UK Doom/Sludge Rockers – Poseidon
– have just released their excellent debut album Prologue. The
first part of an epic narrative called The Medius Chronicle which I
will be discussing further in this interview with Raza Khan (Drums)
from the band.
Poseidon play an epic mix of
Doom/Sludge Metal riffs with a few more different elements to make
them stand out from the crowd. Newly signed to Ripple Music, Prologue
has been winning it's fair share of great reviews recently and it's
not hart to see why. You can read our review here.
I caught up with Raza recently to
discuss the formation of the band and how they signed to Ripple
Music.
Hi
Raza. Thanks for doing this interview. How are things with you today?
You excited for the release of your new album.
Things
are good thanks, very excited!
Can
you give a brief history of how the band came about and where it is
today?
Myself
and Matt Norris played in a garage band back in the early 90's, we
lost contact for 10 odd years but found each other again through
social media, our musical tastes had become pretty intertwined,
seeing each other at shows etc. Matt had always been an amazing
guitarist, so after I came back from touring with Orange Goblin as
their drum tech I asked him if he wanted to start something. We went
through a few line-up changes until we asked Matthew to join, we
originally had Roland Scriver (End Of Level Boss, Sloth, Serpent
Venom) on second guitar, but time and financial constraints meant
that he had to leave, this is when Matthew called In Jamie as they
had both played in Light Bearer. The rest is history.
What
can people expect with your new album?
As
a band, we all have quite different muses musically speaking, from
The Smiths and My Bloody Valentine right up to bands like Obituary
and Darkthrone, so there's aspects of all our influences right
through the album. We've tried to make sure that we've written an
album that extends beyond metal and incorporates our own tastes in
music without losing the heaviness.
What
are the underlying themes of the album? The album is the first part
of an ongoing narrative called The Medius Chronicle. That will
influence your future records. Have you got all these parts figured
out yet. As this is quite original within the Doom/Sludge/Stoner
Metal world. What influenced you with that particular story.
The
major theme of the album I guess is a message of hope. The lyrics
follow a narrative from the viewpoint of a civilisation much like
ours who have pretty much destroyed their own world resulting in a
complete collapse of society. The remaining populace form a community
to build an underwater society, but not everyone shares this ideal.
That's part one, Matthew has five albums worth of narrative.
I’m
very surprised that you are currently signed to Ripple Music. As
Poseidon is not their usual style of music. Did it surprise you when
they signed you to their label? As I thought you should be on a label
such as Black Bow Records, Season Of Mist and perhaps even Relapse.
As you have their kind of sound.
I
think Ripple took a gamble with us for sure, but the fact that we're
not on any of these labels isn't necessarily a bad thing. The Ripple
roster has quite an eclectic mixture of music which caters for every
gormandizer of heavy, whether it's Stoner, Doom or good old Rock &
Roll. Case in point was Poseidon touring with Mothership in
June/July, you couldn't get two more different bands, but it worked
so well...
How
did you hook-up with Ripple Music? As I’m a huge fan of their work
and the quality of bands they sign in general.
Ben
Ward (Orange Goblin) is a very close friend of mine, we were
discussing labels one night and he sent out our band camp demo to
Todd. Todd got back to him pretty much straight away and we went from
there. The quality of the bands Ripple sign has a lot to do with
Todd's ear for music. I haven't heard one release from Ripple that I
haven't liked, which I think is testament to Todd and Pope's love for
the scene.
Did
you have any other record label offers to release the album?
No,
Ripple was the first one we approached and the first one to offer us
a deal.
What’s
the song-writing dynamic within the band? Is it down to one
individual or is it a group collective.
OK,
so Matthew starts with the idea and the bare bones of the riffs and
melody. We then get together and thrash it out from there, the
lyrical content is all down to Matthews ideas, he already has at
least 5 albums worth of lyrics to put to music.
Is
Poseidon your main band? Are you involved with any other
bands/projects you like to tell us about.
Matthew
and Jamie are always doing other stuff, Matt and myself are both
fathers so aside from the band stuff and work, our time is spent with
our kids. There's just no time for anything else.
What
have your been high points and low points being with your musical
career in general.
Luckily
we haven't had any low points, the highs are pretty numerous such as
playing Desertfest, Bloodstock Festival, touring with Orange Goblin
last year, touring with Mothership this year and we've just confirmed
two shows with Saint Vitus this October. The reception we've received
for our record has been the highest accolade of all though.
Looking
back on your musical career so far, is there anything that you would
change. Or any funny stories that have happened on your musical
journey.
I
think we've done everything right so far, so there isn't anything we
would change. That isn't to say that the low points aren't in the
post, that's part and parcel of being in a band I guess. The funny
stories will have to wait, our loved ones will read this!
Will
you be doing any extensive tours for the new album? Any festival
appearances coming up this year.
We've
only just put one tour to bed, and we're concentrating on writing the
new album. There are a few tentative festival appearances this year,
but we're going to hit them hard next year, hopefully with a new
album in tow.
Before
you go, do you have anything to say to your fans?
Stay
in school, listen to Sabbath everyday, don't be dick and thanks for
all the love and support x
Words
by Steve Howe and Raza Khan
Thanks to Richard at Sheltered Life
PR for arranging this interview. Thanks to Raza for doing this
interview. Prologue is available to buy on Ripple Music now.
Links:
