1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
We’re based in Rochester in Kent UK which is about 40 miles outside London. We’ve been together for a couple of years now. We’ve released one Ep in April last year (No gods, No masters) and a single (Blood Red Sunset) and about to release a new record at the end of April. We play a mix of metal, sludge and hardcore with elements of a lot of other stuff. We basically want to play really heavy, aggressive music to the best of our ability and write good songs at the same time.
2.You have a new ep coming out in April, 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?
Our previous EP was a lot more straightforward that the new record. We were only a 4 piece when we recorded and had very little lead guitar on it. Also, the songs were faster. The new record is a bit slower, has more groove to it but also a whole load of lead guitar as we are now a five piece. It’s also heavier and in general the songs are a little longer with a bit less hardcore and a bit more metal. We also spent more time on this one in terms of recording and mixing and we also had it mastered by Audiosiege. As such it’s a bigger sounding record but hopefully we haven’t lost all the rawness of No gods, No masters
3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
A whole mixture if things. There are some traditional metal themes on there such as the end of mankind (The Bloody Noose) and individual's capability for selfishness and how that can manifest into destructive tendencies that harm others. Mouth of the Beast is about the rise of far right wing political parties in our home town and about how they prey on people’s fear and ignorance.
Death and Hell Followed With Him is a song that looks at, amongst other things, how the military exploits young, poor communities, trains them, sends them to war and doesn’t always support them when they come back.
Hopefully though, the lyrics are written in a way that if people aren’t interested in any deeper meaner they are still pretty cool to bellow along too!
4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Allfather'?
Basically, we thought it sounded 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’re finding the best shows we play are the ones without stages where we are closer to the audience. In the past we haven’t really had an approach to stage performance but we starting to try and have a more intense stage show. Very little gap between songs, keeping the energy up and the riffs heavy and not having too much silence. Sometimes that means me as front man forgetting to talk about merch, or new albums but we think it makes for a better show.
6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
We’re all have full time jobs and some of us have families so extensive touring is not something on the cards. We hope maybe later in the year to maybe do a few small ones. Show wise we have some lined up and we are involved in a competition to play Bloodstock in the UK.
7.The new ep is coming out on 'Static tension Recordings' are you happy with the support they have given you so far?
Yeah, really happy, The time difference between the UK and the USA sometimes causes a few issues but we cope.
8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of sludge, doom metal and hardcore?
The feedback we’ve had has almost been entirely positive actually. Now that’s probably because not many people have heard us and maybe with the new stuff coming out we will start to get negative feedback but not everyone is going to like us and that is something we are fine with, for now!
9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
Keep on writing music, hopefully play bigger shows, with bigger bands, maybe play a few festivals. Nothing huge but some steady progress. Whilst the record is coming out on Static Tension on the US we don’t have a UK label at the moment. That is something we would like to work towards in the future.
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?
Between us we pretty much like most genres of heavy music, everything from punk to black metal although not sure any of us cares much for that symphonic metal stuff so influences are numerous.
There are some brilliant bands in the UK at the moment. Bands like Harrowed, Venom Prison, Employed to Serve, Ithaca, The King is Blind are all doing amazing things. Slaves BC from the states are also getting a lot of plays at Allfather Towers. Another UK band, Mastiff, have just released an album called Wrank which is brutal and worth checking out if you like ultra heavy, sludgy hardcore. We use bandcamp to discover a lot of new music and have benefited from the recent Metalbandcampgiftclub initiative ( http://metalbandcampgiftclub.com/) , both in selling some of our records but also discovering new ones.
11.What are some of your non musical interests?
Families, dogs, friends, beer. The usual.
12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Hope people like the new record. Remember to be excellent to each other.
We’re based in Rochester in Kent UK which is about 40 miles outside London. We’ve been together for a couple of years now. We’ve released one Ep in April last year (No gods, No masters) and a single (Blood Red Sunset) and about to release a new record at the end of April. We play a mix of metal, sludge and hardcore with elements of a lot of other stuff. We basically want to play really heavy, aggressive music to the best of our ability and write good songs at the same time.
2.You have a new ep coming out in April, 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?
Our previous EP was a lot more straightforward that the new record. We were only a 4 piece when we recorded and had very little lead guitar on it. Also, the songs were faster. The new record is a bit slower, has more groove to it but also a whole load of lead guitar as we are now a five piece. It’s also heavier and in general the songs are a little longer with a bit less hardcore and a bit more metal. We also spent more time on this one in terms of recording and mixing and we also had it mastered by Audiosiege. As such it’s a bigger sounding record but hopefully we haven’t lost all the rawness of No gods, No masters
3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
A whole mixture if things. There are some traditional metal themes on there such as the end of mankind (The Bloody Noose) and individual's capability for selfishness and how that can manifest into destructive tendencies that harm others. Mouth of the Beast is about the rise of far right wing political parties in our home town and about how they prey on people’s fear and ignorance.
Death and Hell Followed With Him is a song that looks at, amongst other things, how the military exploits young, poor communities, trains them, sends them to war and doesn’t always support them when they come back.
Hopefully though, the lyrics are written in a way that if people aren’t interested in any deeper meaner they are still pretty cool to bellow along too!
4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Allfather'?
Basically, we thought it sounded 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’re finding the best shows we play are the ones without stages where we are closer to the audience. In the past we haven’t really had an approach to stage performance but we starting to try and have a more intense stage show. Very little gap between songs, keeping the energy up and the riffs heavy and not having too much silence. Sometimes that means me as front man forgetting to talk about merch, or new albums but we think it makes for a better show.
6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
We’re all have full time jobs and some of us have families so extensive touring is not something on the cards. We hope maybe later in the year to maybe do a few small ones. Show wise we have some lined up and we are involved in a competition to play Bloodstock in the UK.
7.The new ep is coming out on 'Static tension Recordings' are you happy with the support they have given you so far?
Yeah, really happy, The time difference between the UK and the USA sometimes causes a few issues but we cope.
8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of sludge, doom metal and hardcore?
The feedback we’ve had has almost been entirely positive actually. Now that’s probably because not many people have heard us and maybe with the new stuff coming out we will start to get negative feedback but not everyone is going to like us and that is something we are fine with, for now!
9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
Keep on writing music, hopefully play bigger shows, with bigger bands, maybe play a few festivals. Nothing huge but some steady progress. Whilst the record is coming out on Static Tension on the US we don’t have a UK label at the moment. That is something we would like to work towards in the future.
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?
Between us we pretty much like most genres of heavy music, everything from punk to black metal although not sure any of us cares much for that symphonic metal stuff so influences are numerous.
There are some brilliant bands in the UK at the moment. Bands like Harrowed, Venom Prison, Employed to Serve, Ithaca, The King is Blind are all doing amazing things. Slaves BC from the states are also getting a lot of plays at Allfather Towers. Another UK band, Mastiff, have just released an album called Wrank which is brutal and worth checking out if you like ultra heavy, sludgy hardcore. We use bandcamp to discover a lot of new music and have benefited from the recent Metalbandcampgiftclub initiative ( http://metalbandcampgiftclub.com/) , both in selling some of our records but also discovering new ones.
11.What are some of your non musical interests?
Families, dogs, friends, beer. The usual.
12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Hope people like the new record. Remember to be excellent to each other.
