song or two up, but the label kind of wants to hold off on making anything available until the album comes out in June, so I don't know…

RX: Speaking of the internet, what sort of role do you feel communities like Purevolume and MySpace play in spreading the word about unsigned bands?

JM: I totally think it's important. I'd say that sites like those are the perfect tool for people into heavy music to get into new bands, or for bands to get heard by thousands or millions of people who otherwise wouldn't even know they existed. I think that with our band, MySpace especially has been a big help, because it's the most direct way to communicate with your fan base these days, aside from picking up the phone and calling them one by one.

RX: Don't you feel it's a bit "too easy" these days, though? I mean, it seems like everyone and their grandmother walked into Best Buy one day, bought Cakewalk or some other home recording software, and now has songs posted online. What do you feel makes Sanctity stand out from the pack?

JM: Well, we've been doing this longer than most people are aware of, so I'd hope that would factor into things. I've been in the band for six years, Jeff and Jeremy for around ten. We're actually pretty new to the MySpace thing, and we've only had that account for a year or so, but things have really skyrocketed due to it. I'd like to think we've explored a lot of options, and made good decisions so far.

RX: Tell me about the song 'Zeppo'. This wasn't named after the Marx Brothers character, now was it?

JM: (Laughter) Yeah, it was. I guess it's just a really straightforward song about being in the band, breaking down barriers, and standing up for what you believe in. Kind of the triumph of the underdog.

RX: So here you are, you're signed to possibly the longest-running primarily metal and hard music label in the world. You know the pressure's on, right? What steps are you taking to make this debut album the best it can be?

JM: Oh, man, the pressure is for sure on! Roadrunner's such a great label, and if you take a look at their roster, - both past and present - it's amazing the level of quality and the amount of legendary bands that has passed through there. We've been writing for the last month or or so, for the album. One of the things we're extremely focused on is trying to always keep the element of classic metal, but kind of make it our own. We're working with Dark Angel Management, and they've helped us a ton. But for sure, being on Roadrunner makes us feel like, at least to some degree, we have to live up to the history of the other bands there.

RX: What does 2006 hold for Sanctity?

JM: We want to probably do a couple shows before the record hits. We have a few, but maybe we'll do a few more. Once the record has time to catch on, we'll just hit the road and do our thing. We've done regional tours, like the Carolinas, Tennessee, but we haven't had a chance to really get out of our area, so it'll be a new experience. We can't wait, man!

www.sanctityweb.com