EMQ’s With BASTYON
EMQ’s With BASTYON
Hi everyone! Welcome to another EMQs interview, this time with Scottish Heavy Metal band, Bastion. Huge thanks to their Vocalist/ Guitarist, Andy Johnson, 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 Andy Johnson from Scottish Heavy Metal band Bastyon. I do lead vocals and guitar. Bastyon were formed in early 2018 and our current line-up is myself, Tony O’Neill on guitar, Jamie Hunter on bass and Garrie Day on drums.
We released our debut album “Bastyon” in mid-2020 to great critical acclaim, even scoring an impressive 9 out of 10 in Powerplay magazine issue 235.
We have recently finished our 2nd album “The End Of Reason” which is due for release on 19th December 2022
How did you come up with your band name?
I had a song called “Bastion”, I thought it would be a cool name but we changed the spelling to “Bastyon” to avoid confusion with another band with the title “Bastion”, so now the name of the band (and the song) is “Bastyon”.
What Country / Region are you from and what is the Metal / Rock scene like there?
We are from central Scotland (Fife and Glasgow), there is a fantastic Rock and Metal scene here, loads of great local bands who we have had the pleasure of playing with at various venues in Fife, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
What is your latest release?
Our new album is called “The End Of Reason”, due for release in December 2022, we have already released a few songs from it as “tasters” – “Wrong Inside”, “Dreams Of Valhalla”, “The Jungle” and “End Of Reason”.
We have also done a video for “Dreams Of Valhalla”, which is available on YouTube.
Who have been your greatest influences?
Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Metallica, Megadeth, Ozzy Osbourne, Van Halen, Yngwie Malmsteen, Dio and plenty others.
What first got you into music?
Watching Top Of The Pops when I was a kid. I can still remember the first time I saw the ‘Run To The Hills’ video by Iron Maiden, I thought it was the best thing I’d ever heard, especially that crazy guitar solo.
If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be?
Yngwie Malmsteen. The guy is an amazing guitarist but his songs are nowhere near as good as they used to be so I could write the songs for him, that would be a win!
If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?
Rock In Rio, it just looks amazing, what a crowd!
What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?
A bag of chips (chippy chips).
If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?
Support your local music scene by going to the local gigs and buy some merchandise if you can.
If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?
Jimi Hendrix.
What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?
I just love playing, especially when you have a receptive crowd and people sing along. Worst part is the travelling and loading the gear in, but ultimately it is worth it.
If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
Ticket prices, especially unruly “re-sale” sites which are just a rip off.
Name one of your all-time favourite albums?
“Powerslave” by Iron Maiden.
What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CDs or Downloads?
CDs.
What’s the best gig that you have played to date?
Undoubtedly when we supported the mighty Wolfsbane in Bannermans, Edinburgh earlier this year. To share a stage with Blaze Bayley was an absolute blast.
If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?
Gardening.
Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?
Jimi Hendrix, Eddie Van Halen, Yngwie Malmsteen, Royce Gracie and Muhammad Ali.
What’s next for the band?
Lots of gigs, promoting the new album and preparing the songs for our 3rd album.
What Social Media / Website links do you use to get your music out to people?
Facebook – https://facebook.com/bastyon.metal
Bandcamp – https://bastyonband.bandcamp.com
YouTube – https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCzyfPYSDfcm0XrMghmZawKA/videos
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?
In Scotland it’s always a roll. Usually with square sausage.
Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?
Thanks to everyone who has supported us in any way, bought our music and merchandise and we’ll see you down the front. Cheers!
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.
