The band Triathalon got their start playing parties in the college town of Savannah, Georgia, home of the Savannah College of Art and Design. That was 15 years ago. In the time since those early days, when the band at first consisted solely of vocalist and guitarist Adam Intrator, Triathalon have gone through a grip of changes, both stylistic and operational. Their forthcoming album, Funeral Music, serves as a reset of sorts. It also contains quite possibly their hardest-rocking material to date. 

The band, who are currently based in New York City, have always been a bit of a post-genre pop proposition. Their newest single, “RIP,” hones that sense of play into a banging future-grunge tune that delivers on multiple levels. Recently, I had an email conversation with Intrator; give it a read below. Funeral Music comes out May 16th on Lex Records.

Your new single is called “RIP.” How did this tune come together? What are you mourning?

Adam Intrator: It really started as just a descending bass line that was played for years until one day finally recorded to some lazy drums and played it on loop for hours. Then brought it to our studio and it evolved into this crazy rock song. There were probably five different versions of the track before finally finding the right direction. And just mourning the old version of ourselves and everything attached. 

When you talk about “the old versions of ourselves,” are you talking about the band or something more personal? Or maybe both?

A little bit of both. This album was a two-year process and throughout that time a lot had happened that challenged the way we work, communicate, and also approach the band and each other. It was long overdue to shift our dynamics and move forward in a new direction. The album itself is also a departure from a darker place that was quite debilitating and now being on the other side of that it feels like life has started over in a good way. 

What kind of music was inspiring you during their making of Funeral Music?

Older bands like Pixies and Nirvana were pretty influential to a lot of the sound and feeling of some of these songs. But also, listened to a lot of Title Fight. A lot of jazz. And a lot of Hip Hop. 

How did those jazz and rap influences work with those more grunge influences? Was that a sort of sonic and musical negotiation for you?

All three of us have very distinct and opposite musical tastes so when we approach a song there’s so many forms of influence and direction that by the time the song is finished it really came from a lot of different places. Hunter loves a lot of different jazz guitarists that have influenced a lot of the tonality and playing on this record. Chad is a big hip hop head and makes a lot of beats on his own. I (Adam) love the combination of both but have been listening to a lot more heavier music so combining all of these elements you can really hear how it has shaped our sound and album. 

Could you talk about the record’s cover art?

Really wanted to convey the feeling of suffering while still standing. Love how the mechanical skeleton of the horse looks despite losing its original layer of skin and fur. Something that was once cute and happy now hardened yet numb. Also wanted those who don’t know to see the cover and think it’s a heavy metal album.

This project started all the way back in 2010. How has it developed since then, both in sound and concept?

It started off as just a fun project we used to play at house shows back in college. It’s then developed into something a lot more serious as years have gone on. A lot of change has happened within our band dynamics, our team, places we’ve lived and things we’ve experienced. We really started crafting our sound into something more unique to ourselves and stopped trying to fit into a mold of what was going on around us. Conceptually we used to be a lot more carefree, which worked at the time. But now in this new era we’ve gotten a lot more technical while still trying to keep it simple. Feels like we are starting over in a way. 

Living in New York, what do you miss about Georgia?

Miss the slowness, the community and riding a bike everywhere. Also really miss having a backyard. 

Is there a perfect album to listen to when you are forced to drive overnight at a gig?

“Hyperview” by Title Fight and “In the Salon” by Red Sea. But we don’t drive overnight anymore. Too deadly. 

Any underrated music that you think needs more attention? 

“Intel” by Taylor* & TLIM SHUG and “The Halo Effect” by Will Alpine. Both amazing records. 

What's the best show you have ever played? What’s the worst?

Best show I think was two years ago in St. Petersburg Florida with Men I Trust. It was hot as fuck and for some reason I wore jeans but I think that’s the best we’ve sounded as a band and the crowd was lit. Worst show might have been opening a show in Dallas, TX when we all got food poisoning beforehand and the crowd did not fuck with us at all. Our parents were also there. 

What do your parents think about your band? Has that changed over the years?

Our parents are actually really supportive. After hearing this new record they have all seemed to be more excited than past releases, which is really nice. They’ve always shown love and I think every year they become more invested. Blessed.