EMQs with Caustic Waves

EMQs with Caustic Waves

Hi everyone! Welcome to another EMQs interview, this time with Scottish Alt Metal/ Rock one-man project, Caustic Waves. Huge thanks to Neil 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 Neil, and I do everything in Caustic Waves – I’m a one-man band. I’ve been in other bands previously, and I actually got the urge to start the project after working on an album with my last band, The Chinaskis. I did quite a lot of the production work on that album, and it renewed my excitement for that part of the process. I wanted another recording project to work on and ended up writing some songs, always with the intention of doing it as a solo project.

How did you come up with your band name?

I was originally going to release the songs under my own name, but I wanted to avoid any pre-conceptions that could be made, i.e. people might assume it’s an acoustic singer/songwriter kinda thing (and there is actually another Neil Thomas doing that!)

I went through a big pile of potential names, and wanted to try and find something unique that also hinted at my sound. It’s heavy alternative rock/metal with loud guitars, but with melodic clean vocals. Hopefully “Caustic” and “Waves” gives that impression of something a bit loud and gritty but with a tuneful, gentle element.

What Country / Region are you from and what is the Metal / Rock scene like there?

I’m from Glasgow in Scotland, and the metal/rock scene is thriving! There are many local bands in Glasgow (and from further afield in Scotland) that cover all parts of the rock/metal spectrum. To name a few – Atlas: Empire, Beneath A Steel Sky, Belgrove, Big Iron, Hazel Terrace, Atlas:Empire, Tiberius, Hyperstasis… I could keep going! We’re spoilt for choice, and there are many great venues that support the local scene as well as touring bands.

What is your latest release? (Album, EP, Single, Video)

I’ve recently released two singles – Quicksand and Playing With Fire. They are both taken from my upcoming album, ECHOES, which will be released at the end of September. It’s my first full length album (following my debut 6-track EP, Full Circle). As well as performing everything, I mixed the album myself. It was mastered by acclaimed producer Lewis Johns, who has worked with some amazing bands including earthtone9, Employed To Serve, Blanket and Oversize. He was great to work with, and definitely added an extra layer of beef to my mixes.

Who have been your greatest influences?

It wasn’t really a conscious decision, but my main influences are the bands I fell in love with as a teenager in the late 90s / early 00s – Helmet, Far, Incubus, Silverchair, Deftones, Handsome, early Biffy Clyro. Whenever I pick up the guitar to jam and write ideas, that’s what instinctively comes out. I also love layering vocal harmonies, which definitely comes from my love of Queen. We had Greatest Hits II permanently in my family car when I was about 10, and that made a huge impression on me.

What first got you into music?

I was a big Michael Jackson fan when I was 6 or 7, and I also started taking guitar lessons around then. My parents were very encouraging – my mum has sang in the RSNO Chorus for many years, so I owe some of my musical abilities to her. It was really when I was 12/13 and discovered Aerosmith and Nirvana that I really became obsessed with music. I started playing bass around then, and playing along with Nirvana and Silverchair was hugely important as I was learning and starting to get proficient. I played in bedroom bands in my teens, before joining my first proper gigging band (alt-metal band, Keitel) in my early 20s.

If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be?

One of my musical heroes is Jonah Matranga, the singer from Far, Onelinedrawing, Gratitude and many other projects. I first saw Far supporting Deftones way back in 1997 and was immediately a fan. I’ve seen him many times over the years and he is just an absolute legend. He has a very unique and distinctive voice, and I’d love to get him on a track – maybe on the next album!

If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?

I went to the Arctangent Festival for the first time last year and it immediately felt like home. It’s named after the classic earthtone9 album – one of my all-time favourites! It’s a fairly eclectic mix, from post-rock to progressive metal, alternative, noise rock and a bit of everything in between. I’m really looking forward to going back again this year. The Radar Festival is also hugely important for up and coming bands, and it’s also hard to look past Download, the UK’s biggest rock/metal festival.

What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?

I don’t think I’ve ever received any gifts from a fan, other than the gift of them listening to my music in the first place! I’ve certainly not had any scabby underpants sent through the post or anything like that!

If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?

I would really just say: thanks for listening! When I recorded the first Caustic Waves EP, it was really just an excuse for a recording project – and it helped keep me sane during lockdown. The release and promotion was almost an afterthought, and I genuinely never expected to reach so many people around the world! I’m still blown away by the positive response. I can’t wait for people to hear the upcoming album – the reaction to the singles so far has been amazing!

If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?

It’s hard to look past Kurt Cobain for this one. Who knows how much longer Nirvana might have gone on for past 1994, but I reckon they had at least one other great album in them that we never got to hear.

What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?

I absolutely love the creative process – developing riffs and ideas into songs, adding melodies and fleshing out the production with all the layers and instrumentation. I usually have a pretty good idea of how a song will turn out once I’ve done the initial demo, but sometimes things will take an unexpected turn later on in the process. I’ve learned to trust my gut and let the song go wherever it needs to go.

I have a bit of a love / hate relationship with the promo side of things. After recording the first EP, I spent about a year slowly building my fanbase with a series of single releases, interspersed with a lot of vocal covers for my YouTube channel. I then released the EP at the end, once I had built a bit of a following. I was purely doing promotion during that period, and wasn’t really working on writing / recording.

I think it was definitely the right thing to do, as the EP wouldn’t have reached many people if I’d just released it immediately. I love connecting with people through music and hearing their reactions to my songs. However, doing the promo takes a lot of time, and it can be frustrating sometimes when you’re at the mercy of social media algorithms throttling your reach. I’m constantly torn between wanting to spend time ensuring my music actually gets heard, and the urge to get back to creating.

If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?


AI generated music is a bit of a hot topic at the moment, and it’s getting to the point where it’s quite hard for the average listener to detect. I think there’s a place for it – some of the parody songs are brilliant, but when it’s misrepresented as an actual band/musician then that doesn’t seem right. I think at minimum it needs to be very clearly labelled.

Name one of your all-time favourite albums?

I could name a few: Helmet – Aftertaste, Far – Water & Solutions, Kerbdog – On The Turn. For me, these all have the perfect blend of heavy guitars, riffs and strong vocal melodies. That’s always what I aim for with my own songs.

What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CDs or Downloads?

I do have a modest collection of vinyl and there is something appealing about the big packaging and the ritual of sitting down to listen. However, I rarely find the time to do that. I mostly listen to music during the day when I’m working, and streaming is hugely convenient. In the evenings, I’m usually working on creating music rather than listening. Cassettes have made a bit of a comeback as a collectible thing – I’m considering doing a limited run of cassettes for the album release.

What’s the best gig that you have played to date?

With my previous band (The Chinaskis), we played an outdoor festival in the middle of Glasgow city centre to about 400-500 people. That was the biggest gig we did, but one of my favourite gigs we did was a lot more intimate. We did a tour of the Scottish Highlands and played in the most remote pub in Scotland, only accessible by boat. There was a small crowd of locals and musicians, and we sat in a big circle and jammed a bunch of songs and covers. That was a lot of fun!

If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?

Well, I’m also a software engineer by day, so lots of coding and designing/architecting software! I’m also married with 2 kids, so family life keeps me busy too. Music is really just my creative outlet in the evenings, once I’ve finished work and parental duties. It can be quite challenging to balance them all – I wish there were more hours in the day! I’ve learned to be patient when working on recording, as it takes me quite a long time to fully realise the vision I have for the songs.

Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?

Maybe some Scottish comedians – Billy Connolly, Robert Florence and Iain Connell (from Burnistoun) and Limmy. I’m not really a fan of his music, but Lewis Capaldi would be good banter too.

What’s next for the band?

The album ECHOES will be out at the end of September, and I’m already gearing up to record the next album. When I was writing and demoing back in 2023, I hit a bit of a streak and ended up with 22 songs. I split them in two, and recorded 11 songs for ECHOES. I’m now be tackling the remaining 11 songs for the follow up album, which is really just a continuation of ECHOES.

What Social Media / Website links do you use to get your music out to people?

I’m active on pretty much all platforms – there are links to everything from causticwaves.com

There’s a long-standing food-based debate here in the UK. And we’d like your help. So… A Jaffa cake – is it a cake or a biscuit? Discuss!

Well, you wouldn’t dunk it in a cup of tea, so it can’t be a biscuit… and you can’t stick a candle in it, so it can’t be a cake. It must be neither!!

Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?

Just thanks again to anyone that takes the time to check out my music! Look out for another couple of singles soon, ahead of the release of the album ECHOES in September!

 Disclaimer: This interview is solely the property of Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, 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.