Getting the Low Down with Josh De La Sol
The Last Of Lucy hails from California and is a force to be reckoned with to be blunt. The Technical Death Metal act has just released their album ‘Moksha‘ via Transcending Obscurity Records and it immediately hits your ears like a intergalactic cannon. The album blossoms chills through your spine as the riffs soar. Vocally, Josh De La Sol isn’t messing around on this one. Bringing range that could only be hit by this man, if he’s even human of course. If you haven’t heard this modern masterpiece, I personally recommend that you pause your reading and play that album, and then continue reading. Being a fan of of this band, I will go there and say this is their best work to date. I couldn’t help but reach out to Josh (vocals) and see what his take was about ‘Moksha’.
So, let’s dig in straight to the questions.
Compared to previous albums The Last Of Lucy have seemed to go a much darker route. What has inspired the band to take this direction?
Me & Gad decided the sound should be heavier, faster, & more technical overall. We wanted to incorporate catchiness & flow into the riffs, but still have the music be technical. We started thinking what makes people want to bang their heads or go crazy & mosh during a set, especially a huge crowd like a festival.
As a vocalist who has a broad range and understanding of dynamics, what was the leading drive for you on the songs?
For the vocals on ‘Moksha’ Dynamically I wanted every part to hit and make the riffs shine as much as possible. I really wanted to make every part flow nicely but still be very heavy. I can usually hear what range the riffs are calling for.
Which song to you made you feel you had to go absolutely all out? Did anything in particular push you to do so?
Yes, I definitely wanted to push myself as much as possible for this next release. I adapted & adopted newer styles & tones. Practicing techniques from other vocalist I liked. I studied their styles, specifically the parts that made the song really take off or hit really hard. Honestly theirs 3 songs I really wanted to go crazy on. ‘Ego Death’, ‘Ritual Of The Abraxas’, & ‘Temple Of Rati’. -‘Ego Death’ is just a crazy song in general it’s about being bitten by spiders & tripping on their hallucinatory venom, getting trapped & lost in a forest like labyrinth maze, to eventually be woven into a cocoon by the spiders. -‘Temple Of Rati’ is about being a deity & stumbling upon the goddess of sexual pleasure, Rati & her temple filled with fellow nymphs. The objective is escape this realm, in order to do so I must pleasure all nymphs & goddess Rati before time runs out & they decide to turn on me.
Having a wide variety of music you listen to, from hip hop to metal, did these styles influence the lyrics and patterns? If so, which songs?
Yes I am very influenced by trap, goth/punk, & all different types of metal. To be honest a lot of $uicide Boy$, Flatbush Zombies, Underachievers, Juicy J, ASAP Mob, and Juice WRLD had influenced me during the writing & recording of ‘Moksha’. We recorded and had everything mixed and mastered in 2019. So back then I was focused on us making 10 tracks that banged the whole way through, from start to finish. We would call the album ‘Headbangers Ball’, no fillers all killer the whole way through. Since then I have grown even more and acquired musical influence in even more genres.
Let’s dig a little deeper into you. You’re very dedicated to the music life on stage and off. How long has music been a force for you?
I would say music really made an impact on me in 2003 when I went to Ozzfest for the first time. I was in 5th grade I saw people smoke weed, girls flash their titties for the big screen, people light fires & straight up just mosh around them. That really spoke to me. This community of misfits all fitting in together. It was beautiful. After that there was no turning back. Also to be real I had a difficult child hood, always living in the ghetto & moving literally every year because we were broke as a family. So Metal really empowered me to become strong & to never give up. Then being homeless for 3-4 years after high school. Let’s just say Metal helped keep me alive. A lot.
Getting retro and nerdy, knowing you’re a Nintendo man, did any video games inspire you to write about this Metroidvania style of art?
I definitely will say that ‘Shadows of Morder’ Single handedly helped influence me to write ‘Ritual Of The Abraxas’. I was literally playing that game when Gad was writing the riffs. Saying “hell yea dude shit sounds siiiick” smashing buttons defeating enemies halfway listening. Good times. The cover actually was inspired by the name of the album & the actual song ‘Moksha’, being reborn & resurrected into something stronger & greater.
If you had to pick 5 games to bring on tour, what would they be if bringing any system was possible?
Definitely Animal Crossing, Skyrim, Shadows Of Morder, Elden Ring (haven’t played it yet, but I’m definitely buying it this week), & the newest FIFA For Gad. If I were to pick a 6th Jet Set Radio Future.
Closing things up, is there anything and/or anyone you’d like to shout out?
I’d like to thank Austin Weber for helping this release become very successful & really jump starting our momentum back. Kunal from Transcending Obscurity for giving us a chance & making this release amazing! Zack Ohren for being extremely nice, professional, & quick. He did an amazing job making this record sound as beast as possible. Par Olofsson for creating such an amazing piece of artwork, really helping us stand out & make a staple in the metal community. Alexander Thomas, for killing it on our last 2 music videos, an absolute pleasure to work with. Bands: Flub, Ominous Ruin, Wormhole, Oppressor God, Arkaik, Inferi, Broken Glass Sanctuary, Dreamer, Enfold Darkness, Inanimate Existence. All amazing bands & people. I’m very proud to be apart of this metal community. Everyone has always been encouraging & helpful. Love you all.
There you have it, all straight from the man himself. Go support The Last Of Lucy!
Links:
Transcending Obscurity (Youtube)
‘Moksha‘
