“As a child growing up, I was very shy and had very little self-esteem. But when I met people that listened to heavy metal and shared new bands with me that I’d never heard before, I began to feel empowered. I grew my confidence from relating to many countless heavy metal songs.”
As a part of our series about the metal community, we had the pleasure of interviewing Joel Dominguez of SABER.
SABER is a heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. The band’s goal is to make music that inspired us to pick up our instruments in the first place. Music from the golden era of metal, the 80’s. SABER is inspired by many styles of music but that is where the heart of the band lays. Just take a listen to any song SABER has composed so far and you’ll understand.
Joel, thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive into the main focus of our interview, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your band’s backstory?
Glad to be here! The band first began when Steven, our vocalist, called me over the phone to discuss an idea he had in which he wanted to start a new project because he wasn’t happy with his previous band anymore. He loved how me and Jesus, our rhythm guitar player, wrote songs. We agreed to meet and discussed our mutual love for 80’s hard rock and heavy metal and we hit it off. The rest was history, we kept meeting up and discussing ideas and tones for this new band.
What or who are your biggest influences? We’d love to hear the story.
My biggest influences vary because I listen to so many different styles of music but if I had to choose just one it would be John Sykes. That man is a monster of a guitar player. Amazing tone, fantastic songwriting and that tone, nothing compares to that tone! Once I heard his guitar playing on albums like Thunder & Lightning and Whitesnakes’ 87 record I was blown away!
None of us can achieve success without some help along the way. Was there a particular person or people who you feel gave you the most help or encouragement to get where you’re at today? Can you share a story about that?
The person who’s helped us out the most is Trevor William Church of HAUNT. Trevor has not only recorded and produced our music but played all the drums on our debut record “Without Warning”. Without his help and support we wouldn’t have accomplished our goal of having a full-length record out during this pandemic. He encourages us to write music every day and to practice our instruments daily to maintain our chops. He’s a workaholic himself so working with him, he expects the same from us.
Can you share the funniest or most interesting mistake that has occurred to your band? What lesson or take away did you learn from that?
So far, the funniest thing that’s happened was when me and Steven were traveling to Trevor’s home studio to finish the recordings for our single release of “Strike of the Witch”. My maps on my phone rerouted us and I didn’t pay attention until it was too late. We were on a one-way lane straight into the mountains just past Los Angeles and we couldn’t turn around as there was no room to do so. We were literally in pitch darkness and we couldn’t make out just how high up we were and if I wasn’t careful I could of driven us off a cliff! Luckily enough that didn’t happen but we were 2 hours behind schedule. It was a fun experience and we got to Trevor’s super late and we were exhausted, but of course knowing the workaholic that is Trevor, he put us straight to work when we got there.
The road to success is hard and requires tremendous dedication. This question is obviously a big one, but what advice would you give to younger bands who aspire to follow in your footsteps and emulate your success?
Practice your instrument as much as possible and work on songwriting skills. Everyone now seems like they want to be a great instrumentalist and that’s fine but I, for one, think that being a great songwriter is where it’s at. To me a great song is way more rewarding than a great solo.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?
The only project I am working on is SABER. Due to the on-going pandemic there isn’t really much to do but stay at home and write more music. We just released our debut album “Without Warning” but I’m already working on ideas for a 2nd record. I guess working with Trevor really does rub off on me and the rest of the band.
OK, thank you for all of that. Let’s now shift to the core focus of our interview. Can you briefly tell our readers a bit about why you are a part of the heavy metal community?
I believe we are part of the heavy metal community because of the genre of music we play, it’s heavy metal. It’s the style of music that naturally just comes out of us. So many people are still fans of this style of music so we love interacting with our fans and letting them know what’s going on with the band.
For the benefit of our readers, can you help to define what the heavy metal community is?
It’s the loyal fan base of this style of music. Not only are we musicians but everyone in the band are fans themselves and support bands we love and want to watch grow. That is what I think is the heavy metal community, supporting the bands you love to watch them succeed.
How is the heavy metal community different from other communities?
The fans, definitely the fans are some of the most loyal people to this genre, more than any other I’ve seen. We will travel hundreds of miles just to see our favorite bands and spend our hard earned pay to get a record or a shirt from those bands. I, for one, can vouch for this because I do the same.
Can you help explain a few reasons why the heavy metal community is so important? Can you share a story or give some examples?
As I said, the heavy metal community is what makes a band. With enough support from the fans, a band can succeed from nothing to something. Our community really is something special and I, for one, am proud of it.
Would you feel comfortable sharing a story or anecdote about how being a part of the heavy metal community has helped you in your life? We would love to hear about it.
As a child growing up, I was very shy and had very little self-esteem. But when I met people that listened to heavy metal and shared new bands with me that I’d never heard before, I began to feel empowered. I grew my confidence from relating to many countless heavy metal songs.
Ok. Wonderful. Here is the main question of our interview. Can you recommend five things that anyone can do to help grow and strengthen the metal community? Please share a story or example for each.
First, spread the music of your favorite bands. The more people you tell, the bigger they will get. Second, attend bands’ live shows. Bands love to see fans come to their gigs because it shows them that people actually like their music and that will lead them to write more music. Third, follow their social media. It’s the best way to get updates and learn details about the bands you love. Fourth, buy your favorite band’s merch. The best way to support a band is to buy their merch and people in the heavy metal community love to sport their favorite band’s shirt and it helps the band a lot. And finally, support newer bands. A majority of people pass on newer bands because they compare them to their predecessors and how they don’t compare to them. Give them a chance and listen to them and you’ll be surprised, bands like JUDAS PRIEST and IRON MAIDEN aren’t gonna be around forever.
Ok, we are nearly done. You are a band of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
Heavy metal has always been an art form that the majority of the world has shunned because of the bad publicity and imagery it’s been given over the years. I believe that is not the case at all. Pop and rap music are globally accepted in the mainstream and I feel like rock and metal music should be as well. It’s art just like any other style of music and shouldn’t be passed over like it is.
What is next for your band?
Due to the ongoing pandemic, touring (let alone live shows) is out of the question. Staying at home has given us a lot of time to continue to write more music so we are currently writing and are planning on releasing another record at the end of the year or early next year.
How can our readers further follow you online?
Follow the band on all of our social media via Facebook, Instagram and subscribe to our YouTube channel to see our brand-new live guitar playthroughs of songs off the brand new record “Without Warning”.
Facebook: @Saberheavymetal
Instagram: @Saber_heavymetal
YouTube: @SABER Heavy Metal
[You can also find all of SABER’s weblinks at Linktree]
Thank you for these excellent insights, and we greatly appreciate the time you spent with this. We wish you continued success.
Thank you and thank you for interviewing us, it was great!