
EMQ’s With Exdestrier
Hi everyone! Welcome to another EMQs interview, this time with Scottish Sludge/ Black Metal band, Exdestrier. Huge thanks to their Vocalist/ Guitarist, Tommy, 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 Tommy I play guitar and sing in Exdestrier. We formed towards the end of 2021 when Didier moved from Seattle to Edinburgh and through a friend of a friend got introduced to Chris who he bugged out of musical retirement. They started jamming about with a Sleep sort of vibe and eventually convinced me to join in, but as I’ve predominantly played punk, hardcore and black metal for the last ten years or so we got considerably faster and developing our sludge / black metal sound.
How did you come up with your band name?
It’s a made-up word Chris came up with. Destrier is a battle war horse but loads of bands are called that, so he added EX at the beginning. Nobody can pronounce it which I like. It’s always good to sabotage yourself against ‘good marketing’ right from the off.
What Country/Region are you from and what is the Metal/Rock scene like there?
We are from Edinburgh Scotland and the scene is and always has been absolutely fantastic. Apart from big hitters like The Exploited, Bleed From Within and Man Must Die there is an insane list of incredible bands like Ashenspire, Tyrannus, Dog Tired, Iron Altar, Brainbath, Tempered, Disposable, King Witch, Order of The Wolf, Hand Of Kalliach and Hard Stare as my personal tips.
What is your latest release?
We have our debut EP out April 8th 2023 called Glorious Barbarism it’s a mix of horrible ‘dad sludge’ like Eyehategod, High On Fire, Entombed, Darkthrone etc., but without the paranoid conspiracy theories and ‘outdated attitudes’.
Who have been your greatest influences?
The presence of Motorhead is ever present but we made a rule for NO MOTORHEAD BITS as that’s the single greatest musical challenge possible. Dudes our age can just play like Motorhead in our sleep and it’s really tough to do that without sounding like it’s phoned in. For all three of us, ‘influenced by’ and ‘sounds like’ are completely different animals so bands that’s have been inspirational to the creation of Glorious Barbarism have been as varied as Deathspell Omega, Ozzy, Mogwai, Russian Circles, The Obsessed and groovy 90’s era Napalm Death.
What first got you into music?
I honestly think there hasn’t been a time when I wasn’t. My earliest memories are listening to music like Hawkwind, Status Quo, Budgie and Tangerine Dream when I was less than five, drawing pictures inspired by the music. Mostly space battles and massacres.
If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be?
It would have to be a vocalist so me and Chris can have a rest. None better and more suitable than Lee Dorian for some OOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHH YEEEEEEAHHHH HUGGY BEAR!
If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?
Red Crust in Edinburgh because I could walk to it and sleep in my own bed once we’ve played.
What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?
The permission to act like an absolute fucking nutcase without any sort of consequence. Quite a popular gift back in the day.
If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?
Be excellent to each other. No better message.
If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?
LG Petrov from Entombed. Went too soon, absolute legend. He wasn’t a rock star though, but if he rose from the grave he would be.
What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?
The best thing is the creation of new music in the practice room and getting that flash realisation that it’s going to be a fucking belter live. Thing I hate the most is fake industry music biz scene wankers.
If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
To teleport all the fake industry music biz scene wankers into a hurricane of sulphuric acid somewhere in the upper atmosphere of Venus.
Name one of your all-time favourite albums?
“City Baby Attacked by Rats” by GBH.
What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CD’s or Downloads?
I love physical media because stuff is good. But to be honest I’m going to have to say downloads, especially as FLAC downloading is an option on Bandcamp giving lossless quality. Downloads is the absolute best way for self-funding cool as fuck acts to get their music made and out without having to shell out money they don’t have on ‘making stuff’ that’ll all end up as fucking landfill anyway.
What’s the best gig that you have played to date?
Best Exdestrier gig was the Edinburgh show we did with a short run with Goblinsmoker. When it’s a Saturday night in a capital city and the gigs sold out you just can’t complain. That’s what it’s all about. It’s even better when you go down well, which we did.
If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?
More kickboxing.
Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?
Jean Claude Van Damme, Scott Adkins, Cynthia Rothrock, Donnie Yen and Sammo Hung. We’d talk kung fu and it would rule.
What’s next for the band?
Get “Glorious Barbarism” out and promote it with some shows. We’ve got a long weekender with Battalions coming which will be awesome. Then it’ll be start on EP number two, we’ve already got one song for it.
What Social Media / Website links do you use to get your music out to people?
https://www.instagram.com/exdestrier/
https://twitter.com/exdestrier
https://exdestrier.bandcamp.com/
https://m.facebook.com/Exdestrier/
https://www.exdestrier.com/
Jaffa Cakes? Are they a cake or a biscuit?
They’re a major food group aren’t they?
Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?
Thanks for having me, buy our shit.
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.