The Atlas Moth Frontman Found a Way to Use Three Guitars to Their Advantage

Chicago's The Atlas Moth employ a three-guitar attack in their music, an approach that is both ambitious and risky. If you don't do it right, it can sound like an incoherent mess. But if you do pull it off, it can effectively play out brilliantly. The band's latest sludge-filled, blackened metal opus 'An Ache for the Distance' will land on September 20th, thanks to the extreme metal purveyors over at Profound Lore.

"I think with this record, we have finally found a way to use all three guitars to our advantage," vocalist-guitarist Stavros told Noisecreep. "The big difference between the last record and this record is Andrew becoming a lead guitar player as opposed to a rhythm guitar player. It adds a whole new dimension to the band."

Stavros acknowledged that the triple threat of guitarists was a happy and metallic accident. "Having three guitarists wasn't something we set out to have, so there is still a lot of new ground to cover in that aspect," he admitted. "Playing live can get tricky. You add another musician that increases the margin of error but I don't think that has been as much of an issue as all of us fitting on stage has been." Indeed, a super-sized guitar lineup certainly makes stage real estate come at a premium.

The band worked on the songs that populate 'An Ache for the Distance' for quite a bit in the studio, which was the catalyst for a little bit of change. "That alone changed how we approached these songs," Stavros said about the length of time the band spent honing their craft. "Being able to clearly hear each other as oppose to slugging it out in our rehearsal room trying to figure out if we are all playing in the right key, that was a game changer for us."

'An Ache for the Distance' will be out on September 20th via Profound Lore.

Watch The Atlas Moth live at the Beat Kitchen from 4/18/11