In a genre creaking under
the weight of its own familiarity Forming The Void have built something exceptional that
stands apart from most of their peers. ‘Relic’ their sophomore effort is a
record that will long outlast its creators and live on, forming the
foundations, of future sludge-monuments. So with such high praise, it was no
small effort for the band to follow that up that album, but they have seemingly
done the impossible and managed to equal if not surpass “Relic” with
their magnificent new album “Rift". From outset Forming The Void, have harvested
the dense power of bands such as The Abominable Iron Sloth, with riffs that could level
buildings and yet remain commercially accessible with a rich tapestry of
contemporary influences to their sound that includes Baroness, Torche, Soundgarden.
Forming The
Void’s new record “Rift” is one of the standout albums of the year and
with the album set to drop via Kozmik Artifactz on the 17th August 2018, we
invited guitarist/ vocalist James Marshall and drummer Thomas Colley to discuss their musical journey and choose the “Records of Their Years”. Check it out below
SL: Favourite album from the year you were born?
Marshall: Faith No More , "The Real Thing" (1989), Mike Patton is the man, not much else to say.
Thomas: Led Zeppelin, "In Through The Out Door"(1979), This is kind of a divisive album, but I love it. And LZ is the best band ever, so there's that too
SL: First record you bought
with your own money?
Marshall:
Metallica – “The
Black Album”. My brother got me into Metallica pretty young.
He had a bunch of tapes and Metallica was the first
band that I really took to.
Thomas
: Aerosmith – “Pump”.
I pretty much learned to play drums along to that album.
SL: Favourite non metal / rock album?
Marshall:
Fleet Foxes – “Self
Titled”. This one took some thought and I realized I don't listen too much
outside of rock and metal much anymore.
Thomas
: “The Very Best Of Otis Redding"
I really love anything Stax but I had to pick one album so this is it. In terms
of musical influences Al Jackson Jr.
is my #2, right behind John Bonham.
Just a huge pocket and could groove like nobody's business.
SL: Album that most disappointed you?
Marshall:
Obviously as a big Metallica fan who
actually dug the “Load” and “Reload” albums, I wanted “St. Anger” to be so much more. And it
just wasn't.
Thomas:
Most recently I think “Infestissumam”
by Ghost. “Opus
Eponymous” and “Meliora” are
terrific though. I guess it might have been the dreaded sophomore slump.
SL: Favourite album of all time or if you prefer album (s) you’d run
back into a burning building to rescue
Marshall:
Clutch – “Self titled”
pretty much stays in rotation for me all the time.
Thomas:
Led Zeppelin – “Physical
Graffiti” and, Free – “Fire & Water”. The best album by my
favorite band, and my favorite album of all time. Is it weird that my favorite
album ever is not by my favorite band ever? Anyway, I really can't quantify how
much these albums mean to me so I'm grabbing both.
SL:Favourite album (s) of 2018?
Marshall:
Spaceslug - "Eye
the Tide", Sandrider - "Armada", the new Conan and Clutch albums will be
on there without a doubt as well.
Thomas:
So far, Sun Voyager
- "Seismic Vibes"
SL:..And finally The last album you bought?
Marshall:
"Threshold" by Age of Truth
Thomas:
Skull Mountain double LP compilation.
The End
“Rift” is available via Kozmik Artifactz on the 17th August
2018 and you can check out the video for “On
We Sail” below
