Melding Metal With A Little Bit Of Miles Davis

"We came into the studio thinking this was going to be like all the other records we've done but on this one we really got grilled harder," confides Cruz, who himself is over the moon about how Transmission. Alpha. Delta (the band's eighth studio LP) turned out. "It was the first time we had worked with Kyle Black and as a producer he really took us out of our comfort zone and the results speak for themselves."

But while things are all fine and dandy now, making the record was grueling. "We were poor, we were tired and by the end of it we were really pissed off," laughs Cruz. "We got pushed like it was all or nothing and as hard as it was at the time it was fantastic to get pushed like that — to really sing for your supper. I'd go as far as to say that for this band, making that record was like a pressure point in our lives which as a result of going through it has made us a better band.

"I want to get less afraid as I get older. I want to be the old man who gets into fights and flips people off."

"The lyrics on the album reflect the attitude we took into this record," he adds. "it's about allowing yourself to really open up your mind — open up that transmitter we all have in our heads — and embrace new ideas. Let go of the ego and things will flow. We all determine how we deal with the information that comes to us — the worst thing you can do is close your mind.

"People are meant to get more conservative as they get older — I'm the opposite, I'm like Benjamin Button, I'm turning into a baby. I simply don't want to be a person who closes off — I want to get less afraid as I get older. I want to be the old man who gets into fights and flips people off."

This attitude really comes to the fore when Cruz is asked about the bands that have influenced him the most. His answer? Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones, Bad Religion and Miles Davis. As to how Cruz manages to meld these diverse influences he is equally as unrepentant: "How could you not? I don't see any contradiction between free-form experimental songwriting and more structured really intense tunes — bringing those perspectives together can create something really special.  I mean look at our band — four heshers who love metal and one guy, me, who doesn't. But despite our differences in musical taste we still make it work."

Looking back over his long discography Cruz is quick to point to 2007's Blackhawks Over Los Angeles as the one that perhaps should have got more attention, but believes that overall each stage of the band's history has something to offer fans. It's this view that drives the setlist Strung Out have put together for their upcoming Australian tour.   

"Everything in Strung Out is conflict," laughs Cruz. "Usually we get lazy and then one of us decides that we should play some songs we haven't done before — and that usually causes another fight. In Australia though we have a little bit of everything for you and that includes songs we've never played before. You never know what to expect when you see us play a gig."