PopHorror Let's Get Scared
XIII is a freight train of what is called “Unmetal”. We got to sit down with Zeke XIII, a king of DIY artistry and the one-man act. What makes the one-man sound so fast and heavy? You have the chance to find out here. Zeke is a workhorse who never stops out of pure dedication to his distinct sound. He performs by himself, edits and produces by himself, and also records and mixes all of his own tracks. Zeke shows no signs of slowing down on his passion. Here is what he had to say.
PopHorror: How did XIII come about?
Zeke: I started the band in 2006 back when I was in high school. Nu Metal was the most incredible music I had ever heard at that time. Its popularity was on the decline and I was late to the party. Still, I wanted to make music like Korn, Slipknot, Mudvayne, Static-X, Mushroomhead, and all those awesome visually striking Nu Metal from the 90’s and early 2000’s.
PopHorror: XIII is a single operation, is that what you wanted for XIII?
Zeke: In the early days, I always wanted a band of tight-knit friends backing me. However; as I got older and realized what working in the industry is like. I started to understand that people will always come and go and I have no control over that. It made me decide that whether I have bandmates or not, I need to keep the ship moving forward regardless, so as long as I’m still in this, I will make it work. This is why I’ve been onstage with only a guitarist behind me, or even a guitar and bass, but no drummer. I’ll find a way to make the show happen even if it falls upon instrumental backtracks for me to do it. I’d rather play with the extra space on stage than miss out on performing because we couldn’t each individually line our ducks up in a row.
PopHorror: XIII has an interesting story behind it, can you explain some of that?
Zeke: I came from the Øtherworld to right some mistakes I made in the distant past that have caused a misalignment in the connection between my home and your Earth. Through my actions, a cult of blood letters surfaced while my world suffered at the hands of Nightmare, a tyrannical warlord bent on ruling both realms. The bounds of his evil are endless as he’s raised his army of Dreamkillers; monstrous creatures made from the evils of the hearts of men. I tried to stop them, but ultimately failed and was sent to exile as my last remaining friend was killed before my eyes. I didn’t wake until centuries beyond that moment, but it’s not yet time to tell that part of the story. Give it a few years lol
PopHorror: Do you still play shows as a single act?
Zeke: Yes, I try to perform live solo wherever they’ll allow me. Lately, I’ve been performing over YouTube livestreams, which has been a lot of fun. I enjoy getting to interact directly with fans as I’m performing. They help me make the set list as I go on sometimes lol
PopHorror: What inspires you to write? Does it just come naturally?
Zeke: Usually yes. Sometimes I have a solid idea I’ll work on perfecting over time, but also what will happen often is a song idea will randomly pop up in my head that will not go away. It stays in my head playing over and over for years and years until I finally record it. That’s exactly how Daddy Long Legs and Don’t Go Into the Forest came about. Those riffs just played on repeat in my head until I couldn’t stand not hearing them in real life anymore. I feel like when this sort of thing happens, my best work comes to be.
PopHorror: Is there a story behind Zeke’s appearance?
Zeke: I was always fascinated by masked bands and how they’re so energetic, characterized, bombastic, and in your face, so I always wanted to do the same with my own music project. I used to wear masks to metal shows just for fun, and I noticed the anonymity of wearing a mask tends to release my inhibitions, causing me to throw down extra hard in the pit. People loved watching the dude in the mask running and jumping and moshing around, to the point where even the bands themselves would talk to me about it. It made me see the immense value of letting my musical spirit take the form of whichever face I wear to the show.
As for the design of Zeke XIII, he’s definitely inspired by characters like SlenderMan, the Puppet from Five Nights at Freddy’s, various masks from Slipknot and Mushroomhead mixed together, some character designs from Kingdom Hearts and Digimon, all kinds of alt-goth/weeb/gamer style inspiration.
PopHorror: What would you call the style of XIII?
Zeke: UnMetal, which is Metal but not. It’s meant to challenge what is conventional in traditional metal by being radically not that, despite containing many of the hallmarks, especially of classic Nu Metal. Basically, it’s a genre that through its existence kinda makes fun of the purist types who argue about what genres are genres and whether or not X or Y band should be considered “Real Metal”. I’m just like, “Who fucking cares lol” If you care too much, you start to just lose the whole point.
PopHorror: What is your recording process? Do you do all of it yourself?
Zeke: Yes, always have. I’ve always known exactly how I wanted to present to music I write, therefore I’ve always taken it upon myself to record it. I knew it was gonna be easier to teach myself how to do it all than it would be to pay an engineer or producer, just for them to only kinda get it and serve me a completed work that doesn’t satisfy me. I’d rather mess it up on my own and learn from it, and I couldn’t be more grateful for the advancements in home recording technology that have allowed me to have these skills and this career.
PopHorror: Where do you see XIII in the future?
Zeke: Dropping our 13th and final album on October 13th, 2029. After that? Who knows… Come enjoy these last 5 albums every October till then if you want answers for what’s to come after. I still don’t know what I will be doing once it’s over. This is the single largest commitment to any music or art project that I’ve ever done. I’m doing it all purely for the sake of it. I want to see who I am and where I’m at once it’s all over.
PopHorror: Are you currently recording for XIII?
Zeke: Always, always always. I’ve got the 9th album coming this October, and it’s gonna sound like NIN stuffed through a hard distortion filter, and then repeating that process 3 or 4 more times. It’s gonna go so hard, it’ll be rough and spiky and uncomfortable sonically. It will be sort of a revival of some older Industrial Metal sensibilities. It’s gonna sound like shit but rock so hard
PopHorror: What would you say to someone who may be afraid to put themselves out there?
Zeke: Do it or don’t, but commit to that choice. I wish I had no delusions about “making it” when I started. All that did was distract me from the art I wanted to make. It caused me to hate this industry the deeper into it I went. Too many artists adjust coast by on whatever they can make that will be popular. However; not necessarily deep or personal to themselves. I can’t think of a bigger waste of time than that. You get more value out of your life staying home on the couch playing video games than you do selling out to chase algorithms. Fuck the algorithms.
Make what YOU want regardless of what industry dork-ass clout chasers think you should be doing. I’ve made it to the potential signing meetings with labels and tasted the excitement of “making it”. It all crumbled the moment I was told the annual albums have to stop cuz it’s less effective for algorithms. I told them that was not happening and ended talks there. I’m on a mission, and I will not set my true goals aside for money, fame, etc. fuck all that. I’m true to myself and the rest of y’all just have to live with that.
You can follow XIII for all kinds of fun content!
Youtube: @xiiiunmetal
Facebook: 13unmetal
Bandcamp: xiiiasylum
Website: xiiiunmetal.bigcartel.com
