The Republic Of Wolves are quickly gaining a name for themselves and in perfect timing as they gear up to release their debut LP and another EP. PropertyOfZack has developed a great relationship with the band over the past year, so if you have yet to check them out be sure to. Mason Maggio of the band took the time to answer some question regarding the band’s new album, Varuna, as well as their new EP, The Cartographer. It’s a great read, enjoy it!

For the record, could you state your name and role in The Republic Of Wolves?
My name is Mason Maggio, and I sing and play guitar.
 
It’s been an exciting few weeks for the band with the announcement of Varuna as well as a song release. How has the reception to “Oarsman” been so far?
The reception has been great; we’re really excited about it. It’s especially great to hear people say that the new song exceeds their expectations; because that was definitely something we were worried about. We’ve been working on material for a while now and it’s so rewarding to see all the positive reactions.
 
There’s a lot more screaming on the track then in previously released material, is that something we should expect throughout the album?
Not really, actually. “Oarsman” is one of the more scream-heavy tracks on the album, and that’s part of the reason we chose it as a “single.” It kind of has a wide range in terms of intensity and musical elements, and the screaming is definitely a part of our sound that we felt was important enough to showcase. Similarly the whole album ranges from slow and soft to loud and heavy, and overall we think it hits a good balance.
 
The band released a music video for the song as well. How was it shooting that and how’s it feel to have your first video out?
Making the video was a lot of fun; it was a very laid back and friendly atmosphere. Sean O’Kane shot the video and Robert Wesson acted in it, and that was all the help we had really. We wrote the treatment ourselves, and worked with Sean on the directing and editing. We’re really proud of how it turned out, and the reception has been great. It’s really cool because it was only a matter of weeks from “Hey, let’s make a video,” to this amazing finished product. We’re all big fans of interesting music videos so we’ll undoubtedly be making more in the future.
 
Is there a certain concept behind the record?
Yes and no. There’s a kind of thematic cohesiveness to the whole thing, and some of the narratives really tie together, but it’s not really a strictly linear story. We ourselves interpret some of the material in slightly different ways, and we put a lot of emphasis on the subjectivity of the songs. There’s no correct or incorrect interpretation of the lyrics, so it’s really up to the listener whether they’re hearing a complete narrative or a collection of individual pieces. That being said, the album definitely focuses on the sea in terms of imagery, but also deals with a lot of more abstract concepts like faith and death and free will. The same couple of issues keep recurring throughout the songs on this album, and the lyrics often approach the same important questions in different ways.
 
Varuna will be independently released, but was there any talk of signing to a label for it? And if yes, why didn’t the band go that route?
We had a few different options for this release, and it was a tough decision to make. We were in talks with a couple different independent labels, but we really felt like we were committed enough to do the work on our own. We’ve gotten so far by ourselves that our independence is kind of an important part of who we are as a band, at least at this point. We figured that it was worth taking a chance on self-releasing this album, to kind of see how it goes and figure out whether signing to a label is something we’ll need to think about in the near future. All this being said, we’re still working with Simple Stereo Records on vinyl, and they’re helping us out a lot with this release. So while we’re technically independent, that’s not to say we don’t have plenty of help.
 
Along with the announcement of Varuna, The Cartographer was announced as well for New Year’s Day release. Can you tell us about that release and how the material will differ from Varuna?
The Cartographer will be a 6-track EP released about a month after the full-length, but it’s not so much a follow-up as it is a separate parallel piece. The songs on the album and the EP were all written at roughly the same time, but there was a natural division within the material that we just kind of went with. Stylistically the EP will be a bit different from Varuna and the songs will flow more cohesively as a single production, but we think that anyone who enjoys the full-length will surely enjoy The Cartographer as well. It’s kind of like a different interpretation of the same themes.
 
Was there any concern with releasing so much material in such a close timeframe to each other?
Not really. We’ve always enjoyed writing and recording a large amount of material, and we’re really proud of everything that we’ve created. We’re excited to offer people a lot of music to listen to, and we’re definitely not concerned about releasing too much material. We were originally considering releasing the full-length and the EP simultaneously, but figured it would be nice to spread it out a bit.
 
Last time we spoke you guys weren’t too sure about future tour dates. What’s the status on them now?
Unfortunately we’re still kind of in the dark about that. It’s tough with most of us being in school; especially since lately we’ve been focusing so much on recording and releasing the album. For now we’ll be playing some more shows here and there, mostly around NY, but we’re planning on some sort of touring in the winter. So stay tuned for that.
 
Thanks so much for your time, is there anything else you’d like to add?
Thank you very much for taking the time to interview us. We want everyone to know how much we truly appreciate their support, and we’d love for everyone to buy the new album when it comes out so that we can continue to make music.