Suicide Silence’s new album is dividing opinions, but Mark Heylmun stands proud of it alongside his old faves.
The first song I remember… Give It Away - Red Hot Chili Peppers
“I can remember listening to this, borrowing my Dad’s actual guitar and air guitaring the fuck out of it in the garage with friends. I was super young, like first grade or something, but that is what first got me to pick up a guitar.”
The song that inspired me to play… You Shook Me All Night Long - AC/DC
“I learned a ton of riffs but this was the first song I got down. I would jam it on my red Epiphone Les Paul.”
The song I remember covering with my first band… Stairway To Heaven - Led Zeppelin
“Well if I’m gonna take it right back. I played my eighth grade talent show and put together the King Of The Hill theme song, Star Wars, and Stairway To Heaven. Ha ha! We lost the talent show to someone who played Enter Sandman and then played a little bit of Papa Roach at the end.”
The song I’m proudest of… Doris - Suicide Silence
“I’d say anything off the new self-titled record really, because it’s hard to pick just one since the whole album is what I’d like to be remembered by. I’d like to see people hear us coming into our own, pushing the boundaries of what you might think we are all about. We’re all proud of it.”
When I’m trying out a new guitar, I play… Arise - Sepultura
“Man I just ring out standard E for the most part, dial in something and hit an E real hard again. I always end up playing something kind of like Arise and Blackened by Metallica combined. I find myself playing these riffs that are really like Metallica, Sabbath or Pantera. I don’t have a go-to main riff though.”
I wish I wrote this riff… War Pigs - Black Sabbath
“When the song takes that turn and gets all epic and open, the one that the whole crowd sings… I think you know the one!”
The most challenging song of ours to play live… Wake Up - Suicide Silence
“It has a solo that ends in a tap that sustains and sings. I’d say I miss that tap like one show out of every 10 but if I do, I have some back up moves I can bust out! Nobody even notices except me and the band… ha ha!”
To introduce someone to our band I’d play them… Silence - Suicide Silence
“I think it’s got a lot of our older influence in it as well as a ton of new textures we’ve never done before. It’s a nice blend of old and new in my opinion. Shit slams but also takes you to other dimensions.”
My favourite solo is… Comfortably Numb - Pink Floyd
“There’s a lot. Pretty much any of David Gilmour’s solos are spot-on, top-notch premium-grade solos. Every note counts and anyone can basically learn the notes but playing it with the finesse that he has is another story. Comfortably Numb comes to mind as a perfect solo. And of course I’ve learned those licks, they’re like butter 101.”
Suicide Silence’s self-titled new album is out now on Nuclear Blast
