Interview with Guitarist Daniel Cleland of Savage Existence

April 17, 2023

Interview with Guitarist Daniel Cleland of Savage Existence

By Mick Michaels

Cosmick View: Hello, Daniel! Welcome to The Cosmick View. Thanks for taking some time out of your day to speak with us. It's greatly appreciated.

CV: Do you feel artists today really give fans what they want in terms of music and performance? What do you feel fans really want from their favorite artists?

Daniel Cleland: I think that in the music industry today, if bands don’t give fans what they want during the performance, then those bands will cease to exist. No band makes money off of streaming or side gigs. You make money off of shows where their fans want to actually come and contribute money to help the band succeed.

CV: So much is said these days about music in general being a cookie cutter recipe. Some will even argue that the industry has always been like that. What are your thoughts? Has music, overall, become too generic?

DC: It really is true. There is a certain formula that must be followed when creating music. You can experiment with a couple of the songs on the album or perhaps write some extra long songs that take the listener on a journey…but if you want to get on the radio or have a hit it’s pretty much a standard formula which you just have to put your own flavor on to. If you can bring people in with a few cookie cutter songs, then you can take them on a journey.

CV: In your opinion, can a band be both musically mainstream friendly but yet be sonically different? Or is there a trade off in terms of having the biggest impact on a listening audience?

DC: I think the best bands have a combination of both on any particular album, which is what we’re driving towards. We want to have a couple of songs that are mainstream friendly, plus a couple that are inspirational, motivational or thoughtful, and a couple that show our aggression and our ruthlessness. I feel that’s pretty common across most bands that do well.

CV: Tell us a little about the upcoming self-titled EP. What can listeners expect to hear after the first listen?

DC: You can expect nine high-quality songs that range from super aggressive to more upbeat, and at least accessible to more main stream listeners. The production is super high-quality, the music is super high-quality, and we’re very proud of this album. I’m very excited to get it out into listeners’ hands on April 28.

CV: Do you see Metal music, at some point, making its way back into the mainstream consciousness as it once was during the late 80s, early 90s era? Does a possibility exist in your opinion?

DC: I do see an opportunity for that, and I think the key to that is to bring back the sex appeal to heavy metal. Once the grunge scene really took hold of popular music, the popular, heavy metal bands started to become more underground, more aggressive and more grungy, and that damaged the popularity and sex appeal of heavy metal bands. So one of our objectives is to create heavy music that is true to its roots in our authenticity, but also reaches a wider audience and to “make metal cool again “

CV: Many critics also complain that the same select few Metal bands; Metallica, Slayer, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and the like, are the only bands that really ever seem to get any noticed or attention at all by both the fans and the media in the grand scheme…just about preventing newer bands/artists a chance to be heard and recognized. Do you agree with such a sentiment? Is there a pinhole view in your opinion?

DC: Well, people are just generally lazy by nature, and it takes such a long time and so many hours of listening to really get to know a band and become part of their story. Not only are listeners lazy, but the media is lazy and does not want to waste their time, pushing a band that is not a sure. It’s very similar to Hollywood endless reboots of the same series or remakes of the same tried and tested movie franchises.

CV Savage Existence is set to tour Europe with powerhouse guitarist Ross the Boss. What level of exposure does a tour like this give to the band in terms of audience awareness and acceptance?

DC: This tour is going to be amazing for our band. We are extremely stoked to be able to get a tour with Ross the Boss and get the exposure. That’s such a well-established old-school metal band that has especially great reach in Europe.

CV: What do you find to be a newer, younger artist greatest asset over an older, veteran performer's in the modern music industry?

DC: Well, in my particular case, I might not be younger, but I am newer, and the advantage that it has given me is that I’ve been able to write some more unconventional riffs in music that hasn’t been guided by the traditional formulaic approach to writing songs and creating albums. Then of course we mix that with our more seasoned professionals in the band who have many years of experience, creating very different albums in very different genres, and between us, we can take the unconventional and mix it with the conventional, and create a unique product that appeals to a broad range of interests.

CV: Speaking strictly of yourself, what do you feel is your greatest asset as an artist?

DC: Well, as an artist, I’m not particularly talented technically, but I am highly creative so I seem to have an endless stream of creativity that I can pull from to write new music. And now that we’re working on the third album that’s not slowing down at all so I don’t foresee it will end in the near future.

I’ve also got a ton of business experience coming into the music industry so it makes me less naïve and more adept at navigating the treacherous music industry and creating a band which is more of a business than a band, which is what is necessary in the music industry these days.

CV: In additional to the new EP and tour with Ross the Boss, what more can fans expect to see coming from Savage Existence in 2023?

DC: We’ve built a rehearsal and recording studio right in my house in Costa Rica in a converted subterranean three car garage. We’re going to continue to hone our skills, refine our craft and we’re going to deliver an amazing third album that will probably take to the studios later this year or perhaps record right inside my own house. Our goals are to tour as much as possible this year. Continue to work on the third album on our off-time in Costa Rica and then drop our opus, our masterpiece to date sometime early next year.

CV: Thanks again Daniel for taking the time to share with our readers. We wish you all the best and continued success.

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My name is Mick Michaels...I'm an artist, music fan, songwriter, producer, show host, dreamer and guitarist for the traditional Heavy Metal band Corners of Sanctuary. Writing has always been a creative outlet for me; what I couldn't say in speech, I was able to do with the written word. Writing has given me a voice and a way for me to create on a multitude of platforms including music and song, articles, independent screenplays, books and now, artist interviews. The Cosmick View is an opportunity to raise the bar and showcase artists in a positive and inspirational light. For me, it's another out-of-this-world adventure.