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Slash's Snakepit Vocalist Eric Dover, Bass Legend Billy Sheehan, KoRn Drummer Ray Luzier and Dizzy Reed of Guns N' Roses - that's together with guitarist and songwriter Stephen Chesney who stand's behind the brand new band Agents Of Your Demise.
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| A mix of the single artwork along with the musicians that performed on it. |
Having heard the very first single it became quickly evident that this wasn't going to be one of the many All Star Projects without substance. The raw, heavy and punching sound breathes real music life and energy that can be felt by the listener. Heavy Metal Underdogs took the chance to speak to Stephen Chesney and get some more in-depth information about what is going to be the upcoming debut album, due for release in the first quarter of 2025.
Question: Do you still remember what exactly brought you to the world of music (maybe an event or a song)?
Stephen Chesney: To be perfectly honest with you, I was around music from the time I was born. My mum was a singer, my dad had played guitar in bands outside of his career profession, and I was carrying around toy guitars from the moment I was able to walk… probably before I could walk, actually.
My late cousin was a massive fan of the British rock scene back home. He suffered from cystic fibrosis, and rock music was his escape from what he had to fight daily. When I was probably five or six years old, he made me a mixtape of Guns N’ Roses, Little Angels, and Thunder, and that was it for me. I fell in love with it then and never grew out of it or changed. I’ve broadened my horizons a little, but I still love now exactly what I loved then.
That might’ve been a bit young to have been training me to get into GN’R, looking back, but hey, I’ll take it—no complaints, lol.
Question: Having read that you perform in various genres, do you think every musician should try other musical territories to learn better writing abilities?
It depends on what their goal is. If someone’s passion is strictly within one realm, then that’s exactly what they should adhere to if they feel led that way. But personally, for me, I can’t see it as anything other than a positive to listen to different genres. Even if it’s not something you’d write or choose to listen to as a first choice, you’re still going to hear melodic structures, chord changes, and ideas that you may have never thought of, which you can bring to your own writing and into your preferred style.
I grew up a massive Jimi Hendrix fan. There was a BBC show called Rock Family Trees, and during an interview with Chas Chandler about Jimi, Chas said that no matter what style of music— even if the band was terrible—he always took one thing away from every song or performance he ever saw. Because even if something was terrible, there was always one hidden gem that he could add to his own playing and writing. That stuck with me.
The single is also available on Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, Deezer and YouTube Music.
Question: Do you have certain people in mind at the time of writing songs, or does this part of selection happen after the music is complete?
It depends on what I’m writing for—what the project is. For the Agents of Your Demise record, I already knew who I had involved, so I was writing whatever I wanted musically because there was absolutely no question as to whether the guys involved had the ability to pull off what I wanted to do. Knowing who was waiting to play on these songs pushed me to be better to make sure I could keep up with them, lol.
That said, I purposely wrote the music to Hat on a Hat, which is the lead-off song on the album, specifically to play with Billy. I put the demo of that together in 2015 after I’d first started jamming with him, so that song was definitely written knowing exactly who I intended to have on board, lol.
Question: Is the upcoming full album of Agents of Your Demise reflecting on your private life or things that happened to you as a musician?
All of the above, lol. There’s a cover song at the end of the record that ties into a lot of my own life too. I think there’s really only one song that isn’t personal to me. Track 4, Raise Hell or Die, was one where I wrote the music, but Eric wrote the lyrics, so that one particular song is a separate thing. But everything else on the record is basically the story of the last 10–15 years of my life in some form or fashion.
There are probably going to be some people that hear it and think, “WTF? Is that about me?!” And guess what, pal—it might just be, lol. It might not be… but it might.
Question: Do you think the lyrics could also help people looking for advice?
When I wrote these songs, they were, in a lot of cases, my own form of therapy. But that said, my hope is that they’re relatable enough that someone may find some sort of help in them and be able to adapt what they hear to their own life experiences.
Some of the lyrics are more lighthearted than others, but across all of the tracks, if you listen to the actual musical style, the songs sort of camouflage how serious the lyrics are. I tried to make sure that the tunes are still upbeat—something you can nod your head to—without immediately realizing, Oh… this is kinda dark.
There’s a lot of very personal experience in the songs, and I think people who seek out the words will find they can relate to them in some way. Hopefully, they’ll be reminded that no matter what situation they’re in, everyone is in the exact same spot in some way, regardless of their standing in the world. It’s okay to feel like giving up… but don’t f***ing give up.
Question: The cover art of the single Nothing’s Made to Last shows a darker atmosphere presented in a comic style. Do you prefer this style, or does it just fit better with the heavier guitar sound that’s so prevalent in the first single?
There are a ton of different things I intend to do with bits and pieces of artwork styles for pushing the songs. When possible, I wanted to try and get away from the stereotypical rock image… which is ironic because I wound up with a skull and a rose on this one, so I guess I didn’t move too far away from it after all, lol.
That said, there’s a lot of other imagery coming that’s entirely different from what was used with the first single.
In my head, it probably has different meanings than just being a rock skull or whatever. There’s a bit of humor in where it came from when I designed it. In a way, it’s like… there were people who knew of me and what I was doing, and then I sorta went quiet publicly for a few years after the pandemic. Then life got in the way of things moving along quickly.
So that skull version of me has a bit of a “Hey, what’s up? Uhh… told ya I’d be here—so how’s it goin’?” vibe in the pose, lol. But I think you’ll see a lot of different styles for each song as we go.
Make sure to stay in connection with Agents Of Your Demise so you won't miss out on how the other songs sound like.
https://www.agentsofyourdemise.com/
