PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
UK metallers, AKKADIAN set loose brutal riffs loaded with atmospheric undertones. The rising crew have dropped their new single, Agenda – https://youtu.be/fqytOomc1EQ . With this in mind, we asked the band to introduce themselves:
•What is the full band line-up, who sings and who plays which instrument?
Danny Thurston – Vocals
Harry Newberry – Guitar
Florian Fize – Guitar
Chris Kontos – Bass
Aaron Wright – Drums
•How and when did the band form? Tell us anything interesting about your hometown.
Akkadian fully formed in Cambridge during the month of September, 2018. We all live and for the most part met in Cambridge too. It’s not very big, but it really is a beautiful place with so much history. Many successful people, particularly in science. Such as: Stephen Hawking, Isaac Newton, and David Attenborough – to name a few, have studied and lived in Cambridge. Pink Floyd and the famous photographer Mick Rock also have their roots in Cambridge too. So the bar is very high!
However, our origins do actually go back many years. Harry (Guitar) and I (Danny, Vocals) have been writing music together since we were around 15 years old and have known each other since Nursery (aged 3-4). Until recently, we never actively did anything with the songs we had written, due to educational and job demands. So we thought that we would just take it slow, get our qualifications, earn some money and spend our free time experimenting and developing our sound and song writing skills.
Finding the right people to complete the band took a lot of time. The first person we got on board was Chris, our Bassist. We put an ad on JoinMyBand.com to which he replied, sent us a video of him playing some Lamb of God tracks and the rest is history. Together, we then tried out multiple guitarists and drummers for months and months in a band practice setting, but it never felt right, nothing clicked. However, eventually we managed to find our Drummer, Aaron. Shortly followed by Guitarist, Florian – both also on JoinMyBand.com. All of which are incredible musicians and now good friends.
Our hometowns differ. Harry and I (Danny) grew up in a small town on the east coast of England called Lowestoft. The band “The Darkness” are also from this town. So growing up, we were surrounded by the stories of their rise fame. In addition to this, Gene Simmons of Kiss visited our deprived High School when we were around 13 years old. Along with Tony Iomi of Black Sabbath and Suzi Quatro (temporarily), to make a Reality TV show called “Rock School”. In the show, Gene created a rock band out of the High School students and took them to Los Angeles to perform live in front of thousands of people. We were too young to participate at the time, however it was definitely a contributing factor to our ambition of being in a band.
In our early twenties, Harry moved to Cambridge for University and I moved shortly after for work. It was here we decided to get the band started.
Chris (Bass) is originally from Greece, where he played in several bands of multiple genres of music. He then moved to Cambridge in 2017 to work as a nurse and to escape the economic crisis that Greece is facing.
Florian (Guitar) is originally from France and moved to Cambridge in February 2017 for work, after spending one year abroad in Sweden as part of an exchange with his university. He then wanted to carry on living abroad and UK was a natural choice to find a job as a Software Engineer, especially in Cambridge.
And Aaron (Drummer) has lived in Cambridge is whole life.
•When and how did the band really start gelling and solidifying?
We started gelling and solidifying once we had all the members that we have now, since September 2018. None of us doubt each others abilities, we balance each other out and we each bring the much needed value to the table.
•Who are your musical influences?
The list of individual member influences would be enough to fill an entire page. But collectively, we all share Gojira, Lamb of God, Tool and Slipknot as our main influences.
•Where did the name of the band come from?
The word “Akkadian” is actually the name of the first Ancient Mesopotamian Empire that existed between 2334 – 2154 B.C.
Years ago I (Danny) was just reading up on a bunch ancient civilisation and events, when I stumbled across the name “Akkadian” and thought to myself – “That would be a kick arse name for a Metal band” – We did have a bunch of names to choose from, but we liked the fact that it was a one word name and that is started with an “A”. Meaning it would appear at the top of the “Artist List” in people’s music libraries. To us it represents not only a piece of ancient history, but a motive of taking over, conquering and leaving your mark.
•Are you friends from school or any family relations?
Harry (Guitar) and I (Danny, Vocals) have been friends since nursery, so aged 3-4. We then went to the same schools and college as each other too. So, we’ve been pretty much joined at the hip all our lives.
•In your opinion, how is your band different from all the other bands out there?
The fact that we all have a very wide range of open musical influences really does help separate us from the rest. Our music doesn’t stick to one specific sound or genre for inspiration. We are always taking in and experimenting with new ideas from elsewhere, to then construct under the metal “umbrella” so to speak. Also, theme and brand wise, we are representing a mixture of ancient history/civilisations, with a psychedelic undertone, leading into inter-dimensional beings and spirituality. We believe that our music is very dynamic, aggressive and at the same time hypnotic. We are trying to induce an experience on people, something they can feel and remember.
•If a deaf person were to ask you to describe the sound of your music, how would you describe it?
Imagine walking through a desert sandstorm. Feel the wind and sand blasting against your skin; notice it’s speed and ferocity. Through the chaos, a hand reaches out towards you and you grab it. You are instantly teleported to a place of peace, standing beneath an ancient temple, surrounded by the overwhelming light of the stars of the universe. Where will you go next? Into the ancient temple before you? Back into the storm? Or further on, up into the stars? With our music, we hope take you through it all. Combining fast, hard hitting, groovy songs, with a hypnotic, psychedelic undertone. Themed around ancient history and inter-dimensional space travel.
•Where can we find your social media sites? Please include the URL for your Spotify artist page.
https://www.facebook.com/akkadianband/
https://www.instagram.com/akkadianband/
https://www.twitter.com/akkadianband/
https://open.spotify.com/artist/5m0Mom0hTaR7HpIYLigQdb?si=yEigmVatSOeMdJ6kjHt8nw
