SAMPLES & SCANS

Laura | laurchan[at]gmail[dot]com

[lrscans]

INTERVIEW: HONE YOUR SENSE

Pulp Magazine 2015

Heavy and catchy is generally a winning formula with heavy music, but unlike most of their peers, Tokyo’s HONE YOUR SENSE infuses their combination of deathcore and melodic death metal with a generous helping of shuffle parts that are hard to get out of your head. Having graced the stage of holy grail metal festival Wacken Open Air in Germany, and supported Canadian heavy hitters Cancer Bats in their homeland, it’s due time for an international introduction.

FORMATION AND EARLY DAYS

HONE YOUR SENSE was formed in 2006 at a part-time job, when Satoshi Matsushima (bass) spotted Kenta Baba (guitar) reading a metal magazine. Upon learning that he was a guitarist, the two, plus the drummer at the time, began jamming in the studio for fun.

Before the advent of Japanese social networking giant, Mixi, fans exchanged information on the different message boards of their favorite band. The pair found second guitarist, Kosuke Matsuzaki online, who joined the lineup as HONE YOUR SENSE’s second guitarist a year later.

2011 saw the unfortunate departure of the band’s original vocalist, but opportune timing allowed the position to be filled a year later by Toru Bara, Kosuke’s good friend and former cover band-mate from way back, whose previous band had broken up. This was once described by Satoshi in a previous interview as what he felt was the band’s true start. Why?

SATOSHI: I honestly think he’s a great frontman. He has a good presence and aura. It felt like, “Ah!! This is it! He’s the one!!” the first time we invited him to join us in the studio. He’s like the icon of the band. Also, we didn’t really have a leader-type figure so it affected our mentality a lot.

KENTA: After all, I had a lot of experience and agree that it would be good to have a leader type presence. The band’s aura totally changed thanks to big brother, no… father here…

HONE YOUR SENSE’s newest and youngest member, Takuya “Picasso” Nakata (drums), was recommended to them by former support drummer (and current Crystal Lake support) Gaku Taura’s friend. Though officially announced in October of last year, he was already filling in for the shows Gaku couldn’t play at.

EVOLUTION OF SOUND

Upon comparison of the band’s initial demos and EP with more recent offerings, they appear to have gone from a very deathcore and death metal approach to one with more melody injected into it.

KENTA: This wasn’t an intentional thing, though. We never set out to purposely make a melodic death record. It was more of us (Kosuke and I) just writing songs that we liked, and if someone said, “Oh, this is cool!” we’d try it out.

Kosuke is adamant the composition process itself is unaffected by lineup changes as the main songwriters have remained constant throughout. But with Bara’s prodding that “this story is so undramatic you probably can’t use it”, he adds that their “previous drummer’s departure led us to recruit a good vocalist and drummer, whose skills allowed us to expand our musical range.”

A strength most characteristic of HONE YOUR SENSE is the ability to write songs that are catchy and easy to listen to, while simultaneously retaining the pure, brutal and riff-heavy essence of metal music.

KOSUKE: I don’t think everything can be packed in a single song. With a 12-track album, you can probably appreciate the extent of what we cover, but in my opinion, you won’t get the whole picture if you only pick up or check out one song on its own.

BARA: Yeah, that’s why there are deathcore-influenced, catchy, melodic death metal, and shuffle songs. So if you listen to the album as a whole, you’ll get a sense of various things mixed together… which is what we were aiming for. So I believe those two don’t purposely go in with the mindset of “let’s make songs like what we already have!” I think our unique style has been successfully reflected in the album because we try and mix things up.

KOSUKE: Because it’s the same person doing vocals, even though there’s a mishmash of styles, there’s still something keeping it consistent.

BARA: With stuff like vocal inputs and live performances, everyone emphasizes the crowd pleasers and audience engagement. We have a lot of patterns catered to a live audience, in order to convey things like, this the violent part, this is the melodeath part, jump up and down… I think we do songs uncharacteristic of a metal band. That’s probably because each member is open minded and the type that would go, “that’s interesting!”, rather than “that’s a bit different, maybe we shouldn’t do it…”

KENTA: We’ve never gone into the studio to write songs together. Kosuke and I compose and record the guitar and drums, vocals are recorded over, then Satoshi and Picasso learn to play them by copying the demos.

When asked to pick a single song that defined their sound, all members agreed that the fourth track off their album, Absolute Senses,  ‘This Chaotic World Is Over’ was the closest thing to an all-in-one that included the greatest variety of styles – from deathcore and shuffle, to rock ’n’ roll, melodeath and even a guitar solo. Satoshi named ‘Last Man Standing’ a close second – where the shuffle parts in an otherwise typically metal song let the band’s uniqueness come through.

INFLUENCES

Pantera clearly held the vote when it came to naming their individual influences.

KENTA: The hard rock band Extreme, because I like Nuno Bettencourt. I’m heavily influenced by them.

KOSUKE: Older Megadeth (imitates guitar sound), from the first to fourth album. I like their guitar work.

SATOSHI: Pantera and Korn.

PICASSO: Pantera, Machine Head, I guess.

KENTA: Lots of Pantera, eh?

SATOSHI: Rhythmic Pantera…

BARA: I like them a lot, too.

KENTA: I don’t listen to Pantera at all. I think they’re cool, but I’m just not influenced by them in any way.

As a band rooted in traditional metal, but appeared on an even ratio of metal and hardcore/metalcore lineups, I wondered if they preferred the former over the latter.

SATOSHI: No, we don’t really have a preference. That’s why we’ll play with all types of genres – whether it’s to metal fans or loud rock kids.

BARA: We want all sorts of people to listen to us, so we play all kinds of shows.

KOSUKE: Although we like bands like Megadeth, Pantera, and Extreme, we also like other kinds of music. There are a lot of metal musicians who only listen to metal but we’re not really that type.

BARA: I like B’Z, and sing their songs a lot at after-parties. I like hip hop and RnB as well. I played the taiko drums in elementary school.

KENTA: Really? This is the first I’ve heard of this!

PICASSO: Bara likes anime songs, too.

KENTA: We all like anime, it’s really extensive. I like games too… Anything, really.

KOSUKE: The influence of video game music is definitely recognizable in the songs I write. Melodically, I like the instrumentals on game soundtracks, so that’s probably something that comes through.

FROM LIVE HOUSES TO WACKEN

Unlike the resounding, “Pantera” to the question about influences, everyone’s answers and reasons varied when it came to their favorite songs to play live.

BARA: ‘Last Man Standing’ is a lot of fun for me.

KENTA: ‘Buster’.

KOSUKE: I also like ‘Buster’, or ‘Ray Of Light’… because they’re fairly easy. [all laugh]

KENTA: I like the hype songs like ‘Last Man’ but they’re kinda hard to play! ‘Buster’ is hard but easy to bang your head to.

KOSUKE: That’s why… You know how ‘Buster’ has that tricky part? There’s none of that on ‘Ray Of Light’ so my favorite song to play live is probably ‘Ray Of Light’.

BARA: You know, if I was a reader, I’d be like, “why is Hone Your Sense this kind of band (that says stuff like, “I like it because it’s easy”)?” [all laugh]

SATOSHI: Mine is ‘We Aim To Be The Same’.

BARA: I also considered that one. The combination of the vocals on it, plus everyone singing, “WE AIM TO BE THE SAME!” back at me is a great feeling.

PICASSO: The most fun for me is definitely ‘Last Man Standing’. There are lots of drum breaks, and the drum parts are really hard, but…

KOSUKE: What a cool guy, he enjoys playing hard songs.

PICASSO: …the tempo isn’t that fast, and the fusion in it is unusual. I also like Black Lotus because of the way it gradually takes hold of the crowd’s attention, they really watch closely.

This is met with a resounding “WHOOOAAAAAA!!!”

KENTA: Black Lotus is one I’m not fond of playing at all, because it’s very difficult.

PICASSO: I don’t particularly like it because it’s hard, but the way the song gets everyone pumped up at shows makes it worth playing.

One of their claims to fame is having won Japan’s 2012 Metal Battle to represent their country at the world’s biggest metal festival, Wacken Open Air in Germany.

KOSUKE: We definitely learned a lot, but more than anything else, it was thrilling and we had so much fun. It was the best.

SATOSHI: I was really in awe that it was really happening – we were playing Wacken. “We definitely can’t stop now”, I thought. It was insane and we want nothing but to play again!

BARA: I woke up tired and hungover from drinking too much the night before. On my way from the tent to the toilet, it was only morning but there were people drinking and making a racket. From afar, I saw Satoshi and a German woman…

SATOSHI: I think she was Russian, or somewhere around there…

BARA: … and while sleeping, he was licking her boob with a pierced nipple, like this. [all laugh]

KENTA: Satoshi is probably the one who had the most fun there.

SATOSHI: Rock n roll, man!!!

KENTA: Satoshi was definitely the most “rock ‘n roller”. During the festival, he was hardly ever around. The few times you’d run into him it was like spotting a burglar, he was having way too much fun. You’d bump into a drunk Satoshi and he’d like, “thanks for your hard work!”, or like, “oh, there’s a moshpit over there now!” and he’d be dashing off somewhere again.

SATOSHI: Other than on stage, I used all my energy as part of the audience, too.

KOSUKE: Right, we each went to watch the bands we wanted to see.

KENTA: We were all over the place.

BARA: Since we could go backstage, we were able to talk to and meet many artists, like members of Unearth and Suicide Silence, including Mitch! It was three months before he passed away. he was having a beer and I got to take a photo with him!

KOSUKE: In general, we got to talk to heaps of our favorite bands.

…AND BEYOND!

Individually, each member’s aspirations do not differ too much, with the general consensus being a shared dream to “become a band that tours all over the world” – naming America, Europe (particularly Germany), Asia (“We’ve only been to Taiwan, so we want to go to other places too),  and (for Satoshi) “somewhere there are many party girls”, as well as to “play shows every day” as a full time musician in large places and festivals. In line with plans for a new album (currently writing) set for release next winter, there were mentions of wanting to “put out a release every year, and even write a tenth album”.

SATOSHI: It took us about 6 years to release the first album. I want to seriously write music more, and have it distributed not only in Japan but overseas too. I’d like for HONE YOUR SENSE to become a band that goes about our musical activities more earnestly.

KENTA: We want to go to the Philippines, too.

KOSUKE: We’ll do our best to be able to go there, so listen to our music! Please check out our releases, come to our shows. We’ll be waiting!

BARA: If you have any interest in Japan’s metal scene, feel free to come along!

[lrscans]

INTERVIEW: HER NAME IN BLOOD

Pulp Magazine 2014

If every band had to be defined by a music video they’ve released, HER NAME IN BLOOD’s would undoubtedly be ‘Halo’. The detached heavy metal airs and furious execution back up the brutal name, while its epilogue of wacky wind machine usage and gorging on instant noodles reflect the members as the total opposite of this. In short, this is a seriously heavy five-piece with a great sense of humour – made up of Ikepy (vocals), Daiki (guitar), TJ (guitar), Makoto (bass) and Umebo (drums).

An equally surprising fact is that the Japanese act’s moniker was drawn from the title of a Strung Out song. Makoto briefly recounts the [band’s] origins for our pre-show chat with him and Ikepy, though insists on keeping the previous name as some sort of hilarious secret between the two.

“Daiki (guitarist) and I started the initial band together, about five years ago. Then Ikepy joined in around 2007, and around half a year from then we changed the name.”

With a sound fusing metal and hardcore, the discussion of influences for comparison is inevitable.

Ikepy gives an answer befitting his Motorhead wifebeater: “I really like metal. In terms of ‘purist’ metal, it’s Pantera, Metallica... Then when I listen to metalcore, it’s Killswitch Engage and As I Lay Dying.”

“Wife killer!” Makoto jokes upon mention of As I Lay Dying, which brings about a round of laughter from everyone. “As for me, I like punk rock! NOFX, Rancid, those two are my favourites… But I’m aware I play metal,” he’s quick to add with a bemused chuckle.

Upon mention of the change in direction from the varied metalcore and deathcore days of Decadence (2010), to a more groove oriented musicality on The Beast EP (2013) and this year’s self-titled full length, the culprit is identified instantly, with a unanimous verdict.

M: “It’s Daiki’s fault! He’s the one that likes hard rock.”

I: “Probably! Daiki initially brings the guitar riffs and whatnot, so as expected, he wants to achieve a very hard rock-influenced atmosphere with a powerful, big sound.”

The Slipknot-esque element however, inevitably comes from behind the kit: “Umebo’s influence. He likes the noisy stuff! Put simply, he likes it fast and loud!”

Over the past couple of years, Her Name In Blood have shared stages with an impressive number of foreign acts on their Japan tours – from August Burns Red and The Ghost Inside, to Every Time I Die and For The Fallen Dreams. Tonight, they wrap up an arduous 24 date tour across the country in promotion of their latest release.

I: “On the album’s release date, our guitarist TJ injured himself, so from the onset we had to rehearse a lot with the support guitarist/s. Even at the start it was super busy and tiring but as it piled up, we got really used to it. So, although we’re already at the end of the tour, I think we gradually came to improve a lot on stage to get to this point!”

M: “What happened to TJ was unfortunate, but thankfully, 3 other guitarists helped us out. With this the band seriously took a huge step forward, taking on a big tour despite having one member injured, which was a big deal.”

Fortunately, however, fans’ reaction to the new material this time around was overwhelmingly positive, according to Ikepy. “They’ve really been buying, listening to, and learning the songs… Moreover, there were lots of people who properly took action on this tour… That kind of feeling,” Makoto agrees, observing that, “it looked like lots of people were singing along!”

I felt compelled to drop the keyword and ask what the most brutal thing that’s happened at a show was. It turns out low ceilings are to be feared more than rabid crowds! Makoto’s response, complete with slicing motion was more painful than imagined: “I cut my finger on a lighting rig! That’s the worst thing that’s happened in my life, on stage!

What’s more, this Tokyo crew are one of the few bands to have done a tour in the elusive China – not one, but four headlining shows around the 2013-14 New Year period.

M: “As you would think, we thought it was a scary country just before going, but… You know, Japan and China are a bit… Before heading over, there were some problems but when we went there, it was no problem.”

I “The power of music is seriously something. China was really intense, the reaction we got was amazingly great. I’d like to go again!”

Could this perhaps be attributed to the increasing popularity of Japanese metalcore bands overseas? A domestic term often used to describe this scene is “loud rock”*, which in Japan generally refers to bands playing music under the “core” umbrella, J-punk, pop-punk and so on, which often draw upon Western music influences. Both give their thoughts on this timely rise.

M: “It’s a good thing! I think Japanese bands are skilled in their live performances, so them being able to be recognized in such places is great.”

I: “I guess there’s no doubt about it that many kids think that loud* rock bands from overseas are very cool. But actually, I felt that in my experience touring with different foreign bands says that the quality of Japanese bands is of a very high level.”

In terms of the band’s plans, the immediate future is most exciting as they head to Okinawa the next day to play a show with Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, followed by a few days of holiday! But before that, the ever-important message for fans and readers in our own tropical island:

M: “I want to eat the greatest bananas! I really like bananas. I often eat them before shows. Since I want to eat the best bananas, I want to hit up the Philippines on tour!”

I: “I haven’t been to the Philipines yet, so to get everyone over there psyched on loud* music, we want to play the sickest show in the Philippines! Please read this!”

It’s about an hour later the one-man show commences, and they rip into a comprehensive set touching on each record on their back catalogue, with a drum solo thrown in the middle for good measure. If there’s one thing that’s evident from the fearless kickoff with ‘Zero (Fucked Up World)’ to a triple encore closing with their Punk Goes Pop cover of Lady Gaga’s ‘Pokerface’, it’s that Her Name In Blood are well and truly seasoned in getting a crowd going and actively participative, both live and in songwriting structured just for the occasion.

[lrscans]

LIVE REVIEW: VOYAGER + MORE

The Music // July 2014

05.07.14 // Factory Floor

Without Parachutes' sonic waves of wah-wah guitars and heavily rhythm-driven tracks make for a massively atmospheric opening. Confident and undeterred by technical difficulties, the trio retained a clear sound, combining indie-rock leanings with more progressive tones. Select cuts include epic finisher,Why Should I Care.

Troldhaugen's wacky theatrics make them one of the most entertaining live bands. The Simpsons theme preluded the sharply dressed – in sunglasses and a horse mask no less – showmen's mishmash of Scandinavian folk metal meets carnivalesque show tunes. The crazy eyes and madman dances featuring ghoulish haunting and electrocution complement tracks off their upcoming album that turn synth-pop and operatic vocals into phantasmagoric stomping extravaganzas, alongside whimsical and jazzy older digs.

Caligula's Horse are an ambitious embodiment of power and progression. Their sound's grandeur is an amalgamation of unpredictable time signatures and each member's precision and control. The band's strengths are most evident in those songs conveying punchier sections, The City Has No Empathy and Dark Hair Down, though the rarely performed Into The White got a play-through due to the support slot for “a band as eclectic as Voyager”.

Voyager have outdone themselves this time, touring on the back of their fifth release, V. The prog metallers rock out in full force, churning out scintillating solos and engaging interaction between members and with their audience. Fans clearly appreciated the scales being tipped towards the heavier side of their fresh take on the genre, with moshpits starting up, as well as crowdsurfing for the first time in Voyager history. The highlight turned out to be a special edition of their covers medley, featuring Troldhaugen's Reventüsk, which included a particularly rousing rendition ofHighway To Hell. The memorable set wrapped up nicely with lush anthem, I Am The Revolution's soaring melodies and the “legitimately unplanned” encore, White Shadow.

[lrscans]

LIVE REVIEW: FREE YOUR MIND

The Music // May 2014

23.05.14 //Metro Theatre

Polaris proved themselves to be deserving contest winners. The local support's djent-infused metalcore, topped with emotive screams, made for a high-energy set. Make Them Suffer followed with a real earth-shaker – that “bounce” imperative needed no repetition. The half-hour, which finished with Morrow and included new single, Let Me In, was packed with crushing bass and a sprinkling of chilling keys. Chicago's Veil Of Maya incorporate unique time signatures with technical deathcore. It was a solid offering with some dark and devastating gutturals, but proved least inspiring of the night. Led by vocal tag team Michael Barr and Gus Faris, Volumes took the reins in a more groove-laden, but still heavy direction. The rehashed formula garnered great results with the LA band enjoying an incredibly warm reception as breakdowns galore on tracks like Wormholes opened up a sizeable pit, while lighters and phones lit up the place for Edge Of The Earth. Thy Art Is Murder served up a punishing set of unadulterated ferocity featuring, among others, The Purest Strain Of Hate and old favourite, Laceration Penetration. The band's cult following are a rabid breed who lapped up the extreme metal mayhem with great gusto – be it Lee Stanton's unforgiving drums or Sith Lord-channelling, CJ McMahon repping Western Sydney and parting blackened seas for Whore To A Chainsaw's wall of death. “Bitch, you're dead!” indeed. Northlane are living proof that sheer musical integrity and dedicated touring can, in fact, lead to commercial success – some might even say Sydney's hometown heroes have “made it”. It's evident in tonight's colossal performance that they've polished their stage show over the years, transcending dimensions to induce a dazzling euphoria in both fans and friends alike. Be it Gus from Volumes joining them onstage for explosive party-starter, Masquerade, or the event's raging lyrical namesake,Abrasumente, Northlane went from strength to strength and concluded on a high with the massively ambient Quantum Flux.

[lrscans]

COVER FEATURE/INTERVIEW - PARKWAY DRIVE

PULP Magazine // November 2011

Parkway Drive lead at the forefront today’s widely known and constantly growing hardcore scene in Australia, alongside bands like The Amity Affliction and I Killed The Prom Queen. Just like every scene serving its time as underground/non-mainstream music’s latest trend, it is cluttered with an abundance of similar-sounding bands. This is where the Byron Bay five-piece outfit come in – they don’t go about trying to convince you that their sound is more special than anyone else’s. Instead, they master, progress and constantly evolve their nautical-brand of equally heavy and melodic metalcore, overflowing with bone-crushing aggression and unabashed honesty.

Discover their perfect formula as revealed by vocalist Winston McCall, along with ideas for the new album, their punk influences and more; before having epic fun getting your face ripped off as you witness them live in concert on Friday, December 9 at Amoranto Theatre, Quezon City.

You mentioned that you’d be taking some time off touring to work on a new album that had ideas “bigger than anything (we’ve) done in the past” – what can we expect?

At the moment, it’s pretty early days. We’ve been putting a lot of effort into writing, we were actually writing a couple of hours ago. The idea so far is to make something that’s had all the elements we’ve ever had in the past, but just to push it into places we haven’t necessarily gone before, sound-wise. There’s a lot more effort going into the writing process and a lot more fine detail going into it and I guess, layering, and stuff like that. At the moment, that’s what that means. We have some big ideas, but it’s all going to come down to whether or not we can pull them off in the studio.

Will it be another concept album, like Deep Blue?

Not in the same way Deep Blue was, it’s not written in the same way, but I’m not quite sure what it’s going to focus on lyrically. I don’t think people can expect the same album as Deep Blue, but at the same time, there still might be something else going on there. We’ll just have to wait and see. I do have ideas for it, but it’s still the early days.

Will you be collaborating with any member/s of the Gaslight Anthem for it, since you’ve already collaborated with Bad Religion and Warriors (two of Parkway Drive’s “dream tour” bands) in the last album?

It would be really, really awesome. I have ideas but I haven’t even talked to them yet, but that would be a dream. Whether or not we could somehow work the two sounds together would be something else, but if we ever got the chance to do it, it’s definitely something we wouldn’t turn down.

I’d like to see that, because I didn’t expect Bad Religion to be on your last album!

Basically, I think Deep Blue worked really well for us in all the aspects of it, but it was kind of a test for us. We brought in all those little elements, like having Brett on the record, having a few different sounds and stuff to see if it’d work, and it worked so well that it kind of just opened the door for a whole lot of other ideas we had at the back of our minds that we thought, “Maybe we should hold off on this”. I think, this time around, when it comes to people to collaborate with or when it comes to different sounds, anything really goes and we’re just trying a whole bunch of different stuff. We’ve been writing three days a week here at the moment, and it’s coming along really, really well. We’ve got six songs written so far, and the leads to those ones are probably the first songs people ever hear, and you’d go “Wow, I really didn’t expect that from Parkway!” There are two of the favorite songs I’ve ever written but it’s using elements we’ve never used before, and instruments in ways we haven’t used before. It still sounds like us, but it’s just one of those things where we started thinking outside the box with a lot of different stuff – playing things in a different way from the way we’re used to playing, just because we thought, “Hey, why not? Let’s just try stuff!”

Having already reached such a level of success, recognition, and playing festivals and tours all over the world, is there anything left that Parkway Drive has yet to achieve or want to do, and if so, what would that be?

Play on the moon? (Laughs) I don’t know. We’ve never really had any goal as a band to do anything. It’s just kind of one great surprise after the next, so we’re just stoked to still be playing as a band. It’s pretty insane if you consider how long this band’s been able to last, doing what we do. As you say, it’s been really successful for us, so we just take every day as a blessing, I guess! At the same time, it’s awesome to have so many people all over the world listening to this band and if we ever get the opportunity to play somewhere, we’d love to just give people the chance to see this band live, so we’re just going to try and play to as many people in as many different places as we can.

Fair enough! Also, the Philippines has lots of beaches like Australia, so if you have any free time, you should go check them out.

We’re so psyched for that tour, it’s gonna be great! I’ve always wanted to go surfing, so I’ll see if we have to go book a holiday afterwards or something like that, but I’ll see how we go. I’ve always wanted to go to the Philippines!

In past interviews, you answer that you “don’t know” when asked what makes PWD so special. So instead, what do you think you do better than every other band that makes you stand out?

That’s an even harder way to ask that question, God! I think we probably have more fun than most bands – that’s got to be it. The band you see on stage is literally just who we are. We play the music we like playing, and we have fun and that’s it. There’s nothing else to it, there’s no ulterior motive, there’s no plan to the whole thing… It’s just literally watching five people doing what they like doing so I think, especially in this day and age, where music is a business and there’s a lot of people that see it that way, that’s pretty much as honest as it gets with this kind of thing.

Well, it worked!

Yeah! Well, that’s the thing – we’re glad that it works. For us, it’s really amazing to be able to have this kind of success and to be able to do what you love doing and literally not have to change anything about you. We haven’t had to change the way we play, change the music we play, change the way we look or anything, it’s just awesome that people have chosen to support us in that way.

Your Brisbane show last year saw free shirts on fishing rods, inflatable rafts and footballs, while 2008’s Surf Rats Tour had a rather interesting concept by playing in remote surfing locations. Although you guys are not a gimmicky band record-wise, should we expect a no-frills approach or are there surprises in store for your live in December?

It depends, we definitely don’t want to be a gimmicky band, but none of that stuff is really super planned. It’s just one of those things where we have a bunch of friends with us and we say, “Hey, let’s get a surfboard for this guy to crowdsurf on”, or “inflatable rafts could be funny to crowdsurf on”, or whatever. Those things came about because we all of a sudden found ourselves playing these venues in Australia which were so massive and we were like, “Whoa, this is kinda out of control, let’s just take advantage of the fact that there are so many people here and do some really fun stuff that people haven’t seen before”. We definitely encourage people enjoying themselves in whatever way – it could be standing at the back of a show, or bringing an inflatable pool toy and smashing their friend, or throwing it at me… (laughs) As long as we get to see people smile, for us, that’s what the band is always going to be. We’re definitely spur of the moment people, so if something pops up at the last minute, it generally just happens and we don’t really think about it. We definitely encourage people to do whatever the hell they want at these shows, so, it’s cool. For us to be able to play these shows is amazing and we understand that this is the first time our band gets the honor of playing a lot of places, like Manila, so yeah, do whatever you want to do at these shows because it’s a pretty awesome opportunity!

What is your formula for success, as among the many hardcore and metalcore bands now, you seem to have perfected the composition of a good metalcore song?

Thank you! That’s a nice thing to say. I’m not quite sure. It’s really weird, because it never involved a massive amount of thought. For us, we just play music we enjoy listening to, and for us, that means keeping it interesting and engaging at all points in time which means that certain parts and certain riffs don’t drag on too much, we try to have as many fast parts as heavy parts and keeping the variety in there. For us, it’s always been about playing fast music, playing heavy music and having enough melody that you can listen to it. You can listen to a really heavy song or heavy part of a song and it still is catchy, it still sticks in your head and is still something nice to listen to although it can be as heavy as concrete. We’ve always just kind of stuck with that and over the years, worked out ways to bring other elements in, and that’s always been the way that the band has evolved. We’ve been, I guess, sticking to the same formula from the word “go”. It’s just, as we go on, we learn to play different things, learn to speed up or slow down or those little elements that come into things.

I like how you guys kept the variety while still being heavy instead of using synths, dubstep and autotune like a lot of the bands these days. What do you think of that?

I got into this music because I think it just sounds like humans and it sounds honest. To me, the whole idea of mixing techno and all this dubstep stuff and all of a sudden, people having all these backing tracks and auto-tune and stuff, it’s just not the same kind of music that I got into. It’s just a weird thing, and the thing is most of the bands you see doing that kind of stuff, you watch them live and it sounds totally different live. It’s something they can’t pull off live, it’s just stupid.

They’re not computers!

Exactly! There’s no – I’m not going to say integrity, but it misses the heart of it all. For us, we’re never going to record something that we can’t play live. It’s got to be something that comes from humans, and from us, in the first place as opposed to coming from a computer making some beeps and whistles.

Agreed, is that why you like punk – the rawness of it and all?

Yeah definitely, that’s why I got into punk. We were never metal kids in the first place. We’re a bunch of punk kids, we listen to hardcore and we listen to punk and that just got us into what we listen to now, and we somehow ended up playing metal. We still have the same attitude, to me, it was the fact that it was something really down to earth and something really honest and you could relate to the fact that it wasn’t this polished, perfect type of music – it was something played by ordinary people. That’s where you can relate, and you kind of lose that when you start relying on a computer to make these sounds for you.

That’s actually one of the reasons I really like your band, you don’t see very many metal bands with punk influences; since I like both, but you don’t meet very many people who do.

I don’t know if it’s an intentional thing, but it’s definitely in there. A lot of people might not notice it, but I guess that’s where a lot of the pace comes from. I can honestly say, we may be a metal-sounding band or metal band or whatever people want to call us, but it’s coming from a punk background 100%. None of us in the band are actually metalheads of anything like that. It’s not that we have anything against it, it’s just that’s not the background we grew up listening to. We just ended up playing the music because we liked it, so it’s really awesome that people have chosen to support us in that way, like, through the metal scene as well. But for all of us, I guess all of our experience, all of our songwriting, all of everything we put into the band has come from that background originally, so I guess that’s where it stemmed from.

Which song of yours is one that best defines Parkway Drive in terms of either sound, what you stand for or both?

I’d say at the moment, Deliver Me. I think that contains pretty much everything about this band. It’s one of the heavier songs we have, it has so much melody in the middle, it has the pace and it has lyrics that mean something. So I guess, if you want a snapshot of every little part of this band put into one song, it would probably be that song.

Since your lyrics seem to mainly be inspired by the things you don’t really like about the world and how everyone is really greedy, is there any main message you want to get across through your music?

Yeah, definitely! I think that’s basically it. I realize that we live in a very, very big world and there are massive problems that we can’t necessarily have a direct impact on personally, but I think being aware of where you live and who you are and what’s going on around you is the first step in making any kind of change at all, and I think that the moment that the message or any kind of message leaves this kind of music, it basically becomes pointless. I’m not a fan of writing about nothingness. (laughs) If there’s one underlying current to what I write about it would definitely just be: use your head, use the body and the brain that you have, and you’re not the only person in the planet. It’s a very big world, and there’s a lot to see and a lot to experience and there’s a lot of knowledge to gain out there.

Is it a bit shocking to see that a lot of people don’t realize that, though?

Yeah, definitely! Well at the same time, I think I have an interesting way of writing, in the sense that it can be interpreted reasonably broadly. I have a lot of people coming up to me and saying, “this song means so much to me and I know it’s about this and it got me through hard times” or whatever; and I’m like, “Okay, it’s definitely not about that, but I’m stoked that you got that out of it and it’s helped you out, so…” I’m not someone to just lay down this song about that, and that’s it. I like the fact that it can be interpreted reasonably broadly, but I can definitely understand where people kind of get that mixed message about things here and there.

As a songwriter, you’re “always trying to stay away from the standard trivial shit most bands seem to be spewing these days” – what kind of standard trivial shit?

Tough guy bullshit (laughs). Well, I definitely wrote a couple of songs like that earlier on, but you hear a lot of bands… Well, pretty much every heavy band these days, it’s just, “I hate you, and this is why I hate you and you fucked me over so I’m gonna smash your face” or something like that. And the thing is, it’s always written by people that have never thrown a punch in their life, and never had it hard times, and don’t really know what they’re talking about. So I try and write from a personal standpoint all the time and if I’m writing about something, it basically comes from something that has obviously affected me enough that I have to put it down on paper and then yell it at someone; and there seems to be a lot of stuff out there these days that’s just written – words for the sake of words, and sounds for the sake of sounds… and that’s basically it, so I try and steer clear of that. It comes across on record, and it comes across even more when you see bands live in those kinds of situations. There’s definitely no harm in being the person that you are, and you don’t have to pretend to be someone else. I didn’t grow up in the hardest environment or anything like that and I’m not ashamed it’s out. I’m not going to pretend to be some crazy tough guy so I can sing about smashing someone’s face or something like that. It’s pointless.

How do you and some of the straight edge guys in the band stick through it?

It’s never really been a challenge for me, and I guess it’s a personal thing. Obviously, different things affect different people in different ways. For me, before I was straight edge, the only reason I wasn’t was, I guess, peer pressure for a while and just led me into an interesting point into my life and then I decided I didn’t need it anymore. But for me, I don’t see any point in not being straight edge. There’s never been a point in time when I’d have to push myself to remain straight edge. It’s just kind of who I am. It’s like I said, obviously it’s different for different people, and I’m not the kind of person to say, “Hey, everyone should be straight edge” I think if your body or your mind is telling you to do something and you think it’s right, do it. If that means not being straight edge, then it means not being straight edge. It’s not for anyone else to judge other than yourself.

Is there going to be a new music video out?

There actually is, I think we have a video for Unrest coming out pretty soon. It’s probably the first… It’s a live, short, intense video. I think that’s coming out pretty soon. It was from a few shows we did in Europe on the Never Say Die tour a while ago. There were just a couple of insane shows that we happened to get footage from these guys that put together the clip and it captures Parkway pretty well. It has some really big shows, it has some small shows, some insane stage dives, and it’s all packed into, like 2 minutes so it pretty much sums us up well in a sweet little package I think! (laughs)

The first band you toured with was I Killed The Prom Queen. What do you think of their reunion and their new lineup?

I didn’t see it, so I’m not quite sure. It was weird, because I only saw the band once with Ed in it. After that, they recorded Music for the Recently Deceased, or whatever that album was. It was around the time that record came out that we were touring really heavily and touring overseas, and they were touring overseas, so we didn’t really cross paths that much after that. It was really strange because we were really, really close friends with them to start with and we toured a whole lot together. We had a lot of history with those guys, and we still do, but as a band, we never actually saw them in that era and that’s kind of the music they’re focusing on at the moment so, I don’t know. I really don’t know what to think about it, it’s just literally like a giant gap in the history. Like, if I saw them with Crafter again, old songs, it would kinda be like, “Hey, there’s Prom Queen!”, but other than that, I’m not sure what to think. I don’t know, it’s just kinda passed me by.

Do you have any last message to the fans?

Can’t wait to play? Just that I seriously can’t believe this band is still going and we still get to play these new places and people actually want to listen to us. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to come to your country or your town or your city or wherever you are, because it’s you guys that are bringing us there and not us.

[lrscans]

INTERVIEW: ARCHITECTS

PULP Magazine // 2014

ARCHITECTS – UNITED AND UNSTOPPABLE

Following heavy music and haven’t heard of Architects yet?  Crawl out from under that rock and lend an ear – Brighton’s hardest working metallers have never sounded more promising.

Following a showcase of what was arguably the best work to date in their decade-long career with 2012’s Daybreaker, Architects find themselves once again under the radar for the unforgiving Naysayer – a single in anticipation of this year’s full-length that will stop you right in your tracks, if it hasn’t already.  The leading British five-piece take cues from the likes of The Dillinger Escape Plan, Thrice and Meshuggah, producing progressive metalcore that combines fervent technicality with a mosh-ready edge.

Due to an ambitious drive that keeps them perennially on the road, Architects boast an impressive touring resume alongside some of the biggest bands in their scene, including Parkway Drive, Bring Me The Horizon and Enter Shikari.  While currently on a short break from playing shows, guitarist Tom Searle is lets PULP in on the concepts behind and production of Lost Together // Lost Forever, touring in Asia, and avocados…among other things.

Your latest single, “Naysayer,” really packs a punch!  The response seems to be pretty positive all around – nice big middle finger to the naysayers of your band, haha.  How are you guys feeling about the upcoming album and what are your plans after its release?

I'd say that the feeling inside our camp right now is about as positive as it could possibly be! We're in a great place right now and incredibly proud of the record that we're about to put out. We'll be on tour as the record comes out so we'll start as we mean to go on, we're gonna tour as much as we can and play pretty much anywhere that'll have us!

What was it like working with extreme metal producer, Fredrik Nordstrom in Gothenberg, and how did this influence your sound on the new album, if at all?

I should mention, and I don't think Fredrik will mind me saying this, that Henrik Udd played the biggest part in the way the record sounds. Henrik was incredibly involved in the record and really became the 5th member of the band during our time in Sweden. Working with both of them was fantastic, a great experience. Hard to say how it influenced the sound, but they make heavy records sound incredible and we'd written a really heavy record, so it was a good fit!

I personally found Daybreaker to be Architects’ best work to date.  Are the ideas behind Lost Forever // Lost Together along the same vein?  Still as political?

Thank you! There are still political themes on the record, however I wanted to add a more human element to it. I don't want to just be a 'political band'. I also didn't want to become a broken record. I think the songs are more focused lyrically than previously. I'd list what all the songs are about, but I'd prefer people to listen to it first and see what they take from it.

By the time this interview gets published, Lost Forever // Lost Together would already have been released!  Can you run us through a handful of your favorite tracks and the meaning behind them?

That's an exciting thought! I have to say, it's hard to pick my favourites, but I'll go for 'Colony Collapse' and 'Dead Man Talking'. The first is a little different from the rest of the record, as you'll all know by now! It's a pretty bleak account of how scary the Fukushima situation is. 'Dead Man...' is about the ongoing witch-hunt against whistleblowers like Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning. In many people's eyes (including my own) they are heroes. In the eyes of the government however, they are criminals. I think this makes a lot of people feel alienated by their government, they have different interests to the people that elected them and that is a broken democracy.

You’ve said in past interviews that, "what you listen to shouldn't necessarily influence you as a band" – can you cite some bands that do influence you musically – be it writing or playing live?

I'd say that Sigur Ros are actually a big influence for me. I love the textures and ambience in their songs, even though we're a heavy band I feel like that influenced our new record. In terms of live performance I can't say that any one band influences us. When it comes to performance, you can't go on stage to imitate someone else, you just have to be yourself.

I like how you called your previous stint an “almost world tour”.  With that being said, where from these many places has been your favorite and/or most memorable, and why?

Of all the places on that world tour that surprised us, I'd have to say Kuala Lumpur and Singapore really stood out. We didn't get to spend much time there, but the kids at both those shows gave us a lot of love! Touring in South East Asia is hard work, there's a lot of travelling and early mornings but the crowds were so crazy that it made it worthwhile, no doubt about that.

Where in the world, that you haven’t been to yet, would you like to head to next?

Easy answer - Japan. Everyone I know that has been there absolutely loves it. It would mean a lot to me if we could go there.

What’s the story behind the matching avocado tattoos you guys got on the One Hundred Days tour?

There isn't much of a story apart from that we all eat a lot of avocados! Nutritious and delicious!

How did you guys get into the vegan lifestyle?  Is it hard finding good vegan food on tour?

We all ended up switching to veganism after watching 'Forks over knives', 'Earthings', and 'Food Inc' whilst recording Daybreaker. Sometimes it can be difficult for sure. But there's never any temptation to give it up. There's always something to eat, but it's often not the most exciting meal! Some places are great though, Germany and America have amazing vegan restaurants in almost every city.

You’ve previously mentioned that Architects prefer to be a support band and not bear the pressures of being the main act.  Do you still hate headlining?

Hate is a strong word! I don't think I've ever hated headlining, it's just that sometimes it can be quite nerve wracking. We're getting to the point that we can go most places and headline and be sure that it's going to be a decent show. As I write now, we have a long run of headlining in the UK and mainland Europe and I couldn't be more excited!

Tell us what a typical Architects show is like?

You'd have to come and watch and make your own mind up! We just try and make the show as fun as possible for us and the audience, thats the point isn't it?

Architects shares the same name as an American ska-punk band.  If your band ever had to change its name, what would it be called?

Absolutely no idea! Choosing a band name is really, really hard! It'd be nice NOT to share our name with another band, but these days I think it's more their problem than ours.

Do you have a message for your fans in the Philippines?

It'd be great to meet you all one day! We'd come and play there today if it was up to us. Hopefully we see you in 2014.

[lrscans]

INTERVIEW - NORTHLANE

PULP Magazine // October 2014

With the current generation of Australian metalcore in better shape than ever, the progressive Northlane and their djenty, hybrid form of galactic rock undeniably lead the pack as the music world watches this Sydney five-piece skyrocketing at the speed of light. Acclaimed by peers and critics alike, guitarist Josh Smith retraces back to the band’s humble beginnings and talks to PULP to shed some light on matters including the upcoming record’s progress, comparisons with Bring Me The Horizon’s Sempiternal.

The last time I saw Northlane was on the massively well-received Free Your Mind tour in May this year, sold out in Sydney. How does it feel to reach this level of success?

In some ways it feels quite surreal, It’s definitely a milestone for us at the end of record cycle #2 and a situation we never thought we would be in, even in our wildest dreams only a few years ago. Most of the venues we played on Free Your Mind were the same rooms we played on our very first big support tour just after our first record Discoveries was released when we went out with August Burns Red and Bless the Fall. Going back and headlining these rooms brought a little bit of nostalgia but also a feeling that we had made the right decisions and could be proud of where the last two years have taken us. It’s by no means the end of the road for us, or a place at which we can be complacent and comfortable, it’s more of a reassurance that we’re on the right path.

Has writing begun for the third album yet? If so, can you tell us anything about what it will be like, and do you plan to continue the “cube” motif for its art?

Well, we haven’t thought as far ahead as the artwork itself so I can’t say anything about the cube but yes, writing has begun, in fact it’s well underway. Right now we have enough Ideas to almost put together an entire record but this time, unlike the last two we will really take our time with it. We are currently about a third of the way through a 6 month break we reserved for this purpose, and to unwind a bit after the last 18 months of non-stop touring. The music is different, it is once again a natural progression for us and encompasses a real paradigm change that we’ve had in the last year or so about where we belong in music and what we’ve learnt from our travels and the bands we have done it with. Someone described it as Morning View and Singularity’s lovechild but at such an early stage in the writing process who knows what the end result will be, there’s a few Karnivool and Limp Bizkit vibes floating around there too.

As fans of horror movies, what are some of your favourites? Have any inspired Northlane’s musical output?

I don’t really think anyone in Northlane is a huge horror movie fan but we don’t mind a good scare from time to time! We are more about sci-fi, documentaries and thrillers and I wouldn’t say that any film has really inspired us to be honest. Off the top of my head a few favorites would be the SAW series, Evil Dead, Paranormal Activity and Silent Hill.

I understand Northlane draw influence from a wide range of genres, from metal to instrumental and more. Can you name any artist/s both within the heavy genre, as well as outside of it who you haven’t worked with yet that you would like to in the near future?

I can’t really see us working on a collaboration as Northlane to be honest, because our music is such a product of the people in our band, especially Jon and Adrian. If that was to happen it would probably be in the form of another project.

Singularity, and Bring Me The Horizon’s Sempiternal were released quite close to each other in March 2013. I noticed a couple of people comparing the two records so I wanted to ask whether one band was influenced by the other in any way?

To be honest the answer is no, both records were recorded months before the release so there was no possible way that influence could have been drawn from either album. That being said, Sempiternal is an absolute masterpiece and we love it!

With lyrics about open-mindedness, free thinking and seeking truth, is there an overall message the band wants to convey to fans in the music or otherwise?

For the most part we want people to celebrate life, to enjoy themselves and be happy, to find fulfillment within and unity with others. That’s the real underlying message behind our music. It’s one of positivity, we understand there is so much negativity influencing our youth and when we started out it was important to us to do what we could to alleviate this, to spread a positive message and try and make a difference to the lives of others in the best possible way.

Having been able to play overseas in North America and Europe, do you notice any huge differences between playing in Australia versus other countries? If so, what are they?

The biggest difference was entering these places with absolutely no expectations and been blown away by the responses we’ve had. Singularity did the work for us, and by holding off touring these places until we had the right tours and the right album under our belts there was a lot of anticipation. This couldn’t be more different to our experience with Australia. It took us three years and two releases to be able to draw more than 100 people to a show anywhere, we spent months touring to the most isolated towns here to play to just a handful of people who for the most part didn’t really give a shit and lost thousands of dollars in the process. We were never offered any big tours or received any handouts and had to work our butts off for every head you now see in the door at one of our shows here.

You played the Sydney date of the Worldeater tour as a harbour cruise on a boat with In Hearts Wake and Endless Heights. What was it like, and are there any more unconventional venues you’d like to play?

It was fun, it was wild, a little bit weird and very intimate. To be honest this isn’t something we’ve thought about much. I’d love to play in outer space on the space station and do a live feed back to earth, I reckon that would be pretty sweet, I think Nic would have a bit of a hard time though on the drums!

Which musical era would you like to visit or be a part of for just a day or a week?

Growing up on a diet of mostly thrash as a teen all I ever wanted to do was play in a band in the ‘80s so that’s a pretty easy one for me! I just love how excessive everything was back then and how much showmanship was involved, I think that excitement has been lost in our genre of music to a certain extent these days.

Any message for PULP readers and fans in the Philippines? You guys have a street team over there!

Hopefully we can come and visit you guys soon! We’d love to make a trip to your gorgeous country.

[lrscans]

COVER FEATURE/INTERVIEW: CHRIS JERICHO (FOZZY/WWE)

PULP Magazine // October 2014

CHRIS JERICHO of FOZZY: “WE LIKE PROVING PEOPLE WRONG”

The countdown to “BREAK THE WALLS DOWN!” is an entrance theme any WWE fan would instantly recognize as the industry’s favourite lionheart, Chris Jericho. This is by Sevendust. ‘Lights Go Out’, however, the theme song to this year’s Summer Slam (pay-per-view, not the music festival), is a single off his cover band turned full-time project and current priority, FOZZY’s most recent full length, Do You Wanna Start A War.

With FOZZY having shared stages with the likes of Metallica and Avenged Sevenfold, Jericho can claim hard rock frontman, celebrated wrestler, and best-selling author titles under the ever-confident showman’s belt. Somewhere along the way came Talk Is Jericho podcasts, a sprinkling of acting projects and spoken word gigs with Scott Ian of Anthrax.

There’s a bottomless pit of questions for someone with no shortage of tall tales to tell, so who better than the self-proclaimed “best in the world”, and diehard Maiden fan’s brains to pick in an interview? PULP does just that.

Congratulations on the release of Do You Wanna Start A War this week! It’s sounding heavily ‘80s and Queen influenced with a lot of bipolar sounding tracks. Was the move away from the more hard rock leanings of Sin and Bones intentional?

Thank you! The idea that we had with this record was that the only rule that we had is that there is no rules and we weren’t so much worried about what’s the trend or what other bands are doing, or what you’re supposed to do or not supposed to do within the realms of a hard rock/heavy metal band. We just wanted to write. The Queen analogy is good because we wanted to put together a record with twelve great songs and not worry so much about what style or genre they fit into, ‘cause it’s Fozzy! If you’ve got Chris Jericho on vocals, Rich Ward on guitar, Frank Fontsere on drums, it’s gonna sound like Fozzy. Like I said, there’s no rules. And yeah, there are some poppier songs, and songs that have more of a dance vibe to them but there are still some heavy songs we’ve got like ‘Brides of Fire’, ‘Witchery’, ‘Bad Tattoo’ – very much songs that could be on Sin and Bones, so it’s a real cool, diverse, versatile process of what Fozzy is and what we sound like as a band.

I found the dancey, catchy stuff like ‘Lights Go Out’ and ‘Tonight’ to be the stronger songs this time around. Can you share what it was like working with Michael Starr from Steel Panther on ‘Tonight’?

We toured in Australia in December with Steel Panther and we had a great time with those guys. We really got along well, and Michael just approached us one day and said, “I want to be on the next Fozzy record”. So Rich and I, obviously we think he’s a great singer, one of the best rock singers around today, and thought he’d be perfect on ‘Tonight’ ‘cause he’s got a kind of heavy, powerpop, Cheap Trick kind of vibe. He’s got that type of voice so it sounded perfect to have him involved, the harmonies he had were amazing. He did such a good job that we asked him to sing a little bit more during the bridge, too, so he came in and did the part. We respect him so much, and his band, as musicians, they’re top all the way so it was very cool to have him involved.

I’ve noticed many parallels between wrestling and music, in terms of the touring lifestyle, career progression, and paying your dues. Having already established yourself as a famous wrestler before starting Fozzy, did that make things easier or harder to establish credibility for yourself as a musician and the band?

I’ve been playing in bands since I was twelve, so I had two goals when I was growing up: one was to be a wrestler, and the other was to be in a rock band. Never really saw any reason why I shouldn’t do everything I could to make both happen! I think having some notoriety from another genre in some ways helps you, and in some ways hurts you a bit. You have to work twice as hard to get the respect from people, who have preconceptions about who you are or prejudices about what you are as a band, but we’re ready for it. We have no problems proving people wrong… We like proving people wrong, that’s why we have such a huge, loyal fanbase – because once you get people’s respect, when you’ve worked as hard as we have to get it then you have fans for life. So, like I said, you have to work a little harder, but we don’t mind that. We like the challenge.

Do you think that your showmanship experience with WWE helped build the strong stage presence you have?

My persona is not a wrestling persona. It’s one of being an entertainer, being in front of a crowd. When I first started wrestling, I stole most of my tricks from Paul Stanley and David Lee Roth, and when I started Fozzy, I had stolen tricks I used in wrestling that I had stolen from Paul Stanley and David Lee Roth in the first place and it’s just full circle! It’s about connecting with the crowd, getting that reaction from the crowd – and that’s the most important thing when you’re in front of a live audience, no matter what situation it is. I take great pride in the fact that you have to be fearless as a frontman. You have to look people in the eye who don’t want to have a good time, or don’t know who you are, or have their arms crossed and let them know it’s okay to clap their hands, and chant, “hey hey hey 1-2-3”, to get involved in what we’re doing. We’ve demanded a really great reputation as an exciting, energetic live band as a result of that, and I take great pride in that.

Do you ever miss wrestling when on tour with your band and vice versa?

Not really, if I missed something I’d be doing it. Fozzy’s been my priority for the last five years or so, and you can see the growth of the band in that time frame – how much fans we have, and how big the band has gotten… how much potential we have to get even bigger! So when we have time off from Fozzy, I go back to wrestling a few months here and there, but my days of being a full-time wrestler are pretty much over at this point. So I have a cool job where I get to do both things, if I ever missed one, I would go back and do it, but as long as I’m in front of a crowd, everything’s cool.

Any educated WWE fan would notice your part-time returns are mainly to push younger, up and coming superstars. Apart from Bray Wyatt, is there any other next gen superstar you’d like a rivalry with?

I’m open to anything as long as I have some sort of a mission, and I’m not back just to be back – I don’t get any pleasure out of that. With that whole Bray Wyatt thing, he’s an interesting character and fun to work with. There are a few other guys like that, but I’m not sure how much time I have in the WWE to think who else I could work with, so whoever’s name catches my attention and I think I could have a good time with them and would be interesting, I’d be open to it!

Do you have a favorite match of all time that you have participated in, and one that you haven’t?

Probably the ladder match against Shawn Michaels in 2008, that was probably my favourite match that I’ve had for the world championship, and Undertaker versus Shawn Michaels part one at WrestleMania was the best match I’ve ever seen. Ever. So, both of them involving Shawn Michaels, definitely one of the greatest of all time.

Do you have a favorite specialty match?

Not really, they’re all fun! (laughs)

Were you wearing a wig during your WCW ponytail days?

(Laughs) Yeah, I’m wearing a wig right now, I’ve been naturally bald since I was born so I always wear a wig… No, that was all my hair!

You’ve called yourself the ultimate Iron Maiden fan – which album do you like the most and why?

Powerslave is my favorite. I just think it was the band at their peak, the first Iron Maiden record I ever bought and first tour I ever saw was the World Slavery Tour so Powerslave holds a special place for me.

Wow, the World Slavery Tour – that’s insane. It has a lot of the great hits on it!

Yeah, ‘Rime of the Ancient Mariner’ and ‘Powerslave’, the title track, are two of my all time favourites for sure.

Have you ever, or do you have any plans of touring with Maiden?

Plans? Just say the word and we’re there! I mean, we’ve played Soundwave with Metallica which was great, but we haven’t had the chance to play with Iron Maiden yet, which would be a huge honour. Their manager came and saw us a couple of years ago in Brighton, England which was cool, but we’re still waiting for the offer to tour with Maiden. As soon as they give the word, we will be there!

You have a couple of Talk is Jericho podcasts doing interviews with your son, Fish Expert Ash Irvine which are adorable and very informative. Being busy with so many things going on, how many months a year do you get to spend at home with your family?

Quite a bit! That’s the thing – my schedule is busy, but when I’m home, I’m home. I don’t do anything but hang out with my kids, hang out with my family so it works out, that’s the balance. Some people work eighty hours a week, sometimes I’m gone for three weeks in a row, but when I’m home, I’m there every hour. That’s the balance.

Do you have any dream interviews for Talk Is Jericho, or someone you’d like to feature on the Podcast?

I don’t ever answer questions like that or think about it, because anybody that comes my way that I think is interesting… If you throw anybody’s name out, if I think they’re interesting, I’ll have them on the show! I mean, I never thought I’d have William Shatner on the show, or Eli Roth or Ace Frehley. You know, anybody like that! Or even get people like Steve Austin or Diamond Dallas Page and Jake The Snake Roberts at the same time… If it comes my way, I’ll be happy to make it happen. I’ll interview anyone I think is interesting, anytime, anywhere, and when I see or get in contact with that person, I’ll know! You know what I mean? So if you make a list, sometimes that list doesn’t work out, and the people that you end up interviewing that aren’t on that list end up being way more interesting than the people you had on that list in the first place.

Do you have any plans of hitting Asia?

It takes a while to establish your band, and as popular as we are in Australia and the UK, States, Canada, we still haven’t been to Japan and South America yet, so those are still a couple of markets we’re looking forward to breaking into. ‘Cause Fozzy’s music, and the way our live shows are would be perfect in those countries. It’s just a matter of time, we’ll get there! And once we get there, we’re gonna blow everybody’s minds!

Any message for your fans in the Philippines?

Philippines is great, I was there back in 2009 with WWE and had a great time in Manila, so I’m looking forward to going back to the Philippines at some point. It’s very hot, I remember that!

[lrscans]

COVER FEATURE/INTERVIEW - TONIGHT ALIVE: MANILA, ARE YOU LISTENING?

PULP Magazine 2012(?)

Tonight Alive and their pop-punk sensibilities have always been about honesty, and this frankness is the very key to their charm.  With the hopes of sharing their own experiences to affect others in a positive way, they have garnered a loyal fanbase that seems to have grown up with the band.  Following their natural progression from local act to one that has gained hundreds of thousands of supporters internationally, this relatable quality has clearly taken the feisty young band to great heights in a five year career.

Despite skyrocketing success, Tonight Alive remain firmly grounded and hit it running when it comes to playing shows.  Atypical of their Aussie roots, the five-piece from Sydney are laid-back with a sense of humor, except when it comes to touring.  Booked for countless dates across the globe over the past year, it’s no wonder they’ve solidified a reputation for the high standard of their live performances that truly bring the band’s songs to life.  This ample dose of attitude is exactly the kind of spectacle Filipino fans will not want to miss when they return to the country to enthrall Bazooka Rockers at this year’s festival.

PULP: Would you care to introduce your band to someone who’s never heard of you before?

-5 piece band from Sydney Australia, always on tour and playing music with a message.

PULP: Just going off Aussie stereotypes, which one of you surfs the most?

-Our drummer Matty (laughs).

PULP: At your Sydney show in May, you played a song (The Ocean) off the upcoming September album for the first time.  You’ve mentioned before that this album will have a heavier and darker tone.  What or who were your primary influences during the writing process for this record?

-This album is really influenced by the idea of embracing change. We spent the past two years touring constantly so we met a lot of fans and learned about the way 'What Are You So Scared Of?' helped and affected their lives so it inspired us to write another record with a message. I think the heavier and darker aspect came through in the songwriting naturally as a real personal outlet after a series of challenges the band faced.

PULP: You’ve done tracks with guest vocals by Mark Hoppus and Benji Madden.  Will you be collaborating with anyone on this new album?

-We won't actually. We wanted this album to be 100% us. Through the new songs we felt as though we were really establishing and concreting our sound so it didn't feel right to have an outside party on the project.  

PULP: Your previous release, What Are You So Scared Of? revolves around the idea of not living in fear of other people’s judgment.  With this being said, do you think the upcoming record is a big enough change that could alienate fans of your current sound?

-Personally, I really believe this is an album that our fans will really connect with and relate to. If anything, we have only matured our sound and songwriting in regards to "change."

PULP: The covers you’ve done so far (Rufio’s "In Your Eyes" and Mumford & Sons’s "Little Lion Man") have been extremely popular.  Do you have any others planned?  If not, which would you choose if the opportunity came up?

-We don't at the moment but we've always wanted to cover "Black Dog" by Led Zeppelin (laughs).

PULP: I am personally a fan of the style of the cover art on your records.  Can you tell us who does them, why you decided on that style and/or how you come up with them?

-Our album art was was designed by Australian tattoo artist, John Englehardt and inspired by the work of Audrey Kawasaki. I have been a fan of her style since I was in highschool and felt that a vulnerable yet hardened character would be so appropriate to the album's lyrical content.

PULP: TA’s touring schedule this year looks pretty hectic.  What are the best and worst experiences you’ve had on tour?

-I think the best times for us on tour are those magic nights when the show goes perfectly, the crowd is awesome and then we get to unwind with the other bands on tour over a few drinks and games of pool! It doesn't get better than that. The worst times are definitely when you're sick. It just puts a real damper on everything when you can't perform your best and you can't enjoy your time out.

PULP: You’ve toured with a wide range of bands, from hardcore to pop-punk and more.  So far, who are your favourites to have shared the stage with and whom (that you haven’t worked with before) would you like to play with in the future?

-Anberlin, Simple Plan and Rufio were all bands we toured with consecutively in 2011 and had an incredible time supporting! I think having a chance to play with Blink 182 would just be the best thing in the world!

PULP: What are you guys currently listening to?

-At the moment I'm listening to Keane's album Hopes and Fears daily. I've had this record since I was 14 and love it just as much now as I did then. I'm also playing Does This Looks Infected by Sum 41 a lot lately too!

PULP: Any standout moments or memories you recall from when you came to the Philippines last year?

-I can still remember the feeling I got when we arrived at the Skydome last year, thinking how on earth do we get to play here? It was so cool and our fans were also dedicated and passionate about the music, it was so refreshing. We had a great stay!

PULP: What can Bazooka Rocks attendees expect from your set this August?

-A time to come together over the love of music and a chance to let go. But more than anything a lot of adrenaline and a good time!

PULP: What are your current favorite songs to play live?

-Since we just released "The Ocean." It's been awesome to freshen up the set with something new!

PULP: What have you done so far that you are most proud of and what do you want to achieve as a band that you haven’t yet?

-There have been countless stand out moments for us in the past 2 years especially but at this point in time our new record 'The Other Side' set to be released this September is the thing in my life that I am most proud of. More than I can begin the explain went into those songs and I can't wait for our fans to hear them and enter the next stage of the bands life with us. Being able to headline worldwide is our ultimate goal.

PULP: You guys are very active on Twitter and almost always meet fans after shows.  With the state of the music industry as it is today, how important do you think band-to-fan interaction is?

-I think it's definitely more important now than it ever has been in the past. Because everything is so accessible like free downloading of music, you need the kind of people out there that truly love and care about the band on another level. It's also important to us to feel connected to our fans and be able to 'give back' after all the support they show us.

PULP: Got a message for your fans?

-We love you guys to pieces and can't wait to reunite at Bazooka Rocks!

[lrscans]

COVER FEATURE - OFF THE WALLS WITH MAN OVEBOARD

PULP Magazine // March 2014

The only thing more fascinating than playing tourist for a day in your own country is having none other than New Jersey’s defenders of pop-punk join in on the fun.

Man Overboard’s maiden voyage to Philippine shores proved to be a fruitful one, complete with the first and only Wall of Death I’d ever seen at this type of show – a surprisingly fun conclusion to the 24-song set.  “We never played here before, so we just decided to do it,” Justin simply puts it.

The band’s easygoing spontaneity is probably a big part of the secret formula for the catchy and straightforwardly relatable heartbreak-inspired anthems they churn out; alongside a variety of influences across genres – particularly great admiration for hardcore geniuses, Madball and Sick Of It All.

Today’s destination was none other than Manila’s most historic district, Intramuros.  Sightseeing began where no trip to the Walled City is complete without – climbing the stone walls, overlooking a view of the vast golf course Joe seemed very fascinated with, complete with a man who appeared to be skinny dipping in the pond.

We also stumbled upon “Jurrassic Park” in the ancient structures around the corner, before being badasses (ha!) and going down into the depths of hell.  Hell turned out to be a “very metal” tunnel marked “no entry” with grilled gates once used for a PULP shoot with a special message on the walls by the Mendelians.  A walis tingting – otherwise known as a “faggot” also sparked an impromptu American History lesson from Zac.  It turns out that the name for this bundle of sticks used as a broom came to mean “gay” because they used to tie them up and throw them in the sea let their body weight drown them.  Like I said, morbid stories in the depths of hell.

Donning the merch of heavy bands like The Sword and Death, Man Overboard think they’re not as pop-punk as fans like to make them out to be.  Rather, they are so metal that a street vendor in front of San Agustin Church asked, “Is that One Direction?”

The “wedding band” arrived and made their way through a decorated Casa Manila courtyard, but unfortunately for the celebrants, it was raining, which made it the perfect time to go gift shopping for souvenirs.  Silahis became a treasure trove for wooden spoons, while Zac found a couch “perfect for (his) living room” which he did not buy.

Although the souvenir store full of all things local unfortunately did not stock a barrel man, the guys surely witnessed a decent number of uniquely Filipino things during their stay, including karaoke at a police station, amusingly named small businesses like “Guitar Hero net café” and  jeepneys, which are apparently called “jitneys” in Atlantic City.

Over eleven weeks of non-stop touring, Man Overboard have heard “the craziest stories” from The Used’s Bert McCracken on Warped Australia and shopped for phone chargers that were “so cheap!” in Bangkok’s MBK, while nothing tells you “we’ll get along well” better than the first thing said to you all day being, “that Palm shirt is so sick!”.  It turns out the lineup for their Japan show was rather unusual – “We played a show with them in Osaka.  I thought they were going to sound like us, but they were so heavy! ”

What they seem to have found here in the Philippines, however, is a home away from home.  “Most places I want time to hurry up so I can get home sooner, but not in Manila – I love it here!” Zac enthuses over delicious panizza.  It’s a very fitting meal of rolled-up pizza that takes the unexplained pizza and pop-punk correlation to the next level, and satisfies Joe, Nik and Wayne’s Italian roots.

Band name questions never fail to arise, which is why they’ve gotten creative with their answers, and humor themselves by propagating nautical rumors of Alaskan fishermen and friends in the navy regarding its origins.  However, the obvious answer is the correct one: “Mark Hoppus” came up with it.  The Blink-182 influence is no secret, what with the double-duty vocals and all.  Forced to change the old moniker by a band who shared the same name, they flicked through an iPod and figured Man Overboard sounded cool.  “At least it’s not What’s My Age Again?” Nik justifies.

As you may have been able to tell from the stage banter at the Skydome asking if The Wonder Years shaved before playing Bazooka Rocks in Manila, these guys love to bag on their mates and truly embody  ‘Love Your Friends, Die Laughing’.  The Wonder Years jokes continue over dinner, with Wayne insisting that “we’re better looking than The Wonder Years, right?” and Zac’s killer imitation of Soupy’s backpack strap-holding, pigeon-toed walk – “stop pretending to be a sports fan!”

Speaking of sports, I was stoked to discover that Zac is, in fact, a huge wrestling fan.  While he says, “I like funny dudes, like Fandango”, he deems CM Punk “the best wrestler today, and has been for the past seven years”, and proudly tells the story of CM Punk having scoffed, “fucking stoners” while walking past Man Overboard’s dressing room when they were supporting New Found Glory.  He was incredibly psyched because it meant the straight-edge lifestyle was no mere gimmick.

The encounters don’t end there.  “Farooq spit in my uncle’s face!  We were up front at a house show and my uncle was like, ‘fuck you, Farooq!’ He just spit at him in the face and my cousin and I were like, ‘WOW’.”

Many more stories were shared, about Nik having seen a dream lineup I will eternally envy of Stone Cold, The Rock, The Undertaker and Kane, as well as experiences with Randy Savage and his gravelly voice at a mall signing, among others.

They also attended a Bouncing Souls show where CM Punk picked out the setlist, and were undeniably impressed, including the band’s biggest Souls fan, Justin.  The guitarist redefines the term “favorite band” with Anchors Aweigh and True Believers tattoos on his arm done by Greg Attonito himself.

Wayne, on the other hand, is big on documentaries.  He strongly recommends A Band Called Death about the first punk band ever – an African-American trio who were doing punk rock before it even existed – created after someone “found all these tapes in his attic”; as well as George Harrison: Living in a Material World, which he claims is a “must watch, even if you’re not a Beatles fan”.  The Pussy Riot doco which “should be out soon” is supposed to be good too, as well as mutually agreeing that The Other F Word featuring Jim Lindberg of Pennywise (who he is a huge fan of) “really pulls at your heartstrings”.

What would really seal any deal for Zac and Nik, though, is “if (90s funk-reggae band) 311 walked in right now” – they would be fanboying all over them.

The camaraderie between Man Overboard’s members goes way back.  All having lived within 25 minutes of each other meant some went to the same high school, while Nik’s wife was Zac’s friend.  A long history tends to lead to digging up the past – notably an almost unrecognisable photo of Nik from 4 years back, to which Vernon decided, “You look like the guy from Asking Alexandria”.

Meanwhile, soft-spoken drummer Joe’s talent was obviously in high demand from a young age, having been in a Metallica cover band, and invited to join deathcore band, Through The Eyes Of The Dead.

The real secrets and insider information always surface when wining and dining, and tonight was no exception.  I learned how to use “suppy” and “jixer” in the right context, but most importantly, the fact that Nik’s dad is purple, and looks like a cross between Barney and a turtle.

I’ll leave you to ponder on that one.

BELLE LEDESMA –“FAMOUS IN NEW JERSEY”

The Man Overboard guys were very keen to meet the impressive fan who drew their album cover for Heart Attack.  “We wanted to treat her like royalty” so they had her crowdsurf, and not have her feet touch the floor for an entire song. Justin also insisted her photo be included in their PULP feature, so I figured this talented girl deserved a short interview of her own.

How did you ended up making the cover for the album?

I think it was November last year when I tweeted a fan art to Man Overboard. They saw my painting and loved it and they have told me that they wanted to use it for something. After a few months, I got an email from Justin Collier saying that they would like to buy the original painting from me as they were strongly considering using it for the cover of their new album.

I was so excited so the day after, I prepared the painting and had it shipped to New Jersey. It came really fast and they got the painting in the middle of recording. The band told me to keep everything top secret as they don't want anyone to know about the new album yet. We waited for 4 months until Heart Attack finally came out.

What was it like to finally meet Man Overboard and see them play live?

Meeting them and seeing them live was like one of the best experiences I've ever had. We were still outside waiting in line when the band M&G started so I was little worried. But then, I got surprised when Justin came out from the door and called my name. He was like, "Hey Belle! Get in! We need you here!" My body felt numb and I didn't know what to say when I met the band. However, I had a really good conversation with them and took few photos.

During the show, I crowd surfed for almost 3 minutes when they played White Lies. That was my favorite part of their set and definitely the coolest moment of my entire life.  Justin gave me a shirt and I also got the setlist and a guitar pick.

I would like to thank Pulp, Sir Vernon and my friends for making it possible for me to meet Man Overboard. Without their generosity and help, I wouldn't had the chance to see and meet one of my favorite bands in person.