1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band? We are XII Boar (pronounced ‘Twelve Boar’) from the small town of Aldershot in the south of England, UK. We play no bullshit, straight to the point, adrenaline-fuelled metal n’ roll. We're a three-piece who all met a while back through a mutual love of metal, boozing and 90’s wrestling. Having jammed together in a few bands for a number of years, it wasn't until around late 2010 that we got it together and formed the band you see today. Since then it’s just been going from strength-to-strength and we've been making serious waves in the stoner scene.
2.So far you have released a 7 inch and 2 ep's how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on all of the releases and also how do they differ from each other? Musically I’d say we’re a catchy blend of punishing southern-fried grooves, intense thrashing energy and low down dirty riffs. Basically, pure unadulterated fun. We’re not ashamed to play music that makes you want to get up and enjoy yourself. There’s far too many ‘serious’ bands out there who wouldn't dream of playing anything other than blast beats and songs about their ex-girlfriend. Our first EP ‘XII’ was a good indication of our roots; metal, thrash, stoner, groove. The production is raw and the songs are frantic, but in the best kind of way. I think it wasn't until our second EP ‘Split Tongue, Cloven Hoof’ that we really hit our stride. We stepped everything up ten notches – song writing, production, lyrics. It definitely helped shape how the XII Boar sound can be described as today. Recently we released the 7” single ‘Truck Stop Baby’ which continues the precedent we set ourselves. It follows a more traditional hard rock structure but with a mammoth groove and swagger, which is definitely the direction we’re headed with our future songs. We’re actually just about to head into the studio to record our debut LP, which will blow your minds, trust me!
3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music? Jeeez, well where do we start?! Obviously we've got songs about sleazy girls and hard liquor, but we've also got songs about Mayan prophecies, flying snakes and three-eyed monsters! We’re not limiting ourselves to one area, each song definitely is a journey unto itself.
4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'XII Boar'? The name XII Boar is basically derived from a 12 bore shotgun. But because we’re clever we used Roman numerals and a wild pig. You could read into it and say that the name reflects the power and ferociousness of our music, but really it just sounds cool.
5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance? We really pride ourselves on our live performance, we've always considered it to be a ‘show’ and at a show people want to be entertained. We see so many bands who just stand still on stage and play their songs one after another, it’s just lame! Our mentality is that if we’re enjoying ourselves then the audience will, and if we’re jumping off drum risers, spinning across the stages and tearing it up like a motherfucker every night then we can’t lose. We recently supported Corrosion of Conformity at The Underworld, London which was immense! It’s incredible to be able to share a stage with some of your idols, so we certainly brought our A-game that night. Other highlights have got to be Bloodstock 2013 and Hard Rock Hell 2012, but some of the best shows are usually the ones that you think will be the worst. Viva la Scunthorpe!
6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future? Plenty! In a couple of weeks we’re travelling across to Germany to support the mighty Crowbar, which we cannot wait for! Then in early September we’re flying out to both Spain and Norway to make our mark over there. Beyond that we’ll be ploughing through the UK scene making booties shake all over the place.
7.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest? We certainly are, as previously mentioned we’re about to go into the studio to record our first full-length album so we’ll be looking for a label to put it out. We've had some interest already but we’re not jumping the gun just yet…
8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of stoner, sludge and metal? The response has been amazing really. Right from the get go, we had people downloading, reviewing and listening to our music from all over the globe. We constantly ship out merchandise to countries beyond our own and to now be invited to these places to play a live show is just a dream come true. I think our sound appeals to quite a range of music fans; the stoner rockers like our fuzz and grooves, the metalheads dig our aggression and double kicks, the oldies like our banter and 70’s rock vibes – the feedback we get is constantly great, even my Mum likes it!
9.When can we expect a full length and also where do you see the band heading into musically during the future? The full length is written it’s just a matter of recording it, which is happening mid August this year. Once it’s done we’re aiming to have it released by the end of the year. This album has it all really, everything you’d come to expect from XII Boar and more.
10.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays? Well we’re definitely influenced by stuff like Sabbath, Crowbar, High on Fire, Clutch, Deep Purple, ZZ Top, The Sword - but we all grew up listening to metal of some description. We’re not really limiting ourselves to taking influence from somewhere though, I mean Tommy listens to a lot of reggae and hip-hop whilst I like my death metal and doom. As long as it floats our boat in some way then we’ll give it a listen.
11.What are some of your non musical interests? Our shared interests include - jazz mags, weight lifting, swearing loudly, Co-op pasties and bigfoot.
12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts? Cheers for all the support, check us out on FB www.facebook.com/xiiboar and come say hi at a show. Peace!
2.So far you have released a 7 inch and 2 ep's how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on all of the releases and also how do they differ from each other? Musically I’d say we’re a catchy blend of punishing southern-fried grooves, intense thrashing energy and low down dirty riffs. Basically, pure unadulterated fun. We’re not ashamed to play music that makes you want to get up and enjoy yourself. There’s far too many ‘serious’ bands out there who wouldn't dream of playing anything other than blast beats and songs about their ex-girlfriend. Our first EP ‘XII’ was a good indication of our roots; metal, thrash, stoner, groove. The production is raw and the songs are frantic, but in the best kind of way. I think it wasn't until our second EP ‘Split Tongue, Cloven Hoof’ that we really hit our stride. We stepped everything up ten notches – song writing, production, lyrics. It definitely helped shape how the XII Boar sound can be described as today. Recently we released the 7” single ‘Truck Stop Baby’ which continues the precedent we set ourselves. It follows a more traditional hard rock structure but with a mammoth groove and swagger, which is definitely the direction we’re headed with our future songs. We’re actually just about to head into the studio to record our debut LP, which will blow your minds, trust me!
3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music? Jeeez, well where do we start?! Obviously we've got songs about sleazy girls and hard liquor, but we've also got songs about Mayan prophecies, flying snakes and three-eyed monsters! We’re not limiting ourselves to one area, each song definitely is a journey unto itself.
4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'XII Boar'? The name XII Boar is basically derived from a 12 bore shotgun. But because we’re clever we used Roman numerals and a wild pig. You could read into it and say that the name reflects the power and ferociousness of our music, but really it just sounds cool.
5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance? We really pride ourselves on our live performance, we've always considered it to be a ‘show’ and at a show people want to be entertained. We see so many bands who just stand still on stage and play their songs one after another, it’s just lame! Our mentality is that if we’re enjoying ourselves then the audience will, and if we’re jumping off drum risers, spinning across the stages and tearing it up like a motherfucker every night then we can’t lose. We recently supported Corrosion of Conformity at The Underworld, London which was immense! It’s incredible to be able to share a stage with some of your idols, so we certainly brought our A-game that night. Other highlights have got to be Bloodstock 2013 and Hard Rock Hell 2012, but some of the best shows are usually the ones that you think will be the worst. Viva la Scunthorpe!
6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future? Plenty! In a couple of weeks we’re travelling across to Germany to support the mighty Crowbar, which we cannot wait for! Then in early September we’re flying out to both Spain and Norway to make our mark over there. Beyond that we’ll be ploughing through the UK scene making booties shake all over the place.
7.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest? We certainly are, as previously mentioned we’re about to go into the studio to record our first full-length album so we’ll be looking for a label to put it out. We've had some interest already but we’re not jumping the gun just yet…
8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of stoner, sludge and metal? The response has been amazing really. Right from the get go, we had people downloading, reviewing and listening to our music from all over the globe. We constantly ship out merchandise to countries beyond our own and to now be invited to these places to play a live show is just a dream come true. I think our sound appeals to quite a range of music fans; the stoner rockers like our fuzz and grooves, the metalheads dig our aggression and double kicks, the oldies like our banter and 70’s rock vibes – the feedback we get is constantly great, even my Mum likes it!
9.When can we expect a full length and also where do you see the band heading into musically during the future? The full length is written it’s just a matter of recording it, which is happening mid August this year. Once it’s done we’re aiming to have it released by the end of the year. This album has it all really, everything you’d come to expect from XII Boar and more.
10.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays? Well we’re definitely influenced by stuff like Sabbath, Crowbar, High on Fire, Clutch, Deep Purple, ZZ Top, The Sword - but we all grew up listening to metal of some description. We’re not really limiting ourselves to taking influence from somewhere though, I mean Tommy listens to a lot of reggae and hip-hop whilst I like my death metal and doom. As long as it floats our boat in some way then we’ll give it a listen.
11.What are some of your non musical interests? Our shared interests include - jazz mags, weight lifting, swearing loudly, Co-op pasties and bigfoot.
12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts? Cheers for all the support, check us out on FB www.facebook.com/xiiboar and come say hi at a show. Peace!
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