The Pulse-Escape Method, a space to explore and develop their music in a different direction

Toronto, Canada, based vocalist and 8-string guitarist Riion Bloom (Blair Ryan Barton) and drummer Luke Scott, collectively known as THE PULSE-ESCAPE METHOD, embarked on their musical journey during the fall of 2019. With both members experienced musicians having been involved in projects including THE DIVIDED LINE and RUMSFIELD, THE PULSE-ESCAPE METHOD offers a space to explore and develop their music in a different direction. Drawing inspiration from the likes of ALEXISONFIRE, TOOL, THE CONTORTIONIST, DEFTONES and POISON THE WELL, THE PULSE-ESCAPE METHOD channel dark tones, electronics and heavy instrumentation with their own twist.

METALMUSIC – Could you tell our readers about the band what makes you different from other artists?
Riion – I guess we’re not too different, really.
We do take our song writing process very seriously. We spend more time crafting the structure and assuring each section follows the story and emotional build up of each piece. You’d be in a better position to tell me if that’s different than other artists but I think that we take that approach differently than most.

METALMUSIC – How did you become involved in this crazy world of music?
Riion – I’ve always been involved in music. My passion in life is creating. I love building songs with a story related to life experiences or a story that moved me. I feel like the better the band becomes the more opportunity we have to build bigger and better music. That’s our motivation.

METALMUSIC – Who are your musical inspirations and what was the inspiration behind the album and the songs?
Riion – That’s a big question. I can only speak for myself on this one. My early days were influenced by whatever my mom would listen to when I was a child. CCR, Janis Joplin, The Jacksons etc. My vision and passion came through bands like Nirvana, Tool, Deftones, Korn. That turned into bands like Incubus and Mr Bungle. These days I’ll find myself listening to anything that catches my ear in the right way. Genre means nothing to me anymore. No matter what I listen to at the time I’ve always written metal. That’s just something that comes out when expressing myself. I have some cool acoustic stuff but most of my music is written on an acoustic anyway. The inspiration behind the record was more geared towards pushing the envelope. Luke Scott, drums, really wanted us to push ourselves and produce at pace that would keep us honest and engaged in our process.

METALMUSIC – What are your interests outside of music?
Riion – Anything strategy related. Again, I love building ideas and making them come to life. I started a financial services company and literacy in this is important to me. Luke actually brought me into the industry.

METALMUSIC – Tell us about the new album?
Riion – It’s been an experience, that’s for sure.
Luke and I were in a band together previous to Pulse. It got to the point where we were the only 2 showing up to rehearsal regularly. I had moved from the city to a quiet place near the beach so I could focus more on writing. I had bought an 8 string a year or so before the move and really wanted some time to learn and write. I told Luke I had new material and that we should work on that stuff when the others weren’t showing up. He agreed and we were really loving what we were coming up with and decided to go for it. We still all have one foot in the door for that band, but as of now we’re all pulse all the time. As for the album itself, you’re going to have to wait and judge for yourself.

METALMUSIC – Where was the album recorded, who produced it and how long did the process take?
Riion – We recorded the music for the album at Iguana studios in Toronto. The vocals were done at RHC also in Toronto. We actually laid down the guitar, bass and drums at the end of 2019 with Mike Langford at Iguana. The pandemic stopped production but we kept writing throughout that. During the summers when things were back open again we spent the time traveling and playing shows. After a few lineup changes I went to RHC with Mike and recorded vocals. And we are today.

METALMUSIC – What is the highlight of the album for you and why?
Riion – I think hearing how BeNt turned out. We always loved that tune but after we added a new structure and laid the vocals, it really came out powerful and it’s something I’m really proud of. I haven’t sang in a band in a long time, I was really nervous but couldn’t be happier with how things are going right now. We’re excited to release the rest of the album and get started on the next over the winter. We have a lot of material. We have a very busy spring/summer coming with travel and shows. I can’t wait.