Outright [It’s worth nothing if you can’t respect and appreciate each other]

At the beginning I must say that I am impressed by your first album „Avalanche” and it is one of the best hardcore records I’ve ever heard. Do you often listen to this album at home? 🙂

Whoa, that is a big call. Thanks for being so kind! I’m not embarrassed, I do listen to it at home occasionally, but that’s just because it helps me concentrate on what I can do better in the studio and on stage. Hearing our music come on at my gym was a funny experience though!

How about the general reactions to the CD been so far?

We’ve been overwhelmed with the incredible response this record has had. We were just happy to create something we believe in, enjoyed and felt proud of. The positive support and encouragement has been an amazing bonus and we’re so grateful. From great reviews in music magazines and blogs in Australia and around the world, to the personal feedback from kids at shows, it’s all so special.

The big your advantage to your music is female vocal, she adds to its unconventional shape, which is also common in many bands with screaming girls. Was it difficult to form the current timbre of vocal? Does she used some exercises? Does she often straining her throat?

I don’t think female vocals are unconventional considering women have always been involved in making music and participating from the crowd. The fact that it doesn’t feel normal says more about the fact that we don’t listen out and support them enough, in my opinion. We just sound like what we sound like. I do warm up exercises and drink lots of water to protect my vocal cords, but that’s it. Much like many other male or female vocalists would do, I guess. I strain my throat more from talking to people all night at shows than I do from our 30 minutes on stage.

 Who mostly writes the music and do you write songs all the time or just in periods?

Everyone contributes to song writing but we mainly focus on that in blocks of time between tours, shows or the occasional line up change. I live with Brett so I constantly hear him humming and playing new riffs in his head but it’s awesome to really hear them come to life when Allan, Brad and Rory add their suggestions and skill to bring the best out.

What’re your personal favourite tracks from the album?

Forging On is fun to play because it’s energetic and Allan’s solo is so kick ass, the breakdowns in Avalanche and Iron String make me bang my head and stomp the floor harder than anything and I get a lot of personal fulfilment from sharing Troubled, A City Silent, New Seeds and The Collapse with the crowd. Suffice to say, I feel like we covered a lot of ground to make us happy with these songs and my favourite changes daily for different reasons.

 You are currently in Reason and Rage Records. How did it happen that you are working with them? How goes the cooperation so far? Could you submit this label, his owner and other releases?

Reason and Rage Records is my own label that I started to release our records and eventually support other bands so they can share their message, music and energy too. It’s really important to us that we try and do as much as we can ourselves. It’s true to the punk ethic we grew up on and are inspired by, and it helps keep us connected to all of the amazing people that work with us and support what we do. It’s also been a great experience for me personally, learning how the production process works and getting more involved in aspects like distribution and promotion. I like making pen pals all over the world by leaving letters in all our mail orders to express directly how much we appreciate the support.

 In your lyrics you often use a terms like own potential, perseverance, patience, living strong and free and I think it can describe your general message. Could I name your music as motivational? As an artist how do you hope your work will inspire the listener?

The music that has stayed with me the most over the past 20+ years has been those songs that still feel relevant and empowering through whatever I’m experiencing in life. It just feels really natural to me that the urgency and catharsis of punk and hardcore music is matched with a message, and I feel honoured that some people find what we do motivational. For me, it’s about giving back what I’ve treasured and benefited so much from over the years and, in many cases, is also a way for me to keep motivating myself through the hardest times. I think art can simply be about expression and creativity, but it can also be about connecting with others and growing stronger together. We’re pretty lucky to be involved in a scene that encourages both.

Is the text for „A Silent City” has a personal dimension or its content is more symbolic?

A City Silent is about my personal experience of growing up with domestic violence, and my position now as a feminist and activist in a society that normalises violence and perpetuates this through a misogynistic culture.

The song „With Your Blessing” touches on religious blindness. Is this heavily felt in your country?

This is another song about my personal experience of being mistreated by a member of the clergy, and also by the adults whose religious affiliations outweighed their responsibility to my wellbeing as a child. For some, dogma can replace common sense and cause more harm than the good that might be intended, but I think this can occur in any country where institutionalised religion is more influential than basic humanism.

„One dead mind costs a million bodies more/ As the cost of war (…) No borders/ no pride/ no masters/ no pride” – it`s a fragment of your song named „Barbarian”. Why, do you think, the man is a being who seeks to create divisions rather than aim for unification? Would we say that greed and selfishness are the supreme cancer of humanity?

This song is about how nationalism is manufactured to mobilise masses into hatred and division for the political gain of those in power. It creates identities by exclusion and supplements that with a celebratory culture as an attempt to justify the lunacy. It means dehumanising people to disconnect us from our innate similarities and therefore participate in power structures instead to benefit those at the top. In this way, greed and selfishness are certainly what kills our sense of humanity. It makes me sick and furious.

For some time I am in love with the Australian hardcore scene. Bands like Reactions, Imprisoned or Cursed Earth are very huge. Being very much a part of the scene how do you see it? Are there any upcoming bands that people should look out for?

Those bands are all incredible live (Cursed Earth are going to take over the world, mark my words). I’m so glad you’ve heard about them. Rebirth from Melbourne are without a doubt the best thing to happen to this scene in a really long time. Great riffs, amazing ethic and attitude, and the biggest hearts. They recently released a 7” which Brett and I were both lucky to do guest vocals on too. I can’t get enough of them. Broken are awesome to watch. I expect excellent things from Society’s Chain and Homesick from Sydney, and XLairX bring the fun and self-deprecation back into straightedge. Keep your eye on everything coming from Life. Lair. Regret Records, Lethal Dose Records, Clarity and Death’s Grip to hear the best new bands in Australia.

 Every band has their own individual characters, who’s the leader of the gang, who’s the sissy and who’s the most irritating on tour, and why? 🙂

I might be considered the leader because I do a fair bit of the organising and am the longest standing member but Brett often kicks our butt into gear when we need it. I’m sure we are all sissies once we’ve been on the road for 10 hours straight and get tired and grumpy haha – we all have our weaknesses! I often want to drag the guys out early to go bushwalking or swimming or sight seeing so that probably makes me really irritating too, especially when some of them have hang overs from the night before, but I honestly can’t fault anyone. They’re all fun, lovely, hilarious people and I reckon we work pretty well together. It’s worth nothing if you can’t respect and appreciate each other and have some fun along the way.

One of the most popular band from Australia in Parkway Drive. What about your opinion on them? what do you think is the secret to Parkway Drive’s success? Is the Australian scene hardcore / punk accept them or treats more from a distance? What do you think about their last song?

I think Parkway Drive have worked hard and deserve all the success they have achieved. I remember visiting Byron Bay on tour and spinning out at these young scrappy surfer kids just having the best fun with their music, being absolutely obsessed with listening to every Australian punk, hardcore and metal band. I’m proud and stoked for the life they have created for themselves. I never know what makes some bands popular and others invisible because there are some incredible musicians that people haven’t even heard of yet, so I can’t tell what their secret is, but it probably has a lot to do with their authenticity and the fact that they have always maintained a self-managed approach where that is feasible at that scale. Mind you, that scale is bigger than anything any other heavy band in Australia has ever imagined, so it doesn’t even matter whether the punks accept them or not. It’s a different world. The good thing though, is that they have often used their popularity to expose their friend’s bands or important causes to bigger audiences which is a decent thing to do. Their last song is further away from my taste but that film clip is something else haha.

Why is the 0 on a phone after 1 and not before 1?

Because no one starts with nothing.

Thanx for interview and all the best for you 🙂 Anything you’d like to add to conclude this interview?

Thanks so much for the support. We’re trying to make plans to visit Europe some time soon and can’t wait to hang out when we do.