UK Heavy Rock

EMQ’s with SWAMP THIEF

EMQ’s with SWAMP THIEF

Hi everyone! Welcome to our new EMQ’s interview with Swansea, South Wales based Heavy Rock band Swamp Thief. Huge thanks to drummer Marc Lockwood 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?

Marc Lockwood. I play drums for Swamp Thief. We formed in 2018 as a two piece. Myself and Simon Bevan (vocals / guitar / bass) have been playing together in bands for over 20 years. We formed Swamp Thief after a year or two of experimenting with the guitar, to get the sound of a 4-piece band through 1 guitar and drums. We were thinking of White Stripes, but without losing the low end – keeping the bass sound was pretty crucial. We pretty much had to invent our own way of achieving this.

How did you come up with your band name?

We needed a name that summed up our sound – thick and sludgy. Swamp was the best word we came up with (‘treacle’ was another contender, but sounded too glam and 70’s!). We saw ‘Dream Thief’ somewhere, and liked the word Thief. We put swamp and thief together, and hey presto!

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

Swansea, South Wales, UK. It’s pretty rich in terms of the kind of music we’re doing. Acrimony are from the area – they were early pioneers of the doomy, stonery sound. You’ve got bands like Sigiriya, Suns of Thunder, Prosperina and Heavy on the Ride in the scene right now, who are all awesome.

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

EP – “Swamp Thief I”

Full EP

Who have been your greatest influences?

Kyuss, Down, Corrosion of Conformity, and of course, Black Sabbath.

What first got you into music?

Metallica, and the sound of a distorted guitar.

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

It’d be pretty sweet to have John Garcia or Neil Fallon doing some guest vocals!

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

Download UK – it’s the crème de la crème for UK heavy music.

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

Money – still find it bizarre that someone would pay for our music! In an awesome way though.

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

We’re absolutely humbled and honoured that anyone would consider us worthy to listen to, so thank you!

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

None. When our heroes pass on, it passes the torch to the younger bands. Their legacy should remain as it is, for future generations to enjoy. Bringing someone back would tarnish their legacy. If John Bonham came back (probably who I would choose), Led Zeppelin’s legend would change (for example).

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

Love jamming with my buddy – it’s like a form of meditation when you get in the zone. Creating and writing music is the best.

Hate carrying heavy equipment, especially as there’s only 2 of us! And not being able to finish a song. Tides took about 20 years to finish!

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

More money for musicians for it to be a more stable career. The internet has democratised music to some extent, but streaming revenue is a pittance unless you’re towards the top of the pile.

Name one of your all-time favourite albums?

Down – “NOLA”.

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

Downloads – portability and flexibility. I loved doing mix tapes growing up, so infinite playlists are right up my street.

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

We played a gig with our former band, Uberchop, with Recluse and Atomck in Swansea. We opened, but there was a wicked crowd who got into us without ever hearing us properly before. That was pretty sweet.

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

Music fan!

What’s next for the band?

Releasing music once a year, 4 to 6 tracks per release. Playing some festivals and releasing some vinyl would be pretty cool too.

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

www.swampthief.bandcamp.com/
www.open.spotify.com/artist/3raxMMFMU2kG9nrAWTSwMJ
www.music.apple.com/gb/album/i-ep/1536812958
www.facebook.com/swampthief/
www.instagram.com/swampthiefband/

Jaffa Cakes! Are they a cake or a biscuit?

Cakes of course.

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.

EMQ’s with PENANCEVILLE

EMQ’s with PENANCEVILLE

Hi everyone! Welcome to our new EMQ’s interview with Deepest, Darkest Essex, UK based Heavy Western band Penanceville. Huge thanks to guitarist/vocalist Rusty 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?

Rusty. Guitar and vocals. Driver of the Winnebago.

How the band came to be?

Preacher Rusty emerged from the wilderness, the scrapped pages of the book of grudges in his bloody right fist. He pointed to the ground, and on that very spot Penanceville came into being.

How did you come up with your band name?

It’s the place all the rotten people gravitate to.

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

We’re from the Deep South. Of Essex…

The band is currently championing a genre of 1 band. It’s been dubbed Heavy Western.

It’s stuck and works as a quick explanation of what we do.

Americana mixed with Rock, I guess.

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

We’ve released 4 singles. We’re in all the usual online places. Spotify, iTunes, YouTube – blah blah blah.

The latest single is ‘The Body’. It’s written in the tradition of a good old-fashioned murder ballad.

‘The Body’ (Lyric Video)

Who have been your greatest influences?

Musically? – Raised on stuff like Skynyrd, Stones, A lot of Blues- The Kings. Johnny Winter.

Then got into Metal and found my way into Americana and bluegrass.

What first got you into music?

The Muppets. Top of the Pops. And my parents always had music on. Motown from my mum and rock and blues from dad.

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

Punch Brothers. They are on another level as players and writers.

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

Pink Pop because it’s always embraced so many different bands and genres.

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

Drugs and drawings of the band.

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

I am in no position to be giving out advice!

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

That’s a real tough one. Maybe Tom Petty as the world lost him too soon and I feel like he wasn’t done being great.

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

Creating and playing live are the 2 things you can’t beat.

Logistics of getting all the maniacs in the band into the same place at the same time.

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

That it supported new artists better. But that’s a long conversation.

Name one of your all-time favourite albums?

Just one?! I’ll go with Lynyrd Skynyrd – “Second Helping” as it’s a good sound track for the good weather we’ve been having recently.

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

Vinyl – Looks great and is great, it’s encouraging people to buy music. Cassettes are pretty crappy, but hold a special place in my heart. Mix tapes and my Walkman.

CD’s are a bit boring. And Downloads are convenient, I guess.

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

With this band we played a few cool festivals last year and played a great one at the Railway in Southend. We were just on it that night.

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

Learning to be a musician.

Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?

(Rick Here – This one wasn’t answered so I don’t know if it was a mistake, refusal or that there just isn’t anyone Rusty would invite!!)

What’s next for the band?

Writing new tunes and waiting for the world to open up.

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

www.open.spotify.com/artist/7bAsGBKx890ssmP4pVYqs6
www.facebook.com/penanceville/
www.youtube.com/channel/UCOeALlAG_sHpBvAJRWsX0HQ

Jaffa Cakes! Are they a cake or a biscuit?

Cakes. Clue’s in the name. Plus, Stephen Fry told me so.

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

Check us out if you want to hear something a bit different.

EMQ’s with A RITUAL SPIRIT

EMQ’s with A RITUAL SPIRIT

Hi everyone! Welcome to our new EMQ’s interview with Edinburgh, Scotland based Heavy Rock band A Ritual Spirit. Huge thanks to vocalist/guitarist Oli 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 Oli and I sing/play guitar in A Ritual Spirit. We formed back in late 2009 after a previous band split and jammed with several drummers until Dave stuck. After writing and self-recording our first demo during 2010 we started gigging in early 2011. Since then we’ve toured up and down the UK several times, released our debut album “Carnival Carnivorous” in 2013, subsequently got taken on by a management company/label which crumbled when the main band on the roster left, taking us a year or so to pick up the pieces… then a headline slot at Wildfire Festival 2017 and winning Metal2TheMasses Glasgow in 2018 spurred us on to where we are today…releasing new music and writing album number two under the watchful eye of Reaction Management.

How did you come up with your band name?

We spent hours throwing different names around but nothing seemed quite right, at one point we all wrote several words on different scraps of paper, threw them into a hat and picked two or three out at a time to see if that would conjure anything… it didn’t! One day out of the blue original guitarist Stevie suggested ‘Ritual Spirit’ and I just had to add the ‘A’ for the comedy value of abbreviating to ARS.

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

We’re based in Edinburgh, Scotland. The scene here is thriving…Edinburgh and the surrounding area houses some fantastic rock and metal bands. We’re lucky to have several venues with dedicated in-house bookers/promoters who give grassroots artists a chance, if you’re well received at a few shows you’ll soon be offered a slot opening for a national or international touring band, instantly increasing your network and audience. Further afield in Glasgow, Perth, Dundee and up to Aberdeen and Inverness there’s some great bands, we share a roster with some of them at Reaction Management.

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

We released “The Antidote” EP last November (2019) produced by Bryan Ramage of Ramage Inc. along with a video for lead single ‘Sacrifice’ – and recently during lockdown we’ve put together a self-made lyric video for next single ‘Broken/Disappear’ featuring live and behind the scenes footage from the past year and a half, which we’ll be releasing on June 26^th.

Who have been your greatest influences?

Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix and The Beatles had a massive influence on me from a very young age, then I got into grunge in a big way during the 90’s…the Seattle bands from that time (and some of the ‘non-Seattle’ bands that joined the ride) all influenced me greatly, which I think is pretty evident if you listen to our music.

What first got you into music?

I grew up listening to music, I didn’t get into it… it got into me! By the age of 7 or 8 I knew I wanted to play guitar and be in a band.

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

I’d love to work with Jerry Cantrell from Alice in Chains.

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

Tough question, I’ve only experienced festivals in UK but I hear a lot of good things about some of the European festivals… playing Wacken or Rock Am would be pretty special. I’ve toured the UK and Ireland fairly extensively, but I’ve never played in mainland Europe so doing that at a festival is high on the priority list!

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

Ha! Not sure I should say this but at a show in Belfast years ago there was a female fan who had ‘I heart Oli’s c**K’ written on her arm. There were panties thrown on stage that night but I’ve no idea if they were hers or not. That was a pretty weird one.

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

Thank you for your support and we look forward to seeing you at a show whenever we’re allowed out to do that again.

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

That’s a hell of a tough question. Can I bring four or five back please? I never saw Nirvana so I’ll go with Kurt Cobain, just to hear that voice live once would be enough.

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

I love being on tour, there’s nothing else like it. You’re in a new place almost every night playing back to back shows, seeing familiar faces and constantly meeting new folk. The bond between band members usually tightens on tour too so that pours into the on-stage chemistry.

Hate is a strong word but I very much dislike competition between bands, my view is that we’re all in it together and should promote and help each other out as much as possible, sadly that’s not how everyone sees things. There’s time and place for competition, we wouldn’t have played Bloodstock without winning Metal2TheMasses for example, but that’s a healthy rivalry within given boundaries, I’d never think of A Ritual Spirit as better or worse than any other band, just different.

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

It’s almost a romantic ideal nowadays but I’d revert back to before file-sharing and streaming took over. The whole industry is different now and that’s OK, it has its benefits, but analogue recording, cut to vinyl and fans purchasing hundreds of thousands of physical copies would be my dream.

Name one of your all-time favourite albums?

Pinning these things down to one is difficult man, I need a top five at least for most of these questions! Tool – “Lateralus” if I have to choose.

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

Vinyl every time. I’ve a shelf full of records, some I’ve been listening to my whole life. All formats have their benefits or quirks and I struggle with the notion of ‘better’ but my personal preference is picking up a gate-fold twelve inch record sleeve with some great artwork on it, putting the disc on my turntable and turning the volume up, crackles and all!

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

My personal favourite is between London Astoria in 2008 or Download Festival 2009, honestly can’t decide between the two… in A Ritual Spirit it’s definitely Bloodstock 2018.

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

Probably travelling the world teaching ESL and fishing.

Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?

Jack Endino, Steve Albini and the three members of Them Crooked Vultures who would inevitably end up playing an impromptu set in the garage.

What’s next for the band?

Other than releasing the new video on June 26^th we’re currently working on our second album which we’ll do everything we can to release in 2021, but these things take time so I’m not putting a strict timeframe on it.

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

You can find us in all the usual places – Spotify, iTunes, Deezer, Amazon etc. Our main merch channel is Bandcamp, plus we have a website and several social media pages.
www.aritualspirit.bandcamp.com
www.aritualspirit.net
www.youtube.com/user/ARITUALSPIRIT
www.facebook.com/aritualspirit
www.instagram.com/aritualspirit
www.twitter.com/aritualspirit
www.reverbnation.com/aritualspirit

Jaffa Cakes! Are they a cake or a biscuit?

They go hard when stale so they’re a cake. Funnily enough up until very recently our van had a bumper sticker saying, ‘No Jaffa cakes left in this van overnight’!

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

Yeah firstly thank you for supporting the band and taking the time to do this interview, it’s very much appreciated… and last but by no means least, I’d like to thank everyone who provided footage for the Broken/Disappear video, it really wouldn’t be the same video without them – the full list will be tagged on socials when we release on June 26^th but for now I’ll shout out to all the bands who’s members make an appearance at some point – Darkness Divine, Multistorey Lover, Kilonova, Nocturne Wulf & Deadfire.

EMQ’s with SACRILEGE

EMQ’s with SACRILEGE

Hi Everyone. Welcome to our new EMQ’s interview with UK NWOBHM / Heavy Rock band Sacrilege! Huge thanks to vocalist/guitarist Bill Beadle 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?
Hi I’m Bill Beadle and I’m singer/songwriter/guitarist for heavy rock band Sacrilege who I formed in 1981/82. We were then billed as best new band of 1983 and appeared on the 6th episode of the David Jensen Rock Shows TV series, which also featured U2 and The Stranglers alongside Sacrilege that week. I kept Sacrilege playing live up until 1987 when I then decided to stop playing, I reformed the band and we played our first comeback gig in October 2012.
How did you come up with your band name?
At the time I was going to call us Blizzard. I’m a massive Sabbath fan but coincidently Ozzy returned with his new band calling themselves Blizzard of Ozz so I had to find a different name. While watching a film one night called ‘Demetrius and the Gladiators’ the star (Victor Mature) saw these dead gladiators being thrown into a massive pit, he shouts out ‘That’s Sacrilege’ so that was it.
What country are you from and what is the Metal/Rock scene like there?
We are from the UK and the metal scene, in fact music scene, isn’t doing so well unless you are a covers or tribute band it seems! There are some great original bands out there not getting a chance so we are pleased to have our loyal support.
What is your latest release? (Album, EP, Single or Video)
“The Court Of The Insane”, our new album, which is on the Pure Steel record label and is due out on 2nd August this year (2019)!
Who have been your greatest influences?
Black Sabbath, Judas Priest and in the last 10 years Nightwish!
What first got you into music?
Those bands I mentioned but primarily Black Sabbath. When they seemed to be finishing with Ozzy leaving I thought I’d see if I could write and form a band, this I did and now seven albums later I’m still writing and playing even if I did have a long break in-between. You can hear my influences in the Sacrilege tracks.
If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be?
Tony Iommi, no doubt there!
If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?
The old Castle Donnington ‘Monsters Of Rock’ which is now Download Festival. I’ve been to see many of my favourite bands there and always wanted to play rather than watch but they seem to have changed the genre of bands that play so in this country it would be Bloodstock or abroad Wacken.
What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?
A very shy girl once got her friend to come over to speak to me! She said her friend liked me very much but didn’t have the courage to come over to talk so she wanted me to have this, it was a picture of her friend naked, I thought not that shy then? Haha!!
If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?
Thanks for all your support and please tell you friends about how much you enjoyed our music and stage show. The support and messages we receive are all very special and we wouldn’t be playing without you.
If you could bring one metal/rock star back from the dead, who would it be?
That’s a hard question we have lost so many great artists and characters! Lemmy Probably closely followed by Dio, Phil Lynott and Gary Moore.
What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?
Seeing the smiles and enjoyment on people’s faces from the stage then talking to them after the show. I hate being let down by people which happens a lot in this business.
If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
More venues opening rather than closing and the music industry could help with that.
Name one of your all-time favourite albums?
Studio album then Black Sabbath’s “Vol 4” but live album it would be “Unleashed In The East” by Judas Priest!
What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CD’s or Downloads?
Always loved Vinyl when I was younger and if we went back to those days I’d be happy!
What’s the best gig that you have played to date?
The best gig is a very hard question as playing on a big stage where we can let off our Pyros and put a full stage show on is hard to beat but we played in Cambridge at the Melbourn Rock Club recently and the support and reaction from the crowd was very special. We also did a show in Hamburg last month and, again, from a crowd that didn’t know us the reaction was brilliant, so those two were very special but overall I’d have to go for the Malta Metal Festival. We were made to feel so welcome, the crowd was great and we made many many friends there!
If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?
I’d always be a musician it would just depend on what scale, either that or drive a train or something.
Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?
Doro, Floor Jansen, Charlotte Wessels and Tarja plus a referee haha!!
What’s next for the band?
We have just had Paul Macnamara (Guitarist) join us permanently so we want to really tour with the new album and play as many places as possible improving our stage show and then start recording album number eight.
What Social Media/Website links do you use to get your music out to people?
We use the normal sites Facebook, Twitter, Reverbnation, Instagram and our own webpage plus YouTube!
https://www.facebook.com/Sacrilegerock/
https://twitter.com/BillSacrilege
https://www.reverbnation.com/sacrilege
https://www.instagram.com/sacrilegenwobhm/
http://www.sacrilegenwobhm.com/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCytK8ge7u4R67JdXduLaxpA
Jaffa Cakes? Are they a cake or a biscuit?
That’s the best question of the interview haha! Cake it’s in the name!
Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?
A special thanks to my band mates Neil Turnbull, Jeff Rolland, Paul Macnamara and Road Manager Richard Ellender, we all work to put the best show on and it’s a pleasure having these guys as friends and band mates.

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 both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.