Search

After the death of their lead singer in A Feast for Kings, members formed XXI with a new story to tell.

More than a year ago, Eric Gentry, the lead singer of A Feast for Kings, passed away from a tragic accident. As a way of dealing with his loss, his bandmates regrouped as XXI—a name that was a tribute to Gentry, who was 21 at the time of his death. More than just a different name, though, the Kentucky band also went with a new musical direction. On their debut album Inside Out, which drops September 18, they have a lighter sound—more rock than metalcore. Members Carson Butcher (vocals), Seth Weigand (guitar/vocals), Jamie King (guitar) and Robbie Barnett (drums) talk about growing from their loss and looking forward.

Hometown: Carson and Jamie are both from Carrollton, Kentucky. Robbie is originally from Alexandria, Kentucky. Seth grew up in Jacksonville, Illinois.

Homebase: The Cincinnati / Northern Kentucky area.

The death of your former lead singer Eric Gentry necessitated the name change. Did it also lead you to a more melodic sound?

With Eric's passing we felt that as a band we were rock bottom. We knew that IF we continued it wasn't going to be in vain. We knew we had one chance to prove to ourselves and our fans that we can overcome and we can make music with more meaning and more sincerity than ever before. We now have a story to tell and a purpose behind all that we do. We are writing music that we wanted to listen to and that we wanted to play live. This is the most honest representation of who we are and what we want to sound like.

Were you all in A Feast for Kings? How did everyone in the band meet?

Carson, Seth, and Jamie were all in AFFK. Robbie was always a great friend of the bands even years prior to him joining XXI. The band was brought to life when Carson and Seth met at a youth camp. They shared similar interest in music and decided to try it for themselves along with some other hometown friends. Along the way and several lineups later Jamie joined. And ultimately with the transition to XXI, Robbie joined full time on drums.

How did you reshuffle the lineup after Eric’s death and decide Carson would be the frontman?

Originally as AFFK, Carson played drums, Jamie played bass, and Seth was on guitar. After we switched our name to XXI, Jamie switched to guitar, Seth stayed on guitar, and Carson became the new lead vocalist. Robbie then joined the band as the new drummer.

Carson had always dabbled in vocals on older material, doing background vocals, harmonies, and he even had full parts to himself. We knew that he had the talent and was dedicated enough to be the new frontman when the time came.

You’re from Kentucky, where not a lot of metal bands come from. How does where you grew up and live in influence your music?

It's hard in a state where the musical scene isn't as active as we would want it to be. We wanted to be a spark in the life of people that may not had been interested in music before. We have found some of our most loyal fans from right in our backyards. We love where we are from and we can't wait to see the rest of the world.

Talk about your debut Inside Out. What is it about?

Inside Out is about living a transparent life. It's about not putting on a mask to your life. Live for who you are, and who you want you to be. Being honest to yourself along with others.

Why did you choose "Say it Again" as your single?

We wrote "Say it Again" with the mindset of a fun entertaining experience for any listener. We knew that our new material was more rock influenced that our older material and this song was a wonderful transition for our fans to hear what we are transforming into.

Who are your biggest musical influences?

We grew up in the times of Taking Back Sunday, Brand New, and Underoath. We draw influence from so many artists and bands. Recently we have been liking Bring Me The Horizon, Breaking Benjamin, and Three Days Grace.

Do you have a crazy concert story so far since you've been touring?

Every single night on tour we get a new story to tell. The craziest thing for us is that we can actually see people singing the words to our songs and getting into our music when we perform. It's crazy that people actually care and are passionate about something that we created.

How do you describe your music now to someone who's never heard it before?

XXI is about giving the listener the an experience that will not soon be forgotten. Our sound cannot be defined, we write our songs based off the lives that we live. Some days are good some days are bad. Some songs are passionate and calm, some songs are non stop energy and fun. It's truly a sound you have to witness for yourselves.

31 78 9
Close

Press esc to close.
Close
Press esc to close.
Close

Connecting to your webcam.

You may be prompted by your browser for permission.