Discarded Self (Jarret Beach)

Here it is, another interview on Doomed Nation! This time I was talking with Jarret Beach, the person behind the Canadian one-man band Discarded Self, who is releasing his self-titled debut album on April 30th via Sarcophagus Recordings. Jarret had much interesting to say about his background, growing up in a rough Canadian city, the upcoming debut, his other bands Destroy My Brains and Ashes Of Yggdrasil, musical influences & recommendations, and more.

https://www.facebook.com/discardedself
https://www.instagram.com/sludge_worshipper/
https://discardedself.bandcamp.com/

Can you first tell me how you started Discarded Self? Why is this one-man band?
Jarret: Well in 2020 when all of the lockdowns started, I was on my ass with no job and a lot of boredom. Both of my other bands, Destroy My Brains, and Ashes Of Yggdrasil weren’t playing any shows and both had most of their new albums recorded, so I basically had nothing new going on musically. It was terrible. I’m the type of guy that always needs something new to explore musically, and I go a little crazy if nothing is happening. I have a decent basement studio in my house so I decided to lay down a bunch of old unused riffs that I thought were really cool and didn’t make it to a Destroy My Brains album. I dialed in some really nice powerful tones with my guitar, and started to lay down riffs and put together a few full songs. Just the guitars and the bass by themselves with a click sounded really good and I could hear the potential in what I had done so I decided to launch a new solo recording project. Discarded Self was born. It was really just left over riff ideas that I finished composing, but the songs needed drums. I’m not a drummer, so I asked two of my band mates Brett, and Rob, from Ashes Of Yggdrasil who are drummers to record some drums for my songs, and also my drummer from Destroy My Brains who has a lot of experience in my studio to do some as well. I also reached out to another local drummer who has some serious skills, BJ from Dahlmers Realm, and he said he was down to give it a try. That’s basically how it all came together. I had all the best drummers from my city smacking the skins on this album and I have control of everything else. It’s a pretty good setup if you ask me!

What about your background? Can you share some of your musical influences?
Jarret: I grew up in a real rough Canadian city, it is usually rated #1 for most crimes per capita in all of Canada most years. I hung with a lot of real rough people, doing real rough things. My parents didn’t like where my life was going and kicked my ass out of the house to fend for myself when I was a pretty young teenager. I got into drugs, and everything else that comes with it. But I always had my guitar and music in my life. It was seriously sometimes the only thing I owned at times.
At this time in my life I was really into Sepultura, EyeHateGod, Acid Bath, Deftones, and fucking Crowbar! I learned I was a good vocalist at this point as well, because I would always be drunk and full blast singing or screaming along to all of my favourite metal albums, but nothing influenced me harder than Crowbar. Ever since the first riff I heard, I was hooked. They were the first band that I thought my guitar playing style was similar to. The slides, the bends, the riffs, and the overall miserable feel of their songs. It clicked! It was perfect! Crowbar was seriously the only band I cared about like that.
Fast forward 20 years later, and I’m still listening to those bands, although I have of course found many other new bands along the way. I’ve been getting back into black metal these days, and I’ve been incorporating it into my riffs way more than ever before. Bands like Mgła, Hateforest, Blodtake, Akhyls, and Crust’s new album »Stoic« has a ton of black metal influence mixed with earth crushing doom. So today I guess I’m into the type of music Discarded Self is doing. I really don’t know what you would call it, but it’s black metal mixed with sludge and doom.

How did you get started in music?
Jarret: My father is a guitar player, so I grew up watching and listening to him play. He tried to teach me some chords on his giant Nelson acoustic, but I was too young and my hands were weak as shit to play on that thing. I swear his guitar had the grossest strings and the stiffest action I’ve ever seen. It would mess your fingers up just to try to push the strings down! So I never really played very much until I was 13 or 14 I think. That’s when I got my first electric guitar for my birthday. It was one of those Fender Squire beginner guitar packages. What a piece of shit setup that was! The neck was twisted, the pickups made a horrible buzzing, and the combo amp was terrible!
I learned easy punk songs, and I was trying to learn stuff from metal bands but my skills were novice. Everything changed when I learned about dropped tuning. It was so much easier and I was able to flow riffs together way faster than I could in standard tuning. So I used to write songs in drop D, and even started a little band with some of my friends, but it didn’t last long or go anywhere. But something happened one day when I was in my apartment alone getting stoned. I was high as hell from hitting hot knives, and I picked up my guitar and started playing. All of a sudden my fretting hand was doing stuff I’ve never done before, and my picking hand was in the zone and playing so fucking fast I couldn’t believe it! At that moment I was so high I somehow unlocked guitar playing in my brain, like real guitar playing, not little kid stuff. Even to this day, when someone asks me how I learned to play guitar I tell them weed taught me, and it’s totally true!

What can you tell about your upcoming self-titled album, coming out on April 30th via Sarcophagus Recordings?
Jarret: Well I can tell you I think these are some of the best songs I’ve ever written. 4 different drummers each with their own style laid it down, so each song has its own separate feel. Everything came together so easily and naturally on this album. The vocal style for me is something new that I haven’t done before, and it was a lot of fun to make songs using that part of my voice.
I searched for the proper guitar tone I wanted for a long time on this album. Normally I just flip on my amp and pedal board, toss a mic against the grill and let ‘er rip, but I learned a lot about actually finding the proper mic placement, and setting more reasonable distortion and fuzz levels so you can get a better sound recorded. I’m pretty proud of the final product, and also I’m so happy that all of the guys that did drums for me on this album killed it.
Also there’s a bonus track on the album, a cover from an old Fistula song, »Upside Down« at the end of the album. I probably should have named Fistula in my influences on the previous question. They’re also a huge influence to me. I love their music, and I’m also very envious of their output. Those guys have some new getting released all the time. Splits, EP’s, Albums, Comps. I hope to emulate that one day and have a release output like those guys. Incredible.

Where did you get the inspiration for this album?
Jarret: Inspiration for this album was not a problem. This album lyrically, is rooted in sludge and doom. Sludge and doom to me are both about misery, disdain, depression, the crushing weight of failure, oppression, nihilism, hatred, rebellion. To me, every single year on earth seems to get worse and worse, society is degrading, intelligence is fading, hope is being lost. I mean I made this album in 2020 the worst year ever for anyone of my generation. I’ve never been more angry and hate filled in my life. I’m the type of person that doesn’t like being told what to do or controlled, so I’m sure you could imagine what this last year has done to me. I’m a punk from the streets, and a true rebel at heart and this last year I’ve been seething with anger. I’m actually certain I will never be the same again from this shit. You can bet on one thing, there’s going to be an onslaught of hate coming forth from me on new projects in the future. If you think this album was bad, wait until you hear the next Destroy My Brains or even another Discarded Self album. Even talking about this is making my blood hot.

Do you have a favorite song(s) on the album?
Jarret: It really bounces around a lot. When I was first writing the album my favourite song was »On The Unlevel«. The guitars were fun to play and the vocals I did in the middle of the song blew my own mind. After I finished »Orbitoclast«, that song was my favourite. It was catchy, savage, and the theme of the song was really cool. It was inspired by the new show »Ratched«. I had just binge watched it with my girlfriend and as soon as the season was over I went downstairs into the Doom Tomb and knew what I was going to be writing my lyrics about, lobotomy!
One of the last completed songs was »Dance Upon The Dead«, and after Jadan finished his drums on that, I couldn’t get it out of my head. The whole reason this album turned out like this was because of the song »I’m Weak«, where I solidified my vocal style for this album, so that one is special to me as well. We just released »Push The Knife« recently so I listened to it a few times again and now that one’s my favourite. I can say with confidence that every song in its own right will find its place with a different person, since every song has a different theme, story, and end goal. I’m sure that didn’t really answer your question. I’m going to wait and see until after the album is released, to see what songs people are connecting with.

How do you know that a song is finished?
Jarret: It’s a really simple process for me to decide when a song is complete. It just feels done! I’ve been writing songs for over 20 years, and at this point I can tell if something is garbage or it’s going to crush. I first write, compile and complete my guitar parts in my practice room, then play it with the recorded drums until I have it all mastered. Every palm mute, bend, slide, chug, and picking power is all carefully placed. Then I record all my guitar and bass parts, and layer a thick ooze of vocal hate over top, and that’s it! Some final EQ clean ups and compression on the drums and I call it done.
I know some people are perfectionists, and will see every flaw, but this album is complete, every bump and scrape, and I’m moving on to another batch of songs. I’d rather make more music, than worry about issues in my old music. You learn from your mistakes and do better next time. I always tell people, don’t spend forever writing one single song. Write a shitload of them, smoke a bowl and listen to what you did, and if it’s killer then it’s done! And if it’s not, try again with something new. Move on!

I’ve seen that Sarcophagus Recordings have a wide range of services that help and support underground artists. Are you satisfied with this collaboration?
Jarret: I for sure think it has been a good experience. Piers the owner of Sarcophagus, has been keeping me motivated and busy. He has a ton of connections from his time spent with Cvlt Legion, and a good head on his shoulders. He’s really easy to deal with, and he isn’t trying to control me or anything fucked up like that. He just lets me do my thing, say what I want, and he’s trying to build on my strengths as a guy who has previously promoted his own bands. I have never had a project get so much exposure on different websites, blogs, channels or anything before this, I’ve been getting interviews non stop because of his great PR work. Before hooking up with him I had done like 3 interviews for Destroy My Brains over the course of 4 albums. I’m pretty sure he’s going to find success with his label if he keeps his ears to the underground and finds more kick ass bands or projects to run with and promote. Discarded Self is only his first signed band, so the sky’s the limit.

Ashes Of Yggdrasil

You’re also a member of the bands Destroy My Brains and Ashes Of Yggdrasil. What was your best show so far? And why? Did you have any unusual experiences that you’ll never forget?
Jarret: Oh man! Every show I’ve played with Ashes has been awesome fun! We’ve had great turnouts, and the crowds we have had have all been awesome. We were just gaining a lot of momentum, and had a ton of shows planned for 2020, but that all shit the bed real fast when the lockdowns started. But the last show we did play was our first show in Edmonton. We were the middle band, and the crowd went fucking nuts. There was a crackhead there and he was actually eating his money! I begged him to stop and go buy some merch instead but he just kept eating it! It was totally fucked up. Can you imagine waking up the next day and shitting out 5 or 6 $20 bills?
At another show in a small town bar, we had a wall to wall turnout, and everyone was partying hard. While we were playing a mentally disabled guy came up right in front of us and did the splits with his devil horns in the air, and held it for what felt like half the song! Hahaha it was gnarly. I bet he was sore the next day.
Sadly Destroy My Brains has been a major struggle to try to get the guys to play shows. Or let me rephrase that, get the guys in performing condition to play shows. Members have always been living in different cities, and then there’s the problems with substance abuse and whatnot. I won’t go into any details about it but I’ve never felt like we could pull off a kick ass show with the stuff that was going on. However last year we did finally after all these years play our first show. 5 years to be exact. It was a secret underground show due to the pandemic. Invite only, and it was a fucking good time! We played decent for our first run, and just partied and got drunk with the people who were there the whole time. It was a lot of fun, but unfortunately my drummer moved away to another city so we haven’t jammed in months. So it might be a while before we can do another secret DMB show.

Have you already been touring Europe?
Jarret: It is my dream to play in Europe. I haven’t played there yet, but I swear before I’m dead I will be in a band that will do it. I truly believe Ashes Of Yggdrasil is good enough to do a tour over there and blow people away. We jam every single week and we’ew all itching to get back on the horse and play shows. You can bet your ass as soon as bars and venues are back open for it, we’ll be out there tearing it up. One day I might even form a live Discarded Self band and who knows where we might end up playing if it ever happens.

Are there any plans for new releases from Destroy My Brains and Ashes Of Yggdrasil?
Jarret: There is some hash in the pipe with new albums from both bands. Destroy My Brains is currently working on our 4th album in a series of 4. They are called the »W.I.L.T« albums. »Worthless« EP, »InsignifiCan’t« EP, »Lifeless« EP, and now we are working on the »Tormented« EP. I’m really hoping we can finish this album and have it out before the years end. That’s all I can say about it right now, but get ready for some stuff real soon from Destroy My Brains. Ashes Of Yggdrasil also has an album almost finished, and it’s going to blow our first EP right out of the water. We’re just waiting on vocals to get finished and then some final production.
Our lead guitarist Brett went to school for audio engineering and is producing the album, he has so far done an amazing job, and the instruments and drums sound beefy. We’ve also been talking about shooting a music video to support the album. Also I haven’t told anyone this yet, not even Piers, but I’ve already started writing and recording scratch tracks for the next chapter of Discarded Self. So you are going to have that coming eventually as well, although it’s way too early to tell when.

Can you tell me something more about the music scene in Alberta, Canada? Are there any artists that you would like to point out?
Jarret: In the three bigger cities, Edmonton, Calgary, Red Deer, there’s a good music scene and a decent amount of metal acts. In Calgary every year they have 420 Fest around 420, and it has an awesome mixture of stoner rock, psychedelic, doom, and sludge bands. I’ve gone every year to that and it’s fucking awesome! However, in my city there’s next to no music scene at all. I’m not even joking. Our only venue closed down, and they very rarely ever had a metal band play, so people have were playing in the pool hall pre-covid. There’s no stage and no system. If you’re playing there, you gotta have all of your own gear that a venue would normally have. It’s really depressing trying to be an active musician in a place where there is nothing happening EVER.
I’d also like to point out the band Bloated Pig from Calgary. Those guys were heavy live man. I saw them at the last 420 Fest and they ripped my head off. I bought all their merch, and also bought them shots! The stupid thing is, me and my friend were shit talking them because we thought their band name was stupid. Even as they were setting up the stage we were laughing at them. But when they opened up, and started their set with a banger, our jaws just dropped and we ate our socks on that one! Arrogance and ignorance is a real bitch sometimes! Haha!

How did Covid-19 lockdown affect you as a musician?
Jarret: I hate it. I hate it so much it’s hard to put into words that are appropriate for an interview. It’s wrong on so many levels. If you want to hear an uncut version of what I really want to say to the government, listen to the song »On The Unlevel« when the Discarded Self album comes out on April 30th. That song is my hate fuelled letter to the government and all oppressive forces in the world today. It’s ugly, it’s violent, and I wish it would happen. It sums up my feelings about these lockdowns, and what I would like to do if I could get my hands on those slimy bastards sitting in government office. I needed to get that out.

Do you remember the first concert you attended? What’s the best one you’ve gone to?
Jarret: For some strange reason I can’t remember the name of the bands. It was a local rock show with some basement bands, but I’ll never forget the show itself! These old guys with white hair and big beards played at this grubby bar in my hometown and we snuck in because we weren’t old enough to be in the bar. I remember this old guy had a really large pedalboard and he was basically soloing for the whole show and stomping all of these sweet effects pedals. It totally blew my mind all of the sounds he was making with his guitar. I honestly didn’t think that guitars could make all those sounds. He even noticed me watching him in complete awe and gave me the devil horn and kept shredding his fretboard.
The bartender kicked us out when I tried to buy a beer at the bar! Haha! I think I was about 15 years old. The next day I went to the local pawn shop and bought my first pedal. It was the digitech Death Metal pedal, and it changed my life forever. After I bought that thing I felt like a god, even though the pedal honestly sounded like complete garbage, but I had never played with that amount of gain before. Palm mutes where heavy, pinch harmonics were easy, and it all just sounded so much better to me than my crappy amps distortion. I was from that moment on addicted to pedals and distortion effects.

What is currently in your heavy musical rotation?
Jarret: Oh man, a lot of stuff! My stereo is non-stop at my place. I like to mix it up a lot but there is a few albums I have been into on a daily basis. Asphyx – »Necroceros« is one I have been playing over and over again. I love the old Bolt Thrower death/doom kind of feel to that album and I can’t get enough of it. Since its release I’ve probably listened to it over 100 times.
The new Crust album, »Stoic« that just dropped at the start of this month is just crushing. The soaring atmospheres throughout that record are just oppressive and miserable, and it’s just what I need on a daily basis. I’ve been on a major Thou and Dystopia kick again as well. Oh and Cult Of Luna! I for some reason never listened to them before, and just dove in the other day! That band is simply amazing and they remind me of a heavier version of Sunnata, which is also another band I listen to quite a bit. Even though I’ve been listening to EyeHateGod, Crowbar, and Acid Bath for about 20 years, I play that shit everyday. It’s my soul music. Don’t forget that the 16 year wait for the new Bongzilla album is over! Get in there and check that shit out!

Do you have a memory of a song or an album from your childhood or teenage years that you are emotionally linked to? Could you name some of your favourite albums of all times?
Jarret: There isn’t a specific song, but there are three albums that changed my life. »Arise« from Sepultura is the first album that I connected with that pushed me into the heavier styles of metal. Before that I was probably just a teenager listening to Slipknot, and the Deftones. It brought me out of what was on TV and into the depths of the underground. If it wasn’t for that album who knows where my musical tastes would have gone. I listened to that record religiously and later the rest of Sepultura’s discography.
Another album that really spoke to me on a level I can’t even describe was »When the Kite String Pops« by Acid Bath. At the time I’d never heard anything anywhere close to something like that, and they blew my mind. The first song I heard was song »The Blue«, and It was so weird sounding the way they had clean vocals mixed with total voice shredding screams and Dax’s voice – the way he vibrates it was just crazy to me. I was a die hard fan from the first listen. I’ve owned probably about 20 copies of both their albums. I keep getting drunk and showing people and wrecking them. I piss myself off sometimes! Haha!
The last album that I need to mention is Crowbar’s »Time Heals Nothing«. Soon after I got into Acid Bath I discovered Crowbar. I remember the first song I heard from them was I feel the »Burning Sun«, which isn’t off that album but, after I heard it I went out and bought the first Crowbar album I could find which happened to be »Time Heals Nothing«. I was totally fucking floored! I mean it, I literally couldn’t talk after I listened to that album, it completely destroyed me! That album has a lot of pain in it carried in Kirk’s vocals, and I can feel it. It has some of the gnarliest and heaviest riffs known to mankind. I actually have a great big »Time Heals Nothing« tattoo on my upper arm to commemorate how deep I identify with that record.

Are there any new releases that got your attention? Any recommendations?
Jarret: Well so far this year has been awesome for new releases but I’m first going to name a few fellow Canadian bands here.
You should definitely check out Ischemic from Toronto, they have a new release that is 4 songs and just over 40 mins long. One of the songs is 22 minutes long! That’s a feat worth checking out in itself.
The band Weeper from Vancouver put out a debut album that I really like a lot. It’s a real mix of sludge, doom, and even has some sludge paced thrash riffs in there. I’m really excited to see these guys develop.
Another Ontario band Olde just put out another amazing album called »Pilgrimage«. It’s a really solid album laden with fat doom riffs and powerful leads. It’s for sure their best album yet, and won’t disappoint.
Some other stuff I’ve been very impressed with is the atmospheric terror album by Akhlys called »Melinoë«. This is a total trip to listen to, even if you aren’t into black metal kind of stuff.
I also just heard the new Crust album as I mentioned before. It is a real pulverizer and worth every second of your attention.

Have you ever sacrificed anything in your life for a better future for your band?
Jarret: I basically put everything in my life second, or third and music first. No matter what I have going on, it gets pushed aside for band practice, jams, recording, or practice at home. I’ve spent a ridiculous amount of money on guitars, amps, pedals, recording and studio equipment, drums and anything else you can think of. My life revolves around my bands and projects, and I am dedicated to them all the way to my bones. Even when I was a kid and wanted to be a rockstar. I held a little seance in my bedroom and drew a pentagram and my floor and tried to sell my soul to the devil to give me guitar skills, because that’s what Robert Johnson did, So I guess I sacrificed my soul!
But I wouldn’t call it a sacrifice, it’s something I needed to do. Music is my life, lifestyle, and purpose. I even broke up with my youngest kids mom because she was terrible to be around for this kind of life. It wasn’t the only reason, but she wasn’t supportive at all, so she had to go. Thee woman I have now is the polar opposite of that. She supports me in every way she can because she knows music is my passion and I need to pursue it.
Let’s just say this – you shouldn’t have to sacrifice for music or your bands, you need to surround yourself with like minded people who support each other, and in turn you won’t need to sacrifice anything.

What would be your advice to younger musicians?
Jarret: I’ll give you the only short answer of this interview. It’s one word, read it, and scream it loud so it makes sense. PRACTICE… Practice your ass off. Put down your “Call of Duty”, and “World of Warcraft”, grab your instrument and put your time in. It takes years to develop strong skills on your instrument, and years to develop strong songwriting knowledge. You aren’t going to make it big getting ripped and listening to Electric Wizard all day. Grab your axe and learn every single thing you can. PRACTICE!!!!!!

Thank you very much for this interview! Any last words?
Jarret: Thank you so much for having me! I’m a huge Doomed Nation supporter, and it was a real privilege and honour to do an interview with you guys! I really appreciate it! I guess to finish off all I can say is stick together during this time of pandemic, support each other and help out in any way you can. Us musicians don’t make fuck all for money to do this kind of stuff, and any support goes a long way. Your music scenes need you. Your local bands need your support. When things open back up, volunteer at your local venues when shows are going on. They are going to need all the help they can get these days. It’s working together that is going to bring us out of this terrible mess. Cheers Doomed Nation, rock on!

Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well