If you are over a certain age and recall the sweaty days of the UKDM scene, you’ll remember a young band by the name of Cancer. When we found out their ex-frontman John Walker was leading a new band by the name of Liquid Graveyard, we had to get in touch to find out what he’s upto these days.
Planet Loud – Hi, how are you today?
Liquid Graveyard – We’re very well thank you.
Planet Loud – Can you tell us a little about Liquid Graveyard?
Liquid Graveyard (Raquel) – Liquid Graveyard is a metal band with members of different places but based in Madrid. It began in the summer of 2006 when John Walker (ex CANCER- UK), Adrian de Buitléar (ex- MOURNING BELOVETH –Ireland) and myself, Raquel Walker, got together to create this project which would be different to what both John and Adrian had done before. There are inevitable death metal and doom metal references, of which I’m very pleased since I was and am a big fan of their previous bands, but Liquid Graveyard is another thing. We play a style ranging between Avantgarde death metal, Alternative and Progressive Rock. The idea was to create songs by dressing them up in different forms of power and extremity. This certainly isn’t an open invitation to make as much noise as possible but to take the songs into a different audio dimension, where influences of many different styles are welcome, and this is precisely what describes our sound best.
Planet Loud – Where did the name come from?
Liquid Graveyard (Raquel) – We got together and started writing, and like many other bands, by the time the first six tracks were finished, we didn’t really have a name!…and obviously, we all had different ideas, so it was becoming a pain in the neck… We wanted to record a demo but of course we needed a name first. John and I had written a song called Liquid Graveyard so we decided this was also a good name for the band. However, we didn’t choose the name because it sounded “heavy metal”. Liquid Graveyard is a statement that describes the horrible situation that illegal immigrants from Africa have to endure when they try to reach the Mediterranean coasts on those hand made boats, and so many of them drown in the Mediterranean sea. So the sea becomes a “Liquid Graveyard”.
Planet Loud – How would you describe your style as your label say it features a bit of everything from avant-garde death metal to prog rock?
Liquid Graveyard (John) – This is actually a very difficult question! We’re just a “Post Death Metal” band who collect our ideas from anything and everything. Brutality isn’t the issue here. Some have called us “Hybrid Metal” which is probably quite accurate since “hybrid” refers to a “mixture”.
Planet Loud – You’ve got a new CD coming out, On Evil Days. What can you tell us about it?
Liquid Graveyard (John) – We released “On Evil Days” in 2009. This new album is called “The Fifth Time I Died”, and it’s a post Death Metal opus consisting of 10 songs and an interlude, and apart from the song “Reflections”, all the songs follow a social theme of modern day life.
Planet Loud – Having been a big part of the UKDM scene in the 80s/90s with Cancer, what do you think about the extreme metal scene in the UK now?
Liquid Graveyard (John) – Over the years I’ve seen the scene change a lot. In the early 90s, Death metal was at the hight of its popularity and things were much easier for the bands in general. Difficulties began ten years later, for different reasons, but the scene has always been alive and nowadays it’s more alive than ever. New bands coming up with fresh ideas and impeccable productions, a new audience young and vibrant and open minded… and there’s still place for old school nostalgia…I’m pleased with the scene, I always was.
Planet Loud – What about the music industry in general? Has it changed much since the tape-trading days?
Liquid Graveyard (John) – Extremely. The tape trading wasn’t peoples’ albums but live gigs and demos mostly, although there were always exceptions. Things are different now and, generally speaking, there’s less money flowing nowadays and a lot more music. The internet has done good and bad things for the music scene in general, as everyone knows, so I don’t need to go into detail.
Planet Loud – What are your plans for the band? Touring?
Liquid Graveyard (Raquel) – We’re writing again for our third album, and after the summer, we’re gonna be playing some gigs and festivals mostly in Germany. Nothing’s been lined up for the UK yet.
Planet Loud – Considering the range of styles your label describe your sound as, who do you think the band would appeal to?
Liquid Graveyard (Raquel) – Open minded metal fans…. Fans of modern metal, anybody that appreciates music without boundaries.
Planet Loud – What music is inspiring you these days?
Liquid Graveyard (John) – Lots of classical, especially medieval music; jazz and British folk music; industrial and punk rock.
Planet Loud – What are your goals with the band?
Liquid Graveyard (John) – We just want to write good songs for everyone to enjoy, that’s our main goal.
Planet Loud – Thanks for your time, anything else to add?
Liquid Graveyard (John) – Thank you very much, it’s been a pleasure. You’ll find our new album “The Fifth Time I Died” on the English record label Rising Records, who’ve done a fantastic job so far. Enjoy!
Interview by Graham Finney
