Chris JonesWalking into the room is like stepping into something out of a war zone. In the corner is a trash bag filled so high that the edges of it are spilling over with old pizza, cake and beer bottles, while the holes on the bottom of the bag are poking through to the floor, covered in a gray ash. The wall is filled with posters like Slayer, Iron Maiden and a banner of Batman and The Joker, and there is a large fan tied with broken instrument cables to the ceiling in one of the corners. The smoke filling the room comes around Ken Dacanay’s head, as he stops for a second to spit in the trash bag before he lifts the microphone to his mouth.
Fall of Eden, a local band that describes their style as “thrash metal,” have several influences, but mainly feel inspired by Tool and Slayer. Tom DiGregorio, one of the band’s guitarists, said, “I could write you a novel about the bands we listen to.” The group is made up of six friends and musicians.
Dacanay, a former Cabrini student, insists they associate themselves with polka. Behind the microphone, Eden has dual vocalists. Dacanay, who has been in the band since its inception, provides vocals but also plays guitar. Evan Wall has recently joined the band to supply additional vocals, but has only attended three or four practices.
“At first when they brought [Evan] to me, I was kind of iffy about it,” Dacanay said. “My brother thought they were going to kick me out. But when I first saw Evan, I thought, ‘I want to be like that.’ I’m very happy he’s in the band now.”
Dacanay jokes though that they cannot get rid of him because they all know the songs by number, and he is the only one who knows the names without having to look at a list. DiGregorio and Glenn Mutz play the guitars with Steve Dever providing the bass. On the drums is Jim Carter, praised by other band members claiming, “No one else can really do the things he does.”
The band has no real story of their coming together. Each had played in bands before or at least dabbled in the musical arts trying to perfect their talent. “Bands kind of came around and merged,” Mutz said.
Before Eden was born, the band went under names like Five Inches of Skull and No Resolution. The name came from just an average conversation when Dacanay and Mutz were driving down the Main Line and talking. The topic for the evening was band names.
“We just drive down the main line and talk,” Dacanay said. “We came up with some stupid stuff like Heavier Than Slayer and Metallica Combined, Gatortooth and I’m Better Than You. Then I said, ‘How about Fall of Oden?’ Mutz said ‘Fall of Eden,’ so we wrote it down. I guess everyone liked it, but they never told us their opinions.”
The band plays at the Speakeasy on 69th Street, but does not play it as often as they used to, but Mutz said, “They don’t like us or metal anymore.” Most of the time, they just invite their friends and fans to their practice area and jam for them. “We’re kind of looking for a place where we’re accepted,” Mutz said.
With Wall joining the band, they are all slowing down for a bit. “We are trying to redo the songs with him in it,” Dacanay said. They practice every day they can, but insist they need Carter for a complete practice. Dacanay and DiGregorio mainly have their hands in the songs, with DiGregorio writing the music and Dacanay providing lyrics, once he has heard the music. “After that though, everyone puts in their own stuff,” Mutz said.
The band is very serious about getting things done, but don’t think they are the best in the independent world yet. “We are far from that,” DiGregorio said, “but we are always changing too.”
None of them really do much of anything else and insist that this is not just a hobby. “I work at Frank’s, and I quit school so this is my only hope,” Dacanay said. They all hone their skills by working on side projects. Dacanay used to play his guitar at The Point. Mutz, Dever and DiGregorio work on some things on the side as well.
As far as signing with a label goes, they are not sure when they are going to get things out. The original plan was to get something out in September, but after Wall joined the group, they pushed back their release date until sometime in December or January. Once completed, the band plans on sending copies to record companies and seeing what comes back.
The band currently has no web site, but they plan to get one started. They can be found for now at www.pahardcore.com. Once they have their work together, the site will have a link to a web site solely featuring the band.
The band has come a long way since they began. With Wall joining as another vocalist, the band is in for a change and perhaps a break coming in 2003. “I have only been here for a couple of weeks, but these guys have progressed and have come a long way. I am happy to be here,” Wall said.
