Review / analysis of PRAUNS latest single "Grit" & our interview from 2021.
The first work I had heard from PRAUN was an EP titled "Sulfur" which greatly caught my attention. It had strong elements of Nu Metal and Prog with some areas of the songs being reminiscent to bands such as "System Of A Down" and "Tool" but with its own quirkiness making it stand out from other groups In that direction. Now , onto their newer single "Grit". It seems they have leaned more into their Prog style on this track. It opens with a super gritty and thick bass groove with a slamming riff quickly approaching after. It moves more and more into a steady groove more fitting in the Progressive area more so than Nu Metal like their previous songs. This song reels you in and keeps you wanting more. This track also includes a more experimental sounding solo in the later half of the song , it makes the track feel very "airy" and "spacey" and is a really nice unexpected touch. I've heard most of their new record is already written so I believe the future holds some great news for PRAUN.
Listen to the full track: https://youtu.be/QkN2X7sLI_U
*interview from 2021
1. Where did PRAUN start? Give me a run down of the origins and how it came together?
Praun was originally formed in 2019 as a trio with Hodge (Eric Hodgeman) on bass, and our friend Adam on drums in Geneva, NY. We recorded our demo in 2019 with Hodge doing bass and vocals, we also released an instrumental demo that is still on Bandcamp. In 2020 we recruited my brother Sam (Sam Stevens) as a second guitarist, and our current vocalist Nick. (Nicholas Rubin) Nick was a guitarist in a Djent band in Rochester, NY but he always wanted to sing for a band. Adam (Fryer) moved to the west coast for school so we recorded our EP with the drummer of Nick’s last band. We have jammed with a few different drummers in the meantime but we just picked up Dylan (Draudt) as as a full time drummer.
2. I get a vibe of SOAD, Static X and some earlier Nu Metal influences. Is that a fair assessment?
System of a Down is definitely a group we all are very influenced by. I know Sam and I love static-x but I never really thought of them as a conscious influence, but I wouldn’t doubt it creeps up in my riffs. Wisconsin Death Trip is one of my favorite albums. SOAD, Tool, and Deftones would be the main conscious influences all five of us equally share.
3. Were these early Nu Metal groups fundamental to the inspiration of your sound?
Nu Metal has been a huge Influence on PRAUN but Sludge/Stoner Metal, Grunge/90’s Alt, Psychedelic Jam bands, Djent, Prog, Post Metal, Noise Rock, Thrash, Hardcore and Deathcore have all been equally important in the formation of our sound. We all listen to many different genres of music. I love listening to stuff like Jazz Fusion stuff like Alan Holdsworth and Drill Music like Chief Keef when I get burnt out on Metal and Rock. I think Nick pulled up to practice bumping Drake before lmao.
4. What is up next for PRAUN ? Any plans we can expect to see come to fruition in the future?
We are working on recording a cover of Skin Ticket by Slipknot to release on this comp album of a bunch of artists covering Slipknot. I think it’s in tribute to Joey (Jordison) but I am not sure. I grew up listening to Slipknot and many of the guys in PRAUN did so it’s definitely an honor. We also are working on releasing a full length album in 2022. Fingers crossed.
5. How long have you been a group? What struggles come with tossing ideas around. Any butting of heads?
We have had some minor spats over dumb stuff like me having a pretentious hipster mentality and not wanting PRAUN to be on Tik Tok at first. Sometimes I can be a bit of an old head and want to do stuff old school and Nick is with the times so he will advocate for stuff like Axe FX and I’m all about a real tube amp. The tube amp is one thing I won’t budge on lol. We’re all friends and get along pretty well. We’re also a relatively new band so I think we’re still in the honeymoon phase lol.
6. Give me a run down of who does what in the band?
With Sulfur, Hodge and I wrote the guitar and bass back in 2019 for the demo. The drums have been changed a few times and Nick re did all the lyrics and vocal arrangements except for Bloodshot. Our writing system is changing on this next record, and probably will continue to change as we grow as a band. I love writing as much music as I can, but the stuff the guys come up with blows me away. There is no shortage of ideas when it comes to this next album. We probably will have to scrap some stuff, tweak it and save it for later. Sometimes musical ideas are like food and hits different after it sits for awhile lol.
7. What outcome with this band and project would you be satisfied with?
I just want to be able to reach as many people I can that will enjoy the music the same way I do when I listen to my favorite bands. I remember being 14 and first discovering bands like SOAD, Tool, and Slipknot. If PRAUN can cause a sensation half as strong as that for someone I will feel accomplished.
