A few questions - interview with death/grind hardcore punk band from Australia - UNRAVEL.
Ave, can you introduce your band to our readers? – When was it founded and what style of music do you play etc.?
Unravel is a 4 piece death metal/grindcore/hardcore punk band from Perth, Western Australia that formed in late 2014/early 2015.
Where and under what conditions were you recording the new album? Who was in charge of sound, production and mastering?
The new album “Eras of Forfeit” was recorded by our good friend Cam Murphy of Opaque Audio between his studio and our rehearsal studio in the dead of our winter last year (June/July 2017), the studio got so cold at times that we had to track guitars under blankets and warm our hands on tiny electric heaters we’d brought from home haha. From there we sent the tracks to Taylor Young from The Pit Recording Studio (Twitching Tongues, Nails, Xibalba etc) for mixing and to Brad Boatright from Audiosiege (Integrity, Obituary, Converge) for mastering.
How many copies were released and which medium was used for this new edition (CD, digital, vinyl, cassette)?
Our Australian label Life.Lair.Regret. Records are pressing 200 copies of the LP on Orange with Aqua Splatter/100 copies on black and our a European label Testimony Records are pressing 200 copies of the LP on black/100 copies on red as well as 500 copies on CD. Digitally the record will be available everywhere through Bandcamp, Spotify, iTunes, Amazon etc.
Who is the author of the lyrics and how were they created and about what do the lyrics deal with?
The lyrics are usually written by either Shaun or James (both the guitarists and vocalists of the band) and primarily focus on social, political and ethical themes such as anti-racism, anti-capitalism, anti-religion, gender equality, pro-vaccination, environmental welfare and animal rights as the band is entirely comprised of members who identify with Veganism. Other than those themes occasionally the band does tackle the subjects of misanthropy, injustice and hatred of those who exploit for their own selfish purposes.
Who created the logo of the band, and who took care of the graphics and the website? What about you and social networks? Do you consider these things important?
Our current logo was created by Yuri Kahan (who has done work for Demilich, Mortician, Blood Incantation, Full of Hell, Tomb Mold, Gatecreeper and many more) and the graphics on our website are taken from out new album’s cover artwork painted by the legendary Dan Seagrave (Entombed, Dismember, Morbid Angel, Suffocation etc)
As far as social media networks go we think it is very important in this day and age because more and more obscure/underground bands like us are easily accessible and to find, as well as not only discovering the new bands and music but being able to communicate with them by simply sending a message or email. It has brought the underground heavy scene that much closer.
Which label did you choose for releasing your album and why this label? Are you satisfied by how your label represents you and takés care about you?
We have been working with our Australian label Life.Lair.Regret Records since we released our first demo because they share the same personal morals and ethics as us, and on top of that they are just as committed and hard working as we are to the heavy music scene in our country. Testimony Records in Europe contacted us in regards to releasing the new album but we are glad they did because from getting to know them they share our love and passion for old school death metal and very much like our Australian label they are committed/work hard just as much we do so it was a perfect match.
Which bands do you idolise and where do you get your inspiration?
Our influences include Slayer, Carcass, Terrorizer, Discharge, Entombed, Celtic Frost, Integrity, Sepultura, Anti-Cimex, Venom, Carnage, Ringworm, Grave, Death, Cro-Mags, Morbid Angel, Dismember, D.R.I., Unleashed, Mindsnare, Främtid, Napalm Death, Amebix, Master, Cryptic Slaughter, Earth Crisis, Rotten Sound, Bathory, Demigod, Bolt Thrower, Turmoil, Benediction, At The Gates, Chokehold, Autopsy, Merauder, Exhumed, Nasum, Entrails, Arkangel, Deicide, Left For Dead and many more.
Did you send your record to some Labels - which are the labels? How was the response?
We didn’t actually send our record to any labels because we already had 2 great ones who wanted to release it (Life.Lair.Regret. Records and Testimony Records), although we have worked with various labels over the years so it’s not out of the question for us to collaborate with any in the future if they wanted to work with us.
How many gigs have you played? Which type of gigs do you prefer, whether it's (clubs or festivals) and which of your performances would you consider as the best?
We have probably played around 100 shows since we first started (that’s including tours and house shows) and we personally prefer playing in clubs as we come from a punk/hardcore background where the energy and involvement of the crowd is just as important as the band playing so a club setting is perfectly intimate. Although we have played festivals before and they do have their fair share of fun and crazy antics like walls of death! The performances we consider the best are the ones we all come off stage feeling like we played the best we could and everyone watching us enjoyed our performance.
What about your plans for the future? What do you want to achieve with the band?
Our immediate plans for the future include an Australian tour for the new album next month with our friends Ill Natured (who have just put out of the best metallic hardcore records in Australia) as well as a Japanese tour in November with one of the biggest black metal bands ever and one of the most technical death metal bands ever which will be announced soon enough! Other than that we’ll most likely be back to writing for another album.
How and where can your fans contact you? Can you provide some contact information?
Anybody can contact us through our email unravelmetal@hotmail.com or by messaging our Facebook http://www.fb.com/unravelmetal or Instagram @unravelmetal
Thank you.
https://www.facebook.com/unravelmetal
https://www.facebook.com/testimonyrecords
http://testimonyrecords.bigcartel.com
https://www.facebook.com/testimonyrecords
http://testimonyrecords.bigcartel.com
