“Job For A Cowboy was all the influence we needed to switch to a heavier sound” – interview with Jerome

For those who don’t know, Jerome is a Deathcore band formed in the mid-2000s in Chicago, being considered as one of the greatest ones from the state and to this day, missed by lots of fans. They’ve been unactive since 2007 due to the split of the band, but this year, they’ve made a very unexpected comeback. So, we’ve had the oportunity to ask their guitarist Ben Siptrott some questions about this influential band.

Hey! I hope everything is going fine with this comeback. First of all; what’s Jerome, what was the idea behind this project and how was it really born?

Ben: Jerome was product of a change in the musical landscape in 2006. Heavy music sub genres were evolving at a rapid pace. Lots of experimentation. We started off as a metal core band called The Strength Within. Wrote a few songs under that name but never played any shows. A few of our members went to a Job For A Cowboy show in Chicago and that was all the influence we needed to make the switch to a heavier sound.

 What members from the original line-up are present on this revival?

Ben: Our line-up consists of Boz, the original vocalist and me (Ben Siptrott) as guitar player, both being the only original members in the band. Our new guitar player Jeremy (Carroll) is a veteran in the scene. Comes from bands such as Oceano, Rooks or Chaosphere. Also, we got a new bass player, who’s a staple in the local Chicago scene playing in a handful of bands most notably Chaosphere. Our new drummer is another Veteran having played for Barrier and Sworn In. Some of the best metal players that Chicagoland has to offer.

Being able to notice some aspects from Brutal Death Metal, Slam, Melodic Death Metal… What bands inspired Jerome’s style?

Ben: The bands sound was inspired by the fact that we all came from different musical backgrounds with the same goal. Writing brutal heavy music. Job For A Cowboy, Elysia, Despised Icon, The Acacia Strain, Suicide Silence, Waking The Cadaver were some big influences for us at the time.

Would you agree if someone says that you were one of the bands that defined Deathcore sound?

Ben: Ahh, this question always makes us laugh haha. We’ve never claimed to be but we appreciate everyone who says so!

What is the goal behind bringing the band back? Are you working on new stuff? We’ll might have any surprise on next year?

Ben: There isn’t necessarily a goal with bringing the band back. The band was very short lived. So many people that listen to the band now never got s chance to see us live. Boz and I have been talking about making this happen for years. With this new lineup we are looking forward to playing shows and putting out new music.

We were only able to hear four songs, all of them released in 2006. Are there any rare demos that we couldn’t get from back then?

Ben: There are no rare unreleased recordings. But there are few a few songs that we only played live back in 2006-2007 that we plan on recording in the future. There’s some videos online from our last show in 2007 that feature these songs.

Thanks so much for having us, it’s a huge pleasure to have such as good band back to the stage!

CHECK THEIR LEGENDARY SELF-TITLED EP HERE