SXSW Pop: What inspired the lyrics and message of "Ballad of Beelzebul", and how do you think it reflects the themes and emotions that you explored in your songwriting?

Scott David Roberts: Although the lyrics and the musical track were not written together, they fit perfectly with what I was feeling at the time. I have to say that a combination of anger and fear motivated me to write these lyrics. I was watching events unfold in Ukraine, Israel, and all the crime and division taking place here in the US. I feel helpless to change it. I mean what could cause otherwise intelligent people to adopt such animosity and hatred towards one another. I’m not just talking about war in distant foreign countries, but here in the US I’m talking about a level of hatred and violence that I’ve never witnessed in my lifetime. It could be politics but it seems like something more powerful, such as mental illness or even demonic possession. So while composing the lyrics to Bob, I thought to myself if Bob were a rockstar, what might he have to say? I imagine he would sing about how he possesses people and causes them to do evil things to each other.

SXSW Pop: Can you discuss the musical and lyrical evolution of "Ballad of Beelzebul" compared to your earlier work, and how do you think this song represents a new direction or growth in your sound?

Scott David Roberts: The music to Bob was composed before I had written any lyrics at all. When composing music I like to noodle around and find interesting chord progressions or different voicing of chords. It’s like a puzzle coming together, the intro, chorus,  change and then the ending. Sometimes a composition will sound like a rock song or maybe a pop song or even a ballad. Bob sounded like a metal song chords or a BOB sounded angry and dark it sounded like a metal song. It’s interesting sometimes when composing the music will just flow out you come up with some sort of riff. It’s almost a mystical thing. It’s the most satisfying feeling when can experience as a songwriter so the music that would become BOB. told me what it was about. The sound of the music told me this song was about something dark something scary something demonic. 

SXSW Pop: How do you think the song's use of atmospheric instrumentation and vocal harmonies contributes to its overall mood and emotional impact, and what inspired you to incorporate these elements into the song?

Scott David Roberts: Once I had written the song, I took it to my producer Joel at One Music Studios Rancho Cucamonga, California and let him listen to my acoustic demo, Joel asked me to name a few songs or artist that I wanted the song too feel like. I mentioned Marilyn Manson, Nine Inch Nails, Stained. We listen to a couple of tracks from those artists and begin discussing various Ament instrumentation vocal styles that would complement the song. You see I’ve written rock songs before but this was my first endeavor into the world of the metal genre. I asked Joe if he had any suggestions for a singer we had already decided on a male vocalist. He gave me a few names, but after checking them out, I didn’t feel they were a good fit. So I. begin looking for a singer on the web and came across this guy from Ecuador named Andres, his forte is creating that growling type vocals but he can lay great ballad vocals as well, he’s very versatile. I knew instantly this was the guy for this song. Of course the logistics were a bit of an issue, him living in Ecuador, but we decided to take a chance. So we recorded the track and sent it to him, I recorded demo scratch vocals so he would know kind of what we’re looking for. We just handed it off to him. Hope for the best. The funny thing was English was not his native language so when we got the vocals back, there was some problems with pronunciation of certain words, such as the word “the” so I actually tweaked the vocals and attempted to eliminate as many of the problematic words as possible. The second goal around he was able to overcome these issues and we got the most amazing vocal tracks and harmonies I could ever hope for. 

SXSW Pop: What role does the concept of the "Ballad of Beelzebul" play in your lyrics, and how do you think it relates to broader themes of spirituality, faith, or the human condition?

Scott David Roberts: There are several aspects to the recording of Bob that I really love the vocals of course are the most important. I also love the drum track, the rolling drum track really adds to the dark feel of the song. Overall, my favorite part of the song is where the guitar, drums, and base all come together in the climactical peak of the song “once I washed you slither from the sand and now I’ll watch you slither back again back in sin”

Beelzebul is known as one of the seven deadly demons, or princes of hell. He represents gluttony, envy, lust, and many other dark traits in humans. He is also nicknamed Lord of the flies, a description I used in my lyrics. So like I previously mentioned, what would BOB have to say if he were a rockstar, probably nothing positive, laughing out loud.

SXSW Pop: Can you walk us through the writing process for "Ballad of Beelzebul", and how did you come up with the song's structure, melody, and lyrics?

Scott David Roberts: For me this song was cathartic. It was my way of expressing my feelings, I didn’t write it to send a message or influence people, at least not consciously. We all experience the expression of our own negative traits: anger, hatred, jealousy, envy, and most of us try to control those demons. whether or not you believe in demonic possession, it’s fun to sometimes pretend.  I guess that’s what Halloween is all about right! but I personally cannot rule out that demonic forces exist and that they bring out the worst traits in us, however the song is just entertainment.

SXSW Pop: What are your hopes for how "Ballad of Beelzebul" will be received by fans and critics and what do you think is the most important takeaway or message that listeners should take away from the song?

Scott David Roberts: Lastly, I hope listeners will check out some of my other material on the various streaming services on CD Baby, YouTube, etc. and I want to think you for the opportunity to share my music with you