Dylan Cooper (Vocals), Nick Perovic (Guitar/Vocals), Shawn Tompson (Guitar), Brodie Clark (Drums), and Maverik Simard (Bass) all seem to fit together perfectly like a puzzle. Making up Toronto Ontario, Canada’s newest metalcore act, this five piece outfit has been causing quite the stir as of late. Pneumonia Breath, to put it simply, have been the talk of the town ever since the release of their debut EP, The Things The World Doesn’t Want You To See. Now, fresh off the release of the groups sophomore release NOTHING, FOREVER, Pneumonia Breath took time out of their busy day to sit back and generously answer a few questions for us.
Releasing The Things The World Doesn’t Want You To Seeback in September 2022, seemingly out of nowhere, the group basically vanished. But not for no reason as they’ve been hard at work for the last four years honing in their sound and writing the fans some of the best music of their individual careers. Without a single show played; the metalcore outfit wasted no time when they released their sophomore venture NOTHING, FOREVER on August 23rd, just before selling out their first show ever at Toronto’s Sneeky Dee’s on September 9th with fellow Ontario Hardcore acts Panic Response (Brampton, ON), Seagrave (Toronto, ON), and Falstaff (Toronto, ON). Which is not only an amazing feat for four local metal acts but for Ontario’s amazing metal scene as a whole. Humble in every way, Pneumonia Breath were sweet enough to set aside their busy schedule for us and we are oh so glad they did.
How did the band start?
Nick: I was in Lungless prior to Pneumonia Breath. Before that, Cooper and I were in a band together called Constellations that would eventually become Lungless once Cooper stepped away. Once Lungless was coming to a close, it only made sense for Cooper and I to work together again. In the summer of 2018, Constellations did a couple reunion shows for charity. This would eventually get the wheels turning for the idea of Cooper and myself doing another project together. Lungless decided it was time to call it a day the following year and as a result this new project started getting more and more conceptualised. After the final Lungless show in 2019, Cooper and I started writing what would become the first Pneumonia Breath EP.
Is there a general concept or theme to this new record?
Dylan: There is no overall theme for the EP which is strange for me. I generally like to have one consistent story or theme throughout anything I write. Everything is a little different and the majority of it was words I wrote on paper! We eventually tweaked things and made it fit. That being said, the last track “Aware” does have a very obvious and personal theme for me. It’s about the journey of accepting death in your final moments. I’ve sadly seen two important people in my life deteriorate in health. I can only imagine the thought process knowing they were about to die and leave behind so many memories. This song is about all of that through their perspective.
Who did you work with on this record, if you went the studio route?
Nick: Both this EP and our previous one were recorded by our good friend Todd Barriage. He used to run a studio until he closed it in 2018 to take some time away from music for mental health reasons. My old band Lungless had recorded most of our material with him so when the time came to make PB happen… it felt like a no brainer. Todd is very specific with the work he takes on nowadays so we are very grateful to be in his circle of people he’ll still work with. He’s amazing at what he does and I could see myself working with anyone else.
Since many fans know you were in Lungless, how do the bands compare and stand out from each other in your words?
Nick: I find them hard to compare because of how different my mindset is from one project to the other. Lungless, I was trying to make an artistic statement whereas Pneumonia Breath I just went in wanting to make heavy music with my friends. Which I believe is the more successful formula for me because what I’d write as a result of this mindset change never would’ve happened in the Lungless days.
What might’ve been some ups and downs getting this going?
Nick: By the beginning of 2020 we had written the first version of the first EP, so we began making plans to record and then inevitably begin playing shows. Then we all know what happened, and since our only goal was to start a project and play some shows, we didn’t want to put anything out until that was going to be possible, so we then sat on it for almost two years. Towards the end of 2021 we revisited the material and instantly got excited again, so we made some tweaks and then we were ready to record. We began our work with Todd in February 2020 and while sessions went extremely well, the process didn’t go without its hiccups. A death in Todd’s family pushed the final masters back to the summer. During that time we began figuring out what the live version of Pneumonia Breath was going to look like as at the time Cooper and I were the only members. Once we had the full band, we released the first EP and began attempting some show bookings. Unfortunately some internal struggles rendered that lineup unable to play, so once again we found ourselves in a position of being delayed. While we figured out a new lineup, we just bean writing again which would then become NOTHING, FOREVER.