ACT OF DEFIANCE: 'We're Not A Supergroup'

Gear Gods conducted an interview with ACT OF DEFIANCE drummer Shawn Drover and bassist Matt Bachand aboard the Axes & Anchors cruise, which set sail from Miami, Florida on February 20 aboard the Carnival Victory, stopped in Key West, Florida and Nassau, Bahamas, and docked back in Miami on February 24. You can now watch the chat below.

Asked how they feel about the term "supergroup" being thrown around in connection with ACT OF DEFIANCE, Matt, who was previously in SHADOWS FALL, said: "We're not a supergroup. We're simply a new band with players that happened to be in other bands. That's all it is. When you say the word 'supergroup,' that usually implies that, you know, you get together, make one record and then it will never happen again. But that is not the case with this. So it's technically not a supergroup, 'cause it's not gonna be a one-off thing. It's a new project that we're going a hundred and ten percent with."

Shawn, who joined MEGADETH in 2004 and played on four of the band's albums, including 2013's "Super Collider", added: "This is a real band, man. This wasn't put together… 'Oh, let's get Matt from that great band.' It wasn't like that at all. Chris [Broderick, ACT OF DEFIANCE and ex-MEGADETH guitarist] and I tried to find the best musicians we could that were available, really. Matt had stopped touring with [SHADOWS FALL], and it was just a matter of coincidence. I found out that Matt wasn't touring as hardcore as he was for twenty years, so I'm, like, you know… Actually, Zeuss was one of the guys… Our producer, Chris Harris — we call him Zeuss — was one of the guys [who said], 'You should maybe talk to Matt.' I was, like, 'Wow! What a great idea. And I just hit him up. But this is a full-on band. We're touring for the record. This is not a one-off thing. With respect to what we've done in the past, we're not living in it. This is a new thing and this is something that we're going forward with. We're not dwelling on what we've done in the past at all."

In addition to Drover, Bachand and Broderick, ACT OF DEFIANCE features ex-SCAR THE MARTYR singer Henry Derek Bonner.

ACT OF DEFIANCE's debut album, "Birth And The Burial", was released on August 21, 2015 via Metal Blade Records. The CD recording was split between three studios in three different states: Broderick handled vocal and guitar production at his own Ill-Fated Studio in Los Angeles, Chris "Zeuss" Harris (ROB ZOMBIE, REVOCATION, MUNICIPAL WASTE) worked with Drover tracking the drums in Dexter's Lab in Milford, Connecticut, while Bachand laid down his bass at ManShark, in Southampton, Massachusetts.