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This is 'Liberation through Amplification.'
If I have said it before, then I’ll say it
again, and once I’ve said it again, then I’ll say it some more, Colchester-based
instrumental sludge/post-metal band Telepathy, fucking rule and if you don’t know this band by now, then wtf you dumb dumb. Having risen through the ranks
of the UK underground, this quartet are musical architects, composing music
of ambition , depth and distinction, not
so much songs, rather multifaceted concertos, at times beautifully mellow and
then hideously brutal, executed with remarkable intelligence and flair.
Like a rich tapestry Telepathy weave
together the strands of their musical endeavours into something truly magical.
With each release their raw, voracious and
vicious sound has gained more and more clarity, their ideas more expansive and
forward thinking. Now, following the release of their sensational new album “Tempest”
which will surely propel them to greater, more luxurious stratospheres, the
band are set to hit the road for their biggest tour yet, taking them across
Europe from 09.09 – 27.09, subscribing
to their own rules, the band are in a unique position of being embraced by fans
of post-metal, hardcore, sludge and progressive music alike, which is testament
to the bands imaginative, off-kilter and ambitious musical expressionism.
So with the tour set to kick off in a few short
say, today, we are excited to reveal their brand new video for the track “Echo
of Souls” which was directed by Maciej Bakowski and photographed by Sebastian
Ziabka. Check it out below. “Tempest” is still available to
buy here
Today's guests released one of the albums of the
year in 2014 with the brilliant “12
Areas”, indeed Colchester-based instrumental sludge/post-metal band Telepathy are one of the underground's best
kept secrets. They play unique and ambitious music, not so much songs,
rather complex compositions, music to get lost in, the perfect juxtaposition of
beautifully mellow and hideously brutal passages which they execute with
remarkable intelligence. Telepathy are
musical conjurors, employing masterful tricks within the construct of their
music, which they deploy in unpredictable ways throughout their art and that is
indeed what they create, art in the truest sense, you never know what’s coming
around the corner but you can’t wait to find out.
With each release their raw, voracious and vicious
sound has gained more and more clarity, their ideas more expansive and forward
thinking. Now, with Jaime Gomez Arellano at the helm, their new album “Tempest” is a different beast entirely.
The producer, who can boast Ghost, Opeth and Paradise
Lost as notches on his bedpost, is exactly what the band needed at
this point in time, and it will surely propel them to greater, more luxurious
stratospheres.Subscribing to their own
rules, the band are in a unique position of being embraced by fans of
post-metal, hardcore, sludge and progressive music alike, which is testament to
the bands imaginative, off-kilter and ambitious musical expressionism
“Tempest”,
their second full length for all intents and purposes, is better experienced
than anything. Be that in the flesh or sat in the dark with their immersive
compositions blaring through your headphones, painting vibrant images in your
imagination as they do, a
monsoon of riffs, from slow, knuckle-dragging doom moments to the calculated
chaos of Mastodon,
spinning on a huge axis with their long, winding loops, this album hits you
like a drug, freewheeling into your body.
Safe
to say then, that THE SLUDGELORD are massive fans and ardent
followers of their instrumental musical expressionism, so today it gives us
great pleasure to have invited Telepathy to talk us through their top 5 instrumental
albums, as we take our weekly trip into the extreme and turn
the volume all the way up to 11. Why do we go to 11, because its
one louder.
Earth – “Bees Made Honey in the Lion’s Skull” (By: Teddy James Driscoll)
This
album is like a wander through the PalmDesert on peyote. The
instrumentation and minimalist approach is both sonically rich and wonderfully
bleak at the same time and you can almost feel the dry air dancing past your
cracked lips as you journey through the barren landscape. All in all, it is
just fucking great album!
Vangelis – “Blade Runner OST” (By: Piotr Turek)
First
of all, I must say that I love synths. This soundtrack is both complex and
spacious. I love the fact that although it is very ambient, there is enough
depth to the music to allow a variety of instrumentation and sound. At the same
time there are moments, like in the track "Rachel's
Song", where a melody is sung without words, adding a human element
whilst retaining its instrumental core. It's the whole climax up until the
final moments, and my love of 80's electronic music, that makes it my favourite
album to listen to. It contains all the best things from its period.
Bohren &
Der Club of Gore
– “Sunset Mission” (By: Richard Powley)
This
was my first introduction to the band, and is still one of my favourite
instrumental records to this day. Sometimes referred to as doom or noir jazz, Bohren &
Der Club of Gore trade in an incredibly slow and ambient take on
jazz soundtrack work. “Sunset Mission” perfectly
encapsulates their smoky, dystopian brand of after-hours city jazz and never
once lets you break from its grimy charms. Despite it's slow pace, the album is
incredibly gripping and every shift, every change in each track is perfectly
timed to make the greatest impact. Minimal, atmospheric and incredibly well played;
“Sunset Mission” is an escapist soundtrack to the
detective story that lives in your head.
Hans Zimmer – “King Arthur OST” (By: Albert Turek)
I
think the layering/production/composition is one of the standout points for
this Hans
Zimmer score. It sounds like he used mostly orchestral musicians for
this score, unlike some newer ones, which use electronic libraries of
orchestral samples he’s collected over the years. I feel like this is fairly
close to the type of music we write and it truly tells a story and fits the
film beautifully - in fact I can't imagine the film without it - 50% of the
film is that score for me. It says just as much as the picture does. The drums
sound amazing and it's the kind of drum sound and playing I am leaning towards
in the next Telepathy
album, a big orchestral sound - epic and powerful. It's inspired me a lot.
Compositions are super intricate and beautiful. Some of the harsh and heavy
sections on drums, brass and other rhythmic ensembles are brutal and hit harder
than a lot of metal records I've listened to recently.
Miles Davis – “Bitches Brew” (By: Piotr Turek)
The
instrumental album that has had the most impact on myself would be “Bitches Brew” by Miles Davis. Its was the first
time I heard someone using a guitar so well in jazz music, and the experimental
nature of this Miles Davis period made it easy to fall in love with.
Honourable
mentions:
Bongripper – “Miserable”
Mogwai – “Happy Songs for Happy People”
Burial – “Street Dealer”
Lustmord – “Purifying Fire”
Don
Cabellero
– “American Don”
Telepathy’s latest album “Tempest” is available here
Yes, it is that time again O ye lover of riffs, “The
Sour 16”returns. You
know the drill by now, each month, you the reader are unwittingly
compiling a list of the top 16 records of the month, covering all genres of
metal. Is it not a chart, in which reviewers or contributors extol their
opinion about their favourite music. To put it simply, “The Sour
16”are the records that have been trending the most at The SludgelordHeadquarters.
The results are compiled based on page views alone
and calibrated into the list below. All reviews can be viewed by
clicking the artwork and we have included album streams wherever possible.
(Total views since their publication are highlighted in red)
16).
Deadwound - "Identity
Shapes"(533)
The South-West London quintet deal in a compellingly nasty blend of
filthy sludge riffs, jarring discordance and searing bursts of d-beat fury.
Tracks like “Crucifixed” and the crushing dirge of “Witch” come out of the
blocks like “Remission” era Mastodon locked in a sweaty basement with His Hero
Is Gone. The band deliver twenty minutes of exhilarating noise that
is equal parts barbed complexity and raw simplicity.
15).
Benighted - "Necrobreed"
(556)
Benighted are the equivalent of a gargantuan, hyperactive
monstrosity, hybridizing the manic-spastic energy of a joyous slasher rampage
with the gurgling insanity of some cthonic abomination.
14).
Power Trip - "Nightmare
Logic" (557)
All in all, you would be pressed to find a weak link in “Nightmare
Logic”'s sound or mix. It's a pinnacle album for those who need their metal
fast, violent, and up in their face like a full scale riot.
13).Stinking Lizaveta - "Journey
to the Underworld" (558)
Stinking Lizaveta’s new album “Journey to the Underworld” finds the
band in deadly form, crafting music that is seriously weird and complex yet
still delivers an addictive riff high.
12).
Hey Satan! - "Hey
Satan!" (617)
Overall this is a very impressive debut by
very talented musicians. Superb songwriting and extremely catchy
rock and roll filled with dueling fuzzed out guitars, loud drums and a dynamic
singer.
11).
Rezn - "Let It
Burn"(630)
REZN relies on hefty passages of music but
the key to the band’s sound is how they combine this heft with a droning
melody. Imagine Velvet Underground wrapped up in a Mars Red Sky jacket and
you’ll understand why these Chicago boys are worth your
attention. This is a gem of a debut and albums of this quality don’t
come around very often
10).
Ghastly Sound - "Ghastly
Sound" (EP) (646)
The Worst” sounds like Torche playing Truckfighters with the ghost
of Dio on vocals while “Where The Ghosts Hide” and “Cape Buffalo” bring to mind
Big Business indulging in secret stadium rock fantasies with hints of the
Deftones in the melodic choruses given free reign with vocalist Tyler Gurwicz
doing his best Chino Moreno impression over foundation-shaking riffs. This
EP is a tantalising glimpse of what Ghastly Sound has to offer. Hopefully it
won’t be long before they return to show what fist-pumping destruction they are
capable of over the course of an LP.
09).Thorr-Axe / Archarus - "The
Hobbit" (Split) (678)
From deep within the fires of Mt. Doom comes
one of the best releases of 2017 – a Tolkien-themed split from Indiana riff-smiths
Archarus and Thorr-Axe. It spans the whole spectrum that stoner/doom
metal has to offer, with each track bringing a fresh sound to the table.
08).
Telepathy - "Tempest"
(704)
A monsoon of riffs, from slow, knuckle-dragging doom moments to the
calculated chaos of Mastodon, spinning on a huge axis with their long, winding
loops, this album it hits you like a drug, freewheeling into your body.
07).
In The Company of Serpents - “Ain-Soph Aur”(714)
“Ain-Soph Aur” is a heavy experience on all levels. The band have
dialled back the volume and slowed the tempo from previous releases which has
unexpectedly resulted in increased impact. This album is towering
achievement from In The Company Of Serpents. It is a fine addition to an
already distinguished discography and an inspiring work that sets the standard
for heavy music in 2017.
06).
Hyenas - "Deadweights"
(768)
Deadweights” is an exciting opening salvo from Hyenas, it is an
exhilarating hit of chaotic hardcore, metal fury and punk’n’roll that takes me
back to the early to mid-2000s
05).Obituary - "Obituary"
(971)
Obituary haven't sounded this deadly and taut for a long, long time,
this is even better than “Inked In Blood”- itself an impressive record, A
unique band in the genre. Obituary have always stood apart from
other death metal bands. They now stand above them again, too, because this is
a death metal tour de force
04).
Fen - "Winter"
(987)
When this album is on fire, which is often, it’s absolutely some of
the best atmospheric black metal you’ll hear this year. While the build to
those big moments can be over-stretched, the payoff is absolutely worth the
wait. But even when accounting for its biggest flaw, I believe that
‘Winter’ will end up as one of the year's best albums. There’s simply too much
fantastic material here to be denied.
03).
Dopelord - "Children
of the Haze" (1329)
“Children of the Haze” is defined by loose grooves, ghoulish riffing
and a very vintage sense of wickedness. Dopelord prove that, unlike many other
stoner metal bands, they are not content to just create the same song several
times over and call it an album.
02).
Hour Of Penance - "Cast the First Stone" (1399)
01).
Pallbearer - "Heartless" (1642)
“Heartless” is an incredible achievement from Pallbearer, a set of
huge songs that consolidate the best elements of their previous releases while
moving into fresh sonic territory. This is the album that should see the band
make the transition into stadium-bothering all-time greats, and deservedly so.
A big thank you as always to our amazing writers, your
dedication knows no boundaries and for that I am truly grateful. March’s “Sour
16” features reviews by: Richard Maw, Theron Moore, Charlie Butler, Phil Weller, Victor Van Ommen, Jay Keche, Ben Fitts, Daniel Jackson, Michael Pagos, Hunter Young & Conor O’Dea
A monsoon of riffs, from slow, knuckle-dragging doom moments to the
calculated chaos of Mastodon, spinning on a huge axis with their long, winding
loops, this album it hits you like a drug, freewheeling into your body.
“Tempest” CD//DD//LP track listing:
1). First Light
2). Smoke from Distant
Fires
3. Celebration of
Decay
4). Echo of Souls
5). Apparition
6). Hiraeth
7). Water Divides the
Tide
8). Metanoia
The Review:
Telepathy’s sound has always been monstrous.
With each release their raw, voracious and vicious sound has gained more and
more clarity, their ideas more expansive and forward thinking. Now, with Jaime
Gomez Arellano at the helm, they are a different beast entirely. The producer,
who can boast Ghost,
Opeth
and Paradise
Lost as notches on his bedpost, is exactly what the band need at
this point in time, and it will surely propel them to greater, more luxurious
stratospheres.
‘Smoke From Distant Fires’ instantly bombards
you with craggy, precipitous guitar work, cascading through the crystal clear
mix with a menacing intent. But if those opening explosions come across like ‘Times
of Grace’ era Neurosis, then they flaunt their lighter, airier
and more celestial side in later passages. This band has always prided itself
on their intelligently thought out and diligently executed musical contrasts.
So often do their dark, miserable skylines develop overhead only for blinding
rays of light to pierce through like faint hope and brighten the landscapes.
Throughout the track the contrasts are in constant conflict, a tug of war for
aural dominance throwing the song this way then that, and it makes the result
nothing short of evocative and spellbinding.
‘Celebration of Decay’ marries dislocated,
barbaric rhythms – something akin to post-metal having a seizure, but with
perfect timing – huge, mountainous chords that lumber like giants and hypnotic
diminuendos that drag you by the feet and pull you deeper into reverie. It is
in these quiet, reflective moments that voice recordings of astronauts looking
back down on Mother Earth can be heard. It’s apt for a band which has never
quite sounded like they were of this planet. The song’s title too, in today’s
climate, has an added poignancy to it.
‘Apparition’ flirts with black metal, with
warmongering blast beats and the rapidly picked guitars reverberating like they
were recorded in a vast, echoic cathedral. The sound is so huge it towers over
you, belittles you. ‘Water Divides The Tide’ meanwhile, is more forthright. A
monsoon of riffs, from slow, knuckle-dragging doom moments to the calculated
chaos of Mastodon,
spinning on a huge axis with their long, winding loops, it hits you like a
drug, freewheeling into your body.
It is an album, for all intents and purposes,
better experienced than anything. Be that in the flesh or sat in the dark with
their immersive compositions blaring through your headphones, painting vibrant
images in your imagination as they do, for the best effect I advise you stop
reading this review. Just listen.
Today's guests released one of the albums of the year
in 2014 with the brilliant “12 Areas”, indeed
Colchester-based instrumental sludge/post-metal band Telepathy are one of
the underground's best kept secrets.
They play unique and ambitious music, not so much songs, rather complex compositions,
music to get
lost in, the perfect juxtaposition of beautifully mellow and hideously brutal
passages which they execute with a remarkable intelligence. Telepathy are musical
conjurors, employing masterful tricks within the construct of their music,
which they deploy in unpredictable ways throughout their art and that is indeed
what they create, art in the truest sense, you never know what’s coming around
the corner but you can’t wait to find out.
With their demo EP "Fracture" and 2014 debut album "12 Areas" (Devouter Records/Tartarus Records)
receiving rave reviews, the band are on the cusp of creating their masterpiece
and their dedication to do things DIY, subscribing to their own rules, the band
are in a unique position of being embraced by fans of post-metal, hardcore,
sludge and progressive music alike, which is testament to the bands imaginative,
off-kilter and ambitious musical expressionism.
With Telepathy having
begun recording their second album and with a short European Tour set to kick off
next week, as we enter the final quarter of 2016, the band are confident that
they’re sonically better and in the throes of some much needed momentum than will
catapult their unquestionable talent to become one of the biggest and best
talents the UK has produced. Let us get
Amped & Doomed with the instrumental transcendents that are Telepathy.
SL: Can you give us an insight
into how you started playing music, leading up to the formation of Telepathy
Rich
(Guitars): I began playing music back when I was around 12/13,
I remember vividly my mother gifting me with a boxset of the first 8 Black Sabbath albums
for doing my 11+ (British school exam) and wanting to do nothing else but learn
to play the guitar and write music after that!
From there I learnt to play, and went through the
usual high school bands playing Kyuss covers and some formative original material. My first
semi-serious band was playing local shows and recorded a two track demo whilst
I was studying music technology at college, but ended soon after. That’s when
three of us in Telepathy
met and began working towards something more experimental, and representative
of our collective taste in music.
Piotr
(Guitars): Myself and everyone in the band, were always
interested in and inspired by all sorts of music. From classical, electronic
and dance to the heaviest metal. I
believe it took specific characters to meet and start creating the music that
this band plays. We all definitely have a love of instruments and sound, from
guitar to the synthesiser and of course, the belief that there is no such thing
as impossible.
Ted (Bass): I’ve been
interested in performing since I was very young. I used to write plays and
perform them for my parents; I sang in the school choir and also took acting
classes for several years. I actually started playing guitar when I was around
11 years old. My step-grandfather had a room full of vintage Fenders that I was
fascinated with. It was a jingle on a kid’s after school TV show that inspired
me to ask him to teach me. The jingle was just someone ripping a rad bluesy
solo and I thought it was so cool. I actually hadn’t played bass guitar in a
band at all until I joined Telepathy.
SL: Can you remember who or what inspired you to pick up
the guitar, bass? Are there any bands, guitarists, bassists currently on the
scene that continue to inspire you and push you to try new things?
Ted: I’m not necessarily impressed by a player’s technical prowess, what
matters to me most is how hard the player throws down. I caught Slabdragger at Red Sun Festival in
Cardiff a couple of weeks ago and Yusuf’s performance blew me away. I play
pretty hard but he’s on another level. Glenn from Grand Collapse is probably one of the best
drummers in the UK right now for me; that man can shred.
Piotr: It was
simply the love of the sound of heavy guitars and epic melodies. Since I was a little kid it has always grabbed
my attention. Guitar wasn’t my first choice, it was thanks to my parents and
older brother who introduced me to playing guitar, and the fact that people
around me listened to good music. During
that period I heard many bands and artists for the first time like Jimi Hendrix, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and Pantera.
Rich:Sabbath,
Soundgarden, Kyuss and the Melvins were my
earliest inspirations to play guitar and write music. Out of the current active
bands, we’re of course inspired by the bands we get to share the stage with,
recently we’ve really enjoyed Svalbard and Conjurer, always tight and giving 100% each time. I’m also
really loving SubRosa
and JK Flesh
at the moment.
SL: Whilst we’re
on the subject of inspiration or heroes for example, do you have 5 records that stand out as favourites, what influence did
they have upon you and what is it about those records that particular resonates
amongst others?
Rich: Here’s a few favourites and one new discovery. The list is always expanding.
Mamiffer: “Mare Decendri”
I had the
good fortune to catch Mamiffer
along with JK Flesh
and Sumac in
London recently and they really stole the show for me. This album is a masterpiece: beautiful
arrangements, a deep and rich sound and a haunting atmosphere.
Beach
Boys:
“Pet Sounds”
The
density of the arrangements and how experimental the song structures are still
amazes me and continues to be an influence on how I craft songs. It’s an
eye-opening album for me, in the sense that music can be so inventive, dynamic
and compositionally experimental and still pack a huge emotional punch.
The
Cure:
“Pornography”
An
incredible album. Darkness permeates through every song, it could have only
contained “One Hundred Years” and it would still be one of my all-time
favourite records. Robert Smith is one of the most under-rated guitar players
of all time for me.
Botch: “We are the
Romans”
A classic.
“C Thomas Howell as the Soul Man” is one of the best hardcore songs
ever. Hydrahead Records
in particular has been, and continues to be, a big inspiration for me.
Fall
of Efrafa:
“Owsla”
A genius
first chapter in a conceptual discography. This record opened up a whole world
of underground crust and post-metal for me, along with the DIY subculture it
was birthed out of.
Piotr: It’s hard to choose only five, so I’ll only name rock albums.
Metallica -
“...and Justice For All“,
A big
inspiration on song structure
Pink
Floyd
- “Dark side of the moon“
Without a
doubt, amazing melodies.
Tool - “Lateralus“
Just
genius, isn’i it?!
Deftones - “White pony“
Atmospheric,
great drum beats, it is what I would call romantic metal, if that makes sense.
Micheal
Jackson
- “Bad“
Because it
needs to be mentioned as one of my first musical influences.
Ted: There are too many albums that I could list in my top 5. These are just
a few that spring to my mind immediately.
Pentagram- “First Daze
Here”
Led
Zeppelin-
“IV”
Black
Sabbath-
“Sabbath Bloody Sabbath”
Fleetwood
Mac-
“Rumours”
Converge- “Jane Doe”
SL: Can remember your first
electric guitar, bass?
Piotr: Yes, and it’s still on my bedroom wall, an Epiphone Les Paul.
Ted: Yes, It was an old Encore
Strat copy that my Dad bought for me I think. Pretty standard but it
did the job for a few years.
Rich: Yes. It was
a Stagg, in that old ZZ Top shape. Truly a
terrible guitar, The neck broke within a couple of months!
SL: What guitar(s) bass (s) are
you using today and how did you gravitate towards the guitar you currently use?
Rich
& Piotr: We both use Ltd Ec1000’s. We both really love Les Pauls and humbuckers, and the
Ltd’s are great, hold low tunings really well and are fairly light for Les Paul style guitars.
You can also pick them up at a reasonable price second-hand which is a massive
plus. In all honestly we are both continually expanding our sound, and for sure
there will come a time for different guitars and pickups
Ted: In Telepathy I use an Epiphone Explorer bass.
SL: What do you like about the
guitars you currently use and has there been any specific modifications to
it?
Rich
& Piotr: No modifications currently other than a basic
set-up to allow us keep our low tuned strings stable. We’re both toying with
idea of adding a single coil pickup though at the moment.
Ted: I love it because I’ve never seen anyone else use one and it’s just a
massive, gnarly lump of wood that looks rad when slung nice and low. I’m going
to have to change the pickups in it at some point because it runs so hot that
you get a lot of feedback if you play too close to your rig, so playing on a
small stage can be problematic.
SL: What amps and pedals do you
currently use? Do you use a combination of
amps, or a full half stack? Talk us through your set up both in the studio and
in the live environment?
These are all in a constant state of flux, but here
are our current set-ups..
Rich:
Guitar > Tuner - Vox Delaylab - Maxon od808 - Empress Heavy – Little Big Muff - Boss RV-5 > Orange Rockerverb 100
and Orange PPC412
cabinet
Piotr:
Guitar > Tuner – Digitech Whammy – Empress Heavy – EHX Micro Synth – EHX B9 Organ Machine – MXR Analog Delay – TC Electronic Flashback Delay
(mini) – EHX
Super Ego > Fender
MH Head and Cab.
In the studio, we’ve been tracking with Jaime Gomez
at Orgone Studios
who has a wealth of vintage gear. We’ve tracking with an 80’s Marshall JCM800 and Peavey 5150 blended for
heavy guitars and a silver
face Fender Twin Reverb for cleans. We’ve used our own boards and
guitars, except for some clean passages on which we’ve used a hybrid super
strat Gomez has knocking about. We’ve also used an old EPIPHONE acoustic Ted
has which sounds amazing. For bass we used a vintage Ampeg SVT and Fender P Bass.
SL: What one pedal could not live
without and why?
Ted: My Boss TU-2
Chromatic Tuner. Can’t go wrong with it.
Rich: Aside from a tuner, my Empress Heavy. It has two great, responsive gain channels
and has added in a lot of the low end that my Rockerverb was missing on its gain channel,
via its brilliant weight control. It’s also been great to EQ to different rooms
with.
Piotr: Tough one... I guess it must be
my Mxr Analog Delay
– it’s just too good!
SL: What are your amp/ pedal settings?
Rich:Orange
clean channel, bass about 2 o’clock, mids and treble around 12 (dependent on
what room we’re playing). Very loud. I use the Heavy Empress for both a crunch channel and
distorted channel
Piotr:As of this moment I’m using
my Fender MH
amp, my settings are around 12 o’clock for clean gain, with a lot of bass,
little treble and about half on the mid channel. When it comes to pedals, it is
the Heavy Empress
that adds all the heaviness, with similar settings to the amps just with less
bass and more gain.
SL: What tunings do you use and
why, and as a result is there a specific brand / gauge of string you prefer ?
We tune to BEDGBE for guitars. Ted tunes toBEAD, it’s like standard 5 string tuning but without
the high G. He prefers that tuning because it allows him the freedom to move
through the scales without having to worry about any dropped strings. We all use
Ernie Ball strings generally.
Piotr:Ernie Ball
Heavy top Slinky Bottom
Rich: I use Power
Slinky’s but exchange the two lowest strings with a .42 and .54
Ted: I recently switched to Ernie Ball Power Slinky, they’re 110’s and I was using
130’s before. They’re just a lot better to play than the heavier ones SL: Do you have any
advice for up and coming guitars players, bands?
Practice, do whatever the hell you want musically
and most importantly play from the heart.
SL: Do feel
there are deeply held misconceptions about being in a band?
I’m sure there are many, most of which are based on
70’s excess and the boom years of the industry.
SL: Moving on a little then, what
can you tell us about any of your current projects, tours, cds, etc and anything
else band related we should know about?
We can tell you our next record is nearing
completion. We have been recording periodically throughout the year with Jaime
Gomez Arellano (Cathedral,
Paradise Lost,
With the Dead,
Sunn O)))
& Ulver,
etc)
We’re about to hit the road in Europe and have some
great off-shows coming up around the UK, including Noizfest in Manchester in October.
SL: What springs to mind when you think about the completion of your upcoming
record and how is the mood in the camp at present?
Well, currently we’re
demo-ing overdubs and textures to add when we return to the studio on 23rd
August. We’re all incredibly proud of this new work, and the mood in camp has
never been better, especially after the addition of Ted on bass. We’re
currently buzzing to get back on the road in Europe for some headline shows and
a performance at Incubate
2016 in Tilburg.
SL: Who are some your favourite bands you have toured with and what have been
your proudest moments and/or performance of your playing career?
It’s tough to name just a few moments or shows, but
playing Desertfest
this year was pretty insane, there was a queue out to the street to catch our
set at the Black Heart
which was pretty crazy.
Incubate in 2014 was a similar situation, we ended up headlining our stage due to
a cancellation, and playing to packed room in Tilburg at such a prestigious
festival was an honour.
More recently, it’s been rad playing shows with Rosetta, Svalbard, Conjurer, Grand Collapse (two
words: water) and Latitudes.
However,
the thing we take most pride in is that everything we’ve achieved up until this
point has been 100% our own work, and we have never compromised our vision in
any way.
SL: What can
fans look forward to from you over the
next 12 months? How is your schedule
shaping up?
The release of a new record and A LOT of live shows.
Watch this space.
SL:Finally, do you have any final comments/word of wisdom you’d like to bestow upon
us?
A big thanks to The Sludgelord for the continued support!
