In the sphere of progressive rock and metal, few bands embrace the diversity of musical genres quite like Wings Denied. Led by guitarist Zach Dresher, the Washington, D.C.-based band has built a reputation for pushing the boundaries of their sound, blending intricate technicality with a powerful melodic core. Their latest album, Just the Basics, is fresh off the presses and it showcases their most ambitious work to date, featuring nine songs spanning nine different genres. In this interview, Dresher takes us behind the scenes of their creative process, the influence of bands like Deftones and Porcupine Tree, and how the pandemic reshaped the band’s journey. With a career that has taken them across the U.S. and Europe, including notable festival appearances and even a feature in Fortnite, Wings Denied continues to evolve while staying true to their unique identity. Join us as we dive into the mind of a guitarist constantly striving to push the envelope.
Prog Sphere: Just the Basics features nine songs across nine different genres. Can you tell us about the inspiration behind this ambitious approach and how you chose these genres?
Zach Dresher: When we first started the music that would eventually become Just the Basics, the honest answer is that we really had no specific plan, we just wanted to write the best music that we could. With both Mirrors for a Prince and Voyager, we literally never said no to a song, as in, everything we wrote made it on the record, and it all tended to be within the same realm musically. But when we were writing for Just the Basics, we took our time and actually wrote (at least instrumentally) 22 songs to choose from, trying to expand outward and try new things as much as possible. The more we wrote, the more we realized that our strengths lay in our variety; we’re all influenced by pretty different sets of music, and instead of trying to be the type of band that just does one sound well, we wanted to try our hand at everything.
That’s what progressive has always really meant to me; I grew up listening to bands like Deftones, Porcupine Tree, Opeth and Pain of Salvation, who have all gone through several major stylistic changes in their records over the years, and excelled at each different thing they’ve tried. So when we got a chance to make a record in that style, we took it. As far as how we chose what genres, it ultimately came down to picking what we thought were the best songs of those original 22. We wanted a mix of everything- some of the more “traditional” wings sound, some blusier stuff, some ballads, and some of our most technical music as well. Ultimately, we let the music guide us, choosing to pick what we thought were the “best songs,” not specifically the “best songs in X or Y style.”
You’ve cited influences ranging from Deftones and Alice in Chains to ‘70s prog rock. How do these bands influence your sound, and where do you think your music diverges from those styles?
I think the things that influence me most are the presence of a solid groove, a sick riff, and a catchy hook in any piece of music. Deftones in my opinion are absolutely the masters of this—their ability to make a riff that just sticks in your head from literally just 2-3 notes is a talent like no other. Likewise, if you hear a chorus like Diamond Eyes once, it’s gonna get stuck in your head for the rest of your life. I feel the same way about a bunch of 90s grunge; I still remember the first time I heard the opening of Them Bones, and how even though it was rhythmically off, it still had that catchy groove that just sticks with you. Especially on Just the Basics, this was a huge focus for us—the riffs, the grooves, and the hook. No matter what style, we wanted to make sure every song we made had each of these things, whatever the actual casing for it ended up being.
Ultimately though, I think we diverge in a lot of ways. For one, we put a lot more technicality in our music throughout; be it the rhythmic modulation of songs like Saudade or the absolutely absurd guitars throughout Mr. Nice Guy, we’re hitting on a more technical version of what a lot of our influences do. Vocally is also our biggest difference; though Luka’s been compared to Chino Moreno before, he’s just as much influenced by jazz, blues, and southern rock music, and that’s always been a prominent aspect of our music.
The band took a hiatus during the pandemic. How did that time away impact your creative process, and how did you approach music differently when you reconvened?
I think “hiatus” is a bit of a relative term, as the simple fact was that we had three members living up and down the east coast of the US about 10 hours away from each other altogether, and one in Croatia. With travel shut down, it just became impossible for us to meet or make any real plans, as we had no idea what the world would look like tomorrow. We also each had our own set of pretty heavy personal circumstances; familial turmoil and death affected all 4 of us during that time, we all either lost or changed jobs, and ultimately we had to put Wings on a back burner to be able to focus on those things. Just the Basics was actually recorded in 2018-2019, with plans for a first single to be released in 2020 to correspond with a tour in March, and the album soon after. But even as the world opened back up, we really wanted to make sure we could wait until we were ready both financially and mentally to be a band again.
Musically however, this was actually exactly what we needed. There was a lot of frustration in 2020 after everything got canceled, and as the primary songwriter (of the first drafts at least), I really needed to take some time away to recharge creatively. Writing for Just the Basics had taken a lot out of me, and I honestly didn’t even write a single piece of music for Wings during 2019 after the album was recorded. Finally by summer of 2020, I started demoing new ideas, and we started calling each other again more, eventually getting together for a 2-week writing session last year, where we essentially completed the first draft of an entirely new album, which we’re now working on finishing, the first time we’d ever done so all in a room together. I think taking the time away allowed us all to really take time to figure out what the most important things in our lives were, and ultimately realizing that Wings and our music was it brought us a new sense of motivation, inspiration, and desire to move forward.
Your single “Plastic Tears” was featured on Fortnite’s in-game radio. How did that opportunity come about, and what was it like to have your music in such a widely played game?
So I live outside of Washington DC now, but I’m originally from North Carolina, and went to high school in Cary, where Epic Games is headquartered. One of my best friends from there ended up working for Epic (on Fortnite specifically), and one day sent me a request from their head of music to help him out with something in the DC area on an upcoming trip he had. I did the thing, and we ended up talking about music a lot, where naturally Wings got mentioned, and I sent him an advance copy of Just the Basics, just to get his thoughts on it. He loved Plastic Tears, and thought it would be a great song to feature in the game, and just like that, a few contracts were signed and it happened. We’re incredibly grateful to them for the opportunity, and it’s really allowed us to reach an entirely new audience that realistically, we didn’t have any other connection with.
Personally, I’ve seen the effects in some really cool ways. I teach guitar part time, and I had a student (13 years old) literally last week wear a Wings Denied shirt to school, and another kid came up and asked him if “we were that Fortnite band,” which is pretty sick! It’s kind of a cool “history repeats itself” scenario for me, where I used to find new bands from games like the Tony Hawk Pro Skater soundtrack growing up, now Fortnite is the equivalent for the younger generations!
You’ve toured extensively across the U.S. and Europe, including performances at Euroblast Festival and UK Tech Fest. How have these experiences shaped your growth as a band, both musically and personally?
Touring has always been a huge focus of ours; we pride ourselves in being a sick live band, and there’s just nothing like that high of giving a great performance. Personally, I honestly don’t think it would’ve been possible for me to be able to see so much of the world the way I have at my age if not for Wings, which is something that I’ll always be grateful for, and a sentiment I think we can all relate to. There’s nothing like going to a town that you had to practice being able to pronounce, in a country you only ever knew of as a place on a map, and then hearing people sing your lyrics back to you.
The festivals especially hold a special place in my heart; we don’t really have those for progressive music the same way in the US, and the ability to be in a room with so many like-minded musicians and fans from all over the world is a really cool experience for sure. I think seeing more of the world has allowed each of us to grow up more, and start to understand the vastness of humanity, which I think has really become something emblematic in our music altogether.
The pandemic affected countless bands, but you managed to release a series of singles after it. How did the pandemic challenge or change your view of the music industry, and how did you navigate those challenges?
Right around the beginning of the pandemic, we parted ways with our longtime manager Mike Mowery, so we came into the entire thing with no idea what would happen moving forward. I think the pandemic gave us a chance to really remember what it was like to be a DIY independent band, focusing on what WE truly wanted, without influence from others. With that said, the music industry, especially from a live setting, has changed dramatically, and we’re still figuring out what that really means to us. I manage a concert venue in DC, and I can just see on the faces of every band I work with how much harder touring is now than it used to be, when margins are so tight and it’s almost impossible to eek out a living without major support from either a tight grassroots community, or a major label support. What comes next? We’ll have to wait and see, but I’m hoping that it gets easier somehow.
You worked with renowned producer Joel Hamilton on your latest album. What was the recording process like, and how did he influence the final product?
Working with Joel was an experience for sure. I don’t think I’ve ever learned more about music in any short span of time than I had from working with him. He’s a very powerful presence in the room, and he gave suggestions and made changes throughout the recording process, the grand majority of which made it on the final record. From incorporation of other instruments- the violin on Saudade and the percussion section on Mr. Nice Guy, both of which were his idea—to the real push towards vocals being the prominent instrument, something we hadn’t always focused on, his influence can be felt all throughout the record.
Being at that studio really felt like the big time in a way nothing else had before—the man has multiple Grammys, and he keeps them on a shelf in his bathroom, so every time I went to poop, I’d have this reminder literally staring at me reminding me where I was and why. I think it’s important also to note that we picked Joel specifically BECAUSE he was not a metal producer per say, more of someone who had experience in so many different genres themselves, which we felt was the best fit for the diversity we were trying to create on the album.
Looking back at your 2014 album, Mirrors for a Prince, and comparing it to Just the Basics, how has your sound evolved over the years?
I think that we’ve really let ourselves take in all the different things that make us musicians, and really make music that sounds like “us,” instead of trying to make our version of what we heard other bands doing. Mirrors for a Prince was heavily influenced by only what I was listening to at that time, which was a lot of new progressive rock and djent styles. I love that stuff, but I think that over time I realized I didn’t want Wings to just be another band that sounded like X or Y band, more of a band that could really do it all, and that was a huge driver for this record. We’ve learned to focus on the hooks and the riffs first, and let our inspirations run wild to go wherever each song ended up leading. To focus on writing great songs, instead of writing “that song with the great riff or chorus or whatever.”
Even then though, those original influences are still very much there in the music. I think that with some changes in production, songs like Black Legend, Pariah, Saudade, and Children of Tomorrow could easily fit on the same album as songs like Matches in the Wind, Maiden, or In Search of Sunrise. But the thing is, we wrote and recorded Mirrors for a Prince ten years ago, and we’ve all changed as people since then. I love that record and am incredibly proud of it, but there’s no world where I would write it again, because quite simply, that’s not who I am anymore.
With so many different genres present on the new album, how do you maintain a cohesive sound that still feels authentically Wings Denied?
I think that even though the album is incredibly varied genre-wise, that concept of “Hooks, Riffs, and Grooves” that I keep referencing is the cohesive point. Every single song features those three elements first and foremost, despite whatever genre the individual songs ended up being. That’s what Wings Denied have always been about, creating music that’s simultaneously catchy, technical, and diverse, but rooted in a groove that you can bop your head to. We’ve been playing some of these songs live (specifically Plastic Tears and Pariah) for years, and they blend in just fine with our older material, despite their differences.
Also, it has to be said that Luka’s voice is a huge connector. Just like Deftones, who have both incredibly heavy parts and incredibly beautiful melodic ones, Chino Moreno’s voice is always a common thing that lets you know “oh yeah, this is a Deftones song.” Luka’s the same way, there’s nobody like him vocally in my opinion, and he’s always been one of the main factors that keep us focused sonically, and defines whatever the “Wings Denied sound” is.
Wings Denied has been praised for blending elements of metal, alternative rock, and progressive music. How do you go about balancing those diverse elements in your songwriting?
To be honest it’s a bit of a hard question to answer because none of that is done consciously. I don’t sit down with my guitar and go “okay, I want to write a song in this or that style today.” Inspiration just takes you wherever it takes you, and over the years it’s taken me to more and more places. I think the balance just comes naturally during the writing and editing process- as we’re all influenced by such different bands, a little bit of all of us shines through each track, and blends those sounds together. I think that a focus on good songwriting is more important than a focus on trying to sound a specific way, so whatever that turns into musically is what we end up with.
Your music often blends atmospheric and experimental elements. Can you give us insight into your songwriting process and how you develop these soundscapes?
So, every song kinda has a different songwriting process, but most usually start with either a riff, or some sort of clean guitar melody. When I write a riff I generally know immediately what purpose it serves in a song—is it a verse, a chorus, a standalone intro/outro, etc? From there, I start thinking broader about what kind of song I want it to be, then I start mapping out sections in my head, almost like making an outline for a song before I even write the specific parts. With that outlining, I start thinking about layers, and the things like atmospheric aspects to our music- does a section serve it’s purpose as just the guitar/bass/drums? Does it need something else to fill out the sound, or give it another dimension? Etc.
I use Guitar Pro extensively in composition- nearly all guitar and bass parts are written on the actual instruments, but tabbing them out allows me to try different things in layering to really find the sounds I’m going for. I tend to write a first draft of drums as well—everything on our records is live, written, and played by Alec, but I like to have an idea of what energy a part can have, and the drums really make a difference there.
Once I’ve got a draft together in Guitar Pro, I send it around to the bandmates, where we all listen and discuss. Sometimes we’ll scrap or re-write different sections, sometimes someone else will have an idea for a different instrument or layering, sometimes Luka will have a vocal idea that requires some chord changes, etc. Then, I demo it, recording all guitars, having Wes record bass, and then using my vst library for all other instruments. Quick mix, send it back around, and the whole process begins again once we can hear it with real instruments. Even then, a song isn’t done until we get into the room and play it together- where usually countless additional changes are made. It’s a long and time-consuming process, but at the end of it, it allows us to be an extremely collaborative band despite our geographical differences, and create music that we’re all extremely happy with.
Wings Denied formed when you were all students from different cities and countries. How did your backgrounds and diverse experiences shape the band’s identity?
Coming from different worlds, we all grew up with entirely different musical identities, influences, and goals. Luka in particular has lived all over the world, and his approaches to writing for lyrics are in my opinion particularly unique—some of the topics he picks are things I’d never even consider writing about, but they’ve come to be some of the things that define us, such as his love of writing about history and refusal to write anything even remotely reminiscent of a love song. It’s also really impacted our experiences touring—Luka can translate all over Europe, but is awed by the different cultures in the USA that he’s never otherwise experienced.
Wes, Alec and I all grew up on the east coast of the US, so we don’t have quite as much of a cultural difference, but there are certainly a few. I’m from the south, and there’s a certain level of bluegrass and blues music that was just so present around me growing up that it’s found its way into my writing. Likewise, Alec grew up as a part of the NYHC scene, which is pretty apparent in some of his drumming choices!
What message or themes do you hope to convey with Just the Basics? Is there an overarching narrative or concept running through the album?
I think the overarching theme is quite simply that we’re a band unconstrained by style or genre, and we can and will make whatever music we think is the best representation of who we are as people at that time in our lives. It’s a record more about us than it is about others; there are certain lyrical themes, like our frustration with capitalism (Lifebroker, Children of Tomorrow), mental health and familial struggles (Plastic Tears, Lost in it All, Pariah), and as always our historical commentary on past injustices (Black Legend, Saudade, Traces), but they’re honestly just more reflections of what we care about as individuals than any call for action for others.
The title “Just the Basics,” comes from the concept of trying to have a little bit of every style we do within the record. I got the title literally from seeing a “Just the Basics” brand lightbulb on my desk, and it was a literal “lightbulb moment” for me, as I realized that’s exactly what our album was about. It’s us at our core, all the things that make us us without any frills.
After years of touring and releasing new music, what would you say has been the most significant lesson you’ve learned as a band?
As cliche as it sounds, being in a touring band has taught me about respect and gratitude in a way nothing else can. You won’t get anywhere in the music industry being an asshole, and really, why would you be? We’re all in it together to be a part of a piece of art, whether as a musician or a fan, and deserve the same respect. I see it everywhere we tour- people that have never met, being brought together as a community with a mutual love for the music, and there’s really nothing like it. Growing up in North Carolina, the culture was very exclusionary and cliquish—if you didn’t like the right things, dress a certain way, have certain religious beliefs, or have a family with the right amount of money, you always felt out of place. But traveling and playing music has given me such a broader worldview, and the knowledge that the things that bring us together are a lot more important than what push us apart.
What’s next for Wings Denied after the release of Just the Basics? Are there any plans for a tour, music videos, or special projects you can share?
So, over the next few months we’ll be releasing a ton of video footage, from playthroughs on all instruments, to in-studio footage from the sessions for Just the Basics. We’re also working on setting up some touring—likely not until next year, but we’re gonna try to hit it as hard as we can in 2025, in as many cities and countries as possible. Finally, we’re already hard at work and pretty far along on a new record, which we’re hoping to record before the end of next year, and have it out in 2026. We’ll see what actually happens, as you can’t rush the creativity, but that’s the goal at least! In the meantime, enjoy Just the Basics!
Just the Basics is out now; grab it from Bandcamp here. Follow Wings Denied on Facebook and Instagram.
