EMQ’s With Assurance
EMQ’s With Assurance
Hi everyone! Welcome to another EMQs interview, this time with UK Modern Metal band, Assurance. Huge thanks to Guitarist, Joe, Vocalist Cain, and Drummer, Martin, 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?
My name is Joe, I’m the guitarist for Assurance.
I’m Cain, the vocalist and frontman for Assurance.
And I’m Martyn, the drummer for Assurance.
The band was founded in early 2020 by myself [Joe] and Cain. We grew up together from the age of around two or so, we’ve been best mates through pretty much all our lives.
After I [Joe] graduated and moved back to our hometown, I approached Cain with the proposition of forming a band. We had no idea what we were doing at the time, we just figured it out through brute force and dedication, really. Just before the COVID lockdowns, we were cooped up in a little studio playing through tracks such as “Diamond Eyes” by Deftones, “Blood Sport” by Sleep Token and “Royal Beggars” by Architects to get a feel for the kind of style we wanted to go for. We then launched the band in late 2021 with our debut EP, “The Beginning Of The End”, which was a collaborative effort between us and our dear friend Nicholas Taliadoros (Blueprints, ex-Our Hollow, Our Home).
In early 2022 we made the decision that would be the year we’d take Assurance to the stage, and we needed a proficient and committed drummer to make that happen. We opened auditions and Martyn applied literally the same day we made the opening public, and he’s been with us to see the release of our second EP, “From Ruin: Volume I” in April 2023. We’re not quite ready to unveil them just yet, but we’ve just completed our lineup with a bassist who has been absolutely killing it live and in the studio.
How did you come up with your band name?
It was around that same time in early 2020 – January specifically – where we used to meet up every other night in our local pub. For a few weeks leading up to that fateful night, we were constantly writing down words from songs, films, books etc. that caught our attention. “Assurance” just so happened to be one of those words, and its meaning rang true to who we wanted to be as musicians. The definition of “Assurance” is “a positive declaration intended to give confidence; a promise; a confidence; a certainty”. Solidifying the band name together was like a word of honour. We made a promise to one another then to embody that positivity, that confidence and sureness in our creations moving forward.
On a slightly less serious level, we liked that it had the magic “three syllables” that make so many band names memorable, “Spi-rit-box”, “Ar-chi-tects”, you know. “Assurance” is another word used for stuff like life insurance in the UK which we thought was pretty funny, honestly. It’s a name that carries emotional weight, and it also doesn’t take itself too seriously to the point of being conceited.
What Country / Region are you from and what is the Metal / Rock scene like there?
We’re spread across the Midlands in the UK, with different members split between a little town called Rugby, and Birmingham, the home of heavy metal. The alternative scene here is absolutely fantastic. We could reel off so many bands from around here – Rugby was once home to Conjurer and Wars, whilst the list of bands from Birmingham is truly endless. We are usually chatting and scheming up shows with other Birmingham-based metal bands, including our friends in Overthrone and Vanitas. It’s such a collaborative and inclusive scene here. Everyone keeps an eye out for each other.
What is your latest release?
Our latest release is a single entitled “Amelia”, which just dropped on 15th March. We teamed up with Gavin from Tiltshift Visual to create a visualiser for “Amelia”, and he has already made some incredible visualisers for bands like Invent Animate, Varials and Motionless in White. The video came out looking insane, and you can check it out here!
“Amelia” is the leading single from our third EP, “From Ruin: Volume II”, which we are overjoyed to finally be releasing on 12th April 2024.
Who have been your greatest influences?
Joe: Volumes have been my longest-standing influence, their 2011 debut album “Via” was very much a lightning in a bottle sort of moment. I’ve carried that record and that band with me ever since, and they were even the first band I saw live. In more recent years, I’ve taken inspiration from more artistic metalcore bands such as Invent Animate and ERRA. For me, their songs are more than just the music. It’s their subtleties, nuances and phrasings, which are all tied together with really impactful imagery, inspired by nature and the world around us.
Cain: I’m particularly inspired by Ozzy Osbourne, Kiss, and even Freddie Mercury when he was alive and well in Queen. The common thread between my inspirations is that they are more than just vocalists and frontmen – they can command and enthral audiences so effortlessly. Being a metal vocalist, a more surprising influence of mine would have to be Little Richard. The guy was a fierce pianist and songwriter who changed the face of music forever with his complex style and lyrics. He encapsulated that entire 50’s sound. What inspires me so much about Little Richard is that his music scared the absolute [****] out of everyone, because it was so new and alien. Yet, people couldn’t help but get up and dance, and not a single person could take their eyes off his performance. I would go on record to say that without him, rock and metal wouldn’t be what it was today.
Martyn: For me, it’s a huge mixture and changes every so often. Like most, I have that one band that I hold closest, and that’s Deftones. I’ve always loved Abe Cunningham’s drumming, and I find that the parts he plays are very interesting – such as how he’ll follow along with Chino’s vocal lines and create patterns around them. I’m influenced a lot by other bands incorporating similar touches into their own music, such as the more ambient and ‘shoegaze’ styles. Most recently, my influences have utilised those sounds, including Loathe, Moodring, Softcult and Thornhill. Basically, if I listen to a piece of music and I feel like I’m in space, then I’m having a great time!
What first got you into music?
Joe: My Dad has had an incredible passion for turntables and vinyl, and his music tastes include Pink Floyd and Thin Lizzy – he met Phil Lynott before he passed and particularly loved Gary Moore. His love for music definitely passed down to me and my brothers. My eldest brother introduced me to punk and metal with a plethora of CD’s on his Walkman, whilst my other brother spent a lot of his time playing Hendrix and Mayer on his strat. That naturally led me to start learning guitar when I was ten and that’s pretty much what started the journey for me!
Cain: What got me into music was seeing the likes of Kiss, Mötley Crüe, Iron Maiden and Ozzy Osbourne performing on TV. I remember when my Dad took me to see Kiss for my birthday back in 2010 on their Sonic Boom UK Tour, and I was completely encapsulated by the show and the sheer power and presence each member carried onto the stage.
Martyn: My Granddad was my drumming idol. He always kept a pair of drumsticks on his seat, and he introduced me to the instrument from a really young age and it’s the only hobby I ever truly stuck with. From that time onwards, he would play me his Buddy Rich vinyl records and teach me rudiments. This eventually led to me stepping in to play live with his pianist friend at some shows.
If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be?
We have got our eyes on quite a few! After playing with Overthrone just a few weeks ago, we have our hearts pretty much set on getting their vocalist Luke Hill onto a feature for an upcoming song – he’s an absolute beast with so much range and presence, one of the nicest guys we’ve met during our time as a band as well. Looking at the biggest bands on the scene, it would be an honour to have Noah Sebastian of Bad Omens featuring on an Assurance track. Just imagine the breakdowns.
If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?
Joe: Every metal band on the face of the earth would love to play at Download or Wacken, and we’re certainly no different there. It would be incredible to find our way into some more niche festivals where Assurance would be more unique than if we were at an all-metal festival. I’d personally love to play at RADAR and ArcTanGent.
Martyn: It would have to be Slam Dunk Festival for me. I’m admittedly not a huge festival goer, but I absolutely loved the atmosphere at Slam Dunk when I went.
What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?
We haven’t received anything weird or unusual! The few gifts we have received have been incredibly thoughtful and genuine.
If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?
The continued support genuinely means the world to each and every one of us. Not just those of us performing in the band, but equally, the team surrounding us and even beyond that, to our families, friends and partners. Assurance would be nothing without you.
If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?
This is almost impossible to answer. It feels like in the music industry, we lose more people at a young age than any other industry. It wouldn’t be fair to just choose one person or write out a list as we’d inevitably miss someone we loved dearly. We just hope all of the ones we’ve lost are doing well, whether they be sleeping soundly or rocking on in another life.
What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?
We all agree that being up on stage and performing the songs we love is the most enjoyable aspect of being a musician. When we get those special moments of truly connecting with our audiences, there’s nothing else like it.
Martyn: As for something I’m not fond of, it’s got to be the 1AM service station breaks when we’re heading from show to show on tour. The travel that is required of us is pretty brutal sometimes.
Joe: For me personally, I find that composing and performing is only 5% of what you have to do. The amount you need to work on in terms of admin, bookings, advertising, promotions etc. is pretty demanding and at times, it feels like the music comes second to those other aspects. I love doing all of the above, but when you’re constantly spinning plates it can be hard not to get distracted from the real reason we do this: the music itself, and the love of it.
If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?A. It has to be inequality and sexism, and that’s something we have very firmly stood together on since day one. I [Martyn] will never experience it firsthand, personally. However, I think it’s incredibly important to constantly keep up a discussion about this, to listen to bands and artists that stand for change and to keep the topic circulating. While we’re still a small band now, we are working our hardest to develop an awareness of what is happening around us and what our fellow artists are experiencing. Assurance will always stand for an equal industry.
Name one of your all-time favourite albums?
Joe: I previously mentioned “Via” by Volumes, but another of my all-time favourite albums is “Sundowning” by Sleep Token, which was released in 2019. “Sundowning” is nothing short of a masterpiece and it took me through leaving university, going through a breakup, starting a new career and even starting this band. My favourite song of all time – “The Night Does Not Belong to God” – is the opening track on this album.
Cain: One of my all-time favourites actually released just last year, and it’s the newest Citizen Soldier album entitled “ICU”. It’s more than just an album to me. It takes you on a journey exploring one’s own demons and raises awareness for mental health. In my opinion, we all have our own demons that we fight with every day, and it’s albums like “ICU” that help us overcome that daily struggle.
Martyn: One of my favourite albums is “Hours” by Funeral For A Friend. Maybe it’s just nostalgia from my angsty teenage phase, but I’ll always forget about this record and then I’ll randomly stumble across it and just think, wow, every song is a bop.
What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CD’s or Downloads?
We’re all huge lovers of vinyl. I [Joe] have a modest collection of probably fifty records, the vast majority of which are metal albums. There’s just something magical about vinyl, how old the technology is and how gorgeous the records themselves are. Cain, meanwhile, has hundreds upon hundreds of soul and rock records stashed away, including some pretty rare 7” singles. Martyn tends to grab his “certified bangers” on vinyl, and it’s just a great feeling to add something physical and tangible to your collection. Having something to actually hold builds a bit more of a sentimental connection to that album as well. Otherwise, we all use digital downloads and Spotify on a daily basis for work, travelling, the gym etc.
What’s the best gig that you have played to date?
It’s definitely between UK Tech-Fest: Techabilitation 2023 and our first ever 100% DIY show at The Flapper in Birmingham last September. At Tech-Fest, it was our first time playing with a massive screen behind us with our logo beamed across it, which was insane to see. The sound engineer there made Martyn’s snare sound like a gun going off every time he hit it! That festival was such a fantastic opportunity for us as well – we shared the stage with bands like The Five Hundred, InRetrospect and Arcaeon. The Flapper, meanwhile, was fully self-promoted by Assurance and we turned it into a massive night and packed the place out! That was an incredibly proud moment for all of us.
If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?
Joe: If I woke up tomorrow and could never play music again, I would still be part of this industry, 100%. The past few years being in Assurance have been incredibly insightful and have allowed me to develop some skills I never knew I had, like designing band merch and booking tours. I can’t ever see myself not contributing to the scene even in the smallest of ways. Job-wise, I’m fairly happy with where I’m at currently as a sportswear salesman.
Martyn: This is such a hard question to answer, because music has been one of the only constants in my life and has impacted pretty much all of my life decisions. I guess I’d give a go at being a professional bowler though. I won a game the other week and might be decent at it!
Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?
Joe: I’ll start off with inviting Jim from Friday Night Dinner for how hilariously and ridiculously disruptive he is. Next up, I’d want the late Rik Mayall there with Adrian Edmondson, my favourite comedy duo of all time. Then, Treebeard from Lord Of The Rings, to see him try and fit into a dining room chair. Gotta round this off with a musical touch though, and David Bowie would certainly make for some interesting dinner convos!
Cain: For the ultimate dinner party, I’d go with an all-star lineup of Ozzy Osbourne, Billy Connolly, Zippy (the annoying puppet from Rainbow), James Earl Jones and Miley Cyrus. You’d never think of grouping these people together in a million years, but the stories told around that table would be bloody brilliant and the best night of everyone’s lives.
Martyn: I’d invite Gordon Ramsay, Marco Pierre White, Remy the rat from Ratatouille, Rachael Ray and Jamie Oliver – just to see all of their disgusted reactions to my painfully-bad culinary skills.
What’s next for the band?
Our brand new EP “From Ruin: Volume II” is out on 12th April and we’ve gone all out on designing and developing an amazing merchandise range to go alongside it. We’re taking the new songs on the road and going out on a four date headline tour to promote the record – we’d love to see some readers out at a show! This Summer, we’re running our own mini-festival on 20th July and the lineup for it is absolutely stacked.
Thursday 11th April – Kazimier Stockroom, Liverpool
Friday 12th April – The West Indian Club, Rugby
Saturday 13th April – The Flapper, Birmingham
Sunday 14th April – Hope & Anchor, London
Saturday 20th July – The Sanctum: Modern Metal Meet – The Flapper, Birmingham
What Social Media / Website links do you use to get your music out to people?
We focus predominantly on our own website, plus the usual Instagram, Facebook, Spotify, YouTube and most recently, TikTok.
Website: https://www.assuranceband.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/assurancebanduk
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/assurancebanduk
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6Pes5amJMxRXrXVGc9G197?si=duzRcj-YQ2anpOzdKYd44Q
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@assurancebanduk
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@assurancebanduk
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?
We’re all in the same boat of calling it a bread roll!
Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?
Thank you so much for having us! We’d just like to say a special thank you to everyone who has read this interview to the end and spent their time with us. We appreciate and love you all so much and we hope our newest single “Amelia” resonates with you. If you can, please consider coming out to a show in April or picking up some merch if you’d like to support us! Please drop us a follow on all platforms @assurancebanduk, and say that Ever Metal sent you!
All Our Love. Joe. Cain. Martyn. Assurance.
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.