EMQ’s With Tiberius
EMQ’s With Tiberius
Hi everyone! Welcome to another EMQs interview, this time with Scottish Progressive Metallers, Tiberius. Huge thanks to them for taking part.
What is your name, what do you play and can you tell us a little bit about the history of the band?
Grant: Hey, I’m Grant and I sing for Tiberius.
Nick: Hey! I’m Nick and I’m the drummer / one half of the rhythm section in Tiberius.
Ryan: Hi I’m Ryan and I make up the second half of the Tibby rhythm section by shlappin da Bass.
Chris: I’m Chris, I play guitar and also make all our weird music videos.
Jahan: I’m Jahan, I play guitar and I hate when Ryan says “Shlappin da Bass”.
How did you come up with your band name?
Grant: We psyched ourselves out with a lot of band name options worrying that they would come across as too pretentious. As a band, we don’t take ourselves too seriously, so it was crucial to us that we had a name that reflected that fact. Somewhat ironically, we opted for the name Tiberius precisely because it’s ostentatious on the face of it, but the reality is that we’re named after my cat who had died a couple years prior. We like that people will often ask us whether we’re named after the Roman Emperor or the Starfleet Enterprise commander, and we get to say ‘neither, we’re named after a cat’.
What Country / Region are you from and what is the Metal / Rock scene like there?
Grant: We’re from sunny Scotland in the UK. The Rock and Metal scene is fairly small but mighty. I think there’s a particularly strong Doom/ Stoner Metal scene above all other sub-genres, so if that’s your bag you need to get yourself here. I would say the community has been growing a lot over the past decade or so, helped along massively by some individuals who have been doing a lot to further the scene, such as Duncan Mountain who runs Red Crust Promotions which puts on annual fests and all-day events, as well as bringing touring bands to Scotland. In fact, we’ll be headlining the Red Crust Festival Winter Warmer on 1st February 2025 where you can sample some of the best that Scotland has to offer. Come along!
What is your latest release? (Album, EP, Single, Video)
Grant: We just released our first single from our new album in November. It’s called ‘Tip of the Spear’.
Chris: And it does indeed have a music video to go along with it, which you should definitely check out on our YouTube channel. The album isn’t out until March so we have a couple more singles on the way before then.
Who have been your greatest influences?
Grant: My own influences have been very varied. To try and give you a flavour, it ranges from bands like TesseracT and Protest the Hero to Stevie Wonder and Billy Joel. Iron Maiden probably sits somewhere in the middle there.
Nick: I’d probably go with System of a Down, Tool, Protest the Hero, Amigo the Devil and Lamb of God.
Ryan: For me the likes of Dream Theater, Karnivool, SOAD, the Chillis, Bon Jovi & Aerosmith are some of my biggest influences.
Jahan: I think it’s no mystery that we’re all Protest The Hero fans, but beyond that I’m influenced by the likes of Nuno Bettencourt, Iron Maiden, Coheed and Cambria, Twelve Foot Ninja and Between the Buried and Me.
What first got you into music?
Grant: The feeling I get when I hear a song for the first time that I really connect with. It’s like a portal taking me somewhere else where I can do anything, be anyone. I think I’m just constantly chasing that initial hit, and any song I have on repeat is because I’m trying to completely and utterly dissect what it was about that song that resonated with me on that first listen!
Ryan: What first got me into ‘playing’ music was that I got bullied into it by my older brother. We both got an acoustic guitar and a slot of lessons one year for Christmas, then he went and started a high school band, realised they needed someone on Bass, so I got forced into the role… which in hindsight, I’m glad I did!
Jahan: I got into playing guitar because of Kiss, I got a bass when I was 12 because my friend’s dad played bass and I thought he was really cool. But, the second I listened to Kiss, I just wanted to be Ace Frehley… then Steve Vai, then John Petrucci and that’s how I ended up where I am today.
If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be?
Grant: That’s a great question I’ve also asked myself, and I’m not sure I’ve got an answer yet. I just know that I like collaborations where each party is bringing something unique to the table. For that reason I don’t think I would want to collaborate with another metal band, but rather use the opportunity to explore different genres and sounds. Having said that, someone like Tatiana Shmayluk from Jinjer would be a great option as she’s not only an excellent singer with a different tonal quality to her voice than my own, but she can also scream with the best of them.
Jahan: I’ve thought about this a lot and I even try to write sections with a guest in mind. However, I don’t think I’ve found the “dream guest” yet. I don’t want to pay an inordinate amount of money for a big name to just feature on a track as a marketing tactic. I would want someone invested in the music that rarely does features…I want to be made to feel special and like I’m their one and only, haha! However, we have got some amazing collaborators on our upcoming album, Singing for Company, who are all great musicians who brought something exciting to the music that none of us expected when we fired them over a brief.
If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?
Grant: Honestly, it would probably be Download Festival for me, just for nostalgia reasons. I know there are great fests all over the world that probably boast better weather if nothing else(!), but Download holds a special place in my heart as my first experience of open air fests, and the festival experience more generally. It would feel like coming home to some extent.
Ryan: Yeah, it’s gotta be Download as well for me… I went for the first time in 2009 when I was 18, then Grant and I actually bumped into each other/set up camp the following year when ACDC headlined, and I was there again with my little brother in 2013… each time bringing with it some lovely fond memories, so it kind of would be a dream come true to play there with Tibby one day.
Jahan: Get me to Hellfest or Wacken please. Those Europeans know how to treat a band!
What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?
Chris: I was once given a sponge by a lovely couple at Radar festival. For context, they had been to Tiberius shows before and knew I had a tendency of hitting people in the crowd in the face with the headstock of my guitar when things get rowdy – not on purpose I should add! I think they caught me after our set unfortunately, but I strapped it to my guitar for one of the following shows on the tour. So it was very thoughtful and I’m sure they saved someone from an injury. Then I took it off because it was covering the bling on my guitar, so apologies in advance if you catch a stray.
If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?
Grant: Well the problem is that all our music is social commentary so I actually have quite a lot of messages for our fans that I hope they resonate with! I suppose the overarching message, or ethos, of the band is to never let all the bad shit get you down – always stay positive and party.
Jahan: Stay hydrated and make CEOs fear you.
If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?
Grant: My heart is telling me Freddie Mercury, but I actually think bringing back John Lennon would be super interesting, just in terms of the dynamics with his former bandmates etc. First thing I’d do is show him that viral clip of Bill Burr talking about his performance with Chuck Berry where Yoko gets involved and ask him to blink twice if he’s in danger.
Ryan: Paul Gray. Even just to give him a big hug, as it’s been said before that he was the best at giving them.
Jahan: Without a shadow of a doubt, Prince.
What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?
Grant: I enjoy performing the most I think, followed closely by those moments in the studio where you are fully creating and pulling something together – particularly if it’s been months or weeks of not being able to make certain things work. There’s a couple of tracks on our new album, “Singing for Company”, that had that problem. The feeling of euphoria when we finally figured them out was absolutely the reason why I do this. I honestly do not like touring or the social media circus. I like my creature comforts and you don’t really get those on the road, and I hate the idea that being a band is now being a ‘brand’. I signed up to be a musician, not a fucking influencer.
Ryan: Yeah I think you’d be hard pushed to find a musician who’s favourite part of it all isn’t the performance side of it… there’s moments of pure magic and joy that come with playing shows. However, there is also the flipside when you’re on tour and you find yourself in a hell-hole of a venue toilet, with your hands pushed up against the broken door trying to squeeze out a poo as the walls around you shudder from the band on before you… while having had little to no decent sleep or food for 2 weeks.
Jahan: There’s a peaceful 4 seconds you get when you’re on stage, you’ve tuned your guitar, the lights have gone down, you’re about to begin your performance. You look out into the audience and you get to drink in the “it’s all got to this” moment before you hit your first note. I love that, I just love being on stage and performing to people and making them vibe, it’s addictive. What don’t I like? Well I manage us and that can feel pretty lonely at times and while it’s very rewarding, it can be a real challenge.
If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
Grant: See above – as completely incompatible with current society as this change would be, I’d remove the social media/influencer nonsense that pervades and basically dictates who is top of the charts.
Jahan: The horrific pay-to-win structure at the very core of it all. Music has become a middle-class pursuit and I hate it. But also yes, social media is hell and it’s rotting our brains and I just want to make music but instead I’m staring into a ring light begging for new fans.
Name one of your all-time favourite albums?
Grant: Oh I like this question – usually it’s crap like ‘your favourite ONE album of ALL TIME’ and I struggle to answer that. So yes, ONE of my all-time favourites has to be Moron Police’s “A Boat on the Sea”. Phenomenal album by some very talented individuals.
Nick: “Sound Awake” by Karnivool is one that I always come back to and it hits me just as hard every listen. A stunning piece of work.
Ryan: David Bowie’s “The Next Day”.
Jahan: Right now? “American Motor Sports” by BilMuri might be one of the best albums in the last decade for me. “Scurrilous” by Protest The Hero is up there and “Pornograffitti II” by Extreme is also on the list.
Chris: “Kezia” is the best PTH album and I won’t hear otherwise. Right now my most played is I “Like It” by Toehider. Dude is insanely creative.
What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CD’s or Downloads?
Grant: For me personally, downloads and vinyls, in that order. Music is such an integral part of my life that I need to have it on the go, whenever/wherever I am, and to be able to share it with people. Downloads/streaming offers the best way to do that. Outside of that, when I want to actively listen to music, vinyls offer the best experience.
Jahan: I can’t ignore the convenience of streaming but the power of influence these platforms now have is pretty scary, especially the behavioural data mining stuff. I love vinyl, I love the enlarged version of the artwork you get to pour over and I love the sense of “ceremony” you get from taking a record out, placing it on your platter, setting the stylus and intentionally listening to it before flipping over to side B.
Chris: I pretty much just listen to digital all the time for the convenience, but I love movies on film and music on cassette, it feels nice having to slow down the pace of something a bit and less ‘hit button need thing now’.
What’s the best gig that you have played to date?
Grant: I think our show at RADAR festival in 2023 was my personal high point. Huge, lovely crowd, and everything was clicking for us on stage. We’d already toured our first album, “A Peaceful Annihilation”, a lot by that point so we were comfortable with the material and our stage show.
Ryan: Our first ever show in Europe is one I’ll remember for a long time, Alkmaar in the Netherlands. What a lovely crowd.
Jahan: I think I have to agree with Ryan, that was a really special show for me. The number of people who had driven hours to watch us was staggering. It also really lit a fire under me that people actually cared about what we were doing. Sometimes the UK scene can be pretty unbothered until you’re already a massive band.
If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?
Grant: I’m not sure I follow the question. I don’t think being a musician stops me from doing all the other things I enjoy in my life. And it certainly doesn’t stop me from having another job… Always make time for the things/people you love folks!
Nick: Two fifths of Tiberius are active in the legal sphere, which is another way of saying music keeps some of us somewhat sane and imagining life without it is real hard. I’m looking forward to my wedding band era, personally. Anyway, what else would I be? Probably still working in law in some form or fashion.
Ryan: I’d be an actor and/or an undertaker… which, to Grant’s point above, already is the case.
Jahan: I actually have no idea, my entire career has involved music or music adjacent fields. Maybe I’d have become a chef?
Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?
Grant: Certainly not the rest of Tiberius, the filthy animals. I’m actually quite an introverted person so I’d rather just eat with friends and family than try and think of an idol who may end up just disappointing me when they give their views on social benefits or something.
Ryan: Ross, Russell, Rhys, Rohan & Reagan, my 5 siblings… hey look at that, all our names start with ‘R’.
Jahan: The rest of Tiberius, these guys really are my best mates and I’ve been leaning on them pretty hard at the moment, a dinner is the least I can do for them.
Chris: Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Nigel Farage, Laurent Freixe, and myself to make sure they finish every drop.
What’s next for the band?
Grant: Loads of great stuff! Our new album, “Singing for Company”, comes out in March, and before that we have more singles being released to support its launch. After it comes out we’ll be doing some shows earlier in the year to celebrate, and then we have a much more extensive touring plan in the works for later that year. It’s going to be all go!
Jahan: Exactly as Grant said! Lots of shows, festivals, touring and of course our album comes out on the 21st of March!
What Social Media / Website links do you use to get your music out to people?
Grant: I think the linktree is the best site to use to find out about the most current things happening with us (https://linktr.ee/TiberiusUK), but you can also connect with us on socials to learn more Tiberius lore. I would highly recommend subscribing to our Youtube channel so you can watch the music videos which have been painstakingly put together by our own Chris: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCD1Fu6Y1xchzm5pn_H-WU6Q. We also upload behind the scenes footage of the videos and studio diaries, if you’re into that kind of deep lore.
Time for a very British question now. As an alternative to the humble sandwich, is the correct name for a round piece of bread common in the UK either a Bap, a Barm (or Barm Cake), a Batch, a Bun, a Cob, a Muffin, a Roll, or a Tea Cake?
Nick: A roll, well fired or otherwise. Obviously. But is a “roll with butter” properly termed a buttery or a buttered roll? There’s a head scratcher for you and your readers.
Grant: I dunno actually. Nick, you’ve stumped me.
Ryan: I’m annoyed by that answer, Nick… go and make me a Muffin.
Jahan: It’s a roll. If it’s got bacon or sausages on it, it’s a morning roll. And Nick, that’s a buttered roll.
Chris: A buttery is an entirely different beast from the north east of Scotland.
Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?
Grant: Go watch our videos on Youtube and see if you can piece together the Tiberius Cinematic Universe!
Jahan: If you’ve read this far, thank you! If you’d like to read more nonsense, sign up to our mailing list!
Disclaimer: This interview is solely the property of Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this interview unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.