From Tempe, Arizona, the metal/rock guitarist and producer Ryan Richmond highlight the gritty 7th track, "Know Thyself," off his latest self-titled album, 'Ryan Richmond.'
Playing guitar since he was seventeen, the thirty-one-year-old artist now proudly owns over fifteen guitars and a plethora of equipment to further explore his creative artistry. Inspired by The Beatles, The Foo Fighters Metalica, and August Burns Red, Ryan Richmond's sound is undeniably as rich as it is exhilarating.
Highlighting the 7th track, "Know Thyself," off his 8-track self-titled album, 'Ryan Richmond,' the track brings listeners on a hazy and haunting journey through each melody and transition. When taking a listen, it's without a doubt that anyone will feel the power, grit, and tenacity that Ryan Richmond's sound has to offer.
Beginning our venture into "Know Thyself," the track takes off with a crashing drum arrangement and Ryan Richmond's wailing electric guitar that crunches its way to our ears. As he begins to blaze through our speakers with his ferocious and exciting riffs, the accompanying drums perfectly serve this sensation of heightened energy that complements Richmond's dense guitar playing.
We love the might and power of this song; it's as if Ryan Richmond wanted to take his audience through a heated and resilient journey of self-discovery through each intricate transition and fuzzy melody. As Ryan Richmond leads us to the song's end with his blazing riffs, we're left feeling a bounty of chills and thrills.
Begin your introspective journey with Ryan Richmond's latest hit, "Know Thyself," and find his recent album, 'Ryan Richmond,' on all digital streaming platforms.
We adore the energy and intricacy of your latest hit, "Know Thyself." What sort of journey or listening experience did you want to deliver through this track?
I wanted to make a big ol' metal monster. A slow and heavy banger with a cosmic guitar solo haha. I really love music like that and I wanted to put my own stamp on this style. I hope any listeners out there hear it and imagine a huge journey of their own creation in their minds. Personally, I see a lot of things when I think or play with this song like barbarian space pirates with giant battle axes waging war over epic alien bodies of water with no name...
How did you begin navigating the feel and atmosphere for "Know Thyself"? What was your solo creative process like?
Well, I wanted to do something that could harbor passages that were very metal, and could also reach spots that were pretty out there and borderline psychedelic. Slowly, over a couple of years of practicing, jamming, and playing around with it, I had a solid arrangement of a bunch of parts that luckily clicked together. I enjoy writing different parts and then finding a way to string them together in a way that makes sense. It was always fun with this song because I'd play something, run it on the looper, and then experiment with leads. It took a while but I got it somewhere that I'm very happy with the end product.
Did you work with any exterior producers when finalizing your track, "Know Thyself"? Or did you handle every creative aspect of this piece yourself?
No! I worked on this myself from start to finish. It might help if I knew any producers ha, they could tell me everything I'm doing wrong! But yes, it was my idea, my practice, arrangement, recording, producing, and I even painfully programmed all those drums myself. But it's a good feeling knowing I built it from the ground up.
How does "Know Thyself" fit into your album 'Ryan Richmond'? Is there a specific sonic story you wanted to tell through the entire album?
I always knew I wanted it at the end of the album when I was working on it. I've always wanted to make an album with a wide range of music on it and I feel accomplished doing that, but definitely had to cap it off with the big epic adventure. I like the idea of the listener being pulled in so many directions listening to it, and then you hit a finale like this to punctuate it. It's pretty short for an album, so I wanted to make the most of it.
What's next for you?
Still working on new songs, working on my playing a lot so I can hopefully keep surprising myself when I write. I'm working heavily on production just trying to push forward to make the absolute most out of what I have, which is a small recording set up in my room. I have a few songs ready to make another album in the next year. I just want to one day make a mark on Rock 'n' Roll and become an old kung fu master on guitar. There's no way to get there but by practice, so I'll just keep walking.