Ahead of the release of their new album, Dawn Of Reprisal, Planet Loud sat down with rising metal mob Malefice for a quick chat.
Planet Loud – So, the new album, what can you tell us about it?
Malefice – It’s a step forward from Entities. All the elements we came across like the thrash, the experimental parts and the groove, which this band have always had plenty of, we’ve taken those elements to the next level. It was about challenging our own processes and what we can do differently.
Planet Loud – Looking back at Entities now, what do you think about it?
Malefice – I like it. It was a good album but you’ve always got to look forward and as a band you do that naturally throughout your whole career. We’re not thinking about Entities any more. Sure, we’ll play it for our fans because that’s what they want to hear but at the moment we’re concentrating on the new record.
Planet Loud – How would you describe the material on the new record?
Malefice – It’s more mature. We were really keen to shake of this generic metalcore label we’ve been pigeonholed in. We used our influences a lot more. It’s a very thrashy album full of mental riffs. It’s epic. It’s still got that groove that we’ve always had and it sounds like we’ve mastered our art. We know what we’re doing and the album reflects that. We’ve gone a lot darker this time in an almost black metal style.
Planet Loud – What’s inspired the lyrics this time?
Malefice – Just life man. I’ve got a lot of things I want to get off my chest and this is the best way to do it I think. Dead end jobs.. it’s all about hope. We’re getting to the point where we’re starting to live our dream. That’s what I’m trying to say.. if you want to do something then you can do it. We come from Reading which, at the moment, has a great metal scene but when we were growing up here there was fuck all. We were playing showcases where we were the only metal band on the bill and no-one got what we were doing. We’ve crafted our genre and got ourselves out of that.
Planet Loud – Did it frustrate you that the Reading scene has been shit for so long?
Malefice – Yeah, it’s difficult because we’re so close to Oxford and London that we don’t really get bands playing here. That doesn’t really inspire young people to grab onto something. We get called a Reading band but we take it because we’ve got to be called something.
Planet Loud – Is it still difficult for a metal band coming from Reading?
Malefice – There’s one venue and that’s it. Chimaira played there last year and that was a really big event for the town because no metal band of that calibre comes here unless they’re playing the festival. It’s stupid because, for a town that has the biggest music festival in the world, there are little or no venues for small bands to actually play.
Planet Loud – When you tell people where you’re from, does it surprise them that the scene is so shit?
Malefice – Yeah, they think this town is amazing. We get kids in bands who we meet and they say that they want to come and play here and we sit there thinking why? There is nobody here trying to support our local scene. They’d rather play it safe and put on bands with no heart.
Planet Loud – You did a lot of touring in 2008, was it important you to get out of Reading?
Malefice – Doing the tours we did helped to rub off that ‘Reading’ label.
Planet Loud – What are your plans for the UK?
Malefice – We’ve done the big tours now we’re going to go around and do a lot of the smaller places and get our fans to see us in their home towns.
Planet Loud – You did the Devildriver tour, what did you learn from Dez?
Malefice – I learned how to conduct myself as a frontman. Dez taught some of the biggest lessons I’ve learned because he’s a man who has not only been there but been there and done it twice and the hard way. He knows how to do everything. He took me under his wing and was very supportive. We still keep in touch now. We’ve met some absolute tits in our time but they were such a breath of fresh air – them and God Forbid.
Planet Loud – You formed around the time of the New Wave Of American Heavy Metal. Did it frustrate you that Brits were playing that game just as well but not getting any notice?
Malefice – Well, we didn’t really have anything to offer at that time. I think the UK and Europe has always looked to the US for fashion, music, films – anything – they’ve used it as a guideline. Now, people like us, are so pissed off with it that we go out and write an album people like and heads are starting to turn. I think our timing has been pretty good as people are starting to look to the UK for good bands. A lot of the major labels are signing these bands as well. It’s the best place to be for metal as America is slowly falling on its arse. Fuck, we invented this genre so we might as well take our crown back.
Planet Loud – What are your plans then to do that?
Malefice – We’re going to get this new album under our belt then head out and take over the world. We’ve done all the shit stuff, we know what it’s like to be in dead end jobs and we’re sick of it. We want to get out there. People think that once you get signed its easy but it’s not like that, it’s a hard slog, the hard work has only just started. We knew it was going to be hard. It’s more of a mind fuck than anything. You’re playing to four or five hundred kids one night then you’re back in work the next day getting fucking moaned it. It’s a sickening contrast. Especially after the Devildriver tour which was an amazing tour then we had to go back to work and we were just miserable as fuck. We work really crap jobs to be flexible for this band but you have to put up with people talking to you like shit and you just want to turn round and say to people “do you know what I’ve been doing for the last two weeks?”.
Planet Loud – Okay guys, thanks for your time. Anything else you want to say?
Malefice – Thanks for the interview and we can’t wait to get out on tour again. We especially can’t wait to play in Malta again, that was an amazing experience. No bands play there and those kids are nuts!
Interview by Graham Finney
