Interview With Matt From Bastard Of The Skies

Bastards of the skies are a bunch of sludge metal mongers from the UK.One of the better sludge bands from the UK,if you take a listen to the songs on their Myspace profile you can hear they deliver some pretty mean tunes.I suggest you go visit their page but read this interview i did with Matt before you get your head blown off with the killer tracks on their page.

1.Hello,how things been for you as of late. Have you been affected by this so called recession ?

Hello! Since Christmas we've been pretty busy recording our new album – kinda heads down and go! It's starting to get into shape now + sounding pretty beefy! As far as this recession – yeah we've been affected. I run a recording studio (www.myspace.com/fullstackstudio – plug! plug!) and it's been really quiet for the last few months – which, although pretty worrying, has given us plenty of time to get our new stuff down. Also the label that put our debut out (Meltdown Records) has thrown the towel in which is pretty sad news. Luckily our new album is coming out on a different label (Lockjaw/Mother Should Know).

2.Tell us about how the band got together and previous bands you might have played in ?

I've been friends with Rob (bass) since high school so when I was looking to get a band together he seemed a natural choice to ask. Nick, our drummer, I had played with in a previous band (Missed Her Bliss – kinda post-hardcore/stoner/metal type of stuff) so when our last drummer left ,again, he seemed a natural choice.

As for getting the band together in the first place we just wanted to do something obnoxious and heavy! Something I might like as a fan. As well as rip off the Melvins!

3.Judging from reading your blogs you seem to have achieved quite a lot in a few years. Have the tunes been easy for you to get together?

I'd say so. The writing part of it's probably the most straight forward and easiest part of being in this band! There's not a lot that's been agonized over really. I'll usually come up with a couple of riff and we'll jam it out. Most songs don't take more than a night or two.

4.What is like in the UK at the moment for Doom and Sludge bands regarding gigs and radio airplay ?

We've had some very limited radio play on smaller local and internet based stations. Airplay's not so easy on any thing bigger. There's things like “The Rock Show” on Radio 1 where you might get a High On Fire or Orange Goblin track if they've got a new album out. Although, to be honest, I really don't listen to much music radio. Gigwise it's ok – there's always somewhere to play if you want + there's quite a lot of good bands. Turn outs can be pretty poor for this type of stuff. Promoters like Future Noise in Manchester and Ninehertz in Sheffield do a good job and can pull some bigger, touring, bands and therefore pull a bigger crowd.

5.Could you describe the sound of the band ?

We had a review that said “The sound of drowning in a swamp full of your own shite.” I like that! It's generally big, sludgy rock, with a few quiet bits sparingly thrown in here and there – my person influences are things like Melvins, Fudge Tunnel, Unsane, High On Fire, Harvey Milk, Karp, Shellac, Boris – lots of three pieces!

6.Has the sound changed much from your demos to the album ?

Really it's just tightened up and got bigger – the new stuff's maybe a little less “metal” sounding and probably a bit sludgier – there's some droney bits – although how much'll make it onto the album I don't know. I really respect bands who'll change the sound between albums, and experiment with things – yet still keep a strong identity. I'm really looking forward to being able to sit back and listen to some of our new stuff when it's finshed – without tweaking things in the studio.


7.The album is out on Meltdown who i don't know much about,how did that all fall into place for the band ?

Just from relentlessly sending stuff out and contacting people! I sent loads of demos out and got quite a good response back - Meltdown wanted to put out the recordings – as a one off deal, and we also managed get an agreement with Lockjaw/Mother Should Know Records to put out a new album. All worked out quite well + the Meltdown album kept the ball rolling – kept us feeling like there was something happening.

Unfortunately Meltdown has now closed it's doors as a label (still putting gigs on though I think).

8.How has the reaction been to the album so far ?

Pretty good I think – the reviews have been pretty much all positive – we've been compared to a pretty wide range of good bands – not just one or two. Although with Meltdown feeling the pinch I don't know how much promotion got done for it. Most seem to think that we've got our own personality and not labelling us as clones of anyone – that's good!

9.What would you say has been the highlight of the band's career so far ?

Probably just being given the opportunity to put records out. It's nice to find out that people give a fuck! I get a lot of satisfaction from gigging, jamming and hearing the stuff get recorded as well. Also playing with bands like Baroness, Kylesa, Jucifer and Today Is The Day's pretty cool!

10.Are lyrics something you spend a lot of time on and what is the process you go through getting songs together ?

I don't spend too long on lyrics and don't particularly write about certain subject – just try and paint a mental picture. I keep notebooks and scraps of paper with thoughts and ideas or lines from books or films that catch my attention and might be good to use. Also most of the lyrics aren't too decipherable – and I don't think i'd ever really want to include a lyric sheet.

As for writing i'll come up with a couple of riffs or the bare bones for a song and jam it out in practice. Things get tightened up and added when it comes to recording. Lyrics come pretty much last – doing the recording myself means I can be pretty lazy there + spend time getting them right in the studio.

11.What is the size of the venues you play at ?

Generally club/ big pub size – pretty small you know. There's been the occasional bigger venue. I really do like small venues – as long as the sound's decent. That's not to say we against offers of massive gigs though if the chance came!


12.read you may have a tour coming up,any updates on that ?

Not at the moment – we've only got one gig booked! Once the album's finished and we know when it'll be coming out we'll sort something. Probably a few local dates, and stuff not too far away and then a proper UK tour. I'd like to get to Europe and further afield, but it's a bit of a pipe dream at the moment...

13.You also have great shirts for sale,is that something important for the band like another way of promoting.

I guess so if people see them! Also it's another way to try and raise some precious petrol money when gigging or on tour!

I just like designing stuff like that – I get a kick out of it when they turn up. They'll most likely be some new ones for when the album's done – me and Nick have been talking about an idea. They'll probably be green – trying to stay away from black for now.

14.What your favorite bands from the UK at the moment ?

Hey Colossus, Bersekowitz, Apes Fight Back, Manatees, HumanFly, White Fang, Moloch Slomatics...there's bound to be a load more can't think of right now.

15.Finally,i lived in the UK from 82 - 84 and the weather was pretty much crap. Any change there ha ha ?

Er no! I think summer lasted about two days last year! It was quite nice today, but I was cooped up in the studio (and I took a coat anyhow – just in case!)

16.Final words about the band like what is the easiest way for people to get hold of the album ?

The best way to get the album, or shirts, is probably through our myspace profile – we've got buy it now buttons so it's all just a click away!

Also keep checking back we'll have some new songs and news on the album up soon!




http://www.myspace.com/bastardsoftheskies