Heavy Frequency: What are Derek Thompson and Evermourn doing right now?

Derek Thompson: Derek is waking up from four hours of sleep because he has to take a friend to work. Evermourn is probably sleeping. I can almost guarantee Danny is doing his hair. Tim is probably just getting off work. J.P. is sleeping, and Eliott is arguing with someone right now I am sure.

HF: Who are your primary inspirations or influences on your vocals?

Thompson: Oh crap, I would have to say my number one influence is Randy Blythe from Lamb of God; I think he has a nice range with his screams. Howard Jones from Killswitch Engage, what can I say, the man is a god. He has a great range from deep growls to operatic singing vocals. I really like Chuck Billy from Testament. That dude is a madman.

HF: How does it feel to take home a Heavy Frequency Award for Best Vocalist, as chosen by the readers?

Thompson: Well, it is a total honor, even though I did not deserve it, and I thought my buddy Creighton from Raise the Remains should have taken it home. It was cool to know that I was voted for, and I actually have people that care for me. I love you all. I seriously was not the best man for the spot, but thank you.

HF: What bands have you heard recently that you recommend?

Thompson: Why did you have to ask me this question? I listen to way too many new bands. Just to name a few, I have been listening to a lot of The Agony Scene. Their vocalist is a bad man. Three Inches of Blood is amazing, straight f***ing metal from Canada. They bring back the power metal sound and it, my friends, is beautiful. I wish I could do it. One more band I will mention, because I will be here forever if I do not just name one more, is He Is Legend. I saw their video on Headbangers Ball. They are very weird. Their video was all sock puppets; it was genius. I recommend everyone check them out. If you are expecting a very heavy CD though, you will not get it, because there are only like three heavy tracks, and the rest are just chill, sad tunes.

HF: What bands would you like Evermourn to tour with and why?

Thompson: I will answer this as my band would: Iron Maiden, Blind Guardian, Helloween, Hammerfall, Manowar, Judas Priest. All those bands would rule to tour with, but a few modern day bands I would love to tour with would be Himsa, Avenged Sevenfold, All That Remains, or Three Inches of Blood.

HF: How do you prepare for a show?

Thompson: I eat cookies, because I am a cookie monster. I jog for 10 miles while listening to Cyndi Lauper\'s \"Time After Time,” and I do not have sex for three months prior to the show.

HF: What new bands, locally and nationally, do you look forward to seeing?

Thompson: Raise the \"mo-fackin\" Remains is always good to my ears. I am anxious to hear what Taken In Vain has to offer. Flee The Seen is one of the best bands around here, in my opinion. They are incredible at whatever they do and they are just great people. I think they have a lot to look forward to this summer. I would really like to hear Dark Matter. I hear Dave is a madman on bass, but I have not heard them yet. I have a feeling that Diskreet could break out of Topeka, and get signed to a label like Prosthetic and become a big underground band. On a national scale, All That Remains is one of the most underrated bands around. They are incredible musically, and as people. Still Remains off of Roadrunner Records are looking very promising as well. They have a big Soilwork presence to them, with keyboards and clean and screaming vocals.

HF: What topics do you address with your lyrics? What message do you try to communicate to your audience?

Thompson: Well, Tim and I share the deed of writing the lyrics. A lot of the lyrics that he has are totally on a different spectrum than what I write. Tim is a wonderful writer, I am just an emo kid stuck in a metal head’s body, so I have the sappy lyrics. We derive most of our lyrics through dark subject matter. We are not a band trying to make a statement on the way the world is run, nor are we political. We get a lot of lyrical Inspiration from authors like Lovecraft, Goethe, and Byron. I remember a kid at our last show calling us “happy metal.” We are trying to do the happy sound with dark lyrics. I think it is working so far.

HF: What is your opinion of the Midwestern underground music scene?

Thompson: I think the Midwest has a lot of talent. If you notice, many bands from the Midwest are starting to get their names out there. There are many underground bands popping up out of the Midwest that are amazing. I think all the bands that come from the Midwest have their own sound. I have had this conversation before; I think that the Midwest could be the next Seattle or something along the lines of the early ‘’0s music scene up there. We, the Midwest, have our own sound, and it tends to be big, loud, brutal, and fast. I think the underground scene here is killer.

HF: What goals does Evermourn have for 2005?

Thompson: Well we just signed a promo deal with SMN Promotions out of San Francisco. They are pushing our new release, Heaven Weeps Not For Me. They asked us to play their festival in Dayton, Ohio alongside such acts as Kataklysm, Cryptopsy, Byzantine, 12 Tribes, Bobaflex, Circle of Dead Children and many more. One of our biggest goals, though, is to play Lawrence - that town is tighter than a whale’s butthole. Of course, every underground band’s goal is to be signed. That would be rad.