Tides Of Sulfur are a three piece progressive death-sludge band from South Wales, they are about to release a three track EP based on WW1. They are heavy, dark and nasty sounding...but above all, really top guys. We interviewed these geezers to find out what they've been up to, what they plan for the future and for a bit of a heads up on the forthcoming EP 'Ypres'.
Oh yeah, and check out the review of the EP...by me.
So, who the hell are you? (Introduce yourselves to our readers).
We’re Tides Of Sulfur. Chris Bull- Bass and vocals, Anthony ‘Snake’ O’Shea- Guitar and backing vocals, Tom Lee-Drums
Give us a bit of background. How and when did you guys form/meet? Have you had any line up changes?
We (Chris and Snake) have been making music together in various bands for 12 years, all those bands got to the point of having a set to play before dissolving. This band came to fruition in 2012.
After months without a drummer, we settled for the only guy we knew who could play drums and recorded a demo before playing a few gigs. After outgrowing him we contacted Tom as we knew how awesome he was from playing gigs with his other band. He joined in time for last year’s Winter Weekender with Slabdragger, Monolithian et al.
Has there been any notable change in your sound or the way you get the music across since you took on a new drummer?
Yes, we’re good now! The fast bits are faster, the slow bits are slower, the heavy bits are heavier.
Songs are both longer and shorter. We feel we don’t have to limit ourselves to what we play and have been allowed to challenge ourselves more.
Where did the band name come from? Was it one of those random ones or does it have a deeper meaning?
We wanted something that sounded heavy and epic and sounded like the music we played.
And it was misspelled because of a book Chris read that had the archaic spelling and used an ‘f’ instead of a ‘ph’.
When playing slow music in front of an audience, you can feel pretty exposed and mistakes can be easily spotted, you don't have a maelstrom of speed to hide behind. How do you deal with this? Do you even think about it?
We
don’t think about it! We practice a lot but one of us is bound to
fuck up at some point and it’s easy to hide behind a wall of
distortion. We do have some fast songs so we can hide.
What made you decide that Doom was the way to go? Was it decided when the band was formed, or did it become what it is naturally?
It came naturally to us considering all of our influences. I would hesitate to call us doom,
it’s just one of the genre’s we dip into to construct our songs. We’re progressive death-sludge!
Do any of you play in other bands, or played in other bands in the past? Give us a bit of a resume of the members.
What made you decide that Doom was the way to go? Was it decided when the band was formed, or did it become what it is naturally?
It came naturally to us considering all of our influences. I would hesitate to call us doom,
it’s just one of the genre’s we dip into to construct our songs. We’re progressive death-sludge!
Do any of you play in other bands, or played in other bands in the past? Give us a bit of a resume of the members.
Tom is the most recognisable as he plays in H O M O H. Chris is involved in a harsh noise project called Wraiths and Omens.
Ypres, as far as I can tell, was a city with dark links to WW1. Why did you decide on this as a title? Is there a common theme throughout the EP?
We wrote ‘Trench Foot’ a while ago and, thematically, it didn’t fit with our other songs so we decided to write 2 more songs and put out an EP based on the theme of WW1. Then it was just a case of using the ideas that felt right in conveying the horrors of war. The E.P could have been named after any of the songs on the EP but we felt ‘Ypres’ was all encompassing.
How do you go about writing and recording your music? Is there a certain process you follow or is it more of a “Let's jam it out” approach?
We all bring ideas. Snake comes up with 80-90% of the riffs and Chris does most of the arranging and lyrics. We’ll chop and change parts as we jam them out.
I noticed you put up a live video of a recent show in Cardiff, at Baa Bar. What do you think of the live music scene in Cardiff at the moment? And where are the places to play?
There are some awesome bands in and around Cardiff; Thorun, Hogslayer, Spider Kitten, Bloodlung, Culver, Dimensions, Zinc Bukowski are just a few. The Moon is the main place to catch great bands as well as Fuel, Undertone, Baa Bar and Clwb Ifor Bach. There is an abundance of talent waiting to be heard, so if any promoters are reading from the UK and beyond; book us!
Do you have any solid future plans for the band?
Play music! We want to play gigs outside of Cardiff, the more the merrier. Releasing the EP is next on our agenda as well as recording and releasing a full length next year.
Now time for a shameless plug...when is the EP out and what formats are you planning on releasing?
We’re coinciding the release of the EP with the 100 year anniversary of the first Battle of Ypres on October 18th although we will have a few CDs available at Doomfest. We’re releasing it on Vinyl style CD, limited edition green or grey cassette and digital download.
When and where are you playing next?
Next up is Doomfest on 13th of September at Scorpios in High Wycombe with Diesel King, Torpor, Greenhorn and more.
Thanks for answering all my questions guys, it's been cool. Anything you want to end on or let people know?
Thanks to everyone who continues to support us and big ups to our brothers and sisters in the Cardiff scene. Support your scene, kill your ego.
Check the Band from Links Below
Written by Keeran Williams
