Having binned my label off, I still love to trawl Bandcamp for new music, so when Allfather bust out of the speakers I was into straight off the bat. So, why not use the blog to shout about new bands, and hear what they have to say? Have a listen, check out the little review, and read what they have to say.
What do I think of them? Basically, take the best Black Sabbath riffs, add in a crunchy metallic hardcore stomp, with a punk boot to the throat, and you’re somewhere there. A real melting pot of ideas. If you’re looking for that lazy pigeonhole, then I guess the easiest comparison to make would be Hang The Bastard, who like their peers Crowbar, easily cross the divide of metal and hardcore. Allfather wear their influences on their sleeves, they’re not re-inventing the wheel, it does what it says on the tin, but it does it really well. So head over to Bandcamp, and if you like what you hear, chuck a few quid in the pot and have one less spiced pumpkin latte or whatever bullshit people drink these days. Headbang, raise a fist or go wild and do a Bushwacker in the pit!
First up, how did you get together, and what’s the idea and influences behind Allfather?
So, Andrew (guitar) and I started talking on Twitter because we both had some love for Vision of Disorder, we both lived on the Medway towns and our kids went to the same school.
Both of us had done some (not a lot) band stuff before, and not for a long time, but felt time was running out for us and wanted to do some thing loud and obnoxious before we ended up in our 40s. We got a bass player, wrote a couple of tracks and 5 drummers later we ended up as a four piece, wrote the EP, and recorded it at Son of Sun. As soon as we released it, we found our second guitarist Alan.
The idea behind the band was something that covered metal, sludge, doom and hardcore and write some catchy songs that were also heavy and a bit violent. Lyrical wise politics play a big part, but we try to avoid being too soapboxy. There is a certain element of having an outlet; anger and frustration at the world we live in and our kids are gonna grow up in. Every now and again we try and get some hope in there as well. Not always easy!
Influences wise is pretty much anything related to metal or hardcore. We are conscious we wanted to keep a fairly sludgy/hardcore sound, but didn’t want to be limited by genre although to be fair we are unlikely to ever stick a ska section in one of songs. Andrew (who initially wrote the majority of the songs) was listening to a lot of Down, Iron Monkey, Nails, His Hero is Gone and Grief. He wanted to try and make those elements work together, without it sounding like a mess.
How are you finding the avenue of using Bandcamp to get your music out and about? Do you prefer the direct route to potential listeners, rather than the traditional way via reviews in zines/magazines etc?
Bandcamp (and in fact internet as a whole) is what makes this band possible. The fact the EP has had over 1700 listens just wouldn’t have been conceivable 18 odd years ago (last time I did a band). In the same way, being able to build up a fan base using BC in conjunction with Twitter and Facebook means, so far, we haven’t had to rely on PR etc.
Sweet t-shirt designed by our very own Joe
What’s happening with the band right now, any plans for touring? I see you’re currently in the studio, so new music on the way is a good omen!
Currently we are looking for a new bass player, but have some local and south east shows coming up in November. We have just recorded our new EP. It’s five more tracks. To get all cliched here, it’s more of a progression than the first EP with Alan influencing it more. We kept the hardcore elements of the first, but there are more sludgy, doomy and straight up metal stuff going on as well. We’ve recorded with Jason at Son of Sun again and taken a bit more time on it. It is currently getting mixed and we can’t wait for the outcome. We also took advantage of a free studio day at Magpie Studios in Ashford and recorded the first song we wrote. That will probably come out first, whilst we see if we can get any label interest on the new EP, failing that, we will self-release it in the New Year.
Any shout outs, bands we should be listening to?
Band wise seems to be a load of good UK metal stuff going on at the moment. We recently played with Venom Prison and were totally blown away. So much other good music at the moment, and a load of it is UK stuff. Employed To Serve, Ithaca, Black Tongue, Harrowed, Jotnaar, King Is Blind, Hammerborn, Iron Witch and OHHMS. Kieron, our drumme,r also drums in Unholy Majesty so looking forward to their new record as well.
Hope that isn’t too much waffle. Appreciate the opportunity, and thanks for the support you’ve given us so far.
Tom (and the rest of Allfather)