Despite a bad cell phone connection, Saturday Night Magazine had a lively chat with Nate Stone, vocalist for rock band Mercy Fall. While descriptors like “mystical,” “ethereal,” and “chaotic” have been thrown their way, in person, Stone refreshingly dropped any affectation of the mysterious rocker persona, candidly discussing the pains and joys of touring, songwriting… and pizza.

Love it or hate it, Mercy Fall are in love with the nineties; theirs is a sound informed by the heaviness of alt-rock heroes Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, and Pearl Jam. Comparisons to contemporaries like Audioslave, Trapt, and Seether might be inevitable, but Mercy Fall contend that they are a band following their own path. Combining grunge aesthetics with a positive lyrical bent, Nate Stone and Co. are poised to bring their old-yet-new sound to the airwaves, to your ipod, and to a venue near you.