Hull, jokingly referred to in some quarters as “hole”
and viewed by others as perhaps the worst place to live in the UK, it is
perhaps best known for its sea life centre “The Deep”, rather than home to some
of best upcoming UK bands, enter Battalions.
A four-piece band, formed in 2010, Battalions have forged their own sound, playing local shows with great vehemence, sometimes to many, sometimes too few and in spite of original members leaving the fold, Battalions are attacking the underground scene with a renewed strength with their new album ‘Moonburn.' Recorded at the renowned Skyhammer Studios with Chris Fielding of Conan, the band would have to deal with further setbacks, with members once again leaving and potential label support not forthcoming ‘Moonburn’, will hit the streets on August 5th 2017 via their own ‘Hull Noise Collective’ imprint once again.
Today ahead of the albums official release, we
hooked with front man and bearded gent Phil Wilkinson to discuss the bands
formation, influences and the recording of the new album. Not only that, we’re stoked to be able to
present the first exclusive stream of “Moonburn”
in full all, of which you can check out below and remember in SLUDGELORD you can trust.
Can you give us an insight into how you
started playing music, leading up to the formation of Battalions?
I first started playing music when I was
around 15, me and a few friends started a bedroom band covering Raging Speedhorn songs, it never made it out of the bedroom. After that my first proper
band was a band called Centurions, followed by a stint in Introrectalgestation before a few years of doing nothing. Battalions came about from me and our original
drummer being bored of not playing gigs and wanting to start a band that stood
out in the local scene in Hull, big bass heavy riffs with tortured vocals. A formula
that stands to this day!
Although you are set to release “Moonburn” (your second full length), for
folks unfamiliar with your band, is there any bands on the scene
past and present that you would use as a reference point bands to describe your
band, and who or what continues to inspire you and push you to try new things?
There’s the obvious, that’s
evident in most of our songs – Black Sabbath, AC/DC & Clutch, we are also heavily influenced by the likes of Raging Speedhorn, St Vitus, and my
personal influence and vocal idol, Iron Monkey. Bands currently about pushing us to excel are
all the bands we’ve toured with this year, each band playing at the top of
their craft, and when you play with them each night you only want to do better
yourself – most notably, 1968,
Ritual King
& Regulus.
What can you tell us about your upcoming
record and where do you feel it sits within the context of current metal scene?
“Moonburn” is 7 tracks of pure rock fury, with a little more
diversity than our first album ‘Nothing
to Lose’. Written and recorded within a year of releasing our first album,
to us it is an advancement of our sound, bringing the big bouncy riffs to the
forefront, whilst also keeping the song short and snappy, keeping with our
members punk and hardcore roots. We feel it sits comfortably straddling various
heavy genres, from sludge and stoner, with nods to classic rock and big riffs!
Does anything
spring to mind when you think about the completion of your upcoming record and
how is the mood in the camp at present?
We are just excited to
finally get it out there, a lot of hard work has gone into releasing this
record, especially so as we are doing it completely DIY. The mood is one of
pure excitement, things are stepping up a gear and it’s great to be involved
with something that people seem to appreciate and enjoy.
What stands out as your overarching memory from the
recording sessions?
Having Sam Orr (of the
amazing 1968,
if you haven’t already, we implore you to check them out!) come down and hang
out for a few days around recording his solo for “Amazonian Woman” was
great, and helped the mood stay very positive. Other than that, I must say the
biggest memory is the morning after the night before, when our Dennett drank a
bottle of gin to himself, and had a few hours sabbatical to pray to the
porcelain god.
With
a solid gold album in the bag, how is your schedule shaping up over the next 12
months?
Firstly, thank you for
calling it solid gold! We are extremely proud of the record and the songs. We
have a very busy schedule, starting with headlining the Rock Stage at Humber
Street Sesh, a local festival that last year saw 35,000 people attend.
Following that we have just been announced for the New Blood stage at
Bloodstock festival. After that we have a short Scottish run with Psychotic Depression, along
with a tour in the works with California’s Armed for Apocalypse. Other than that we
just aim to tour the album as much as possible!
Finally,
do you have any final comments/word of wisdom you’d like to bestow upon us?
Give
everything you do 110%, the rewards are there, its hard work going it alone,
but worth it when you have something you can truly be proud of. Be friendly,
make friends with the bands you play with, enjoy every minute of the ride.
“Moonburn” is available
to preorder/buy here
