PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
Evile Interview with Ben Carter & Ol Drake
Dave: First of all thank you for talking to Planetmosh.
Ben & Ol: thank you for having us!
Dave: Five Serpents Teeth, new album out of the 26th of September, Unfortunately I have only been able to listen to the previews on iTunes apart from “Eternal Empire” on your myspace, can you tell about the album?
Ben: Yeah, we started writing the material as soon as the touring cycle for Infected Nations was done, we wanted to use a lot of the elements from the first album and smash em together with elements from the second and hopefully create a bastard offspring of the two. We wanted to reign in the vocals a little bit, have bigger catchier hooks, less complicated guitar solos and bigger riffs but in a kinda way just simplify stuff so it gets in to peoples heads a lot better. There are a couple of tracks on the album which are the most commercial things we have ever done, we have a kinda ballad on there and we’ve got a big tune on there we call “Cult” and were hoping that this new way about thinking about song writing that we have learnt is gonna take us to new heights.
Dave: would you like to expand on that at all Ol?
Ol: I just think that with the second album we did a lot of things, I mean I love it for what it is but learnt a lot of what not what not to do….
Ben: WHAT?
Ol: It makes sense…
Ben: not what not what not to do????
[media-credit id=4704 align=”alignright” width=”800″]
[/media-credit]Ol: I mean we’d play the songs of it and they’d be like eight minutes long and you’d notice the crowd just stop caring, then we’d play some songs off the first album and they’d love it, then we started realising a formula of how people get in to things and just want to get more to the point and just have a riff and go yeah that’s a good riff lets just play it instead of doing stupid time signatures and just get to the point.
Ben: We noticed that a lot of our fans have got like two speeds and two directions, the know stop and go and they know up and down and when they are trying to head bang to something that’s in seven eleven or something time signature or whatever it is it makes it a lot more difficult than if you’re just gonna drill something into their heads that’s dead simple. So we thought why be overly complicated when you don’t need to be.
Dave: that does actually lead perfectly on to my next question, which is what was the writing process for Five Serpents teeth within Evile?
Ol: I think this time it was bit different as it was mostly individual at first as I’d write a riff and record a track on QBS just throwing it together then I’d show it to Matt or we’d take it into the rehearsal room then we’d all learn the riffs and the parts then we’d jam it and see if it worked and if it didn’t we wouldn’t use it or we’d change it, so I think it’s like one person has the idea, gives birth to it and then the rest of us bring it up.
Dave: so then you all put your chips in and see where it goes?
Ol: well we have always done that but this time it was a bit more like I’m gonna do all the work on this then show everyone and then what do you think kinda thing..
Ben: Yeah there was a general good feeling within the band going into the studio this time round as the material was fun to play even in the hardest parts of learning the most difficult bits of the most difficult songs it was still fun, it fun to go and rehearse, it was fun to work out the bits that sucked, the general feeling within the band is that one of we can’t wait to play these songs live as we know they are gonna be great.
Ol: I think we were more prepared as we went into the studio 99% knowing what we were doing, so we all just tracked our parts and that was it, I cant remember anyone going arggghhh!
Ben: Yeah nothing was a headache this time round, In terms of song writing everything went really smoothly, the only thing we were a bit unsure about was the lyrics weren’t written pretty much until we got to the studio but Matt excelled himself and he’s written some really great lines this time, it’s fantastic.
[media-credit id=4704 align=”alignright” width=”720″]
[/media-credit]Dave: Fantastic, so you have 19 dates announced one of which on the 2nd of October which is billed as “Special Show To Be Announced”, can you tell us what & where it is or maybe give us a clue?
Ol: Hmmm *looks over to PR* can we say anything about it?
PR from other side of the room: No it’s not been announced yet.
Ol: It’s gonna be close to home, errr it’s more of a err umm a homeish thing…
All: Silence then laughter!
Ol: It’s a return to our roots in a way!
Ben: We are trying to do something we’ve not done for a long time….
Dave: Ok question about festivals now, you’ve obviously played quite a few all over the place, do you have a favourite or a least favourite?
Ben: Ooooh
Ol: That’s not fair..
Ben: I think may favourite to date has got be Sonisphere last year as it was the biggest festival we’d done until that point in our career and I gave never seen a bunch of fans go as nuts or us guys sound as good on stage as then, so that for me will always have a special place as for me it was the pinnacle of what we have done so far since then we have done Download and that was great as well and then we have done Hellfest that was fantastic but for me that’s the best.
Ol: I loved Bloodstock but we didn’t play it this year so I am allowed to not say it this year, but Download was amazing, but I am sure Bloodstock will be my favourite next year…
All: *Laughter *
[media-credit id=4704 align=”alignright” width=”800″]
[/media-credit]Dave: Going back to last year, you spent just under five months in the USA and played 130 shows with just six days off?
Ben: Probably a few more due to vans breaking down..
Ol: Not really days off..
Dave: how did you feel when you came to the end of that run?
Ol: Numb…
Ben: It was nice to be home, put it that way as the territory out there is so much bigger than England, You’re travelling so much longer to get to shows at which you may be only playing 15 minutes. I remember on e show we got to we only played ten minutes as we arrived late and after travelling fourteen hours to get there, that’s really really hard to deal with..
Ol: and then leave and drive fifteen hours to the next place.
Ben: because of the distance involved the fee goes in the petrol tank, if you’re not selling merch out there then you can’t survive to be on the road it’s as simple as that, but that being said American bands seem to have got that down to a T, they know how to drag every last cent out of the fee to make it stretch so they can keep going and keep going and I think a lot of bands in the UK would have their eyes opened to that, you know they’d be blown away by that work ethic. We just had to run and deal with it.
Ol: I think the thing with the American tour we did was by the end of if you’re thinking I really just wanna be home whilst also loving it but as soon as I got home I was like I wish I was back in America touring..
Dave: so it’s catch 22 …
Ben: Definitely!
Dave: Question for Ol you took part in the Xbox live “Game with Fame” where gamers could play along with you, did you come across anyone who could play the songs better than you on the console?
Ol: Urrrmm Yes..
Ben: If you had asked me I’d have said yes everybody..
All: *Laughter*
Ol: I wanted to limit myself coz I did it on drums instead of a the guitar to be expected so there was a lot of people playing guitar with me or singing with me, there was one girl who did Ozzy Osbourne, not “did” Ozzy Osbourne but singing but she forgot to turn her mic down or something so all I had through my TV was her singing at me and it was the most hilarious thing but it was really fun, There weren’t many experts playing, I think most people were doing it for a laugh and they were playing medium or hard, I remember one or two experts I was watching them and going “what the fuck how’s he doing that!” there was one guy who want to play “Thrasher” with me for a laugh and was like “I bet you cant do this..!” and I was like “I bet you I can!”
[media-credit id=4704 align=”alignright” width=”720″]
[/media-credit]Dave: Tolson Museum in your home town of Huddersfield has included you in an exhibit about local music spanning back over 100 years called “Edison to Evile”, how did this make feel when you found out about it?
Ben: Very humbled, the exhibit is great and to be recognised in your home town as being something relevant that people can aspire to be like or take influence from is a great feeling to have.
Ol: It’s just bizarre to be considered to be part of something that is meant for the general public to just come and see..
Ben: Does that mean we’ve been kinda accepted in our home town?
Ol: Nah……*laughs*
Ben: We’ve never felt like that before..
Ol: It’s great but to walk in there I felt not in a bad way but I felt embarrassed like people are looking at our stuff.
Ben: it’s very surreal I’ve been going to that museum with my family since I was a kid coz I am bit of a nerd about that stuff I go to museum’s and art galleries and stuff like that and yeah walking into a room that I’ve seen an exhibit about wildlife in the tropics on in the Amazon and then oall of a sudden seeing our CD’s behind a glass cabinet and our old merchandise and pictures of us from way back when, it really really surreal.
Dave: so what sort of stuff have they got in there then?
Ben: they’ve got old posters from when we were a covers band and laminates from tours.
Ol: they’ve got the old demos we did which are signed.
Ben: They’ve got early recordings on little iPods that you can listen samples of.
Ol: Yeah you skip through all this music from through the hundred years or whatever and you got something really strange like the first ever recording of a women singing which is really grainy and strange and then our “Killer from the Deep” comes on…
All: *Laughter*
Ol: *still laughing *…Our contribution…..
Dave: ok we are on to the slightly umm silly questions now so sorry about these…
Ben: That’s fine!
Dave: have you ever caught yourself humming or singing a song you would consider embarrassing if so what was it?
Ol: All the time…probably Katy Perry which was today “California Girls” it just got in my head err also Lady Gaga…
Ben: I whistle the jingle from the advert breaks on Coronation Street..
Ol: What’s that?
Ben: it’s that stupid furniture shop advert, you know…*Starts singing the tune then continues* err yeah I ‘m just gonna shut up now…
All: *Laughter*
Ol: I always whistle the one, you know when Jeremy Kyle was sponsored by Bingo…
Ben: Yeah…
Ol: *starts singing* dada dada da daa…that one..
Ben: Yeah I know the one you mean…so yeah there’s loads of um..
Dave: if it’s any consolation one of our other journalists admitted to doing it to Take that’s “Relight my Fire”…
Ol: What doing “it”?
Dave: no singing it…
Ol: oh right….*laughs*
Dave: Ok last question from us and you are both gonna have to answer this you’re hanging off a cliff in one hand you’re holding Bruce Dickinson in the other hand you’re holding James Hetfield, as the weight becomes too much for your climbing equipment it starts to give way, to save Yourself you must let go of one of musics great icons, who would you drop?
Ben & Ol: How are we holding on to the Cliff?
Dave: Kinda like leaning over the edge, you know hanging down…
Ol: ahh ok, ummm *pauses* if I have too, I know Bruce Dickinson’s sons which is why this is really awful, I love James Hetfield more than I love Bruce Dickinson…
Ben: see in some kinda weird freakish heroic act I’d pull both of them up and throw myself off in like weird kinda forward roll kinda thing, I’d save metal for everyone by sacrificing myself…that’s what kinda guy I am…
Dave: But then we’d need a new drummer for Evile?
Ben: it’s not that hard, you just pick up some sticks and hit stuff…*laughs*
Ol: But the question was like you couldn’t pull them up….
Ben: But I probably could…
Ol: Then questions flawed then…
Ben: It depends if you could justify to each one why you were letting them go or saving them..
Ol: Yeah, I love “Master of Puppets” and I love “fear of the Dark” but…
All: *Laughter*
Ben: would say to each one how many bad albums they’d done..?
Ol: Nah..
Ben: Would that be influential in your decision?
Ol: Actually I am just gonna go with your answer…
Ben: but then we’d need a lead guitarist and a drummer….
Ol: *Laughing* is that the end of the interview?
Dave: Yes, it was actually my last question so thank you very much for your time.
Ol: Thank you sir!
Dave: and we’ll see you on tour!
Ben: You will indeed!
Evile’s third studio album “Five Serpents Teeth” is out on the 26th of September on Earache Records:
You can also read David Farrell’s review of the album here:
http://www.planetmosh.com/2011/07/evile-five-serpents-teeth-cd/
Evile will be touring the UK with the following dates:
Sep. 29 – London, UK – The Garage
Sep. 30 – Birmingham, UK – Asylum
Oct. 02 – Special show to be announced soon
Oct. 13 – Southampton, UK – Talking Heads
Oct. 14 – Brighton, UK – The Hydrant
Oct. 15 – Weymouth, UK – Kings Club Oct. 16 – Plymouth, UK – White Rabbit
Oct. 17 – Exeter, UK – The Cavern
Oct. 18 – Leicester, UK – Sub 91
Oct. 19 – Wrexham, UK – Central Station
Oct. 20 – Durham, UK – Live Lounge
Oct. 21 – Glasgow, UK – Cathouse Oct. 22 – Manchester, UK – Club Academy
Oct. 23 – Dublin, Ireland – The Pint
Oct. 25 – Stoke, UK – The Sugar Mill
Oct. 26 – Cardiff, UK – Bogiez
Oct. 27 – Reading, UK – Sub 89
Oct. 28 – Sheffield, UK – Corporation
Nov. 05 – Leeds, UK – Damnation Festival
Logo courtesy of Evile and Earache Records.
All photo’s courtesy of Ant May.
