Osmium Guillotine Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording and release of the new album?

Mainly gigging! Getting out there and playing to new people to help promote the album. We also played a special show to celebrate the 5th anniversary since the band’s formation in June 2014 and recorded the whole set which we plan to release as a live album later this year. We’ve also had a few radio appearances and have the recordings from an on-air live session which we’ll also release very soon.

2.In June you had released a new album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

I’d always just consider it ‘traditional heavy metal’, obviously inspired primarily by the 70’s and 80’s, there’s elements of thrash, doom, punk, folk… It’s hard to really pigeonhole the album to one genre, as I think it differs from one song to the next.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the new release?

The lyrics range from serious topics involving war (Such as Martyrdom and D-Day) and the current state of the country (City of Chaos), to more tongue-in-cheek fictional/fantasy stuff (Like in Goomba and Hobgoblin). Another song (Phobophobia) is all about the fear of fear itself, which is a genuine phobia.

4.When I listened to the new album it had a pure 80's metal sound but had more punk and classic rock than what those bands where doing back in those days, do you feel this makes you stand out?

Hopefully so, I personally listen to a variety of styles of music both in and outside of the metal/rock genre, collectively as a band we all have different tastes so I think that all comes into play when writing music. I find it more interesting to challenge ourselves as a band and keep doing something a little different from the last. If we write a fast thrashy song, we’re quite likely to follow it up with something a bit slower and doomier.

5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?

In the past we’ve played alongside the likes of Dennis Stratton and Blaze Bayley (former Iron Maiden guitarist + vocalist respectively), so obviously being a massive Maiden fan those shows were great fun. It’s hard to really describe our own stage performance, I’d say we just like to go up there and have fun with it, although we take the music seriously we still like to have a laugh, I think an audience can always tell when the band doesn’t look like they’re enjoying it, and it makes the crowd enjoy it less as a result. I love playing live so I’m always happiest when I’m rocking out onstage!

6.Do you have any live shows or tours lined up for the new album?

As I mentioned we played a bunch of shows around the time of the album release, we’d love to do a full proper UK tour but we need to work out a viable way to balance it around everyone’s jobs! (Unfortunately we’re not in a position where we can make enough money from just playing music!).  Our bass player, Dan Thurgood, is unfortunately having to leave the band at the start of September as he is relocating up North and unable to continue writing and rehearsing with the band, so we’re taking a little break from gigging until we can confirm a new bass player and get them up to speed on the new material, but of course once that’s sorted we intend to be back gigging more than ever!

7.The new album came out on MGR Records, can you tell us a little bit more about this label?

Yeah it’s a label set up and run by Peter Ellis (Vocalist of the band Monument), it’s still a relatively label set up to help and promote the ‘British Metal Revival’ bands, like ours, playing traditional heavy metal!

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of metal?

We’ve had really positive reviews and great feedback from our fans which has been awesome. We’ve also had a lot of merch orders from overseas, so it’s great to know that people out there in the world are discovering us and digging what we do! Hopefully we’ll eventually be able to get out and play some gigs abroad, that would be great.

9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

Well, who knows! Obviously we’ll still be primarily traditional heavy metal but I’m always open to injecting some new styles into anything we do. One of our more recent songs we’ve written is our longest to date and has a bit more of a progressive edge to it, and Pete has recently written a song which has a more darker lyrical tone than any we’ve done before.

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?

Influences would include the obvious ones such as the likes of Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Saxon, Motörhead, Megadeth, Metallica, etc… Nowadays I tend to find myself listening more and more to bands who we’ve gigged with or I’ve seen locally, check out Kaine, Yak Attack, Death Ape Disco, Earthmass, Austere, Herida, Three Thrones… And I suppose I should give a cheeky plug to my ‘other’ band, The Tickturds!

11.What are some of your non musical interests?

That’s quite a hard one to answer as most of the stuff I do is related to music!

Obviously I enjoy movies and beer (as some of the lyrics in our songs would tell you!), and also in true ‘Bruce Dickinson’ style I’ve actually taken a few flying lessons in the past which is certainly something I’d like to get back into.

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts? 

Thanks to everyone for taking the time to check us out and reading this interview, keep supporting local and underground music by attending your local venues and buying merch as that’s the future of music! And we hope we’ll see you at a venue in the near future!