The Hard Rock/Metal project, Truenemy, is back again with the hard-hitting, thrashy single, "Saturation Point." This song follows the release of their extremely well-received track, "Midnight Train."
Paul Vuocolo is the mastermind behind Truenemy. The Southeast, Michigan local drew inspiration for his latest release from Megadeth's “Rust in Peace” era, which has played a huge role in his guitar playing and songwriting journey thus far. While creating “Saturation Point," Paul Vuocolo teamed up with his nephew Nick Slayton, who assisted in the co-writing of the music and lyrics of the track.
Vuocolo notes how the lyrics behind “Saturation Point” come from a place of frustration and feeling completely fed-up with someone in your life, and no longer being able to deal with them (or in this case, feeling like you’ve reached your physiological saturation point with this person). It’s one of the first-ever songs he wrote and performed with his first band, written in his late teen years and drawing on the angst he felt throughout that time of life.
Now, we’ll take a deep dive into the head-banging release from Truenemy. “Saturation Point”. This song is completely in your face and hard-hitting from the jump. It’s filled to the brim with energy, with blasting electric guitars shredding up a storm while driving and forceful drums propelling the energy of the song forward.
Vuocolo’s vocals are powerful and dynamic, immediately engaging the listener and hooking us on to every word. He makes statement after statement throughout his descriptive lyrics and captivating delivery, never holding back.
This Hard Rock/Metal track delivers a perfect mixture of intense energy and impressive instrumental and lyrical skills from the get-go and doesn’t let up once. Truenemy has hit the nail on the head with this release, and we can’t wait to hear what comes next.
Sink your teeth into the thrashy, hard-hitting world Truenemy has created in his latest single, “Saturation Point."
Thank you for catching up with us at BuzzMusic, Truenemy! We are so happy to have you here celebrating the release of your track “Saturation Point." Can you tell us a bit more about what inspired you to write this song?
Megadeth. I started playing guitar in the early 90s and that was around the same time Rust In Peace and Countdown To Extinction were released. I spent a lot of time during the summers of 1991 and 1992 learning how to play the songs from those two albums on my Fender Squire. So, Dave Mustaine and Megadeth had a huge influence on my guitar playing and songwriting. In fact, the chorus riff in “Saturation Point” was inspired by the verse riff in the Megadeth song, “Vortex”. Listening to “Saturation Point” now, I hear the Mustaine attitude in the lyrics/vocals as well as other stylistic influences from Megadeth songs from that era (i.e., Tornado Of Souls, This Was My Life, The Killing Road). Chuck Alkazian (Producer) said that it sounds like Anthrax. So, I’ll take that any day!
You’ve mentioned that your nephew Nick Slayton helped co-write the music and lyrics to “Saturation Point”. Had you worked creatively with each other before? What was it like working with a family member throughout this kind of creative process?
Nick and his brother, Chris, are my nephews. We were very close in age and spent a lot of time together during our formative years. They were like younger brothers to me. As kids, we used to do things like dig in my backyard for the Ark of the Covenant (insert facepalm Emoji) and later on, make sketch comedy home videos. We also shared the same appreciation for metal music during our teens which eventually led to us forming our first band, Sloth. "Saturation Point” was the only, fully finished, original Sloth song. It was never professionally recorded and we only performed it live a few times.
There are home videos that documented the sometimes tense and comical moments as we rehearsed and prepared the song for its initial live performance. So, working with family members isn’t without the same ups and downs as working with non-family. The Truenemy version of “Saturation Point” contains all of Nick and Chris’ original contributions to the song. Nick co-wrote the lyrics in the second verse as well as the riff that plays during the main guitar solo. There’s also a drum fill at the 03:02 mark that I was able to recreate based on a live, improv fill of Chris’ that we always loved. Additionally, the single artwork is an amalgamation of Nick’s original handwritten lyrics along with Chris’ “Now your face turns blue!” sketch (an ode to the song’s pre-chorus). Not long after Sloth disbanded, Nick and Chris formed their own band, Slayton, of which I sang lead vocals for a couple of years. Nick and I talked recently and we both agree that it can be both fun and challenging working with family members but in the end, we both have fond memories of the time we spent making and playing music together in both bands.
What sort of listening experience did you want to give your audience with "Saturation Point?" How did you want the song to make them feel?
With regard to the songwriting process, I don’t recall whether or not we consciously gave thought to how we wanted to make the audience feel. At the time, I think it was more about how heavy, intricate, and melodic the riffs sounded. If it felt good playing the song together as a band then the shared belief was that it would resonate with those who have similar musical tastes. “Saturation Point” is a hard-hitting song yet still accessible. I can definitely see people thrashing along or adding it to their cardio workout playlist. With regard to the remix process, I definitely wanted “Saturation Point” to hit hard and heavy like the aforementioned Megadeth songs. Up until now, the Truenemy version had only existed as a roughly mixed demo. So, I sought out Chuck Alkazian at Pearl Sound Studios to inject energy, clarity, and power into the mix. I even cut some new vocal tracks to add missing harmonies and backing vocals so that the studio version matched up more closely with past live performances. I’m very happy with the final mix and how the song turned out!
Are there any other musicians who performed on "Saturation Point"? In Sloth, I composed and performed both guitar solos. However, for the Truenemy version, I wanted the solos to sound more exotic - like former Megadeth guitarist, Marty Friedman. So, back in the winter of 2003, I reconnected with a high school acquaintance, Keun Lee. Keun left an impression on Nick, Chris, and I several years earlier with a spot-on performance of Randy Rhoad’s guitar solo from Ozzy’s “Tribute” album at a high school talent show. In the summer of 2003, he laid down the guitar solos that you hear in the final mix. He’s a phenomenal guitar player who can also be heard screaming the final “Saturation Point!” towards the end of the song. You’ll hear more of Keun’s lead guitar work from these sessions on future Truenemy releases.
Your love and passion for music and performing are extremely apparent in your music. Do you remember where your love for music all began and who some of your biggest inspirations were growing up?
Music has always been an integral part of my life. Whether it be listening to or singing/playing along, it has always been a constant source of joy, escapism, healing, creativity, bonding, brotherhood, and more to both myself and those around me. Between my parent's and older siblings' tastes in music, I was exposed to many different artists and genres. I listened to everything from the Bee Gees, Elvis Presley, and Rick Springfield to Billy Idol, Duran Duran, and U2. Plus, I was part of the MTV Generation. In fact, I can remember being very young and singing “Jessie’s Girl” into my late brother’s walking cane. And I may (or may not have) lip-synced to one or two Duran Duran songs during elementary school talent shows. However, I made up for those non-metal moments by indirectly inciting a mosh pit during Sloth’s performance of “Enter Sandman” at my high school’s talent show. By the way, one of the Duran Duran songs that I lip-synced to was entitled, “Is There Something I Should Know?”, a question that is echoed in the chorus of “Saturation Point."
What's next for you?
I’m pleased to share that “Saturation Point” recently kicked off the May 1, 2022 episode of Motor City Riffs - a weekly, local music showcase on 101.1 WRIF in Detroit, Michigan. So that was pretty cool!