Unleash the Archers are Working on a Graphic Novel
Unleash the Archers frontwoman Brittney Slayes was our guest on the special “Best of 2020” episode of The MetalSucks Podcast, providing us with an update on the graphic novel the band have been teasing for some time and some info on what the timeline looks like for their next album, among other topics.
Speaking on the graphic novel, which is based on the storyline that runs through the band’s two most recent albums, Apex and Abyss, Brittney explained:
“It’s just a matter of time. I haven’t been able to work on it because of the album release and now I’m super busy with work and everything so I haven’t been able to look at it at all. Just lots going on the plate. But I do have an artist that I’m working with. I’m working on the script for it and everything so hopefully that’ll happen, it just hard to find the time. But it is in the works. I see it so clearly in my own mind.
“I kind of gave a little snippet of what I’m thinking in our earbook, our little limited edition earbook thingy that was [available] during the preorders, so I kind of did a little bit of the storytelling in that. But there’s just so much detail and so much going on, and I would love for everyone to be able to see it the way I see it. So I think, honestly, the only way to do that is through a graphic novel.
“As I go, I am working out all the little middle details and all the little bits that weren’t included, because you can’t exactly be super-detailed when writing music. [Writing music is] very much about making sure that it works with the guitars and everything else that’s going on so I try to make it as clear and concise as possible without going into too much detail, without being cumbersome with words, so that everything flows really nicely. So there’s not a lot that you can actually put into that at the end of the day, lyric-wise.
“That’s why I decided to put a bit of the story into the earbook, so I could tell a little more. But even that was only one page per chapter. Just a really quick little overview. So I’m really excited to expand on that, to make these characters super well-rounded so you can really get attached to them and know everything that there is to know about them. [I’m excited to] finally put pen to paper on this story that I’ve had in my head for so damn long!”
Brittney also provided an update on the follow-up to Abyss, which came out in August of 2020 and has brought the band a ton of praise from critics and fans alike:
“We’re going to hold off on releasing anything else until we get give this record what it deserves, full touring, and focus on it completely.
“We didn’t really have time during these last six months to do anything [else] because we were solely focused on this record. We were on tour with Dragonforce when the pandemic hit North America so we came home and immediately started artwork and merch and all the logistics behind the new record; organizing PR, doing the music videos, etc. And [we] have just been consumed by it the whole time.
“So now it’s the point where we should have been on tour but we’re not, so that’s why it’s kind of leading to us being like, ‘Well, okay, what’s next? What are we going to write about now?’ That’s kind of the only reason that that’s happening but I don’t think that it’s going to be like, ‘Well let’s put out a new record in the spring!’ [laughs] Or anything like that. Just maybe, we might have something really… but I don’t think we’ll release it before we get a chance to actually tour for ‘Abyss.’ Unless this pandemic just keeps on truckin’, you know. If it’s looking like next year is once again going to be tourless, entirely, no shows, no nothing… maybe we’ll revisit that. Right now we want to focus on ‘Abyss’ and give it the attention it deserves.”
You can listen to our full chat with Brittney right here or in the embed below.
