Meet Dust to Dust vocalist/bassist main man Rob Traynor. When the guy speaks, he speaks in volumes, melodies, and the heaviest of decibels. The brainchild of Brooklyn born-and-bred Rob Traynor, Dust To Dust, have laid down a collection of songs on their self-titled Sanctuary Records debut that goes from strength to strength; darkness to light. “I miss the days when you could put on a record and it would take you on a journey,” says Traynor. “From start to finish, the record would hold you.” Dust to Dust have made one of those records. A record that not only holds you but sucks you in: the sort you file under uneasy listening. But keep coming back to.
“I grew up on everything from the Beatles to Sabbath to Pink Floyd to Gary Numan. I was the kid with the Rush logo painted on the back of my jean jacket, and Metallica carved into the cover of my loose leaf.” If you’re looking for contemporary comparisons, here’s a record that sits well between the likes of Alice in Chains and Filter with nods from both the Smashing Pumpkins and Metallica. A sweeping musical vision with a decidedly blackened heart.
“I’m a nice guy -- but angry. I’m an angry person,” Traynor admits. Clearly, tracks like the album’s first single “New Low” (“ A song sung from the perspective of a drug dealer,” says Rob) rings with an ominous musical pulse and a definitely downbeat lyrical view. If you blame it on anything, blame it on growing up in Brooklyn --occasionally on the wrong side of the tracks -- and you begin to make sense of Dust to Dust’s caustic sonic detail. “It’s the same old story,” Rob admits. “Growing up in a household that didn’t have a lot of money. My Parents divorced when I was a kid. I Never felt like I fit in, nor did I want to. Typical shit. That’s why I have songs in there like ‘No Surprise’. I can understand why something like Columbine happened. I’m not endorsing killing anyone, but I can understand what pushes outcast kids over the edge.”
Dust to Dust is that angst put to sound. After gigging in a number of mid-90's Brooklyn bands and utterly fed up with both the dying grunge sect as well as the oncoming plastic punk pop phenomenon, Traynor woodsheded and began to record early versions of songs like the stirring, cerebral, “If I Was God”, the defiant “Submission” or the ultimately depressed “Potter’s Field”.
It was those recordings that forged the sound of Dust to Dust; Traynor’s canny miasma of crunching guitars, swirling melodies and old school analogue synths. These were the recordings that not only surprised his friends but also caught the ear of the industry. Management and record company interest ensued. The addition of guitarist Stuart Berenson, drummer Steve Tobin and keys man James Meselsohn further fleshed out the sound.
The resultant album: produced by Rob himself after inking with Sanctuary, is as “honest and hard hitting” as a record can be. Turn off and tune out to the plethora of boy bands, rap metal and copycat careerists, Dust to Dust has arrived.
“Kids know honesty,” states Traynor. “Bottom line is I was being honest, and I continue to be honest with my music. That’s overall what makes me most proud, and most happy. I did this shit my way, I didn’t follow any trends and jump on the bandwagon. I wrote these songs from the heart and people took to it. If it all fell apart tomorrow I’d still feel like I accomplished something. I didn’t sell myself out. I didn’t compromise. I did what I did and it came from the heart.”