Tag: Leatherback

EMQ’s With LEATHERBACK

EMQ’s With LEATHERBACK

Hi everyone! Welcome to our new EMQ’s interview with Chester, UK based, one-man Industrial/Post-Metal act Leatherback. Huge thanks to Matt 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 Matt and I play a bit of everything really, but it mostly comes down to guitars and synths. I started Leatherback at the beginning of 2018 as a writing project in my spare time and released a 4-part concept EP collection called ‘The Cycle’. It’s an instrumental mix of heavy metal, electronica and noise. I generally just refer to myself as Industrial metal though as it seems to be the best catch-all for what I do.

How did you come up with your band name?

I’d been trying to think of a name for ages and was really struggling to come up with something that didn’t sound crap or corny, but one night (probably early hours of the morning to be honest) I was scrolling through Reddit and I came across this picture of the inside of a Leatherback turtle’s mouth and I just remember thinking “That is the most metal thing I’ve ever seen”, which was just like a splinter that stuck in my head from there.

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

I’m originally from Norwich in Norfolk and the rock scene down there is pretty good, but quiet when you’ve been out of it for a while, I sometimes play in a two-piece garage rock band down there called The Bad Apples. But now I live up in Chester and I have to say, I feel really welcomed by the metal community up here.

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

I have a YouTube channel that I have started releasing semi-regular videos on that’s mainly clips from live shows, but my latest big release was a split EP with a Black Metal artist and buddy of mine, Iskalade Morket called ‘Bleak’. It’s super dark and evil.

Who have been your greatest influences?

Number one would be Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, I’m fascinated by all the recording techniques he uses, especially on a load of the mid-90’s stuff like Downwards Spiral and Broken which is something I tend to lean on when I’m writing for Leatherback. There’s also Mick Gordon and the DOOM 2016 soundtrack. That album was pretty much the spark that started Leatherback. Lastly, I’d have to say this band called HIDE from Chicago. I saw them live in Manchester last year and they absolutely blew my mind, they were so intense and visceral which became a massive influence on my live show, definitely a must check out!

What first got you into music?

I’m not really sure to be honest, there’s always been some form of music in my life. My Grandmother used to play piano and teach singing lessons which I picked up on, but it was all really religious stuff, hymns and that. So, I guess my interest in punk and heavier stuff kind of grew as a reaction to that. I remember the first time I really got into heavy metal music was when a mate of mine played me ‘The Scorpion’ by Megadeth in primary school because it had a cool sample of a news reporter talking about shotguns in it. I then got into Iron Maiden and Metallica and things went on from there.

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

Again, it would have to be Trent Reznor as an all-time dream, but there’s loads of people that I think are doing and have done some really interesting stuff that I’d love to work with, Mick Gordon, Imogen Heap, Justin Broadrick of Godflesh, Toby Hayes of Meet Me In St Louis, Wednesday 13, The Melvins, Daughters, Author and Punisher just to name a few.

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

Probably Download, I’ve had some real good times there (matter of fact it was my first ever festival) so it holds a bit of a special place for me.

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

Truth be told, I’ve never received a gift from a fan (is that weird?)

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

Be good to each other.

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

First person to come to mind is David Bowie, the dude was the epitome of cool and such a huge influence on the artists that have been a massive influence on me. Plus, if I brought him back from the dead, I hope he’d let me introduce him to my Mum and that’d which would make her decade.

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

I get the biggest kicks through the act of creating something that I think is special, having an idea and seeing it come to fruition. Whether that’s the music or the stage show or the artwork, it’s the process of building something that I find most exciting.

One of the things that I dislike most about being a musician is the social media side of things. It’s so easy to get caught up in how many followers you have or how many posts you put up that you forget about what you’re actually creating, which is something I feel guilty of sometimes. Don’t get me wrong, social media is a great tool for promotion and engaging with people on a personal level, but it’s so easy to get consumed by it. I try not to over-state its importance but, unfortunately with the way the world works now, social media has become a necessary evil that you can’t live without.

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

I’d change the way artists get paid, you can get so much done as an independent artist in today’s climate and its great, but the problem is that artists are dependent on things like merch sales from fans (which again, isn’t necessarily a problem) but the streaming royalties paid out by companies like Spotify makes it so much harder to survive, especially as streaming is now the way that people predominantly consume music.

Name one of your all-time favourite albums?

“Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders From Mars” by Bowie

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

Personally, I think all of these have their place but for me it depends on the kind of listening experience you’re going for. I’ll stream music to listen to all day every day because it’s convenient but if I want to sit down and properly listen to an album from top to bottom, it has to be on vinyl.

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

I think it was probably Metal 2 The Masses heat this year actually, it was sick! Probably the first wall of death I ever had, everyone seemed to really get into my set, I met some amazing people from the community and played on the bill with some wicked bands.

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

Something in film, I’m a massive movie fan. Either that or building stuff, like guitar pedals or synthesisers, I love getting into some soldering.

Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?

David Bowie, Tom Hanks, Jeremy Irons, Eva Green and Stevie Nicks. It would be a classy affair.

What’s next for the band?

I’m working on my first full length album at the moment that I’m hoping to release later this year, so there’s that and everything that comes along with that, shows, videos, promos etc, so keep an eye out for that!

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

I’m on most of the main social media platforms but I mainly hang out on Instagram (@leatherbackworld). I also have a website that I use to keep people updated (www.leatherbackworld.com), there’s a mailing list that you can sign up to that I use to update people semi-regularly and you’ll normally get info on stuff before anyone else.

Other than that, all my releases are up on Spotify and Bandcamp.

Jaffa Cakes? Are they a cake or a biscuit?

Most definitely a cake.

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

Just thanks to you guys for your questions! Looking forward to speaking with you some more. Cheers!

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.

Bloodstock M2TM 2020 – North Wales Heat 2 – Mcleans, Pentre 07/03/2020 – Leatherback

Disclaimer: This photo album is solely the property of Beth Jones. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of these images, 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.

Bloodstock M2TM 2020 – North Wales Heat 2 – Mcleans, Pentre 07/03/2020

Bloodstock M2TM 2020 – North Wales, Heat 2
Mcleans, Pentre 07/03/2020
Review & Pictures by Beth Jones

We were still dusting ourselves down from the first heat of this year’s Metal 2 The Masses North Wales, when suddenly, quicker than you could say ‘get me on the New Blood stage’, it was time for heat 2! Originally this heat was going to be taking place in Bangor, on the North West Wales coast, but sadly the venue is now an ex-venue. However, because this is North Wales, and the NEW Metal Productions team can handle pretty much anything, it was reorganised to our regular haunt, Mcleans, Pentre!

Five bands were set to take to the stage in this heat, and there were rumblings that this was going to be the toughest heat we had ever seen. Our very own Rick Tilley was asked to stand in as a judge on this heat, as one of the regulars, Phoenix Rising’s John Matthews, was unable to attend. It was pretty certain the judges were going to have a hard task. The ‘order of service’, drawn before we arrived, was Winter Hotel, Thrashatouille, Lullaby For A Unicorn, Krank, and Leatherback. This was going to be fun!

Winter Hotel

Hailing from Bangor, these guys play a hard hitting, modern alternative metal style with a pretty hefty punch. They haven’t been round that long and were using a stand-in bass player. While they had done a fair bit of prep for this, bringing with them printed lyric sheets for the judges, their relative infancy showed in their stage craft, which this year is one of the main things the judges are looking at. Musically they were great, and the charisma of front man, Warren Porter, did shine through. But, in my opinion, they weren’t quite ready, performance wise. However, this is something that will come with practice, and more gigging. They definitely have something exciting to give; they just need to work out how to present it.

https://www.facebook.com/WinterHotelband/

Thrashatouille

We’ve seen these guys a good few times now, including last year’s M2TM North Wales, where they narrowly missed getting a spot in the final. Not to be downtrodden, they decided to return this year to give it another go. It was instantly noticeable that they had a new toy on stage – front man Rob Sutton had a synth that goes boom (not a technical term, but good enough to describe it – I’m old and all this synth trickery goes over my head)! I love the effect that you get out of them, so was looking forward to seeing how he used it, and to seeing how they’d come on since last year. I was not disappointed! From the first chord, to the final boooom, they were bloody brilliant! By far the best we have ever seen them perform. Their madcap food-based death/thrash metal, complete with inflatables, energetic movement on and off the stage from Rob, and a healthy dose of booooooom, was totally something I could imagine going down a storm on the New Blood stage. Epic performance!

https://www.facebook.com/Thrashatouille/

Lullaby For A Unicorn

After being within touching distance of the New Blood stage, as one of last years’ runners-up in the M2TM North Wales final, it was no surprise to see these guys coming to give it another go. I’ve lost count how many times we’ve watched them play but was still as eager to see them again. They are quirky and have an endearing band personality that makes you feel happy, despite the manic and slightly psychotic look in front man Justin Williams’ eyes! They seem to have a bit of a curse on them in this competition though, and they do have a nasty habit of over thinking it. In this performance, a gremlin had got into the sound, and they were plagued with feedback, which I feel threw them off their game a bit. There was none of the usual party popper madness either, which was possibly like taking away their comfort blanket. I still really enjoyed their set though, as I always do, and I was very hopeful that the audience would see past the gremlins, because I know what their ‘A game’ is like.

https://www.facebook.com/rockmyunicorn/

Krank

We last saw Krank in the M2TM heats two years ago, and back then they just weren’t ready, so I was interested to see how they’d come on. Musically they have definitely come a long way, and they make a very good sound together. Carrying on the theme of the evening, it was quirky, humorous, and heavy. They’d obviously spent a bit of time thinking about their stage show, as they had a projector playing a random video in the background, and they also had a large ‘Doomsday clock’ displayed on a laptop for the audience, and the front man to see, as apparently they have a tendency to run over time! They’d brought a lot of fans with them, so they went down well with the crowd. They threw a load of miniature squeaky rubber chickens in to crowd at the start of the set too, which caused a bit of a gigglesome fracas. Unfortunately, even though I think they’re really good musically, something about the front man’s over the top, bullishness really irks me. I find it irritating. Yes, I’m a grumpy old woman, but I just think he needs to tone it down a bit. Let the music do some of the talking, and please, for the love of god, put your tits away! Oh, and another thing – my daughter has now stolen the squeaky rubber chicken we brought home and will not stop squeaking it! Goddamn you!!

https://www.facebook.com/krankislife/

Leatherback

The final performance of the evening was a one-man techno/industrial/metal crossover. My first thought was, ‘I hope they’re going to put the stage lights back on, because the photos won’t be much good otherwise!’ I asked the all-knowing Fozzy, and his response was ‘Just wait and see’. Hmmm, I’m not good with surprises! When the performance started, it became clear what Fozzy meant! Strobe… Lots and lots of strobe! It was like being in a 90s rave! Musically, there were samples, synths and pedals being controlled like clockwork by Matt, aka Leatherback. At the same time, he was playing some pretty tight rhythm guitar. Combined with the strobing and colour changing lights, also controlled by the music, it made for a pretty hallucinogenic experience! I had issues with this performance though, both as a lover of old-school, and as a photographer. He does what he does very well, and with a lot of skill, however what he does, and what I like musically are two very different things. My second issue was the lights. I spent so long looking directly at a strobe, trying to actually capture some useable photos, that my eye and the side of my face went completely numb. That was my cue to leave. I’m going to leave it at that. Clever, but not my cup of tea! It did get the audience going, but on a performance level, I don’t think that it would transpose to a big stage like the New Blood.

https://www.facebook.com/leatherbackworld/

So, with all the bands done, it was time to vote. For me, there was one clear winner, who stood head and shoulders above the rest – Thrashatouille. After a short break, for the judges to deliberate and the audience to cast their votes, master of ceremonies, Beany, returned to the stage to announce the results. I totally couldn’t call it, so can imagine how tough it was for the judges.

First to be announced, and winners of the public vote were Krank, which is a good bit of statistical evidence that other bands should take notice of – the more people you bring with you to your heat, the more likely it is that you’ll win the public vote (unless you really suck and all the people you brought secretly hate you!). The band taking the judges vote, because of their musical ability, professionalism, stage craft and preparation (and rightfully so, if you ask me) were Thrashatouille!

This heat had definitely been a tough one, and it was sad that there had to be winners and losers, but, by definition, that’s what competition is. Onwards and upwards my friends, onwards and upwards! Next up! Heat 3, which takes place on 4th April

LINKS:
https://www.facebook.com/N.E.WMetalProductions/
https://www.facebook.com/bloodstock/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/m2tmofficial/
https://www.facebook.com/Powerzonemetal/
https://www.facebook.com/phoenixrisingrocks/

Disclaimer: This review and photographs are solely the property of Beth Jones and 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.