No one can write a song as extreme as Car Bomb. That’s because no other band can sound like them. In case there was a need to put that beyond a shadow of a doubt, their brand new EP, Tiles Whisper Dreams , is likely the most intense 12 minutes of music you’ll hear all year. I had a conversation with guitarist Greg Kubacki about the new EP and learning about the artistic process via watching Akira . The new EP, Tiles Whisper Dreams , is finally out. How are you feeling? How was that recording process? Tell me all about it. Greg Kubacki : It was long. So we started writing like in 2019, after Mordial was out. We just kept writing and writing and writing, and we really wanted to make the best songs possible. Our intention was to put out a full-length. But some of the songs are just quite not there yet. So we just figured, “Hey? Why don't we put out some songs while we finish the rest?” We really like these three, so let's put them out in the meantime and then the record will come out hopefully next year. RELATED: Knosis on Their New Album, GENKNOSIS, and the Effect of Anime Culture in Japanese Metalcore Was anime on or around while you were working on the new music? Kubacki : I think it's always in the background of my head a little bit, because I'm such a visual person. I haven't watched a lot of the newer stuff, but I grew up on anime and it’s a big part of how I view artistic expression. Everything we do, especially with the riff writing. There's always a shape or a visual pattern or something. So I'm sure there's early influences of that sparkle in there somewhere. I'd love to hear about your anime origins and those core anime that helped shape your artistic vision. Kubacki : Everybody in the eighties watched cartoons, so I always gravitated toward the more mecha stuff like Voltron, G-Force, and Gatchaman . Obviously there's GI Joe and Transformers and shows like that. I remember seeing Akira when I was 19 or 20 and was just completely blown away by the tastes, the vibe, the story, how weird it was, how I didn't know and quite understand what was going on, but could follow along. That movie has impacted everybody. The other one was Aeon Flux , which isn’t quite anime but also is very clearly wearing its anime inspiration on its sleeve. I loved how Akira and Aeon Flux tackled difficult topics, like sexual identity and philosophy. They were really forward thinking. It made you feel something you never felt before. I always like when I'm like, “What the hell is that?” You know? Were you even fully aware that a lot of what you were watching was from Japan, or that it was different? Kubacki : No idea. I mean, like I just liked it. I like the way it looked. I mean it was as simple as that. I'm a musician, but I'm also an artist, like I went to art school and I've done all the artwork for the band since day one. I'm always looking out for things that just look awesome. And then, if I like it, I put it in the bucket of things I like and try to summon it when I need it. More recently, I'm starting to go back and research how animation was made. Like Studio Ghibli is another thing I've been falling into again, because the vibe, it's all just spectacular. That crowd scene from The Wind Rises , the famous one that took a year to animate or something like that. I love that. I love the fact that they take such time to hone in their craft to make something look amazing, even though it lasts for a breath. As soon as I saw it I was like, “Wait! What was that?” Could you see? Everybody's doing something different? That’s why I’ve been going back through My Neighbor Totoro and Spirited Away . Most recently, I watched Castle in the Sky . I get sucked right into it like me and my girlfriend, we're arguing, and the next minute we're just like staring at the TV at all the awesome sh*t. RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Thousand Below Drop Save Me and Talk Wanting to Be in Zoids Which one would you say is more of your release, the cozy anime or the punishing riffs? Kubacki : This is gonna sound weird, but it's all kind of the same thing. That's a hard question, because it all comes from the same spot. When I write a heavy riff, it's not because I want to beat the sh*t out of somebody. It comes from that same place. Whatever comes out, comes out and like inspiration can be visual, too. I like a lot of the cyber-punk, neon, laser-y stuff too. That's all influences from movies and sound design. And I mean a lot of the stuff, especially with Akira too, was like the sound design was amazing. That, mixed with the visuals, really grabs my attention. Did you learn anything specific from watching this anime? Kubacki : I learned that you can really mix anything together to tell the story visually. It works, but it’s hard. It's easier said than done. The craft of animation is one thing. Being able to draw a hand, or, you know, cast lights and shadows and all that stuff. But being able to tell a compelling story visually is like a whole other thing. So I think, if anything, those things taught me that you can do the same thing with music, too. You can start in one place, use patterns and directions to go to different places. Volume dynamics, arrangement, range. Some instruments could be high and then another instrument could be low. They help give me a frame of reference when creating. I'm a visual thinker. Did you do any deeper digging after first being introduced to anime? Kubacki : Ghost in the Shell is one of the next ones I found. And I watched The Animatrix . My girlfriend knows a lot about anime so she's been showing me shows. We watched Deadman Wonderland yesterday. Also Kakegurui . RELATED: Naethan Apollo on His New Album and the Art of the 12-Episode Anime Why do you think the anime and heavy music scenes have such an overlap? Kubacki : That's a really good question. When I think of anime, I think of darker stuff. But there's a lot of anime that have no fighting or anything at all. There's obvious answers like escapism and stuff like that. But I always think every time I see anime that it’s a true expression of somebody. And it's unique, right? Not all heavy music is unique, but a lot of it is. That sort of raw expression is one of those avenues that still exists, especially if you go to a show. Like seeing a video of a show is not even close to the experience of being there. Anime gives you that same feeling but you get to participate more because watching the video is being at the show in a sense. So maybe it resonates with people who are looking for something genuine. 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