What is your name and role within The Faceless?
My name is Justin McKinney and I play Guitar.
Where are you currently based?
I live on the cusp of Marina Del Rey/Venice, California.
You’ve just come off the The Summer Slaughter Tour, dubbed the most extreme tour of the year..
Oh yes, the most extreme, because it is non stop, always on the go to the next show, it’s been intense, but it’s been the coolest tour I’ve been on. Great people and bands, and insane crowds.
You toured with 9 other bands, how was it playing so many shows with so many bands?
It was actually pretty smooth, hectic, but smooth. Thanks to a good tour crew and everyone working together it ran well. It was rad touring with The Black Dahlia Murder, being that they are one of my favorite metal bands, as well as Dying Fetus and Origin. All the bands played real sick.
What were the greatest challenges and the greatest moments of the tour?
Well being that this is a big tour, the hardest part is getting to load in on time. Most shows ended late and load ins were around 11am so driving 6-10 hours from city to city and making sure you arrive on time is the most stressful part, but it’s definitely doable, just all about being organized and prepared.
How do you prepare for such a tour?
Personally, I prepare by getting in the right headspace before leaving on tour. Triple checking to make I have everything I need, religiously practicing and triple checking equipment making sure everything works.
Which show was your favorite and why?
My favorite show was between the Palladium in Worcester, Mass. and Gas Monkey in Dallas. Those were some real sick crowds and real sick venues.
Did you take your own equipment for the tour?
Ya we bring all of our equipment, we don’t share a tour backline because our set up is a unique set up.
Do you have any plans for the remainder of 2017?
Ya, my other band The Zenith Passage is out on tour with The Black Dahlia Murder and Suffocation right now, then The Faceless is heading out on the road this December in support of our new album, In Becoming A Ghost, which comes out December 1 on Sumerian Records.
What influences the sound of The Faceless?
We all have our personal influences that inspire a lot of The Faceless material, but as a whole, the band takes a lot of influence from Cynic, Extol, Ihsahn, and Alan Holdsworth, just to name a few.
Who are you listening to at the moment?
Right now I’m listening to a lot of different stuff, not much metal other than the new Fleshkiller and Entheos album, which I highly recommend, outside of those albums I’m listening to The Midnight’s new EP, Nocturnal, religiously listening to Hans Zimmer’s Score of Bladerunner 2049 and The Revenant soundtrack by Ryuichi Sakamoto/Alva Noto, and The Contortionist’s new album, Clairvoyant.
How did you get into music?
My late uncle Mike played guitar and introduced me to the world of metal at a young age and Guitar. I grew up in a musical household. My uncles and dad all play music and were avid music fans and music and it became an integral part of my life at a very young age.
What equipment do you use?
For guitars, I use Kiesel guitars, I have a really sick headless Vader model they just built for me and it’s damn incredible. I also play a K-series that is insanely sick too. For amplification, I am using a Fractal audio Axe Fx 2 XL+ which I get all my tones from and run it DI to front of house for all of my live tones in both of my bands. For strings, I am using a custom gauge set of Dunlop Super Brights, and for pedals I use a Dunlop XL volume pedal and TC Electronics Polytune pedal.
Favorite food and place to hangout?
Favorite food has to be California Mexican food and Southern cuisine. Bay Area and Southern California have, hands down, the best Mexican food spots ever. Texas, Alabama and Tennessee have some of my favorite BBQ and creole food spots too.
I’m a proud Californian, so my favorite places to hang are sleepy beach towns, I love Malibu, Santa Cruz, Cayucas, Big Sur, Carmel, San Luis Obispo and of course, my grandparents ranch in Auberry, near Yosemite. No state is more sick than California. I love it here.
Preorder our new album, In Becoming A Ghost, here:
Facebook:
Instagram:
@bouvre @thefacelessofficial @thezenithpassage
Twitter:
@bouvre @THEFACELESSband @zenithpassage
