Battalions
merge heavy brutal sounds with some catchy Stoner Rock riffs. It's a
common theme held within Moonburn, as Battalions will play a
ferocious riff and then lay down some good old fashioned rock and
roll to lighten the mood.
I
caught up with Phil (Vocals) from Battalions to discuss the recording
of the new album and working with Chris Fielding at Skyhammer
Studios.
Hi
Phil. Thanks for doing the interview. How are things with you today.
Hi,
thanks for giving us the interview! I’m doing very well thank you.
Can
you give a brief history of how the band came together and where it
is today.
Battalions
started in January 2010 as a reaction to myself (Phil) and our
original drummer being bored with the local scene in Hull and not
being in a band ourselves, we wanted to create a caustic bass heavy
sludgy band that Hull hadn’t seen for a long time. From there we
have had many line-up changes, with the core unit now being together
in various forms for around 4 years or so. Today we are the strongest
unit we have ever been, playing more shows than ever and having a
great time doing it!
We
here to talk about your new album – Moonburn. What can people
expect from this album.
Big
riffs, big enough to chew on! Haha. Short punchy songs, but with
enough bounce to get your head nodding, with harsh vocals to
juxtapose the riffs, bringing it all together in one neat package of
(what we think) are great songs and an album we are incredibly proud
of.
You
recorded this album with Chris Fielding over at Skyhammer Studios.
What was that experienced like. As we all know that Chris is an
amazing producer.
This
is actually the second time we have worked with Chris, and you’re
correct, he is an amazing producer! He is a perfectionist, so any
missed notes or anything played ever so slightly out, you’re doing
another take. But this is a great way to work, and helped us produce
the album we knew we had in us.
Was
this an easier or harder album to write and record for compared to
your last album.
They
were both written in different ways. Whereas ‘Nothing to Lose’
was more of a culmination of songs from the previous 5 years, picking
the best with one or two written for the album, ‘Moonburn’ was
consciously written as a set of songs to be an album, so we feel as a
whole collection of songs, it has a better flow and feel to it than
the previous release.
What
are the underlying themes of the album.
There
is no underlying theme lyrically on this album, again there are songs
influenced by movies, personal songs about state of mind, and songs
written tongue in cheek. As a band we never take ourselves completely
seriously, and this shows in the lyrics.
What’s
the song-writing dynamic within the band. Is it down to one
individual or is it a group collective.
It
always has and always will be a group dynamic, a lot of songs or
riffs are borne out of extended improvised jam sessions in the
practice room, rather than one person coming along and saying they
have a new song written.
Moonburn
is heavier and angrier than your last album with moments of heavier
Sludgier sounds. Was that the plan to release something different and
heavier compared to your last album.
There
was no set goal in terms of writing something heavier or angrier,
simply to write songs we would be happy to listen to and enjoy even
if we didn’t write them. As this album was more of an effort to
write songs for the album, I feel it definitely shows as a whole
sound for the album.
We
have plenty of gigs already sorted for the rest of the year and
beyond. Although we don’t have an extended tour specifically to
tour the album, the set consists heavily of new material, and we have
a couple of shorter runs booked, namely with Scotland's ‘Psychotic
Depression’ and California’s ‘Armed for Apocalypse’ in
November.
Does
Battalions have an advanced equipment setup when playing live or
recording new material in the studio. What equipment do you use to
get the trademark Battalions sound.
We’re
a simple 4 piece band set up, nothing out of the ordinary. Which is
nice as it means we can play anywhere and everywhere with ease!
Equipment we use is:
Mapex
Drums
Zildjian
K Dark Custom Cymbals
Orange
Amps
Laney
Amps
All
with big beefy sounds to bring a huge live sound!
Well
Phil, thanks for doing this interview. Before you go do you have
anything to say to your fans.
We
would just like to thank every single person who has ever listened to
us, caught us play a live show, bought any merch or simply
come and said hello and given us kind words about the music we play,
we love you all!!
All
the best with your new album. Such a fantastic and brutally heavy
album.
Thank
you! We enjoyed doing the interview, and thanks for such kind words.
Words
by Steve Howe and Phil Wilkinson
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