From the rumble of the guitars to the blitz of cymbals and the beastly screams you’d swear this was a musical assault being produced by fully bearded lumberjacks thundering with axes at the ready through a ripe forest only to discover that these young Quad Cities, Illinois natives at the helm of Searching For Security are men in the making. While some rail against the onslaught of youngsters flooding the music scene, the internet and technology have created an environment where music is truly in the hands of the artists as the grip of traditional music sources is loosening. Whether the evolution of the music industry is altogether the best for all involved is still up for debate, but for those who love to create and listen to music the opportunities are endless. As the universe seeks equilibrium, for every abhorrent evil the likes of Justin Beiber the music gods balance the scales with young brutality emerging to steer a generation in the right direction. Searching For Secruity guitarist Jason Hartley took some time for an exclusive interview with hurdcore.com, we share this with you as they prepare to release their debut EP “Amongst Ruin” with Fidelity Entertainment Group.

In the immortal words of Derek Zoolander, “Moisture is the essence of wetness. Wetness is the essence of beauty.” What is the essence of metal?
Jason Hartley (Guitar) This is always an interesting question, because everybody’s viewpoint of what makes metal is different, for us we enjoy a good breakdown as well as good screaming vocals and moving guitar lines. Or just aggressive music in general.

What is the meaning behind your name, Searching For Security?
JH Our name comes from what we believe man struggles with most, finding security in life. Whether it be through having a good job, being financially set, having a lot of friends, or having faith in something.

November of last year you signed with Fidelity Entertainment Group, how has this partnership helped you as a band?
JH They have done so much for us. They have helped us become more organized, learn how to talk to venues and get guarantees, tour opportunities, produced our first E.P. helping us to give it all to the record and really come out with something we are so proud of and we believe our fans will be proud of.

There have been several members in and out recently of SFS recently and you all have had to take some time to dig deep and decide whether you would all continue with Searching For Security. How has this process strengthened your relationships and the vision of the band?
JH Well like any band we went through some rough times, and it came to the point where we did have to step back and figure out if it was worth it and decide what we would do to fix it. After our guitarist Andrew Cato left we had trouble filling that void. We tried many solutions including Carl switching to guitar and our friend Tyler Mills playing bass. Also we tried becoming a 4 piece with Carl playing guitar and Aris playing bass while screaming. But in the end we picked up Merry Hooligan’s old Guitarist Mikey and its been great since then. He really fits the part well. Through our struggles we have become closer to each other and to our God who blessed us with this band and gives us our drive and purpose. Allowing us now to come back stronger than ever, and ready to hit the ground running.

In any organization there is a constant struggle to get all players working for the same thing, at the same time with the same passion. In your experience as a band and observing others in the music world, what are some of the biggest obstacles to maturing into a cohesive unit?
JH Very good question. The number one thing that we agree on is our purpose, which is playing in this band for God. We believe he gave us our talents and passion for our music and has blessed us with many opportunities with Fidelity, opening for bigger bands, as well as role models to help guide us. We believe if we didn’t do this for God it would be a waste of our time. This purpose itself causes some issues whether it be from churches saying you can’t be a Christian band and play this style of music, or atheists saying you cant be Christian band in this style. We have learned to overcome this by constant prayer and fan support.

What is the current roster for SFS?
JH Our Current roster is: Aris Hess – Vocals; Cole Elliott – Drums & Vocals; Carl Pierce – Bass; Jason Hartley – Guitar; Mikey Youngs – Guitar.

“Amongst Ruin” is currently in the production phase, is there a theme or concept behind this collection of tracks that will combine to form your first EP?
JH Amongst Ruin really isn’t a concept album per say, but it does deal with many issues that burden us, whether it be being captive to struggles or addictions we go through as humans or discovering the purpose of existence. As well as looking around our world and seeing it fall apart into ruins through war, poverty, or just any issue that cause destruction in society.

Who are you working with to record this album and how is the process going?
JH Well, we can proudly say our album is complete and we are so proud of it. Fidelity helped us greatly by recording us as well as producing us completely. They really challenged us, to reach our full potential for the record so we can sit down at the end of the day and no we didn’t hold back.

SFS is locally renowned for pummeling fans with high octane metalcore, in addition to being loud, heavy and fast how would you describe your sound?
JH Well we strive for a different sound by combining heavy verses with melodic choruses and crushing breakdowns.

On Myspace, your most popular song to date is “Captive,” do you find that this is a fan favorite live as well?
JH Yes, this is one of our well known songs. It was one of the originals we wrote when we started. The fans know when to chant with us on this song as well as when to throw down for the breakdown. Its a classic that we will keep around and we cant wait to show the new version from our E.P. now that it has been produced and sounds better. To be honest we hate the version on our myspace because we play it so differently now.

Catch SFS live on 10/25/10 @ Music House – Moline, Illnois w/ A Hope For the Dying. Searching For Security (Metalcore – Moline, Illinois) is: Aris Hess – Vocals; Cole Elliott – Drums & Vocals; Carl Pierce – Bass; Jason Hartley – Guitar; Mikey Youngs – Guitar. Look for shows, news and the release of their debut EP “Amongst Ruin” at the SFS Myspace.