Strangeforms Festival

19th & 20th April 2014 - Wharf Chambers, Leeds

Tickets

The Strangeforms line up is pretty much a who's who of bands we've been banging on about here at Echoes And Dust for the last few years, so when it was announced we knew we just had to have a chat with Bad Owl Promotions's Stewart & Kerry to find out more.

(((o))): Can you give us some background on Bad Owl? How long have you been putting on shows etc?

Kerry: It all started in May 2012. Basically, a friend of Stewart's from back home in Ayrshire got in touch as her husband's band, What The Blood Revealed, were looking to play a show in Leeds. We didn't really have many promoter contacts so decided we'd put the gig on ourselves. We enjoyed it so much we decided to continue! Since then we've put on 20 shows. We put on bands we love and we work on a not-for-profit basis, so any money made on the door after the promotion and venue costs are covered goes back to the bands.

(((o))): How have you found life at the coal face of grass roots music promotion, if you’ll excuse the mixed metaphor?

Stewart: It can be stressful at times with regards to knowing you need to try and get enough people interested in your shows to ensure you have enough money to pay the bands (we've had to put our hands in our own pockets on a few occasions but we'd much rather do that than let a band go away empty-handed) but, on the whole, we find it to be a really rewarding experience. There's a lot of joy in introducing a new band to a crowd who, otherwise, might never have heard them. We love being able to hang out with the bands before and after shows too which really only happens at this level of music promotion.

(((o))): With that in mind, what made you want to step up & take on something as large as Strangeforms?

K: The idea came from Stewart, really. A lot of the bands we've put on over the past 18 months have played and toured with each other, and we felt that it would be amazing to have them all in the same place at the same time. It's also a bit of a temporary grand finale for us, as after StrangeForms we're taking some time out of putting on shows for a while, whilst we explore other avenues and adventures.

S: As Kerry says, the idea of having so many amazing bands on the one bill was really exciting to us. Our friends in Himself had asked before if it was something we had ever thought of but, at the time, we felt it was too big a step up for us. It was probably after spending such a fantastic weekend at ArcTanGent and seeing all those incredible bands play together that we thought we'd love to have a go at trying to re-create that kind of buzz up North but, obviously on a much, much smaller scale.

(((o))): Arctangent does seem to have inspired quite a few people! The scene seems to have been slowly coalescing over the last few years but my feeling was that ATG really brought it together & gave people a sense of identity; would you agree with that?

S: Absolutely. There was a real communal feeling at ArcTanGent and you knew you were part of something really special. With most other festivals there's usually one or two bands that you definitely want to see with the others being bands you'll watch out of curiosity or to pass the time whereas, from our experience, many people felt that ArcTanGent seemed curated almost specifically for them.

K: Most other genres have a pretty healthy choice of festivals, weekenders and all-dayers, so it was amazing to have something which catered for the post-rock scene. I'd never seen a line up like it. The atmosphere there was brilliant.

(((o))): How have you found the scale up to Strangeforms? Are you doing things differently to what you'd do with a normal show?

K: It's not too dissimilar to a normal show I guess, just takes a bit more thinking about! The main concerns are things like making sure we stick to schedule and have enough time for change overs etc. Inevitably there'll be the odd hiccup but we've got a pretty ace team of friends who each have a role to play over the course of the weekend so fingers crossed everything should go to plan. We've been amazed at how far some people are coming from (we've sold tickets to people in Italy (our very  own Dani ;)) and Germany) so there's a little more added pressure than usual on us to get it right.

S: Yeah, we'll probably feel quadruple the stress we normally do at a show but the fact that we've previously worked with around half the StrangeForms acts will hopefully set as a bit at ease. Although Bad Owl is essentially the two of us we've had so many offers from friends and bands to help us out over the weekend that we're sure everything will go as close to plan as possible.

(((o))): I'm sure we've all played a bit of fantasy festivals in our time. If money was no object, what would your dream StrangeForms lineup be?

S: I'd have most of the usual suspects on there like 65DaysOfStatic, Mogwai, And So I Watch You From Afar, Russian Circles, Adebisi Shank etc. I'd throw some money and nice tasting biscuits at Humanfly and What The Blood Revealed to get them to reform and play then I'd put on all the bands that have ever played for us before, ensuring they were handsomely paid and finally I'd get a 'guilty pleasure' band on that I wouldn't often get the chance to see. Probably Paramore.

K: Gah, the pressure of a name! As well as all the bands we've ever had play for Bad Owl (and all the names Stewart got in there first with), I'd ask Slint, Red Sparowes, Pelican, Maybeshewill, That Fucking Tank and Fugazi, and then I'd get Echelon Effect to play us his lullabies to help us cope with the post-festival comedown. I'd also get This Et Al, Spy vs Spy, Engine Down and Yourcodenameis:Milo to reform and play a special pre-festival show. Just for me.

(((o))): If April is a success, and I think it will be, can we expect to see StrangeForms as a regular addition to the festival calendar?

S: Absolutely - that's definitely the hope.

(((o))): You said earlier you're going to take a break from promoting after StrangeForms to work on other things. Can you share any of your plans with us?

S: Yes, we're really excited to now be working alongside Leeds post-metal act, Envoys. They're such good guys, not to mention extremely talented and we've become good friends with them through having had them grace our gig nights on several occasions over the past 18 months. We'll be lending a helping hand with things like booking gigs and generally promoting them to, hopefully, a wider audience. They genuinely are one of our favourite bands at the moment and we're really looking forward to show them off at StrangeForms - their live performance is a genuine joy to behold. Kerry has given me the go ahead to join them on their European tour at the beginning of April, which should be a lot of fun.

K: Whilst Stewart is sampling European delights with Envoys I'm going into the studio to record a couple of tracks myself. My old band (Laboratory Noise) are taking a bit of a break at the moment, so as well as that I'm going to be singing for a couple of other artists, which I'm really excited about.

(((o))): I think that's about it really. Anything else you want to share with the world before we sign off?

S: We'd just like to say that we've had a lovely time and that we really appreciate the support from all you lovely people at Echoes & Dust. And that if any of your readers would like a ticket for StrangeForms then they can pick them up at www.badowl.bigcartel.com - make us happy!

K: What he said! Thank you for having us x

Thanks guys. A small number of day tickets are now available. Get 'em while they're hot!

Saturday - Sunday

John Helps is all things to all people: moving effortlessly between Maybeshewill guitarist, Her Name Is Calla bassist, promoter, producer, music lover and all-round nice guy, for the past two years he's also been heavily involved with Handmade Festival in Leicester. We caught up with him to find out a bit more about this year's event and what, exactly, an event curator actually does.

(((O))) This is Handmade's second year, is that correct? Tell us a bit about how the festival came about; what was the ethos behind it and how did you set it in motion?

That’s right. Last year we learnt that Leicester wouldn't have a large scale music festival anymore after Summer Sundae closed its doors - that was a really big part of the city’s musical calendar and one of the few things that lots of people would come out and get involved with. We didn't aspire to replicate or replace it, but we wanted there to be something to bring the city’s musical community together in some small way. The event came to fruition in a very short period of time really, with a lot of help from friends, other promoters, bands, artists… It was a very rewarding time. We’d been running an event called White Noise Festival before, curated exclusively by Maybeshewill and comprised only of Leicester based artists previously and it grew out of that but with added national acts and a bit more ambition.

The ethos is that it’s a ‘curated’ event put together by people that really give a fuck about what they’re doing. It’s not an event that can ever make a lot of money so we have to do it to make it the best event we can. That’s the impetus behind it, and the sole driving force I guess. Hopefully we go some way towards achieving that.

(((O))) How did last year's event go? What were the highlights? Was there anything you didn't feel went quite as well as you'd hoped?

Last year was surprisingly awesome. Surprising in that we genuinely didn't know what to expect and had put everything together in such a short time. It’s so hard to pick highlights, but the double whammy of Tall Ships and Dutch Uncles closing the festival in the downstairs bar at Firebug was totally magic. Rolo Tomassi headlining the Friday night was a personal favourite as well as Katie Malco playing in Bishop Street Church. So much so that we've asked her back to do the same again this year after she released one of my records of the year last year.

(((O))) What's your aim for this year in terms of the feel of the event? Are you going for 'Bigger Better Brighter' or 'Close-Knit Community’?

It’ll be similar to last year. It’s all very DIY and we have to beg borrow and steal various things to make the event happen so it will never be a corporate sponsored, pristine, shiny set up, but it’s got some real personality which I think comes across. We put pop-up stages in weird places like libraries and historic buildings so compromises have to be made, but all to make the festival as good as it can be and to make it as interesting as possible.

(((O))) What does the title of "event curator" actually mean? Are you involved in actually booking the bands, or do you just have to draw up a wishlist of people you'd like to play?!

Ha ha! I book the bands. I also pick 90% of them with help from our partner curators which this year include ArcTanGent and 2000 Trees, Alcopop and Big Scary Monsters. I pretty much start with a wish list and then work my way through it. It tends to be people I've met through Maybeshewill, bands I've been putting on for years and people I've always wanted to bring to Leicester. It works pretty well I think.

(((O))) There's been a bit of a rash of post-rock / math-rock / post-metal festivals springing up recently - Beyond The Redshift immediately springs to mind, and the most high-profile example is probably ArcTanGent, which also celebrated its inaugural year in 2013 (and which Maybeshewill performed at, of course). Do you think this is representative of a growing fan base for what is arguably less-accessible, more cerebral music? Is it simply a response to the growing number of bands within these genres? Or do you think the demand has always been there, and there simply haven't been events to cater for it in the past?

I don’t have a clue! We never really intended to be that kind of event - The majority of last years acts certainly wouldn't fall in to that category - but i suppose because of Maybeshewill’s involvement that was inevitable in some of the choices. There have always been smaller scale events like Off The Cuff going on and a large part of 2000 Trees was dedicated to that, so maybe people are just seeing that that audience really cares about it’s music and is willing to travel huge distances for the right bill? It’s not something I thought about - this is just the music I’m in to.

(((O))) What are the best and worst things about curating a festival?

The best thing is getting to enforce your music taste upon a city and then to stand there at the end of the weekend and watch the last act with a pint. The worst thing for me is that for about 4 months of the year I’m virtually impossible to talk to. There is so much information to be processed and so many decisions I have to make that I can’t really communicate properly about anything else. Jamie from Maybeshewill observed how much worse my memory gets in the run up to the event.

(((O))) What are you most looking forward to about Handmade Festival this year? Is there one band you're particularly excited about having on the line-up? 

I love all of the line-up which is a brilliant position to be in. Finally getting And So I Watch You From Afar back to Leicester to headline Friday night is a bit of a personal goal achieved - having toured with them years ago and then watched them grow in to the monster they are today has been very pleasing. Haiku Salut and Katie Malco in Bishops Street Church will be MAGIC and some of the stuff I haven’t been able to announce yet is very exciting.

(((O))) Will you even be able to see any of the event?! Talk us through what the weekend will be like for you.

Last year I got to see a fair bit. I do have to prioritise and be on call for when something goes wrong, but usually I can relax a bit once every things have actually kicked off. I spent most of Saturday watching lovely music in Bishop Street Church and hopping between the pop-up venues making sure everything felt right. I organise a lot of the volunteers as well so I pop round and check everyone's okay. I do just look like I’m walking about talking to people not looking very busy while everyone else runs about looking worried though.

(((O))) I'm sure this year's festival is top of your mind at the moment, but have you started thinking at all about 2015?

I've never guaranteed that it’s an ongoing thing, so after this one's over I’ll start thinking about if it will happen again. I like to keep the city on its toes. It’s the biggest thing I do each year though, and I do love it to bits.

(((O))) If money, location and prior commitments were no object, what would your dream line-up be for Handmade Festival?

Between the last two years I’ve got pretty close to an achievable dream line up. I’d like to bring Blakfish, Oceansize, Colour and Reuben back from the dead as headliners though. Maybe get Biffy Clyro to do Vertigo of Bliss in full. Mogwai doing Hardcore Will Never Die in full?

Early Bird tickets for Handmade Festival 2014 are currently available at the absolute bargain price of £25 - get one before they all go! 

By the end of this week Conan will release their much anticipated new album Blood Eagle, their first release on Napalm Records. John Dickie recently reviewed it for Ech(((o)))es and Dust and stated that "Conan are probably the best metal band in the world" and that Blood Eagle is "pure Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Metal". John asked guitarist/singer Jon Davis some questions about the band, the new studio and the new album. Jon also has some useful advice for new bands. Please read on...

(((o))): Hi mate, how is it going?

Jon: Alright John? I’m great thanks, things are going well. Been busy packing up the new Bast album today so have been busy with that, but having a nice Monday!!!

(((o))): That sounds great mate. Can you think of a number between 1-100?

Jon: Yeah, I can.

(((o))): Was it the number 69?

Jon: It was actually, that’s fucking brilliant 🙂 !!!

(((o))): When is Jon getting here?

Jon: Lolz.

(((o))): So, Blood Eagle is quite good, great in fact. How's the band feeling about the reaction to it?

Jon: Thanks. We feel great actually. It’s really cool seeing what people think of the music, but I’m personally more interested in playing live and seeing how people react then. Up to now we have had some really positive reviews, really high scores etc., but heavy metal isn’t about scoring points or pretty reviews - it’s about sweat, head banging, tinnitus and screaming your head off at a show. We’re really keen to get touring again and we can then see how people react to this stuff played live. But the early signs have been great so far, people seem to see the things we thought they would in their reviews and most have mentioned the tempo changes and the slightly more aggressive manner of the tracks so up to now it’s going well.

(((o))): I'm right into the whole tech side of music, even though I have nothing to do with it. Tell us about all the tech you guys use, pedals, guitars, amps etc.

Jon: Well for me I have a German made Travis Bean ‘clone’ it is made by some company that bought the copyright to make these guitars in Germany. It’s not 100% true to the original designs I don’t think but it has been made pretty much in line with the original specs and aside from a wooden neck (instead of aluminium) it is hard to see the difference. I play that into a Matamp GT120 and a Sound City L200, these go into a 6x12 and a 4x15 (both cabs are being made for me as I speak). Guitar pedal wise I use a custom made fuzz pedal called Fuzz Throne - it’s bit like a Muff and a bit like a D*A*M Meathead all in one - it’s prefect for what I need.

(((o))): Talk us through how you create a song like 'Gravity Chasm’.

Jon: I think I was either trying to copy the riff from 'Children of The Grave' (Sabbath) or ‘Call Me’ by Blondie, fucking around in practice one night, and that riff just happened. It’s not a very complicated thing but sometimes is more than a sum of its parts and we think, with this track, that we have the perfect marriage of charging riffs and weighty slow parts, with our own style of vocals screamed over it. The lyrics are kind of a miss mash of various bits and bobs I had lying around. For example ’Shaman’s Disease’ was because I had a virus on our our website and Lee (Edwards - The Sleeping Shaman guy) was fixing it for us, ‘Man Is Myth’ was just a cool idea about our brief stay on planet earth - in a few thousand years when we have tweeted each other to death and evolved into a touch screen human with one round button on our midriff and no other discernible features, we might be remembered as a failed experiment or a bad mistake. Basically it all started with that riff, then Paul added the drum intro and it sounded a bit like .Where Eagles Dare' by Maiden, then the rest of the track pretty much snowballed over the course of a few practice sessions. The ending, where it all slows down quite a bit, rings out in a riff which uses the same notes as the intro to 'Horns For Teeth' (hence partly why they sit back to back on the album).

(((o))): What inspires Conan?

Jon: Well, the music is all about just playing the loudest amps possible and using this medium to deliver riffs that other more technical bands probably throw away all the time as being too simple. We are like the Hovercraft amps of the heavy music world, we take all those bits and bobs that don’t work for other bands so well - songs about giants, hammers, ancient battles etc., and we then mash them all up, give them a clean and make something completely different from them. Our core ingredients are the same as any other band - we don’t use any weird instruments or weird techniques and I guess sometimes less definitely IS more.

If you look away from the music, I can say that I have wanted to do something like this for several years. Even when I was a teenager I knew I wanted to play guitar and sing on stage - I couldn’t even play guitar then, nor had I written my own song. I first started writing songs using an old spanish acoustic, using my finger for a plectrum (I couldn’t work out how to hold a plectrum for a while) and I would make up single note melodies and write songs along side these. This progressed into writing more upbeat songs, I was shown how to form a bar chord by some guy I was buying a leather jacket off in Manchester Arndale shopping centre with my 18th birthday present off my Grandfather (My Grandfather John Fitzsimmons was in the merchant navy and latterly the Dockyards in Liverpool) he used to save up his coppers for me and I remember when I was 18 he gave me what he had saved, it was around £120. I bought a leather jacket with it in Manchester, one of those big stiff ones that were all the rage back then - anyway, the guy in the shop showed me how a bar chord looked (the three string version, not the full chord itself) after this I started learning Nirvana songs and also started writing music that was pretty much Nirvana / Soundgarden style and played win a few bands similar to this. As time went by I decided to start Conan because I had been out of action for a little while and had some time on my hands so I started it with the intention of writing the heaviest, most simple riffs I could and try and copy some of the style of bands like Slomatics, Fudge Tunnel, Sunn etc.

(((o))): Are you guys still loud or are you louder?

Jon: I’d say we’ve been a little louder. My biggest ever back line for a show was four 4x12s and an 8x10 and I doubt this was necessary, however I am currently having some custom made cabs made that will work very nicely with our sound. I'm having a 6x12 and a 4x15 made by these guys at Soundune Audio. The 4x15 will sound fucking amazing, so I’m looking forward to that. Our volume is always going to to be considerable but I think we could always go one better.

(((o))): Tell us about Skyhammer Studio.

Jon: Skyhammer Studio is a recording studio and adjacent 2 bedroom cottage that I own with my wife. The studio itself is run and managed by myself and Chris Fielding with Chris managing the recording of bands and myself managing some of the business related stuff. The studio itself is custom built within the shell of a 19th century coach house at the back of our house, across a small courtyard from our kitchen. As I am sat here in my house, I could walk into the studio within 30 seconds. We had the studio designed and installed professionally, and every aspect of it is aimed at both seriously high level sound isolation (so our neighbours can’t hear the noise going on within the studio) and also an extremely high quality of finish. The inside of the studio is a nice mix of oak flooring, oak doors, grey acoustic fabric and aubergine walls. It’s a nice relaxing place to come and record music. Of course, the main draw is Chris Fielding. Chris, as most people will know, is a highly thought of producer and we have been friends for a few years now. He asked if he could come and work at the studio and of course we said yes, the rest is history. As well as being Conan’s practice space it is a really busy commercial recording studio, with bookings being taken all the time, as we talk we have bookings as far ahead as November this year.

(((o))): How can bands reading this record there?

Jon: The best way is to email us on bookings@skyhammerstudio.com.

(((o))): Do you think the whole doom scene is now a bit over saturated with few bands attempting anything interesting?

Jon: I don’t think there are too many bands, but there are a lot more opportunities for the bands that are active. This would explain why there are so many good shows happening. What I have noticed is this uprising of young fresh bands, injecting youth and vitality and life into this music and then you get bands (that gave up a while ago for whatever reason) reforming to have another bite at it. You therefore have a nice mix of established acts headlining shows that the younger bands provide support for and this has created this snowball effect where bands are being created all over the place because there are so many decent shows coming through, and decent festivals coming up - it’s pretty exciting to be a band right now. Whether or not they are contributing anything new is another thing. I don’t listen to an awful lot of new music for this very reason, if I am being honest, but whether or not some bands are original they are still capable of being very good. Fuck it, we’re all into Black Sabbath anyway pretty much so there will always be some level of similarity - I guess those bands that reach a little further with their sound and their whole vibe will probably get more of the breaks.

(((o))): What's next for Conan?

Jon: Well right now as I type I’ve just had the nod on our upcoming Australia shows. We’re playing about 10 shows across Australia later this year - the dates will be announced soon I’m sure. We have tours coming up in March, April and May and then Hellfest in June. July we have a couple of festivals on the horizon in Europe and I think we’re going to Europe again in October. We’ve got a few support slots in the pipelines that we’re working on currently and I dare say we’ll tour in the UK again before the end of 2014.

(((o))): How did you guys hook up with Tony Roberts?

Jon: Initially it was John McNulty who brought Tony to my attention when we were looking for an artist for Horseback Battle Hammer. Once I saw his work and once John had introduced us we hit it off straightaway, his initial sketches for Horseback Battle Hammer were amazing and he hit the nail on the head each time he sent an update. Tony is great to work with and fits really well with our whole style, his artwork just fits brilliantly with our music. He’s also a really nice person and easy to get along with.

(((o))): Any advice to bands starting out?

Jon: I remember before we recorded Horseback Battle Hammer and not really being arsed what we did, or when. I also remember those first couple of days when we had the recording in our hands (after our trip to Foel) and being really organised sending the tracks to a few record labels and trying to be as professional as possible. If I had to try and steer other bands in the right direction I would say focus on two areas:

1. TRYING TO GET A LABEL. If you want your music to reach an audience further and wider than those people who have bothered to look at your Bandcamp, or have bought your CD at a show then you should try and get the backing of a label that works with similar bands. Most record labels will sign you off the back of a previously successful release. For those bands who get lucky you might be able to grab their attention with an exceptionally well recorded debut release. If you have not released anything yet, but are very serious about being signed to a particular label, then unless you are personal friends with the guys / girls at that label you had better develop a big buzz by gigging EVERYWHERE or pay for some studio time at a great studio. Then with this nice recording you can convince the record label to press some vinyl copies for you. You must remember that it will cost the label about £900 to press 300 copies of a 12 inch record so you have to make it worth their while, the best way to do this is to make the album sound great and get some cool artwork lined up. Do not send tracks out to labels if you are in any way unsure of the quality.

2. TRYING TO GET DECENT SHOWS. We were really lucky with the release of Horseback Battle Hammer and so haven’t had to work too hard to get gig offers. The hard work starts when you are trying to fit all the shows in. I believe it is really important that bands play as often as they can as this is how you build a fan base. There’s no point releasing a great sounding album unless you go and tour to back it up. Start by going to the local shows and getting pally with the promoters. Do shows for free, or just the cost of fuel (sell merch to make more money) if you wish. Play shows all over the country if you are offered, and try not to let people down by cancelling…… Once or twice is expected, but if you do it often, especially with the same promoter, you’ll quickly find yourself down the pecking order.

Basically, get the best recording you possibly can and then tour like a fucking bastard to back it up.

A cappella metal band Van Canto recently released their new album Dawn of the Brave through Napalm Records, which impressed Andrew Rawlinson a lot when he reviewed it (see here). Andrew asked Stefan Schmidt (lower Rakkatakka vocals and wahwah solo guitar vocals) some questions. 

(((o))): So, you formed in 2006. How did you all meet?

Stefan: We knew each other from our former bands. Bastian and I played together in a band for more than 10 years and played gigs together with the bands of the other singers.

(((o))): Who are your influences as a band?

Stefan: We don’t have a idol band, but to get an idea which music we like you can have a look at our cover songs.

(((o))): At what point did the idea of doing an ‘a cappella metal’ move from one person’s crazy idea to starting an actual band?

Stefan: The moment Bastian joined the tribe in 2007 and we opened for Nightwish in front of 10.000 people 3 months later. This was the point it felt like a band, and not just like a project.

(((o))): How do you learn/practice the vocal guitar style?

Stefan: We do this since 2006, so we are quite used to what we do. There is no special practice, but of course we have to warm up like every singer has to.

(((o))): When was your first gig and what was the reaction of the audience and other bands?

Stefan: Our very first gig was at Bochum Total, a big city festival in Germany. The reaction was great, and it was good for us that it was not a pure metal festival. So all people attending the shows had to be quite open minded to have fun on the festival.

(((o))): How do you go about choosing what famous songs to cover?

Stefan: First of all we have to like it, so the lead singers can keep up with the original. Apart from that there has to be a lot of melodies in it so we can arrange it for 5 singers.

(((o))): How do you go about writing process to create an original song?

Stefan: It’s not that different from a regular band. We write a song on guitar or piano and translate it into an a cappella metal arrangement afterwards. For Dawn of the Brave there also have been some parts that were written by just singing them.

(((o))): Several of your covers have included the original bands vocalist as a guest (such as Sabaton’s Joakim Brodén on 'Primo Victoria') how did these partnerships comes about?

Stefan: Well, we asked and they joined, haha.

(((o))): On a similar note have you ever asked an original bands guitarist(s) to perform an ‘a cpapella’ guest spot

Stefan: Yes, we did a guitar battle with Victor Smolski (RAGE) on the song 'One to Ten' from the Tribe of Force album.

(((o))): You are playing London on April 2nd, what should people expect form a Van Canto show?

Stefan: Many voices, a lot of power and energy. And don’t be surprised that we are loud!

(((o))): You’re given the opportunity to create your own festival. What would be the first five bands on your list?

Stefan: Van Canto, Manowar, Europe, Metallica, Iron Maiden. That's a cool billing actually.

(((o))): Are they any places you have yet to play that you really want to?

Stefan: Of course, an US tour, Australia, Asia, …

(((o))): What are your goals for 2014?

Stefan: Have fun being on the road to perform metal a cappella.

Dawn of the Brave is now out on Napalm Records.

Henry Blacker released their debut album Hungry Dogs Will Eat Dirty Puddings on the brilliant Riot Season last month, which Richard Collins described as "It certainly has the potential to be a crowd pleaser and can see it appealing to a huge range or rock fans from across the spectrum" (see Richard's review here). Richard decided to ask JT (bass) and TF (guitar and vocals) some questions. 

(((o))): So we know you are two of the chaps from Hey Colossus and a brother, what made you want to start another band?

JT: It was accidental, Roo, Tim’s brother, wanted to learn the drums so we got together so he could give some tubs a thrashing. Then, it was like, fuck it, why waste time doing covers. Then before we knew it we were rehearsing weekly, twice weekly, Sundays. There’s fuck all to do in Somerset once you’ve bailed the hay and wassailed the apple trees.

(((o))): Henry Blacker is a more accessible than Hey Colossus, it rocks but you could probably put it on at a wedding and people would keep dancing. Was this intentional or the just the way it came out?

JT: How many people in bands go solo and hit us with noise through loop pedals, whilst hunched over a lap top on stage? Got no problems with it, some of it’s good, but that’s for other people. Fancied doing the exact opposite, fancied going the wedding route.

TF: I would like to test your wedding theory.

(((o))): I'm going to go all Smash Hits on your ass I'm afraid and ask about your name. I know Henry Blacker was some tall man who was knocking about in the 1700s, what's the connection? Is it because your bassist is quite tall?

JT: Little known fact – Henry Blacker is Tim and Roo’s great great great great grandfather.

TF: As is immediately obvious with one look at our towering physiques.

(((o))): Lots of reviews mention you have a Queens Of The Stone Age vibe. Do you mind that comparison?

JT: No. No problems with anything like that. Can’t argue with what people hear.

(((o))): Is it true a member of Torche was there when you recorded the album? If so, what was he doing there? If not, tell us something interesting about recording the album.

JT: The album was recorded over 2 days, it didn’t cost much, we slept in the studio, on the Saturday we almost went to see Glenn Branca play in a Peckham car park but we decided to watch Saxon and XTC video’s on YouTube instead. Yes, the Torche guitarist was there. He was staying with Mr.Cedar, they’d toured together when they did the split 12". We all went out and had Chinese food and it was the best of times and it was the worst of times and we laughed and we cried and we cried with laughter.

TF: There was a storm one night when we were recording and Stewie, the studio cat, had some sort of fear-related case of lockjaw. He would swivel round to look at you with his mouth wide open like a ventriloquist’s dummy. It was sort of terrifying.

(((o))): Do you guys ever smile?

JT: Fuck you.

TF: I only smile at rainbows, moonbeams and the wonderful reminiscences of Peter Ustinov. IN THAT ORDER.

(((o))): What is the best gig Henry Blacker have played so far?

JT: Cosmic Carnage at the Windmill. YOU KNOW THAT.

(((o))): Name 3 bands all 3 members of Henry Blacker think fucking rock?

JT: ZZ Top, Jesus Lizard, UFO.

(((o))): When listening to the album it's pretty easy to get the conclusion that the singer is an absolute nutter, is this true?

JT: Sexy as well.

TF: Sexy nutter. Should be some sort of delicious spread. Or my signature scent.

I used to be quite mild-mannered. As with everything in life, I blame [David] Cameron. And his porcine cabal of fiends. It’s the sort of impotent middle-aged rage that would be directed towards the more traditional targets: “eurocrats”, health & safety legislation and an inability to find one’s reading glasses (they’re on your head, dear).

(((o))): Are you the only good band in Somerset or are there more? Do tell.

JT: The only other band in Somerset is Hacker Farm.

(((o))): If Henry Blacker were an animal what would it be?

JT: It IS an animal.

TF: A honey badger.

Canada's Incura are causing quite a stir (in my house at least) with their debut self-titled release (you can read my review here). Our intrepid report (who never left his armchair...) posed lead singer Kyle Gruninger some questions about singing, opening up your heart and musical theatre.....

(((o))): Can you tell us a little bit about the band's history? How you came to become the line up you are today.

Kyle: The band formed in a small prairie town in Alberta. We all met through playing in the local music scene. We eventually moved to Vancouver to try and push the band to a bigger audience.

(((o))): The musicianship on the album is technically stunning, particularly your vocals. Do you know what you full range is? When did you discover you could sing?

Kyle: I don't know my full range, though I'm hitting full voiced high E's all over this record. It's not about the range of voice but the way you can manipulate and control it. The characters and emotion you can display in a "theatre of the mind" sort of way.

(((o))): Lyrically, you're very openly expressing some intimate thoughts, feelings and emotions. How do you deal with people criticising lyrics? Does it concern you in any way being that open with strangers?

Kyle: My lyrics are out there for anyone to say whatever they want. Good or bad, the interpretation is up to them. I write very honestly. I write about things in my life that have effected me in a serious way. Though it may seem I'm "open with stranger"... the sub text to all my lyrics could be anything. 😉

(((o))): There is a great amount of theatricality in the songs and vocal performances, in fact it's very easy to hear this album as the soundtrack to a musical. Are you (or any of the band) fans of musical theatre and if so what shows?

Kyle: Yes, it's very apparent that musical theatre has had an impact in my life. I saw " The Phantom of Opera" when i was 5 . From that moment on I knew I wanted to be a performer. On top of Incura I also do professional theatre as well, I studied live performance in University. I enjoy almost all live performance, "The book of Mormon", Les Miserables ", "Cats" anything from "Cirque du Soleil" are all things I've enjoyed in the past year.

(((o))): A number of terms have been used to describe your sound - "Epic", "Grandiose", "Complex", "Intricate", "Textured", "Beautiful"….. how would YOU describe Incura?

Kyle: Theatrical hard rock. Though any of the descriptions above I'm okay with. hahaha

(((o))): What bands/artists are you currently listening to?

Kyle: Lamb Of God, Pantera , Queen , Dr.Dre, Pink Floyd.

(((o))): What's your favourite song from the album and why?

Kyle: It's hard to pick a favorite because they all mean so much to me. At any point in my life, even my own words can act as inspiration through a difficult time. Right now, 'The Greatest Con' has been a favorite of mine.

(((o))): What album/song/artist first got you into music?

Kyle: "Phantom of the Opera", seeing a live show with such emotional highs and lows at such a young age really inspired me to want to perform and get into music.

(((o))): What are the band's plans for 2014?

Kyle: We will focus 100 percent of our energy on getting our music to as many people as possible all over the world. TOUR TOUR TOUR TOUR and then more TOURING!

(((o))): We're currently running a series about the links between music and mental health (see here). Do you think music is important in terms of cleansing the mind/soul? Do you personally find the benefit of being in a band in so much as it allows you to say things you might otherwise keep inside?

Kyle: Music should be whatever you want it to be. If you love it because it makes you happy, sad, or just maybe so you feel like you're not alone, music will always be there for you, and never turn it back on you. Personally, music has helped me get through the most difficult times in my life. It's my best and sometimes only friend.

(((o))): Any final thoughts for our readers?

Kyle: Do what you love, not what you're told.

Adam Nodwell has been a huge part of the Leeds DIY scene for some time now. Amongst the chaos of sorting out this year’s British Wildlife Festival festival (now in it’s EIGHTH year!) between 7th-9th March, he took what little time of his own to answer a few questions for us.

(((o))): Thanks for taking the time to talk to us Adam! How are things?

Very good thanks, letting time get the better of me a bit, just about to sort out a few extra surprises for the festival!

(((o))): Let's start things off with some history of British Wildlife for those who may not (yet) know about it, care to enlighten those people?

I started BWF 8 years ago, embarrassingly the first one was called 'British Wildlife's Big Fat Weekend'. Slightly more embarrassingly the second one I called 'British Wildlife's Big Fat Number 2'. Thankfully the third was 'British Wildlife Festival_3' and it has stuck since.

(((o))): As a DIY promoter, do you prefer to be approached by bands, or do you go out there and ask the bands you'd like to put on yourself? Maybe a mixture of both?

A mixture of both, though I get approached by more bands than I can count in a bag of skittles. When it comes to the festival It tends to be 70% or so bands I have already tested the water with and generally already know personally, then I stick a few wildcards in there for good measure. I like to keep it fresh, when criticized for putting too many obvious choices on, I’ll react by booking something no one has heard of (but should).

(((o))): You must put in a shitload of hours to put on so many great shows! Where do you find the time? Does anyone else get involved?

People have come and gone and I do like to collaborate with other people, Nathan at the Brudenell has helped me over the years, Nick at Oporto too, and I have collaborated with Vessels and That Fucking Tank as co-curators as well.

(((o))): Do you remember the very first show you put on? How does that compare to where you are with things these days?

Yep, it was on 16th January 2006. These Monsters , University friends, headlined with Meet Me in St Louis supporting. My second show was Liars as TJ's (Woodhouse Liberal Club) which was timelessly captured as the front cover for their fourth album Liars. I have a photo of the photographer taking the photo that was used, trippy!

(((o))): How does the DIY scene differ from way back then to these days?

I don't check my myspace messages as regularly!

(((o))): This years British Wildlife Festival is fast approaching with another fine line up over three days, how's the preparation going? That's a lot of bands to be looking after!

Where to start! Well I have almost finished designing the program, it's nice and foldy. Stage times are sorted, I'm expecting a few changes still as usual. Other than that I'm ready to go, need to get the word out a bit more, if you are reading this, thanks very much, pass it on!

(((o))): Are there still tickets available? Apart from the bands, what else can people look forward to?

There are still plenty of tickets available, I'm not putting on Sting. Prince may make an appearance, he may not. There will be cake, some good food vans, maybe a BBQ if the weather is nice, I suppose there's still a risk of snow. March is a random month for weather.

We are also having the first ever "Awkward Family Photo Booth" That should be fun.

(((o))): As an ongoing theme in my interviews, I'm throwing this out there to everyone. Guess the song if you can (should be easy), then answer in another lyric: "Can you feel my Love Buzz?"

Nirvana! My answer: “I can feel it coming in the air tonight!”

(((o))): We're all about sharing new music with our readers, is there anything you can recommend to them?

Like Steve Albini said at Shellac's ATP back in December 2012. All the bands are amazing!!!! So go grab a glass of wine, sit back relax and enjoy all the bands - I have made a Spotify playlist of all the bands and also provided plenty of links on my website.

(((o))): Finally, what's next for British Wildlife? Any future plans?

Once we're over the hill there's plans to get involved in a few existing events in Leeds that I can't disclose as it's not set in stone. I'm also getting married in August so that's exciting!

(((o))): Muchos Gracias for this! All the best to ya!

Buy Tickets! www.britishwildlife.info I'm going now BYE!

Mantar are a two-piece from Hamburg, Germany who just released their debut album Death By Burning. In his review (read here) of Willie Cross described the album as "although Mantar aren’t necessarily rewriting the book on the genres they employ, Death By Burning is an endlessly heavy album that bodes nothing but good things for the duo’s future." Here Willie asks guitarist and vocalist Hanno some questions about the band, the album and about the 'sludge' label.

(((o))): What are the origins of Mantar?

Hanno: We know each other for almost 16 years. We both played in plenty of bands and hung out together, went to shows…but never happened to start a band with each other. Some time ago I came up with the idea to form a new band…something more on the heavy side. So we met…jammed about 3-4 hours and it worked out fantastic. It got together what belongs together… So the rest is history so to speak. We rehearsed and practiced a whole year, got a bunch of songs together and quickly recorded them in a friend´s studio where we can rehearse as well. Today we are mainly surprised to be already asked to play Roadburn Festival. Everything is going quite fast. We are beyond stoked to play shows like that after having played our first show only 8 month ago!

(((o))): What is the driving force behind the band, in terms of musical vision and motivation?

Hanno: Well, I think we just share the same vision of a musical aesthetic. We both have the same urge to play music. We don't have any message to spread. We just like to play music in a violent way. That's all. We don't talk much about music, we just let it happen. And actually there is no need to talk about the music in general as we know each other pretty well. We started early making our own music, playing in bands, doing shows. Next to that we both started listening to (heavy) music pretty early as well. It kinda shapes your skills and your general idea of how a “heavy” band has to sound I guess. The songs for Mantar came pretty easy. We know each other for a long time but just made it last year to finally get together as a band, even though we always wanted that. Something in us seemed to have been waiting for us to get together. There was a strong urge to create something. That´s why it came all that fast and turned out to be that powerfull I guess.

(((o))): What motivated the band to make Death By Burning as a DIY production?

Hanno: We just have a strong DIY work ethic. We come from a punk rock background. We did the record with close friends in Hamburg (Germany), like we did the artwork, videos and all other stuff, too. We want to keep the control over our outputs. Money is an issue as well. We did the record pretty quick, self-produced and for less money bands usually spend on the production. If you have a strong vision you don´t need much money to create a good record. Furthermore I like working in the studio. I am used to it and know about the gear. It's good fun. I always did my own recordings. I started back in the days with 4 track recorders and therefore I still like to work pretty basic.

(((o))): What were Mantar’s strongest influences on Death By Burning?

Hanno: It might sound a little aimless but actually we didn't think about too much about the music that we were supposed to create. Basically I really enjoy dark, heavy music like black metal, doom metal and also have a pretty heavy punk background. Erinc, the drummer is more on the groovy side, which means that he manages to make “real songs” out of my destructive ambitions, haha. The strongest influence might have been the two of us together in one room going berserk and playing as hard as possible. So the strongest influence and the urge of the record has been the pleasure of pure honest rage.

(((o))): In terms of production, how did the record turn out so heavy- even without the presence of a bass guitar?

Hanno: The main reason might be that the band actually IS heavy. Furthermore we are using equipment for at least 4 people combined with a good amount of violence. I use three amps at the same time and some special FX pedals to get that low end. I use bass amplifiers, too. Erinc is hitting the drums as hard as possible, that´s quite important, too. He really is an insanely loud drummer. Every second club asks us to put duct tape or shit like that on the cymbals. But we deny to do so and decided only to play shows where we can put the sound on stage that we deliver on the record. For the recording work we wanted to keep the (live) energy from the rehearsal room. That's why we kept it as simple and raw as possible. We used exactly the stuff to record the album that we use live and in the rehearsal room as well. And the result is great. We dig it. The record is basically what the band stands for. Raw display of power. If you know your gear/equipment you can create a hell lot of bass. There is no need for a bass guitar to raise some hell.

(((o))): What are the lyrical themes motivated by?

Hanno: The urge of man for the final battle. The return to nature. And for sure the general sickness of mankind. I dont't judge though, I just tell. We don´t have any certain message. I don't care what people think. I dont want them to act according to my lyrics. Our only message is the power of the music.

(((o))): Are 'The Berserker’s Path', 'The Huntsmen', and 'The Stoning' a trilogy of sorts? And if so, what is the story that is being told?

Hanno: I like the fact that you think that this might be an option. It could be, but it's not though. But at least the first of the three songs deal with the issues I have mentioned above. As a matter of fact there is some kind of fascination for old Northern warriors ('The Berserker's Path') and the power of nature in general ('The Huntsmen').

(((o))): The cover art for Death By Burning is very unique and intriguing for a metal album. What’s the story behind that?

Hanno: We just knew pretty early that Death By Burning was going to be the name of the record. It just sounds cool. And might give you a slight idea of what you can expect from the record. It's a good expression for a heavy band without any gimmicks. When I discovered the painting for the cover artwork it was magic. I immediately knew that this needs to be our cover. That painting is called The Crown from a great American artist called Aron Wiesenfeld. I think it describes our music better than we ever could. That kind of nothingness in the face of the girl with the burning crown…just epic. Furthermore death by burning is an expression that can express much more than just getting burned alive on the stake. We asked Aron about using The Crown as the cover art and he kindly agreed. So it’s a fucking honor for us to have such a wonderful piece of art to represent our music. He sure is an incredible artist.

(((o))): Why does the band say, “don’t call it sludge”?

Hanno: Personally I just avoid that label. Don't get me wrong, we did not reinvent the wheel. Never had that ambition though. But i think that the genre "sludge" isn't something you can rely on any  more as a trademark for something particularly good. It's pretty worn out these days and a lot of bands use it nowadays as a brand because they don't have any own character or don't know about their own roots. Maybe due to the fact they never had any. Don't get me wrong, I love shitloads of stuff that is branded as "sludge". Great bands out there, but well... some kind of inflation is going on nowadays. I don't have the intension of making music for a certain kind of “scene” or even worse, target group.

Maybe I am not educated enough with that musical genre but for me a lot of bands, branded as sludge sound all the same to me. Don't want to make anyone down here, I just never had the intension of playing “sludge”. A couple of years ago I didn't even know what that is.

(((o))): Does Mantar plan on playing live shows? If so, will it just be the two members performing?

Hanno: Yes indeed, as mentioned above we have absolutely no problems with putting on a fat sound.

We already played a couple of shows and got a lot of positive feedback. We will play many more shows soon and there are no plans for expanding the lineup. It can be worse getting beat up by two people full of rage than by five lads that aren't sure about their own mission, you know?

(((o))): What are the band’s plans for the future?

Hanno: I hope we will literally play the whole world. Would love to play the UK asap, same with the United States. But for now we have to start somewhere. That's mainly over here right now. In May we will tour Portugal and Spain, and in April we will play Roadburn. Hopefully some festivals during the summer. We have an invitation for Turkey and Greece as well and I hope we will fly to South East Asia this year, too. I know a lot of people over there and they have a wonderful healthy scene. Especially in Malaysia. I have been there on tour already. If anyone wants us to play anywhere or book a tour, please get in touch. You are more than welcome.

(((o))): Thank you very much for answering my questions, is there anything you would like to add?

Hanno: Thanks for your support, Willie. And thank you for your interest and your questions. We really appreciate that.

Death By Burning is now out through Svart Records and available here.

Monte Pittman is a guitarist based in Los Angeles known for playing on the Madonna live tours and teaching people like Guy Ritchie to play the guitar. He has also played guitar for the metal band Prong. He recently released his solo album The Power of Three (read our review here) and Andrew Rawlinson asked him some questions. Please read on!

(((o))): Who were your guitar heroes that inspired you when you were younger?

MP: Ace Frehley, Steve Vai, Jimmy Page, Randy Rhoads, Ottmar Liebert, Metallica, Slayer, Pantera, Prong.

(((o))): How did you teach yourself to play guitar?

MP: I did for about a year. I would learn songs measure by measure. Then I got an awesome guitar teacher. That made a drastic difference.

(((o))): Who are your favourite ‘current’ guitar players?

MP: Vogg from Decapitated, Kellindo Parker from Janelle Monet's band, Rob Chapman, Ray LaMontagne.

(((o))): Are you planning to make ‘Monte Pittman’ solo a full time project or as an outlet between other commitments?

MP: Yes I am. I have to take it one day at a time and build it brick by brick. I'll always play guitar for Madonna as long as she keeps having me. 

(((o))): According to your bio your third student was film maker Guy Ritchie, how did this come about, have you taught any other ‘famous’ people? 

MP: His assistant, Nathan, got my number and let up lessons for "his boss". When I left for the first Madonna tour I did, I had 55 students in circulation. I taught Kathryn Morris who later went on to star in the show "Cold Case". I taught Catherine Keener and Dermot Mulroney. I taught Brad Pitt. Those are a few that immediately come to mind because they were so cool to me. I gave Dido a guitar lesson once. One of the guys who got me to start thinking about teaching in LA was Johnny Rzeznik. He would come into the Guitar Center, where I worked, and asked if we could suggest any teachers for alternate tunings on the guitar. I never taught him anything but we talked about it a few times. That's where I started thinking I could teach in Los Angeles like I did in Texas. It's such a small world. The Goo Goo Dolls were one of the most successful Metal Blade bands.

(((o))): How did you get involved with Prong and do you plan to work with them again?

MP: When I had just moved to Los Angeles, I became friends with Ivan DePrume. He and Tommy Victor had been jamming together. Ivan put me and Tommy together. We immediately started discussing starting Prong up again. I would love to do something again if something is needed. Right now, Tommy has a killer line-up in Prong. Maybe we'll do some writing. Maybe we'll do some shows together. You never know.

(((o))): What bands have influenced you in making your new album The Power of Three?

MP: All the bands I grew up listening too, like Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax, Megadeth, Testament, Alice In Chains, Soundgarden, Pantera, Prong, Cannibal Corpse, Acid Bath and so on. Also, some old blues like Freddie King or Elmore James. Take that and mix it with Stevie Ray Vaughn and Gary Moore. Take that and add a little Ray LaMontagne and Neil Young.

(((o))): How did you meet Kane Ritchotte (drums) and Max Whipple (bass) and how much involvement do they have in the writing process of the album?

MP: Kane played drums on my last album, Pain, Love, & Destiny. Kane and Max grew up playing together. I had written everything and made a demo of the entire album. I would play them the songs and we would go learn them and work them out. We weren't able to go through all the songs before recording so some of the songs we recorded the first time we played them. We will be writing together in the future. I'm excited to see how it sounds with Kane coming up with a beat and max coming up with a bass line. That will add something different to the mix.

(((o))): The new album was produced by Flemming Rasmussen, how did that come about?

MP: I met Flemming on a day off while in Copenhagen one year. We stayed in contact and said one day we'll have to work on something together.  We recorded an acoustic EP in one day while I was there on another day off. From there, we made plans for me to bring the band with me and record my heavy album.

(((o))): You’re given the opportunity to create your own festival. What would be the first five bands on your list?

MP: U2, Madonna, Metallica, AC/DC and Iron Maiden. The next 5 would be Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats, Bruno Mars, Amon Amarth, Ray LaMontagne and Against Me.

(((o))): Are they any places you have yet to play that you really want to?

MP: Africa! I hope I play with someone some time soon who plays in South Africa. Also, Maine. I think that's the only state I've never been to. 

(((o))): What are your goals for 2014?

MP: To book as many shows as I can and get this thing out on the road. Spread the word to everyone out there about the new album The Power Of Three.

(((o))): Thanks a lot for answering my questions. Is there anything you would like to add?

MP: We have a video out for 'Before The Mourning Son'. We'll do another video in the near future. Keep checking in at our website and on Twitter and Instagram. You can find our MontePittmanMusic channel on YouTube and there's a Monte Pittman Facebook page. Thanks for the great questions and thanks for the support!

Italian one man depressive suicidal black metal band Vardan released a new album The Woods Is My Coffin through the much respected Moribund Records (read our review here). Daniel Chavez took the opportunity to find out more asking some questions to Vardan, who appeared to be a man of little words.

(((o))):  First, I would like to say that I enjoyed your album very much. It was dark, it was foreboding, and it was cold. I enjoyed the atmosphere and musicianship of the album and it was a treat to listen to. I can tell that you spent some time to really make a great sounding record.

Vardan: Thanks for your words. Yes I use some time to get my sound, I like chance in my works.

(((o))): In your own words, how would you describe your album The Woods Is My Coffin?

Vardan: Cold and raw depressive suicidal black metal.

(((o))): What were you trying to get the listener to feel or visualize though the album?

Vardan: Open and cold sad atpospheres during the music, the artwork was created after the recordings on the music.

(((o))): You have put in a lot of work in the past year -three full releases- and you are in a number of other bands, what drives to make album after album?

Vardan: Sometimes inspiration runs fast so I feel to record the music.

(((o))): ‘Dawn of the Followers pt 1&2’ was my favorite tracks on the album. They have a different feel then the rest of the songs, what is the background of those two songs?

Vardan: No particular background, the long text was written for the two songs, the entire album was written and recorded 2005 / 2006.

(((o))): What inspiration or music do you look for/listen to in making your music?

Vardan: Inspiration is from my personal sensations. Regarding my music I listen to black metal and its sub-genres but not to create my works.

(((o))): Lately there seems to be a flood of black metal albums and bands popping up, what is your take on the black metal scene today?

Vardan: Yeah, some bands are growing up very well, others not so good so as a listener of the black metal scene of today it is necessary to make a selection.

(((o))): A lot of reviews say you have a more "Norwegian sound" then that of your homeland, what is your take on your sound?

Vardan: Hmmmm, I don't know if it is a "Norwegian sound" but anyway I appreciate that someone wrote that my sound is a cold and grim depressive sound.

(((o))): Is sounding "Norwegian" a good or bad thing?

Vardan: It is a good thing if someone likes think in this way.

(((o))): A lot of people put sub labels to black metal (i.e.: atmospheric, depressive, symphonic, etc) do you categorize yourself in any sub genre?

Vardan: I like categorize my music as cold black metal maybe with raw depressive and suicidal touches, but it is better you don't ask me and let the listeners decide.

(((o))): What do you think of the "labeling", or trying to fit it into neat little sub-genres of black metal music?

Vardan: I don't have an answer to this... sorry.

(((o))): What can we expect next from Vardan? Where do you see yourself going in black metal?

Vardan: Another new album will be released by Moribund in the same Vardan way with a little bit of a different sound.

(((o))): Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions!

Vardan: Thanks to you!

Pulled Apart By Horses have just announced dates for a UK tour and will debut new tracks from their upcoming album, the follow up to 2012’s ‘Tough Love’. James Brown took some time out to talk to us about what to expect, and also gave us some exclusive song/album titles!*

(((O))) First and foremost, thanks for doing this interview with Ech(((o)))es & Dust (and for taking my interview cherry)!  How about we start off with a little band history for the uninitiated?

Well, basically we all played in bands that either became defunct or spilt up in Leeds, and from sheer boredom I started messaging Lee over a forum about starting a nasty sounding Jesus Lizard style band after his band Concentration Champ (Yes, they were called Concentration Champ) split up. I met Rob in a pub with his girlfriend and told him about the idea for the band and he was game to get involved. After a few practices we needed a singer and next thing we knew Tom came to our third practice for a laugh and now five years later our full time careers are playing in a band, but we sound nothing like The Jesus Lizard. Pretty fucking sweet really.   

(((O))) How was 2013 for you?  The Charity gig you played for Shelter last year sold out pretty damn fast! What else have you guys been up to? Have there been any other highlights you'd like to mention?

2013 was a kind of slow year for us really. We purposefully decided to take a little break from any kind of touring to really focus everything we could into writing the third record. Its been kind of hard with us being a predominantly live band, but its been for the best as the new record is shaping up to be a total monster. We were all quite surprised how quick that show sold out to be honest and it was just a really mint way to road test some of the new material to our lovely fans before we began recording it. Crowd were wild, in fact, wild isn't even the right word,....... demonic.

(((O))) It's been a while since you released 'Tough Love', which had an amazing reaction from the general public, along with some awesome reviews and great live shows!  It's beast of an album that's for sure, as heavy as Black Sabbath and as raw as early Nirvana with some Queens of the Stone Age thrown in for good measure! Are you working on a follow up, and what can we expect?

Yes! We've been working on the record since late 2012 when we finished touring Tough Love. Its been a highly enjoyable process as previously we've knocked out and written the other two records pretty quickly in sporadic blocks of spare time off from touring. Its been so refreshing to relax with it and focus on sounds and vocals instead of writing just enough material to put down 12 songs and hope for the best. We've written about 30 in total but we aren't recording all of them. Expect a change from the last two records, but not a total departure. Its still rock but with a bit more thought in it then anything we've done before.

(((O))) Any working titles you'd care to share with us? Feel free to just make some up on the spot right now!

Chris Tarrant's Ankle Grind is the first single released in May, which will be followed by Blue Cheese Fuck Holes in late August. The album is called Piss On This Here.

(((O))) How was your Christmas/New Year? Did you all party together or is it a time to get out of each other’s hair for a while? 

We had a big NYE party at my house actually which is still a bit of a blur really, although I can kind of remember us all listening to Gary Barlow on the TV for an hour before the clock ding donged, I think. Lee didn't make it as he resides in London now with all his bags of money. Christmas was a drinking write off, but in the best possible way. I love that time of year because everyone is drunk and happy to be not working.

(((O))) Did you buy each other anything nice?

Respect.

(((O))) You released a split 7" with Blood Red Shoes on your own record label, 'Covered Records', covering each others favourite tracks. Any plans to do more of this? If you had your pick of any band in the world, what would be your dream split 7"?

Yeah I really enjoyed doing that and people seemed to love it which was sweet. I've got another couple of releases planned and as soon as the album is recorded I'm gonna put those plans into action. My split would be Radiohead and The Jesus Lizard, purely because them covering each other isn't even something I can even comprehend!

(((O))) As we're all about introducing people to new music (including bands that may have been going for a while that people may not have heard of yet), is there anything you'd recommend to our readers?  What's the music scene like in Leeds these days?

Leeds is always pumping hard when it comes to new music in every shape, way and form. If you haven't heard of Eagulls I'd totally check them out if you like your guitars sleazy and lo-fi. Another band making waves from up North is Hookworms who seem to be doing really fucking well at the moment and are busy working on a follow up to their debut record. Its been pretty good for new music up here over the past few years and it never really seems to slow down.

(((O))) Before we finish this, I'm thinking I might just throw in a random question  in the form of a lyric for shits and giggles in this and future interviews.  Guess the song if you can (should be easy), then answer in another lyric:  "Where have all the cowboys gone?"

The answer is Paula Cole and my lyric back is "To the Gay bar, Gay bar, GAY BAR". Good question that pal.

(((O))) What are the band's plans for 2014? Are there any gigs/releases you'd like to let us know about? With 2014 being the Year of the Horse, I'm sure there's some obvious puns that could be exploited in relation to your bandname.  Same for 'Stablemates' Foals (BOOM!)

Neigh. Its awesome that 2014 is the Year of the Horse and it kind of fills me with an over whelming sense of confidence, so much so that I had my first horse riding lesson in January. I shit myself at first but you soon get into the beasts rhythm and become at one with its power and beauty. Erm, anyway. We've just announced an intimate warm up tour around the UK in April and May which is gonna be flaming fantastic as we've been dying to get back on the road. Its the kind of tour where you visit all the towns that aren't the major cities that never get many shows. Its gona be so good getting up close and personal with folk again. We'll obviously do another run later in they year when the record is out so we don't leave Manchester, London, etc, hanging. Oh, and we'll release some new music pretty soon and the third album this year!

(((O))) Thanks again for taking the time to do this.  It's been an absolute pleasure!

*This may not be true, and could be ‘horseshit’ (sorry)

Swedish glam punk band Sister have just released their new album Disguised Vultures on Metal Blade Records. Andrew Rawlinson described it as "an uncomplicated blistering fun for all you air guitarists out there!" (read his review here). Andrew asked drummer Cari Crow some questions, so please read on!

(((o))): So according to your biography you formed in 2006, how did the band originally meet?

Cari: I started to build a band with my friend and classmate in school around 2005 and I came up with the name Sister. We met Jamie outside a concert hall and made him leave his current band to join us. The first bass player left the same time as Rikki's former band split up and he joined us. After releasing our first album and one year of touring, our guitar player left the band and our old mate Tim joined the band as the lead guitarist.

(((o))): Both the band name and logo are an unusual for the style of music you play, how did this come about?

Cari: The original idea of the band name comes from Blackie Lawless and Nikki Sixx's band from the 70's. I used to read all the these old magazines about Wasp and Crüe and found out about that name. I had a clear vison of my band when I saw that name and I thought it was too good to not being used, so I pretty much took it from  there. Our original guitarist  draw the logo. If it's not our style? Well, what style are we? The logo looks the way we want it, then it is our style I would say. The same goes for our looks and sound.

(((o))): Apart from the obvious bands who or what else has influenced you?

Cari: We are listening to everything. I guess that you become influenced from pretty much  everything you hear. But ok, not to mention Kiss, Crüe or Guns N' Roses. Well, Deep purple, Roky Erickson, Turbonegro, Sepultura, I mean,  Swedish death and black metal bands like Entombed and Dissection, punk bands like New York Dolls, Iggy and stuff like that... Well, I can go on forever.......... Rock N' Roll.

(((o))): How do you go about the writing process for an album?

Cari: This time me and Jamie started working on the lyrics and melodies, Tim came up with killer riffs and then we started working it together all of us to build the songs.

(((o))): Alan Averil (of Primordial) helped get you signed to Metal Blade Records with your debut EP Deadboys Making Noise. How did this come about and do you still have contact with him?

Cari: Yes we still have contact with Alan, of course. We are really happy for what he did for us. How did it come about?.. Well, Ask him;) !? We have no idea. We just recorded a killer EP and spread it all over the world, hoping that someone like Alan would pick it up.

(((o))): How is the music scene in Sweden today compared to when you formed?

Cari: Well, the glam/sleaze scene isn't that huge anymore, which is good, only the good bands did survive and are still killing it. The oldschool hard rock/heavy metal scene is big, also the black and death scene I guess. To me, the genre doesn't matter. We have a lot of great bands here in Sweden.

(((o))): What has been the highlight of your career so far?

Cari: Sonisphere festival 2012 in Madrid. Playing the same stage as Metallica and Slayer. It doesn't get much bigger I guess?

(((o))): At the end of November you played Hard Rock Hell and a few other UK dates, how was the reaction and when do you plan to return?

Cari: UK has been awesome, nothing is planned but I want to come back again soon.

(((o))): You’re given the opportunity to create your own festival. What would be the first five bands on your list?

Cari: Hanoi Rocks, Dead Boys, Guns N' Roses, Misfits and Kiss. And now we're talking the classic  lineups 😉 And ah, fuck. Pantera as well!

(((o))): Are they any places you have yet to play that you really want to?

Cari: Australia and Brazil seems to be crazy. That would be cool.. and Japan.

(((o))): What are your goals for 2014?

Cari: Well, we have just released the best album of 2014, now let's tour the living hell out of it!

Abyssal are not well-known for their eagerness to give interviews, and so I count myself as extremely lucky to ask some questions to the band on the heels of their excellent release Novit enim Dominus qui sunt eius (reviewed here).

(((o))): It really sounds as though you’ve grown a lot in the time between Denoument  and Novit enim Dominus qui sunt eius. While both albums are indicative of your band’s signature style, I would say that Novit enim Dominus qui sunt eius elevates the sounds explored in Denoument in a much more mature way. Do you think this is just a natural progression from having worked together for longer or do you attribute this growth to anything else specific?

Abyssal: I would note that Novit enim Dominus qui sunt eius was a conscious decision for the mood of the music to adopt a darker and more extreme tone, however I feel that its air of maturity in comparison to its predecessor is more of a commentary on Denouement's immaturity as a release. Denouement was for all intents and purposes a demo which collected several years' worth of material together into one session. Novit enim Dominus qui sunt eius is much more focused, as all the tracks are specifically engineered to be part of a whole.

(((o))): Novit enim Dominus qui sunt eius definitely feels like a cohesive album in that each track feels like a movement in a larger piece. Was this album written song-to-song or was there a desire from the beginning to create something more like one long form work?

Abyssal: It is always half and half. The flow of the album must take precedence of course, but a good album is made of coherent and distinguishable tracks. Your analogy regarding movements as part of a larger piece is probably quite close to the point, as the hope is the album is well balanced enough to not exhaust a listener attempting to listen through it, while individual tracks remain interesting enough to be listened to on their own if need be.

(((o))): Your sound is described as black/death/doom, and you’re not the first band to require so many different adjectives/genres in describing a complex, multifaceted sound. I feel like metal sub-genres used to be created at a much more frequent pace, but that now we seem to have the old, “traditional” styles of metal and use these as reference points for new music that often seems difficult to describe. Do you feel like “black/death/doom” is a clear enough identifier? I’ve heard the term “occult metal” to describe bands with similarly broad influences. Does this phrase speak to you in any sort of meaningful way?

Abyssal: Genre labels are always just descriptive terms which hopefully convey some form of meaning between people. There are always alternative paths to describe similar sounds. Abyssal have been described as everything from "Post-Death Metal" to "Atmospheric Blackened Death". I personally have no preferences to what the music is described as, and black/death/doom certainly seems sensible enough.

I would however wish to avoid the term "occult" metal, as this says nothing about the actual sound of a band. It is particularly irrelevant for us as Abyssal have no occult lyrical content.

(((o))): Along the same line of questioning, do you feel that ultimately the label or genre comes last and can even get in the way of simply creating music that you find personally important?

Abyssal: There are undoubtedly some bands who have indelibly tethered themselves to a rigid genre definition and will likely never create music beyond its limits (Cannibal Corpse for instance). However on the flipside there are artists who seem to take joy in completely re-writing the rule book (Ulver springs to mind).

Ultimately it comes down to the personnel; I can see musical merit in both side of the coin. Abyssal lies somewhere in the middle.

 (((o))): You have been, seemingly willfully, reserved in terms of giving much information to the public concerning who is behind the music you make. How important is anonymity and presentation in how it relates to your music and the experience of the listener (or the experience of yourself)?

Abyssal: The release of the first album omitted names and contact details from the sleeve notes; there was no conscious decision to deceive the public or indeed remain anonymous. However almost instantly the topic of discussion regarding Abyssal seemed to gravitate towards the identities of the musicians. This became somewhat of a frustration, as the music should be the main concern of the listener, not the banal names of the composers. As such, the anonymity remained intact going forward - a self fulfilling prophecy you might say.

(((o))): While you have spoken in previous interviews about the lack of “catchy riffs” in your music, I would almost argue that there is a groove at the heart of your music that helps anchor the complexity of it in a way that makes it more memorable and in many ways a more enjoyable listen than some other bands working in a similar style. Is this something that you would agree with, or is it possible that I’m insane to find what I would even call hooks in your music?

Abyssal: There is certainly at least a structure in there, more so that truly freeform music. I would suppose in this case that the catchiness of an artist is in the eye of the beholder. If a listener finds Abyssal to be catchy then I am not going to tell them they are wrong.

(((o))): What is the general musical background of the band? I hear touchstones of not only several different styles of metal, but even jazz and classical music. Do any members of Abyssal have formal training in music of any genre or are you all self-taught?

Abyssal: There is no formal classical training behind Abyssal's music. There are a great deal of influences that come from outside metal as you have astutely observed. The atonal compositions of Krzysztof Penderecki are a huge component in there, as is dark ambient music, jazz noir etc.

(((o))): What lyrical themes inform your music? Do the lyrics in fact inform the music or is the music generally composed first? What does the title of Novim enim Dominus qui sunt eius, which roughly translates to “For the Lord knoweth them that are His” and originates from the time of the Crusades, mean to you and how does it relate specifically to the themes at work in these songs and the music itself?

Abyssal: The title of the album doesn’t specifically define any constant message that underpins the disc, however it is generally fitting and indicative of the range of ideas covered; most generally the futility of human endeavours and their inevitable decay and degradation.

The context in which the words were most famously spoken does originate from the Albegensian Crusade as you pointed out, however this time period is not necessarily relevant to the music or the concepts covered.

(((o))): While a dark, bleak atmosphere is clearly prevalent in your music, I feel that there are very triumphant passages as well. This creates a feeling of tension and release which I think sets your band apart. Is this a conscious decision or simply a result of the feel of particular pieces? How much of your music do you feel is writing-based or arrangement-based and how much of it do you feel comes from a more organic, even improvisational process?

Abyssal: This is a very accurate observation, and it is most definitely a conscious decision when writing. Many tracks on the album build up to melodic crescendos in order to instill a sense of changing mood, and a release of the tension as you suggest. The most noticeable would be on tracks such as ‘A Sheath of Deceit’ or ‘The Last King’.

In terms of writing style, it must be said that much of the arrangements are fairly rigidly organised in advance and fine tuned iteratively. However, there is some room for improvisation on some of the lead melodies that cut in here and there.

(((o))): How important is the visual element of your music? I feel that your album covers so accurately capture the sound of each album. Do you design your own album art, and is this an important aspect to your identity as a band?

Abyssal: To date, almost all of the artwork has been produced by a Lithuanian photographer named Kristina Gentvainyte. Her art is generally quite varied, but consistently dark, mysterious and poignant. Her photography for each of the layouts was handpicked by the band in order to fit the mood of the disc in question.

In general, I find that a solid and fitting layout of album artwork is incredibly powerful when accompanying music. It can add dimensions to the listening experience that would otherwise be unexplored.

(((o))): Do you have plans for any upcoming tour dates in support of Novit enim Dominus qui sunt eius? What is the best way for fans to support you, i.e.: where can they buy your albums or see you live?

Abyssal: Currently, the band is not a live entity. This is due to other commitments, and the ongoing writing process for the third album. Near the end of this year, we may see Abyssal performing live, but until then, the best way to support the band is through the Bandcamp site. Both albums are available for free download, with complete artwork layouts. Our newly pressed double LP of Novit enim Dominus qui sunt eius is also now available (through  Iron Bonehead Productions).

Slomatics are a heavy doom band from Belfast, Northern Ireland who have been building a strong reputation in the Irish and British doom scenes. They will release their latest album Estron next month (see our review here), so John Dickie asked the band a bunch of questions in the lead up to the release.

(((o))): How's it going lads?

David: Great thanks. Just sitting here mapping out our plans for 2014 as it happens.

(((o))): Estron will be out soon, how are you all feeling about its release?

David: Really excited. I’m sure all bands say that, but we really think this record is a step up for the band, and is probably the first release we’ll have put out where there’s literally nothing we’d like to change. Also, I can’t deny that holding that slab of vinyl with the artwork and all is a pretty good feeling, and definitely a real reward. We’ll be interested to see how it’s received too, we’re not a new band at all so it’s always interesting to see if other folk get where we’re trying to go. Feedback so far has been great.

(((o))): What did you guys want Estron to sound like and were you happy/surprised with the end product?

David: We wanted it to sound as big as possible, and to be something that had layers to the sound. I always like it when I hear different things the more I listen to a record and hopefully there’s a bit of that on Estron. We definitely wanted to keep the heaviness of the guitars, but to be able to have enough clarity that the melodies were still there. We use synths live, but with Marty being a singer/drummer/synth player it’s harder for him to do it all at once, so in the studio we were able to indulge that side of things way more. There was a piano in the studio which we ended up using a lot too. We spent a lot of time mixing it, and made quite a few changes to the original mix which isn’t like us, but hopefully it has paid off. We’re really happy with the end result – this is probably the first recording we’ve been completely satisfied with, although I’m sure in a few months we’ll spot bits we’d like to change.

(((o))): Estron is a concept album, could you tell us about the story the album follows?

Yes, it most certainly is a concept album! We have the story clearly and completely mapped out, in fact we’ve planned this one since A Hocht. The aim was to write three records in a row which were linked thematically and were like three chapters of the same concept. The lyrics and the structure of the record are hopefully pretty clear, but the thing is we don’t want to spell anything out for the listener. I know that sounds like a cop out, but the sequencing of the album was really important and deliberate, in order to tell the story. We really want people to take their own interpretation from it, or at least hopefully feel like it takes them on a journey. The narrative of the record is an analogy for the wider theme of where we are now as a race, and the questions which we have to address as a result of the way we’ve chosen to be. Even as I write this I’m aware of how pretentious it sounds, but as a band it’s something we felt we wanted to do.  A couple of the reviews have picked up what we were getting at, so hopefully it works on some levels at least. Estron is meant to be listened to as one piece, it’s not a random collection of songs – we’d toyed with the idea of mastering it as one 40 minute song actually. I know this isn’t really answering your question, sorry!

(((o))): The artwork again is mind blowing. Tell us about the artist and your working relationship with him.

David: The art was handled again by Tony Roberts, who has done two of our last three, dating back to the Conan split. We hooked up with him through Jon and the Conan lads, although I was aware of his work with Electric Wizard in the past. Tony’s great to work with. All the communication is online which was initially a bit weird for us, but it actually works really well. We sent him ideas as the record was being written, and explained the concept behind the songs, and what we hoped to capture. Marty sent him all the lyrics, and we sent some very rough demos of basic sketches of the songs too. He’s an interesting guy because he doesn’t say much, he just sort of gets on with it, and works really quickly too. He’ll send us a first sketch, just to make sure we’re into the concept, but from there on it’s really all about his interpretation of the ideas. He had the unmastered recording, and in about a week had produced the final artwork. Honestly, when we saw the art we were floored, it just perfectly encapsulates what we were going for, which felt really great. We’re very much into collaboration, and like that Tony has his own approach in there – we definitely wouldn’t want to tell him exactly what we want or anything, which would feel like insulting him. Artwork is a really important part of the whole thing too, not only from an artistic perspective, but also for the consumer – vinyl in particular isn’t cheap so we want to come up with something that’s interesting to look at and is part of the whole package.

(((o))): Is it true The Dubliners were Ireland's first doom band?

David: I think that they could have been – the beards, age/social demographic, alcohol intake and general demeanour would have been a big advantage, but I think the problem came with trying to detune the banjos. Or plugging them into a fuzzbox. So really, it was just equipment that let those lads down, shame.

(((o))): You guys seem to still be pretty underground, like one of those secret bands people cherish; do you see Estron elevating you guys higher in the metal scene?

David: In a word, no! The longer we do this, the more apparent it becomes that there’s a lot more to being bigger than just the music, and to be honest, we’re not interested in any of that stuff. I mean, of course it’d be great to play to bigger venues, and sell more shirts, but really we’re pretty content with where we are, and we do ok. I like going to small gigs, and I like playing them too. We’re extremely grateful to be where we are, and considering how many bands never survive beyond the practice room or a couple of gigs I think we’ve achieved a lot. Our roots are firmly in the DIY scene, and those values are too ingrained at this point to be lost. We’ve been recommended to use PR people and stuff like that (which I understand folk who do this full time probably need to do), but for us that just seems weird. I think this sort of music probably has a limited appeal, and that the “scene” is very much saturated already, so I’m not sure it’s really possible anyway. We’d certainly like to be playing some of the festivals, and getting overseas more, but we’re not about to start begging people to put us on. When the band started the aim was to write a good set, play some shows and record a 7 inch. Everything we’ve done since has just been a huge bonus. The fact that anyone at all is interested in our stuff still blows us away to be honest, we sent stuff to Japan last week which is absolutely mad, some guy on the other side of the world wanted to hear something we recorded in Belfast.

All that being said, if the heavy rock world suddenly shows a demand for three 40 year olds playing down-tuned Hawkwind worship at unnecessarily high volume, then we’re right here!! If more folk got into it through Estron that would be great of course, anyone who puts out music and pretends not to care whether anyone hears it or not is fooling themselves. Plus, there’s no denying it’s a good thing to be able to sell records, particularly when labels are putting their money into it!

(((o))): Plotkin produces again, how did you feel after hearing the finished master?

Actually James mastered the recording, but the actual engineering was done here in Belfast by Rocky O’Reilly at Start Together studios. We’re always quick workers on the recording part, a couple of days does the actual playing, but this time we spent longer mixing than usual, and were really painstaking in getting the details just right. We were really happy with the unmastered recordings, but of course James adds a gloss to the whole thing which really lifts it all up. He’s a real perfectionist and incredibly good at what he does. Nice guy too. There were a few slight changes this time, like having the vocals slightly higher, and we’re dead happy with how it sounds. We always try to listen to it on different systems to make sure it’s spot on, and this one passed the test everywhere we tried it, so that was good. I only started playing music quite late, after years of not being able to get beyond two chords, so it’s still a class feeling to listen back to a “proper” studio recording and think “ I did that” – I guess everyone who plays in a band feels the same.

Photo by Sandy Carson

(((o))): What is the alternative music scene in Belfast like?

It’s good, and to be honest always has been. There’s quite a lot going on, and given the size of the city I think there’s more than our fair share of great bands. Stuff like Hornets, Maw, Pigs as People, the Bonnevilles and Zlatanera, all very different bands but all really great. There’s a really surprising amount of doom/sludge/whatever coming through too, with bands like Nomadic Rituals and Tome playing great shows. It’s funny, we’re now the older generation of heavy stuff, dinosaurs already! In the industrial estate where we practice, you hear an amazing amount of heavy riffs coming from just about every unit. I guess there’s the usual complaints, we could do with more smaller venues, there’s not as much mixing between scenes as would be possible, and there’s no real link between music and the wider art scene, but overall if I want to see a gig any weekend there are usually a few good things going on. We’ve a great studio here with Start Together, and the Oh Yeah centre does a lot to promote local, young bands. There are a couple of rock solid promoters who do a great job. Belfast has always been like that though, I’ve been going to shows for over 20 years and although it’s been a bit up and down, there’s never been a shortage of good stuff to see.

(((o))): What kind of gear did you guys use while making Estron?

We’ve used the same gear for quite a while now. We’re definitely gear-freaks, when it comes to guitars Chris and I spend too much of our time discussing the merits of different types of strings/valves/pickups and all that, but it’s half the fun for us. Marty’s as bad, he custom ordered his kit from England to be built to the exact specification of the kit John Bonham used at Madison Square Gardens, which says it all really. This time round we used our Matamp 120s for pretty much everything, although Chris used an old Ampeg 8x10 too, after seeing Tobin from Ommadon use one in the summer. I used a Mesa in a couple of places too to add some high end stuff, the Matamps tend to be really bassy so we’re careful to try and balance that a bit. We use a variety of fuzz boxes, stuff like DAM, Dunwich, Eldritch, and a combination of analog and digital delays on guitar too.  Chris plays a Les Paul, I use an SG, but both guitars have been completely rebuilt with different stuff, the only original parts are the wood. Obviously we know more about this guitar business than Gibson, ha! Marty has started using synths more live too, and we got to use really cool stuff in the studio like Moog Voyagers and Farfisa organs. We like to improvise where we can too, and Marty found a piano in the studio which we ended up using quite a lot. Overall though I think we used less gear than last time, we just knew exactly what we were doing before we hit the studio.

(((o))): I love that word, Estron. It's pure sci fi. What does it mean? Who came up with it?

David: It’s actually a Welsh word, and means stranger, alien or foreigner. Our guitarist is Welsh, and I think he was getting tired of the Irish titles! We had planned out the record and were talking about how it would be for humans to be the outsiders, or to be newly introduced somewhere and be trying to become established. A sort of the reversal of the food chain or whatever. My wife actually had the idea for the title, and we liked the sound of the word, it’s not specific or cliché, and doesn’t have any particular connotation. And yeah, having grown up as sci-fi nerds it definitely fulfilled our inner space travel fantasies! It became an integral part of the concept, a real focus. We started talking about it as if it was real. Seriously, the conversations we as three middle aged men were getting into were not ones we’d want anyone outside of the practice room to have to endure!

(((o))): Are you guys touring this year?

David: Not as such. We’re all working full time, and have young families, so as much fun as a couple of weeks on the road would be, it’s just not possible. We’ll get away and play two/three night runs though. At the moment we’re arranging Scottish dates with the Headless Kross guys, shows around Ireland in places we’ve not played in a while, and we’re looking at English shows too. Chris is Welsh and has always wanted to play Cardiff, so that might happen this year too. We’d wanted to get across to mainland Europe again, so hopefully we’ll work something out. This aim is definitely to play places we’ve not been before.

(((o))): Where can the readers buy Estron?

David: Vinyl is direct from Head of Crom records. We’ll have copies ourselves but they’re spoken for already. CD is on Burning World Records, so it’s available direct from them, they also have great distribution so it’ll be on Amazon and all the mainstream outlets too. There’s a limited cassette release this time too which we’re dead excited about, it’s direct from Tartarus Records.  We’ll have CD copies and shirts at shows and through our Bandcamp too.

(((o))): What bands inspired Estron?

David: That’s a long list alright. I wouldn’t say we ever sit down and think “we’ll write one that sounds like Harvey Milk”, but of course we’re a product of the stuff we like. So I guess the usual diet of Hawkwind, Pink Floyd, Amon Duul II, the Melvins, Floor, Gore, Black Flag, all that stuff. I was listening to a lot of Kraftwerk and Neu, and electronic stuff like the Drokk soundtrack quite a bit when we were writing, so maybe some of the monotony/simplicity of those records rubbed off a bit too. Bands we play with are always an inspiration too, stuff like Ommadon, Headless Kross and Wild Rocket really blew us away last year so we probably stole a few tricks there too.

(((o))): What are your thoughts on the lack of females or ethnic doom bands in the whole scene?

David: I think it’s a shame, as anything which brings a bit of variety in terms of approach is going to be a good thing. I mean, of course a woman can have the same musical approach as a man, but I think there are probably subtleties which can only add something different. That’s a dissertation in itself, I mean it’s down to the whole range of social/cultural/historical factors, there’s no straight answer. There’s definitely a degree of sexism, or at least gender inequality, in doom which is less apparent in indie rock or whatever. I think that’s partly as doom is a sub-genre of metal, which of course has a dodgy enough record when it comes to sexism. The ethnic thing is harder to pin down, I suppose it’s linked to cultural factors but still a bit hard to understand. It is encouraging to see bands like Boris though, where Wata being a Japanese female is barely even remarked upon, or newer bands like Windhand where the female element is actually seen as a strength. It would be nice to see things change, but I’m not sure they will, and it’s encouraging that when women or people from different backgrounds do attend shows, there doesn’t seem to be any issue.

American psychedelic rockers Pontiak are about to release their new album INNOCENCE through Thrill Jockey. Sander van den Driesche reviewed INNOCENCE describing it as "INNOCENCE shows a Pontiak  on the top of their game with a heavier, more melodic, and more engaging album that easily sits on top of my list as an early favourite for 2014". Sander got a chance to ask drummer Lain Carney some questions resulting in some great and interesting answers. Pleas read on...

(((o))): Firstly, let me take this opportunity to congratulate you with the new album as I think it’s another great release. You have quite a back catalogue already with a new release nearly every year from 2005 onwards, but nothing’s been released in 2013. Was it more difficult to write and record INNOCENCE and did it therefore take a bit longer?

Lain: No, it wasn't more difficult to write INNOCENCE.  We gave ourselves more time to write it intentionally. You know, we like to set deadlines whether they are near or far, just on the horizon, so to speak and this particular album had a deadline farther in the distance.

(((o))): How do you guys get your material together? Does any of you write most of the songs, or do you go into the studio or rehearsal space and just jam and see where it takes you?

Lain: We write both ways actually. For INNOCENCE, Van had written several songs that we arranged for the band. While we were writing the album though we were also getting into the studio every day and playing for several hours just coming up with group material. We would play and talk and play and eat and play and drink some wine and play some more and talk… just shake things out, record some ideas, sit on them find something nice, teeeeeaaaaaaassssseee it out, work around it, find a melody, work that out, re-write the music to suite and support the melody, record that, sit on it… it's a process and I LOVE it. We have to tell ourselves, alright dudes, we gotta go home. I mean, we could spend 24-hours a day, seven days a week in the studio. That's the beauty in writing music--its infinite and there's always more to sing.

(((o))): I think INNOCENCE is a bit more accessible than your previous work (in a good way), was that the intention or is that how it just came out?

Lain: The general accessibility of INNOCENCE that you perceive is indeed intentional and I'm glad you've sensed it. I think we are a band of all types of songs and for this effort we said, let's challenge ourselves to write songs that connect with people. All people. I love to write weird shit, but I love songs that are also not so much weird as they are just strong, and that is a very difficult thing to do - write something that is accessible yet not cheesy, simple but also poignant. I hope we've done that!

(((o))): Compared with your previous releases, INNOCENCE sounds a bit heavier and fuzzier. Have you experimented with different sounds and/or backline for this album? Or have you used a different recording process or engineer for this album?

Lain: We engineer all our albums so that crew was the same. Our gear is always in flux but it remained relatively similar to previous works. I think what you hear as heavier and fuzzier has a lot to with many little things rather than one specific thing. How we are playing together… letting certain things "pop" at certain times, contributed I know. Also, I have a mantra that if you want something to sound heavy, the naive band will play harder and louder and with more notes. But that will only get you so far. I feel that to get louder and harder and heavier everybody play less notes, back off and find whatever can effectively pop out of the tunes, whatever that it is, and go from there. Heaviness is an unnameable thing but it starts with "less is more", I believe.

(((o))): I believe the capitals in INNOCENCE are intentional. Is there any specific reason for this?

Lain: Yes! We thought it looked cooler that way!

(((o))): I love the cover art for INNOCENCE. It is very simplistic but also very stylish. What can you tell us about the artwork, like who designed it and is there a specific idea behind it?

Lain: Van [lead vocals and guitar] has done all of our album artwork. I think he has spent a lot of time honing his eyeball for it. We usually let him come up with a couple ideas and then toss out opinions but it's really his thing. I know he liked the upside down stars as he found them to be unnerving in a way.

(((o))): You must get asked about what it’s like to be in a band with your 2 brothers all the time, so I’m not going to ask too much regarding that, but is any of the brothers taking more of a leadership role in the band, or perhaps more initiative than the others?

Lain: No, I think we all carry a certain part of the band. It happened pretty naturally actually. We all have things that we're better at than the other brother and so we'll just pick up that torch and start running. We are open about it as well. I mean, it's no secret and we don't shy away from saying, I do this well let me handle this.

(((o))): You’re preparing for another big European tour. What attracts you to come over to Europe so often? Is the public here more enthusiastic about your music than in the US?

Lain: Well, Europe has always been a little more enthusiastic about our tunes than the US but we also just love to play for people and play wherever we can and that has brought us to Europe whenever we can.

(((o))): Are there any specific places in Europe you enjoy playing more than other places and why?

Lain: We love it all!

(((o))): With all the touring you’re doing, there must be one or more funny anecdotes you can tell us about?

Lain: One story comes to mind: Jennings [bass and vocals] and I were eating lunch in Baltimore before a show and we were sitting outside on a patio. We had ordered the inferno wings or something like that. They were the hottest wings on Earth, so to speak - like, there were warnings and cautions etc. We were dining with a friend and he got up to use the bathroom. All of a sudden this random dude runs up looking really frantic and sat at our table, grabbed our buddies water and proceeded to pound it. He then looked at my brother and me and said, "I just dropped seven hits of acid and I'm freaking out!" He then grabbed a hot wing and started rubbing his hands all over it and then sucking on it. Both Jennings and I yelled "NO!!!!!!" but it was too late. He dropped the wing as the heat set in and then grabbed his face with his sauced hands rubbing the dark red sauce all over his eyes and shit. He started HOWLING and bolted from the table down to the end of the block where he began to writhe and puke into this trash can. I followed him over, not really sure what to do and he just took off running. At this point he was drenched in sweat. About five minutes later I saw him running, still creaming like five blocks away and there were cop sirens not far off. Our friend returned from the bathroom and sat down and seeing the stricken looks on our faces asked, "what happened?"

(((o))): What do you think about the psychedelic rock band scene in general. Bands seem to be playing much bigger venues over here in the UK than 2 or 4 years ago, is it the same in the US?

Lain: Man, you got me there. I have no idea… sounds good to me though.

(((o))): Who is the best band Pontiak has shared the stage with?

Lain: We've shared the stage with some really fantastic bands so it would be impossible to say. BUT, watching Earthless slay it every night was pretty awesome.

(((o))): What is your favourite Pontiac car?

Lain: The Firebird has several amazing years. The '68, '73 and '78 being pretty awesome.

(((o))): This is a question we regularly ask bands, if you were an animal what animal would you be?

Lain: Do Superman or Magneto count? Can I say that?

(((o))): Are you aware that there’s a popular smoothie brand called Innocence Smoothies? Make sure you request them in your UK rider as they’re pretty tasty!

Lain: I was unaware of that. But I do like to stay regular 😉 And an 'Innocence Smoothie' sounds like a clean and efficient bathroom visit to me!

(((o))): Thanks a lot for the chat Lain, and hope your upcoming tour will go great!

Lain: Thanks Sander! I hope to see you on the other side of the pond! Lain

Catch Pontiak playing for Baba Yaga's Hut in London in April.