Bringing The Heat With JEREMY SOSVILLE From SANHEDRIN

Interview by Kris Peters
New York trio SANHEDRIN released their long-awaited new
full-length, Heat Lightning, last Friday via Metal Blade
Records.
SANHEDRIN has spent the last decade at the forefront of the
American heavy metal scene blending traditional metal and hard rock
sounds with a fresh modern energy and perspective. With 2022’s
critically lauded Lights On full-length, the band had created their
most complete work to date. With their follow-up, Heat Lightning,
the band delivers a diverse collection of songs that wholly
captures their wide array of influences with an elevated level of
production.
“Sonically, there’s no comparison,” notes drummer Nathan Honor when
asked how Heat Lightning compares to the band’s previous efforts.
“Heat Lightning is the fullest representation of the power of this
band. When you take three seasoned musicians with their favourite
handpicked instruments, put them in front of two brilliant
producer/engineers in a studio stacked with incredible equipment
and no outside distractions, this is what you get.”
Unlike the previous three albums, which were all tracked and mixed
by Colin
Marston, for Heat Lightning SANHEDRIN opted to work with a fresh
set of ears in a new environment. In doing so, the band landed at
the legendary Utopia Bearsville studio in Woodstock, New York. At
the helm for recording and co-producing were Matt Brown (Life of
Agony, A Pale Horse Named Death) and Jerry Farley (Sick Of It All,
Madball).
Heat Lightning gets its title from the second track of the same
name. “Heat lightning is a flash of lightning from very far away,
sometimes seen in a clear sky,” says vocalist/bassist Erica Stoltz.
“It is used as a metaphor for where we see ourselves at the moment
in relation to climate change. Collectively, we have moved further
away from our direct relationship to nature and have adopted a
paternal relationship with the natural world, as if we have
control. It was one of the first songs written for the album, and
one of the most dynamic tracks the band has ever written."
Elsewhere, The Fight Of Your Life is a tribute to those we call
“lifers” in the music business. “It’s about the compulsion to play
music no matter what. When you get the bug, and you have it for
life, it is your north star, your reason to be,” says Stoltz.
Franklin County Line is the fastest song on the record, and
inspired guitarist Jeremy Sosville’s hometown and surrounding area
in northern New York state. Sosville recounts, “Erica and Nathan
came up to visit me and work on new music. In the process, we wrote
a song inspired by the local Amish population but with a naughty
twist.”
The record commences with Blind Wolf, a hard-rocking, heavy metal
stomper and the record’s lead single. Lyrically, the song is
inspired by the band’s shared fascination with cults. According to
Stoltz, “The blind wolf symbolizes losing your animal instincts as
a result of adopting someone else's belief system.” The song is
straightforward, pounding, and delivered with ill intent. “We knew
as soon as the song was complete that it should open the record,”
says Sosville. “It really sets the tone for the journey the
listener is about to take with this album.”
HEAVY caught up with Sosville to find out more.

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