Chris Ratzlaff of FALLSTAR discusses new album and Chuck Norris.

They’ve been turning heads in the American Northwest metal scene since 2005 and now, Fallstar are proud to present their debut album, Reconciler. Refiner. Igniter, to the masses.

Hailing from Oregon, the five-piece, hardcore group is jumping around like madmen in their joy at releasing their first album. Voltage Media managed to corner Chris Ratzlaff for long enough to discuss the album, their new drummer, and most importantly, who would win in a fight between Chuck Norris and Bruce Lee.

So Reconciler. Refiner. Igniter is Fallstar’s first full-length album; how excited have you guys been about the release?

Chris: Way too excited! We've been waiting for this for almost four years! Never again will we do that to ourselves or our fans.

What I really loved about this album is the clear, crispness of the whole thing. How long did it take to record everything, mix it, and put it all together?

Chris: The whole recording process took 4 months. That's a really long time to be recording and then waiting for the final product. I wouldn't change that though, we needed the meticulous scrutiny of Dan McCall, especially for a debut full length, there were lots of kinks we were able to iron out in that time.

Are these songs you wrote specifically for the album, or have they been kicking around for awhile?

Chris: About three of the songs we've had for a while, and the rest we wrote within a year of recording. But with so much time to be playing these songs live and having the album concept in mind, the songs began to take a cohesive form that fit the album, even if we wrote them before the concept was even in our heads.

So I guess not all were originally written with this album in mind, but they were eventually grafted in to fit perfectly.

How you would describe your writing process? Do you guys all bring ideas for songs and lyrics to the table and work things out from there, or is it a much more methodical process?

Chris: There were a couple of instances where we wrote the whole song together in one sitting, and that's always fun. But usually, we all have parts that we play and map out ideas. Then we go home and write on our own time, that's how we're able to keep a certain level of technicality that is hard to obtain from spur of the moment jamming. Then we'll come together and piece parts together.

Lyrically, I do most of it, but sometimes the other dudes give me ideas and I can run with those or fit them in somewhere. Lyrically my process is to write everything down in a notebook and try to keep like thoughts together. Then when I find a subject I'm stoked on, I have the content to piece together and plenty of metaphors to draw from and form how I please.

I do some really weird things for some of the imagery I get, I won't tell you every method I use, but one is waking myself up and writing my dreams. Sounds like cheating, but sometimes your subconscious mind works out things you're still trying to wrap your head around.

Fallstar is currently signed to label Come&Live, a non-profit Christian organization dedicated to helping emerging artists, and you guys are all practicing Christians. Do you see your music as a way of encouraging hardcore fans to explore Christianity, or to at least be more open-minded when it comes to religion, or are you simply interested in making music without bringing religion into it? 

Chris: Gosh, it's hard to say you have no agenda, when you kinda do have an agenda, I'll try to explain. Ultimately we want to see God's kingdom come to earth. Simply put, we believe everything is right when God's people walk in his ways and put their trust in him, it's something we've done, and in turn, we've seen God heal our families, change the way we think, and give us hope.

Maybe it's all terminology, but "religion" is just part of life to us, so saying we bring religion into art sounds funny. We just write what we're passionate about, and almost always it's about how God has changed our lives for the better.

Our art speaks for itself, so then on stages we can speak based off our music and give our interpretation. We desire everyone to see the beauty of Jesus and we want to give others the opportunity to see what we see.

You can see a beautiful painting and take away your own meaning, and you can also hear what inspired the painter to create something so meaningful. 

Your drummer, Robert Lasco, recently left the band to pursue other interests. Have you found anyone to replace him yet?

Chris: Yes, after trying out lots of cool people and talented drummers, we decided on our friend Cody Carrier. He's a young dude [19] and has a lot of passion and fire, he fits in really well. Excellent drummer, highly resourceful, works really hard, and isn't discouraged easily.

Within the first two weeks he got an artist endorsement for symbols and a snare drum. He learned our songs solid within a month. Our van is currently shot, so he found us a bus for our last tour and a van for the one starting this week. He loves God and loves people a lot, stoked for everyone to get to know him!

What has Fallstar got planned for the rest of 2011?

Chris: Well, we're touring a bunch, and buying a decent touring vehicle, and that's pretty much it, which is actually a lot. We've been writing too, so hopefully we'll be in the studio this winter for a follow up. 

And my final question, who do you think would win in a fight between Chuck Norris and Bruce Lee?

Chris: Um, considering Chuck Norris broke his leg in that whole Ashly Simpson animal rights riot thing, I would say Bruce Lee would stand a pretty good chance. But who can really say... I know Bruce Lee can't fight unless he's under contract, so if it's like a normal street fight Chuck would win, even with a shattered tibia. Really it just depends on the circumstance, if executed correctly; you could almost always manipulate the outcome.