NC: (all at the same time) THE HAARP MACHINE!
Dan: And Glass Cloud
So pretty much everyone who cancelled?
Yeah!
2. Have you discovered any new bands at the festival so far?
NC: (talk among themselves trying to remember which bands were first on the bill that day) The Atlantis Chronicles.
That's the French tech death band right?
Colin: Yeah, they were great
3. Why do you think the UK tech metal scene is so strong compared to other places?
NC: Sikth started it off and the scene got started from there
4. If your last tour was a movie what would it be called and what would the genre be?
NC: No Struggle and it would be a dark comedy
Why No Struggle?
Dan: Because everything was a struggle, Harry broke his guitar on the first day, the AXE FX broke down and nothing seemed to work.
5. Now for the most important question of all: When will the forest speak?
NC: That's a line from a song isn't it? I can't remember...
You can make up your own answer.
Kaan: Tomorrow.
Good answer.
6. This year we have a bit of an odd one out at the festival in the form of Jon Gomm who, while not really tech metal, is really popular among this crowd. Can you think of something else that would fit in here without being technical or progressive metal?
Colin: Karnivool
Dan: Dead Letter Circus
So...Australian alt-rock?
NC: (laughing) yeah I guess so.
7. Now to more band specific questions starting off with a fanboy-ish statement from me. I've been a fan since the first album but I felt IO was a great improvement on all fronts and given that do you see a certain direction forming for future material already?
Kaan: First of all thank you, second I think with IO it was sort of an all out musical attack while the new material has a bit more breathing room.
Something in a similar direction as the last parts of Coerce: Confirm?
Kaan: Kinda but still different
Dan: The music's maturing without losing the edge it has. There's more musicality and structure...
Colin: A different flow really.
Kaan: We're playing a couple of new songs tonight so you'll hopefully get an idea of where we're going.
Can't wait to hear them.
8. So I wanted to ask you about Fist'em While They're Down (a System of a Down cover band featuring Colin, Harry and Tom (occasionally Kaan) that played at Thursday's afterparty), first of all: Best cover band name ever!
Kaan: That's him (points to Colin)
Brilliant!
Colin: Thanks
How did that get started and has that been going on for long?
Colin: It kinda got started last year, 'cause we play in a Limp Bizkit cover band called Stiff Bizkit and it's a lot of fun, we all just love that whole nu-metal thing, and everyone seemed to like it last year so this year we thought we should do something different. People really got into it but unfortunately someone apparently got a concussion, feel kinda bad about that.
9. This is something that I'm guessing Kaan probably has the strongest feelings about, I read an article a couple of months ago on Metal Sucks about vocals in metal becoming redundant but I personally think that a festival like this is a great argument against it. The bands here not only have fantastic players but most of them have very skilled clean- and rough vocalists. Do you guys have any thoughts on the matter?
Kaan: Yeah, well of course I don't agree with it. Vocals are to me a very important part of music both melodically and lyrically. I don't think I'd ever write anything without a purpose, at least not lyrically
Dan: Yeah, it's such a critical component of music.
It's the human element.
Dan: Exactly!
Colin: Maybe that's true when it comes to brutal death metal where the vocals can end up pretty monotonous but overall I don't find it to be true.
10: Last question of the day boys, I know Harry recently started endorsing Double Slit Guitars and when I checked their Facebook page I was surprised how small a company it actually is. Has he been happy working with them so far?
Dan: Very happy, the guy just showed up at a gig one day with a guitar and asked him if he wanted to try it, it was kinda weird but Harry loved it. They went back and forth with some ideas which ended up becoming the guitar he's playing tonight.
I was wondering, partly, because there have been quite a few smaller guitar builders that have come and gone with a less than great reputation is the last few years, Invictus for example, so I'm glad to hear that he's happy with their work. Do you think you'll jump on board?
Dan: Maybe some day.
Well thank you so much for the interview and good luck tonight.
They played two new songs, Speechless and Disconnect, both of which truly left me speechless and disconnected from the outside world (see what I did there?) and I cannot wait to hear them recorded and in their respective places within the context of an album.
I was reminded of Kaan's words in the interview "I don't think I'd ever write anything without a purpose, at least not lyrically." late in the set when they played the song Enemy of Logic as his screams of "This world doesn't need a savior, it needs the truth!" felt convincing, heartfelt and full of purpose.
Their latest album IO can be found on Basick Records' Bandcamp page:
Jón Þór
'Unless otherwise noted all pictures are taken by me