Editor’s Note: Texas redneck metal band Critical Assembly released their self-titled four song EP on March 6th. The band is composed of Donovan Hand on vocals, Matt Olds on bass, Rob Hicks on guitars and Anthony Stevenson on drums. The EP was mastered by Joey Duenas and they recently had gigs at the Acadia Bar in Houston and performed at Heaven and Hell Fest in Mexico this past Saturday. Rob Hicks of Critical Assembly discusses the album and mental health awareness along with Coronavirus with Madness To Creation. Fans can find Critical Assembly at the following locations:
www.facebook.com/criticalassembly
Madness To Creation: Has boredom set in with Coronavirus? What keeps the band going in light of a worldwide pandemic?
Rob: No boredom yet. Still trying to wrap our heads around this whole messed up situation. Were gonna write some more music during this downtime.
Madness To Creation: Take us into the creation of your self-titled EP. What were a few challenges and a few rewards as Critical Assembly went into the studio?
Rob: Every other album we have done has been produced by a 3rd party and time constraints we in place due to the cost of recording. With our new album we 100% produced and recorded it ourselves and were able to experiment with alot of new ideas on the fly. The challenges we faced this time around were trying not to do too much or overthink each track.
Madness To Creation: What are some things you’re looking forward to to promote this EP?
Rob: We really enjoyed debuting our new album at Heaven and Hell Fest in Mexico City. We were super stoked to release our album in our hometown. Unfortunately the city shut all the shows down until May 1st. So we are looking forward to perform our new album for our hometown crowd.
Madness To Creation: Favorite moments you’ve had on stage?
Rob: Playing to people is our favorite thing to do. No matter where we are of how many people are in the room, we make new friends and fans at every show.
Madness To Creation: What can fans expect from the band this summer?
Rob: Possible Texas Tour, New music video etc.
Madness To Creation: At Madness To Creation, we talk about mental health awareness in terms of normalizing mental health conversations, what are a few things that help you get through and what advice do you have for our readers?
Rob: Stay positive, dont get stuck inside your own head to much. Talk to people, ask for advice, listen to what people say and process it before responding negatively. Express your feelings. These things keep us normal.
Madness To Creation: Where can people find Critical Assembly?
Rob: Hopefully in your city! We’re online everywhere. Spotify, Google and Amazon Music, YouTube.
And there you have it! Fans can check out the 4 song EP via Spotify below:
