Hard work is a crucial element of success in the highly competitive world of heavy metal, but luck has played a major role in Nonpoint’s story too. The Ft. Lauderdale quartet caught a number of breaks early in its career, including a slot on the Ozzfest tour and stints opening for Linkin Park, Deftones and Sevendust. The band’s 1997 self-released debut offered a trendy rock-rap mixture, but Nonpoint began shedding overt hip-hop influences with 2002’s “Development.” Propelled by the mosh-worthy single “The Truth,” Nonpoint’s fifth opus “Recoil” debuted at No. 3 on Billboard’s Heatseekers chart in August. The group is headlining a three-month trek across America and enjoying the hard-rock life. RedEye caught up via phone with bilingual vocalist Elias Soriano, who was eating at a McDonald’s in New York City’s Chinatown.
Why did you spend a year writing and recording “Recoil?”
There was a lot of working and reworking. We wanted to do a lot of stuff that we were doing before we were writing records for a record label. We were able to take the time that we didn’t take with “Development.” The band loves every single song on the record, and it’s good when every single member of the band can agree.
You guys get along pretty well, then?
Yeah, we’ve been together for years. It’s like a marriage.
What prompted your cover of Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight”?
We wanted to do something a little different, something that we all remember from our childhood. We grew up in south Florida, and that was a big song during the “Miami Vice” time. It definitely has that spooky, dark feeling, and we thought we could bring it some new life.
Is it safe to say that you’ve left rap behind?
It keeps changing. We like to change up things and keep things fresh, not just for the fans but for ourselves. We’re the ones that have to be up there playing it. If we feel like rapping when we’re writing a song, it might come back in, depending on how we’re feeling. Our daily struggles and our lives during that time always influences us. If we’re feeling sad, it comes out sad, if we’re feeling angry, it comes out angry.
Is touring still fun?
Oh definitely, I love going out. That makes it all worth it, and you get that nice ego massage of everybody singing your songs.
How do you keep that from going to your head?
We just try to respect the fans for keeping us fed and out there. You do the best that you can with keeping grounded. I just try to stay myself. Fortunately, the guys are good musicians, and they get a lot of credit as well. We try to pull our weight so that way we all get recognized.
Nonpoint
When: 9 p.m. Friday
Where: Double Door, 1572 N. Milwaukee Ave.
Tickets: $12
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Edited by Cara DiPasquale (cdipasquale@tribune.com) and Victoria Rodriguez (vrodriguez@tribune.com)
