A Wilhelm Scream
By Jason Gardner

It’s kind of funny how some things come full circle. Take A Wilhelm Scream for example. Back in the formative years of the band, the earliest recordings were done in a small studio built by the father of AWS guitarist Trevor Reilly located in the house Reilly grew up in. Three full-lengths later and an expired contract with Nitro Records, Reilly says the band decided it was time for an EP and a return to their roots. They decided to take a crack at recording on their own.

“We invested a bit in my dad's place; got our live sound guy James ‘Hoops’ Whitten to come out and we went for it, without borrowing the dough from a label and with no expectations but our own,” says Reilly.

The melodic hardcore band then carried on with recording as usual, though with one change in the lineup since the addition of Mike Supina (ex-Alucard) on guitar in 2008.

“Having a new member in the band was energizing because Mike is a real tone-chaser and very interested in the art of recording and was a big help, as was the rest of the group that chipped in,” says Reilly who is quick to point out the usual organization of the writing process for the band still remained intact, as it did with recording at the Blasting Room for their previous records.

“We've always been a very prepared band,” he explains. “We come in with the t's crossed and the i's dotted before stepping foot in a studio so things didn't change much on that end.”

After releasing their third full-length Career Suicide, Reilly and the rest of the band decided to forgo resigning with Nitro, though he points out the situation is not a sore one to talk about.

“We felt the time was right to part ways after our second record,” says Reilly. “And they disagreed. Now this was about the time that everyone was getting laid off over there, including the guys who signed us. So the guys that signed us were no longer there, so re-signing was kind of a moot point to me.”

With many of the employees they knew leaving and labels around them closing, it was apparent to AWS, that Nitro had fallen into the trap many record companies are dealing with as the rise of downloading and lack of album sales continues.

“We were witness to the old ways of indie record label business, where you pay the Best Buys of the world like mad loot so they'll carry your shit, and with internet downloading, the old way died,” says Reilly and that’s why AWS decided to do things on their own way and head back to Reilly’s old childhood house to get things going.

Reilly says out of the blue one day Vinnie Fiorello from Paper + Plastick records called the band and was interested in releasing their new material in the form of both a digital release and 12” vinyl. Digitally, the self-titled EP surfaced for purchase back in November, but the vinyl hasn’t quite made it out yet, but according to Reilly should see the light of day soon.

“As far as I know, it's at the plant being made, and has been for awhile,” says Reilly on this. “We got all kinds of wacky die-cuts and shit in the packaging that we're stoked about. I'd tell everyone to hit up P&P for the lowdown on that.”

So in the break between touring off of Career Suicide and the writing and release of the EP, Reilly found the time to be rejuvenating not only for obvious reasons but because he, like many musicians, finds it energizing and fun to step back into the lab and write more tunes. And hence, another ryet to be named EP will hopefully see the light of day soon and in the near future the band should be hitting the road stateside after their currently booked plans for Europe and Australia. After looking into getting a van for stateside touring though, Reilly makes no mistake in explaining the band’s intentions for the future.

“As long as there's new ideas to realize,” says Reilly. “We'll keep hitting it hard and having fun.”