Devin Walsh at The Metal Minute recently caught up with ANA KEFR frontman Rhiis D. Lopez to discuss the band's new album, The Burial Tree. An excerpt is available below.

MM: Your style of music is very progressive, but not in the traditional sense. When I hear progressive rock/metal, I immediately think of DREAM THEATER or RUSH. You guys really bring something new to the progressive table as your music is a constant journey. Did you guys intentionally set out to specifically sound the way you do, or is this just what the natural excretions of Ana Kefr sound like?

Lopez: "Thanks for the compliment! I'd say our sound is for the most part what naturally comes out. We all listen to a pretty weird variety of music, and when it comes to writing we just don't hold ourselves back. In a way, I guess you could say it is somewhat intentional because one thing we don't want to do is set out to be a band that sounds like X, or something that has to be written like X because we want to be some certain kind of music. We don't want to define ourselves or box ourselves into a genre. Doing that would severely limit any artistic expression. There are very few rules in the band when it comes to writing, but one rule would be to not repeat ourselves. It's okay to have the element of a certain style in the music, but for every song to use it and to make it something you could expect is kind of against what we try to do. It's important to us that we try new things and that each song stands out individually. It sucks when an album is good but every song basically sounds the same. That's too easy to make. I think the real challenge is in writing an album that is obviously from one band but whose songs span all across the musical board."

Go to this location for the complete interview.

As previously reported, Circle Pit's Chicago correspondent Stephanie Davison recently issued an exclusive studio report on the recording sessions for The Burial Tree. Check it out below: