Behind the Music: An Exclusive Interview with Against the Sun

Photo Credit: Jessica Greif of CapturedByJessica

I had the pleasure of conducting a Q&A session with the band members of Against the Sun, where we discussed their backgrounds, musical journey, the band itself, as well as their hobbies and interests. I hope you guys enjoy reading this!

Amit Ahuja: I’m really interested in hearing about your backgrounds and the journeys that have shaped who you are. Can you share where you grew up and what your hometown was like? I’d love to know how your upbringing has influenced your values and perspectives.

Against the Sun: Most of us grew up in Orange County, CA. It’s a laid-back community south of Los Angeles. Growing up close to the beach and somewhat away from the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles gives you a chance to slow down a little bit in life. Houston, our guitar player, grew up in northern California. Lots of trees, decently cold. He’s even more laid back and chill than we are.Our drummer, Hank, grew up in Taiwan. He’s really proud to be Taiwanese and to represent Taiwanese musicians here in the United States.

Amit Ahuja: Also, let’s talk about your cultural heritage. How has it played a role in shaping your identity? What traditions or stories from your culture have made a big impact on you? Have there been any experiences or milestones—like accomplishments, challenges, or defining moments—that have really helped you grow as a person?

Against the Sun: Most of us coming from California, we really value community and a good time. We’re more about the vibes at a show than anything else. We want to make sure everyone feels welcome and included.

Amit Ahuja: I’m really looking forward to hearing about each of your musical journeys! Can you share a moment that got you hooked on music? Maybe it was a concert you went to, a song that really hit you, or that one spark that made you want to pick up an instrument.

Against the Sun:

Photo Credit: Vivian: So Finch Photography

Alex (Bass) - Grew up listening to a lot of Classic Rock and Classic Metal with his parents. Has a love for the foundations of these genres. Brad (Guitar) - Grew up listening to everything from Strung Out and Bad Religion to August Burns Red and As I Lay Dying. Studied music quite a bit growing up, has a great grasp on theory.

Photo Credit: Vivian: So Finch Photography

Brad (Vocals) - Fell in love with bands like Three Days Grace, Linking Park, and Slipknot as a young teenager. Always strives to find the right balance between heaviness and melody while keeping the lyrics as real and as emotive as possible.

Photo Credit:  Jessica Greif of CapturedByJessica

Houston (Guitar) - Avenged Sevenfold was the first band he was obsessed with. He’s a Progressive Metal guy that likes to experiment with all kinds of different sounds and kinds of Metal

Photo Credit: Vivian: So Finch Photography

Hank (Drums) - Is into the REALLY heavy kinds of Metal, like Deathcore, Death Metal, and Tech Death. Hank is a great guitarist along with being an excellent drummer. He lives for fast tempos and crazy heavy riffs.

Amit Ahuja: What obstacles have each member faced on their musical, and what strategies did you all employ to overcome them? It would be great to hear about your actions to transform your passion into a successful music career.

Against the Sun: Some of us grew up fairly poor and had to wait until we had stable jobs to be able to invest in this project. Recording, mixing, mastering, artwork, videos, and advertising all cost money. Hank has only been playing drums for seven years. He’s had to overcome being an international student in an unfamiliar country, but he’s thrived here in the States.

Amit Ahuja: Is there a particular musician or band whose artistry and personal journey have had a profound impact on your choice to pursue a career in music? Did their life story motivate you to take the bold step of forming your own band? Please share how their experiences and creative expressions have influenced your musical journey and shaped the path you’re on today.

Against the Sun:Brad here, Adam Gontier from Three Days Grace is my favorite singer and probably always will be. Their One-X album came to me at the perfect moment. Adam sang about his personal struggles with addiction and addiction has taken several members of my family. His personal journey of sobriety was really inspiring, as was his willingness to create meaning and beautiful art from such a dark experience.

Amit Ahuja: I'm really curious about the story behind your band, Against the Sun. Can you take me through how each of you ended up coming together? I'd love to hear about any key moments or experiences that really brought you all closer and helped you gel as a group. What kind of challenges did you face along the way, and how did those shape how you work together?

Against the Sun: Against The Sun was Brad’s project starting in high school. He didn’t really get the chance to devote as much time as he would’ve liked during high school and college. The band also went through several lineup changes to be what it is today. Half of the guys were found on Craigslist of all places and the other half met Against The Sun through Musician’s Institute, a music school in Hollywood. We all came together united behind our shared music taste and desire to make a splash in the Modern Rock/Metalcore scene.

Amit Ahuja: Additionally, I would love to hear about the inspiration behind your band’s name. What led you to choose this name, and what meaning does it carry for each of you as individuals and the group as a whole?

Against the Sun: The name came from our first ever roadie. At first, I picked it because it sounded cool, but as time went on, it gained its own meaning. Our music is dark; we use it as an outlet to discuss pain and negative emotions. You only see your shadow when you’re ‘against the sun’ so we chose to represent that and explore the shadow.

Amit Ahuja: What’s a band name you almost went with but didn’t?

Against the Sun: We almost went with Broken Wing and I’m very thankful we didn’t.

Amit Ahuja: How do you all find inspiration for your lyrics, and what does it feel like to perform your creations in front of an audience?

Against the Sun: Most of the lyrics come from personal experience. I also work in politics, so I’ve written about societal issues and philosophy. But usually my inspiration comes from heartache, anxiety, and the negative things that I need to work out of my system.

Amit Ahuja: Could you provide details about your recently released track, "No Sympathy," which came out a month ago? Additionally, I would love to hear about your brand-new EP, "Pieces." What key messages or themes does each member of the group hope listeners will take away from these projects?

Against the Sun: No Sympathy started as Hank’s song and he pretty much had it fully baked when we got around to working on it. It’s one of those songs that you hear right away and go ‘oh yeah, that’s a single.’ I wrote the vocals for it in just a half hour as a flood of inspiration came to me.

Our Pieces EP is a collection of songs we had written over the course of the previous year and a half. We don’t tend to go for overarching themes or messages with full releases, we focus on each individual song. Therefore, that EP comes to you in Pieces and it shared the name with the song that was released as a single right before the EP drop, so we kept it simple and called it Pieces.

Amit Ahuja: Which songs were your guys' favorite to create from the EP?

Against the Sun: I’m sure everyone would have a slightly different answer. Alex would definitely say BMM because that was the song that he primarily wrote. I would say (Brad) that mine was Ashes. That’s one of the most emotional songs I’ve ever written, and it feels great that people have resonated as strongly as they do.

Amit Ahuja: I'm really interested in getting into the nitty-gritty of how the production process works. Can each of you share what roles you played in making this song and the EP? Also, I’d love to know about the techniques and methods you used at different stages to ensure the tracks' success.

Against the Sun: Everything starts with the drums. Drums have to be recorded first and then edited so they’re perfect before we start recording the guitars and bass. We always record live drums to make our songs have an authentic feel, no programming here. Next up is the guitars and this can be one of the longest steps because Metalcore is such a guitar-focused genre of music. We record everything ourselves, so the production is up to us as well as the recording. Next is bass where we try to have it match the kick drum and fit in with the guitars. And last is vocals, which I record literally in my bedroom walk-in closet. It’s not fancy, but it gets the job done!

Amit Ahuja: What song took the longest to perfect, and why?

Against the Sun: BMM went through several iterations as we were writing it. The verse riff because the chorus riff and back and forth before we settled on the arrangement. We also had to write that breakdown section in the middle and the chorus went through multiple iterations as well. Glad it came together the way it did though.

Amit Ahuja: We’d love to hear about any exciting projects, tours, or collaborations you have on the horizon! What are you looking forward to the most?

Against the Sun: We’re looking forward to our new song ‘Heaven Falls’ dropping on June 27. This is going to be a very different song lyrically from any one we’ve ever released, so we’re excited for you all to hear it!

Amit Ahuja Where do you see yourselves as a band in five years?

Against the Sun: Hopefully signed to a label and touring!

Amit Ahuja: What’s something about the day-to-day of being in a band that fans might not realize?

Against the Sun: At least for me, I sometimes feel like more a promoter than a songwriter or musician. I post on social media several times a day, so it can get exhausting. But that’s what you have to do to stay relevant in today’s music business.

Amit Ahuja: How do you deal with creative differences when writing together? Like, when everyone has their own ideas for a song, how do you figure out which way to go?

Against the Sun: We run by majority rules. Imagine how tough that was when we only had four members in the band. Ultimately, we always try everyone’s ideas out, even if some are skeptical. We try to go based off of vibes during band practice. We try not to write on laptops, we try to capture a vibe while playing together that we feel good about.

Amit Ahuja: If you were given the fantastic opportunity to open for any band or go on a world tour, which bands would you choose to join on this exciting journey? Additionally, what specific reasons motivate your desire to tour alongside them?

Against the Sun: Oh gosh you’d probably get some very different answers depending on who you ask! For Alex, I’m sure he’d say Slipknot because their such a legendary Metal band. For me (Brad), I’d say Breaking Benjamin because I think our style of melodic Hard Rock really fits with theirs. For Brad and Houston, probably Avenged Sevenfold, as they’re both enormous fans of that band.

Amit Ahuja: What keeps you guys inspired as artists?

Against the Sun:  Figuring out how to tell new stories. We try not to write the same song twice or try the same video idea twice. We have to be inspired to do something new.

Amit Ahuja: What insights or recommendations does each member have for musicians who face rejection or experience setbacks in their careers? Specifically, how can these artists cope with disappointment and use those challenges as steppingstones for future growth?

Against the Sun: Try to focus on past successes. This business is so tough, and it messes with my mental health all the time. Understand that it’s okay to take a step back and re-evaluate what you’re doing.

Amit Ahuja: Are there genres or styles you want to experiment with in the future?

Against the Sun: People really want us to try Deathcore but I think the heaviest we’ll go is Icarus or BMM, but never say never. I’ve been really thinking about how you mix a sound like Spiritbox with Emo, we’re working on that song right now.

Amit Ahuja: Which books do each member appreciate the most, and what makes them significant to you? Is it their writing style, the themes they address, or the feelings they inspire?

Against the Sun: Our song ‘No Exit’ is inspired by Jean Paul Sartre’s play of the same name. It’s an absurdist play who’s most famous line is “Hell is other people.” I wrote that song to capture the ideas in that play because it’s stuck with me for so many years.

Amit Ahuja: What does success look like for each member?

Against the Sun: For some of us, it’s making the best music we can and have it connect with as many people as possible. For others, it’s about playing on the biggest stages we can and having the sickest live shows. We all gain happiness from this project in different ways.

Amit Ahuja: Which song of yours would you time-capsule for aliens to find?

Against the Sun: We think No Exit is our best song even though it’s one of our least popular.

Amit Ahuja: Let's talk about how you've dealt with any mental health struggles. What strategies, coping tricks, or support systems have really helped you along the way? Also, what advice or insights would you want to share with others your age who are facing similar challenges?

Against the Sun: Songwriting is how we cope. Better to invest your time in creating art that reflects your experience rather than wallowing in sadness and anxiety.

Amit Ahuja: I’m genuinely curious to know if any of you have hobbies or interests that ignite your passion outside of your musical endeavors.

Against the Sun: We all like video games quite a lot. We sometimes play different ones, but we’re all a bunch of nerds at the end of the day.

Amit Ahuja: What message would each member share with everyone if you had the world's attention for five minutes?

Against the Sun: The world is better with your art in it. Create for yourself, share it with people, and define your success there, you’ll never be unhappy.

Amit Ahuja: Thanks to Against the Sun, for sharing their story interest with us.

We encourage you to explore their music and follow them on social media. All information related to Against the Sun is available on their Linktree below:

https://linktr.ee/against_thesun?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAaeRQUO2TKyR8cNTuTHVNSPb3GVtYTQDLluyfYfdUV4yzVXgdkWBcYPSfgTzwQ_aem_BDUXOl5nZbelGxScUxLe1g

**Photos are by Jessica Greif of CapturedByJessica, and Vivian: So Finch Photography. Videos by Against the Sun unless otherwise noted***