“Wait, more saloon piano!?” I thought, listening to the mix for yet another romping Silo smash. This time, we had just a few seconds of the piano before “8 Seconds” erupts into something of a rodeo anthem, nodding its name toward the amount of time a bull rider has to last before being thrown.
We wanted to write a song that (while still no comparison) has the same adrenaline-fueled and aggression of bull riding. As one of the heavier Silo songs, this was going to be a fun one. And by the way, what’s more hardcore than roping yourself to the back of a 2,000lb kicking bull whose only job is to throw you and stomp you out?
I was particularly proud of the pre-chorus and chorus on this one, because it was something that I could tell painted a picture of the sport, without actually saddling up behind the gate. While I was sitting back, watching our wildly talented guitar players track this song, including Jedi-like coordination to hit the chug patterns perfectly with the drums, I couldn’t help but hear a whole sound for Silo being rounded out.
We went from banjos to saloon pianos and birds chirping, to ass-kicking, face-punching, bull-riding badassery in just the first few songs of the album. And we had thankfully crafted a fully formed Silo sound. If we kept living in this world, we would surely find success amongst the listeners who had been missing this hybrid country metal genre.
By now, we had heard all of the comparisons and shit talk:
“Y’all think you invented hardcore country!?”
“I guess you’ve never heard of Hank III.”
“Country? Yes. Metal? Yes. This? No.”
“This sounds like shit, guys.”
“Sounds like Nickleback and a shitty Christian band. Save my ears.”
“Guess barncore didn’t exist before you.”
“You’ve ruined country AND metal.”
“Who are you…?”
But we didn’t care; the haters are like rocket fuel for us. We didn’t start Silo to be liked by everyone. In fact, we haven’t pissed enough of you off. There are easily a thousand “Likes” for every shitty comment we’ve got. Even we didn’t expect to be that well received. This was the week before our album “Glitter & Gold” was released, and I had three radio interview requests in the three days leading up to the debut. I guess if enough people hate your song, many times more will love it. And we have one word that we keep using to describe our journey: Onward!
P.S. The heavy ending of “8 Seconds” lasts for exactly eight seconds, just like a bull ride is timed. We thought that would be a badass nod to show how long it actually is.
