EMQ with OUR NORTH
EMQ with OUR NORTH
Hi everyone! Welcome to another EMQs interview, this time with UK Metalcore band, Our North. Huge thanks to Vocalist, Sam, 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?
I’m Sam, I do all the screaming vocals in the band. Dan, Chris, and Chris started the band out of the ashes of their previous band, back just before lockdown. Me and Jonny joined a little bit after, and we started writing and playing together. We’d planned to put out some songs and get gigs going, but COVID hit and slowed everything down. We managed to get something out, but we weren’t happy with it. When lockdown ended, we started putting together songs for the new EP that we’re excited to be putting out soon.
How did you come up with your band name?
It’s quite simple, really. The boys are all born and raised in the North, bar myself. But I’ve been warmly embraced by this part of the country and am proud to call it home. The north of England has such a strong identity, and we’re a part of it as much as it’s a part of us. We’re proud of the bands that have come before us and what they’ve contributed to the scene, and we wanted the band to have its own identity as well. So it’s our identity that’s important, and it’s very much instilled in the environment around us. So it’s Our North, and we want the people of the North to think of us as their band.
What Country / Region are you from and what is the Metal / Rock scene like there?
I think I answered this pretty well in the last question. Most of the guys are from the South Yorkshire area. We consider ourselves a Sheffield band. Sheffield has had such a massive contribution to the musical landscape, especially in the world we live in. Bands like Bring Me the Horizon and While She Sleeps, to name a couple of huge bands that started in the grassroots scene in Sheffield, and we absolutely want to emulate that and keep small venues going.
What is your latest release? (Album, EP, Single, Video)
We have a single out on May 2nd that’s going to be part of an EP release on July 4th. The single is called ‘Violent Rules’ and the EP is titled “Everyone For Themselves”
Who have been your greatest influences?
From a personal perspective, I grew up on Nu Metal and Metalcore in the early 00s. The vocalists I loved back then were Corey Taylor from Slipknot and the Metalcore guys like Matt Heafy and Howard Jones from Trivium and Killswitch Engage, respectively. More recently, guys like Winston from Parkway Drive and Daniel Winter-Bates from Bury Tomorrow are guys I really admire from a vocal standpoint. For the band, I won’t name names, but definitely the more Modern Metalcore bands are an influence as well as bringing in elements from Trap and Hiphop that I know Dan, our main songwriter, is massively into. I think we’ve brought sounds from all those places together and made a sound that’s unique to us.
What first got you into music?
The first time I was really passionate about music was when I was a kid watching Kerrang TV and Scuzz back in the day. I’m sad they’ve gone away, it was such a great gateway into finding new bands.
If you could collaborate with a current band or musician, who would it be?
I think it would be really fun to collaborate with some of the local bands in Sheffield who have gone on to bigger and better things, like Sleeps and Bring Me. BMTH have changed their sound a lot and experimented, staying fresh, and I think a colab with them could provide something really cool and interesting. I know Dan is a big Post Malone fan, and some of the things he’s doing on this EP have been influenced by him, so I think a colab there would be awesome.
If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?
For me, it’s Download. I’ve been a punter there since I was old enough to go to festivals, and it’s the home of Rock and Metal in this country for me. It would be a privilege to play that festival one day.
What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?
What fans? haha. I don’t think we’ve got to the level of fandom just yet where we’re expecting weird gifts. But you never know.
If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?
Give us money so we can quit our jobs and make music full-time for you lovely people! And please get out to shows and support live bands and small venues.
If you could bring one Rock star back from the dead, who would it be?
One that immediately springs to mind is Riley Gale, former frontman of Power Trip. That band were on such a high at the time of his passing, and he really brought something fresh to the Thrash revival scene. Taken far too young and had so much to give the world.
What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?
I most enjoy seeing people getting buzzed from listening to our songs and watching us play. A full venue where everyone is vibing is magical. What I dislike is not being able to spend more time on it. In an ideal world, I’d give up the 9-5 and spend my time writing with the boys and touring, but especially for small band,s it just isn’t possible. So we do what we can with the time we have.
If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
Give more money to bands from streaming. Small bands, especially, have no hope these days because the revenue stream just isn’t there. To make any money, you have to break your back touring and selling the hell out of merch. You end up as travelling T-shirt salesmen. Streaming is a great thing, but it needs to be more beneficial to the artists.
Name one of your all-time favourite albums?
That’s tough. There are a lot of albums I absolutely love. One that influenced me as a vocalist a lot back in the day was “Ascendancy” by Trivium. Massive riffs and Matt sounds vicious on it. I saw the anniversary tour they did for it this year, and that album still hits so hard.
What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CDs, or Downloads?
CD is the worst I’ll tell you that much. Too big to take with you, portable CD players were awful for skipping, and they scratch up. I do love vinyl, it sounds great, but is expensive and takes up a lot of space. Downloads overall are probably the best, no space, cheap, and still sound good if done right. Although you’ve got me thinking about cassette tapes now.
What’s the best gig that you have played to date?
We’ve played a few really fun shows. My personal favourite, I think, is when we played Clarence Park festival last summer. First time on a properly decent-sized stage, and although the crowd wasn’t necessarily a Metal crowd, we definitely won some people over that day, and it just felt good.
If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?
Well, like I said earlie,r we all have full-time jobs, although doing this full-time would be a dream. My job involves working with beer kegs. Slipknot, if you need a new drum, I can hook you up!
Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?
Ed Gamble. We like a lot of the same things, food, Metal, and wrestling, so we’d get on well, I think. Sir Ian McKellan, I’m a massive nerd, so who better to have than Gandalf. Peter Crouch, I’m a Spurs fan, so we’d have plenty to chat about, and he’s a funny dude. Devin Townsend, creative genius but also a little bit crazy. Let’s go with Mark Hamill, another nerdism, but he’s an interesting guy, I love his voiceover work, as well as Luke Skywalker.
What’s next for the band?
We’re gearing up for the release of our new EP on 4th July. So our focus is on promoting that at the moment, and then we’ll get back to finding some fun shows to play.
What Social Media / Website links do you use to get your music out to people?
We’re on Instagram and Facebook as well as all good streaming platforms.
https://www.facebook.com/ournorthband/
Instagram – @our_north_band
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?
I really couldn’t care less. I call it a bread roll, but if you call it a barm, or a cob, or whatever, it doesn’t affect my life. People need to get over it.
Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?
Go check out our new single, ‘Violent Rules’, on all good streaming sites from May 2nd, and keep your eye out for our new EP, “Everyone for Themselves”, out on July 4th.
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 said party. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.
