PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
Thank you to all the guys from L Sol Tace for taking the time out to fill in this interview.
L Sol Tace are
Anton Swan – Vocals
Sam Wallace – Guitar
Neil Hester – Bass
James ‘Murph’ Murphy – Drums
What does L Sol Tace stand for?
Sam – “The sun is silent”, it’s taken from a book called “The Divine Comedy”
How would you describe the band?
Sam – Metal. Straight up metal. We’re inspired by a lot of different bands and genres within metal but what we do is pretty intense but it has a lot of groove to it too.
How did the band get together?
Sam – I moved to London back in 2000 and was in a few bands (Eves Dawn/Lachrymal) but for one reason or another they didn’t work out. I lived in Wales for a few years before that and I used to be in a band with Murphy and we had a massive connection musically.
When I heard he was moving to London I was thinking that we had to get a band together, it’s just got to happen. So when he arrived we met up, talked and then a week or so later had a jam to see how it went.
The first thing we wrote was the music to “Void Of God” and that’s when we we’re both like “Dude, we gotta do this!”
So we set out to find a singer and a bassist, we got some people in, that didn’t work out and then eventually we found Anton and Neil and completed the line up last August.
What has changed since you first started out?
Sam – ha! LOADS! When we first started we were rehearsing in the biggest shit hole ever for starters with crap gear. Thankfully that’s all changed now.
The line-up has changed also and we’ve gone from playing our first show in a pub (which was October last year) to being asked by Terrorizer to play a Grindhouse show, playing with bands like Xerath, Senser, TRC, Evile and now we’re about to go on our first UK tour with Abgott.
We’re also now working with Possessive Management and they are just beyond awesome!
Anton – Personally my vocals have changed a little since we started out (for the better I hope!) LST is the first band I’ve been main vocalist for, and I’m just glad the guys give me the space to write what I want to, which I think has helped my find my own voice.
It takes a little while for everyone in a band to get everything where it should be, once you get to the point where you think it couldn’t be any other way, that when you know you’ve got it right.
What are your musical influences?
Sam – For me, bands like Machine Head, Pantera, Fear Factory, Hatebreed, Lamb Of God, Slayer mixed up with a load of Grunge bands and Black Metal….bit of a mixed bag really.
Murph – I have a lot of influences, although not all of them come out in our music – I’m into Fear Factory, Machinehead, Slayer, LOG and like ideas from more progressive bands such as Tool, Meshuggah and Protest the Hero.
What equipment do you do us? – Any endorsements?
Sam – I use a Christian Olde Wolbers Signature Jackson, I LOVE that axe so much. One pick up (I ripped out the EMG and replaced it with a Bareknuckle Painkiller – kicks ass!), Volume and thats it….no tone pot just plug it in, crank it up and riff ha! I’m also using an EVH 5150 III amp and EVH cab and Famery cables. I’m endorsed by all these companies.
Neil – ESP Surveyor 5 & ESP MIV Basses, TC Electronic RH750 Head, Mesa Boogie Diesel Series 1516E Cabinet, Tech21 Sansamp Bass DI Deluxe Stompbox/DI, TC Electronic Polytune Tuner, Farmery Custom cables.
Murph – Drum Workshop Collector’s series drums, Gibraltar/Pearl hardware, Sabian AAX/HH cymbals. Seriously difficult to get endorsements if you use big brands!
Where do you see yourself/band in 5 years time?
Sam – Touring the world and playing festivals, that’s the aim anyways. It’s a long road ahead but after the crazy year we’ve had so far, hell knows where we’ll be this time next year let alone 5!….
I’m really excited as this is all I’ve ever wanted to do and it feels like things are starting to happen!
Murph – 5 years? Shit….I know what I want in that space of time. I’m aiming to have played shows in at least 10 other countries and to have got some airplay on metal radio shows all over the world.
I just want us to build as much as we can on what we have…3 albums? No pressure lads…!
Anton – I think some people forget that we’re young as far as bands go, and we’re only at the start of it. Hopefully looking back 5 years from now, I would like to be able to say I played every show like a fucking demon and it’s paid off! and I don’t mean in the money way.
How did your fans react to your Demo that is available on Itunes?
Sam – We never intended to release it in the first place haha! The demo, is a demo. We made it to get a gig that was it. It was because of the people coming to our shows asking for a cd…thats why it got released.
What kind of responses do you usually get from the crowd at your gigs?
Sam – Always get a great response, it’s pretty overwhelming sometimes especially when people come up to you afterwards saying how much they enjoyed it.
I think to some people we can be a bit too intense, but then others love the intensity of it and people keep coming back and back to gigs and the fan base is growing.
It’s quite hard sometimes because we’re not a thrash band, we’re not a deathcore band or a hardcore band we’re just out there doing our thing, being us and not following trends but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Murph – I can’t think of a gig where we haven’t yet had a positive response, which is very humbling and in some cases as Sam mentioned overwhelming. With a band like ours, where we’re out to please ourselves (musically!) and not necessarily the crowd, it’s been unbelievable.
Anton – I think over all it’s always been pretty good, but you always get one that doesn’t like metal bands that are “shouty” (it seems.) who I like to call Soft-Rockers!
Do you have a particular favourite gig that you have done?
Sam – For me, it’s gotta to be when we opened for Evile at The Garage in London. I have seen so many of my favourite bands play there over the years (Machine Head, Behemoth, Godsmack, Katatonia) and to get the chance to be up there ourselves, damn…. it was awesome!
Anton – I’m with Sam on this one, it was a really good show. Also I think it was great to see some younger faces in the crowd throwing us the horns, as it was the first time we’ve played to anyone under the age of 18.
A lot of them came and said hi to me after the show saying they had enjoyed it, which always makes a show seem ten times better to me even if only one person says it.
Are you looking forward to the tour this month with Abgott?
Sam – CAN’T WAIT!!! I’m sat here day after day wishing the time, I just want to get on the road and play places we’ve never been to before, visit Cities I’ve never seen and hopefully gain some new fans along the way.
We’ve played with Abgott before and have become good friends with them so it’s going to be good laugh touring with those lads.
Anton – We’re all tour virgins so who better to break us in than a band we all respect. I just hope they’re not taking us as food! If we’re not back in a week someone check please!
Any other tour dates planned for 2011?
Anton – we’re playing a Halloween Special at The Old Wharf in Birmingham on 29th of October instead of the London date off the Back To The Roots Tour which should be interesting!
Oh yeah! Here I am come! Baby! Did anyone say Betelgeuse 3 times?!
Sam – We’re playing with Generation Graveyard and One Fell Down in London on November 25th.
I’m a fan of One Fell Down, so I’m really looking forward to playing a show with those guys. I met them outside a Crowbar gig back at the start of the year; they were handing out CD’s,
I was totally drunk at the time and just kinda took it and slung it in my bag. The next day I put it on and really liked it. I got in touch with them and we’ve been talking for ages about doing a show together and finally its happening.
Its going to be a metal as fuck night that’s for sure! As for Generation Graveyard, haha, I love those dudes…..God help my liver though, I’m gunna need to bring a spare one that night I think!
How far along are you with your debut album?
Sam – We’re in the middle of finishing off writing. We have like 6/7 tracks so far and are looking to get some more finished by the end of the year.
Hopefully, the album will be out around Easter…..if all goes to plan.
What/who were the main influences for it?
Sam – Us, I know that may sound a bit weird but we just play what naturally comes out, we’re forever pushing ourselves and trying make everything new to be better than what’s been before which can only be a good thing in my eyes. Sure we have our influences but we wanna kinda stand out and just do our own thing.
Do you have a particular writing process for songs or is it different for each song that you come up with?
Sam – Each song is different… some songs take an instant to write others take months. “Void Of God” was pretty instant where as “Army Of Darkness” (not on the demo-ep but we play it live) took a while to finish.
Anton – I’ve smoked a 20 stack straight for just about every song I’ve written so far. I kind of like to stress myself out a little and see what shakes loose in my head.
Currently what is your favourite song from the album and why?
Sam – Until the album is finished its hard to say. “Void Of God” is my favourite though, I love how in your face it is, the vocals, the riffs, the drums….everything!
We’ve got a new song we’ve only recently started to play live called “Fall”, that’s got a lot of groove to it with a fast, almost thrash like ending and that’s becoming one of my favourites to play live. I’m really looking forward to how that comes out on the album.
What plans do you have for 2012?
Sam – Getting the album finished! That’s priority. After that, hopefully do another UK tour, maybe some shows in Europe and a festival appearance. I badly want to play Bloodstock and I think we’d go down well there.
Are there any messages that you would like to pass on to the readers?
Sam – Yeah, for those of you that have supported us, come to our shows, bought our merch and have helped spread the word about us….thank you soooo much! Actually, I can’t thank you enough.
If you haven’t checked us out yet then please do, you can download our ep from our Facebook page for free! Cheers!
Band links
http://www.facebook.com/LSOLTACE
http://www.youtube.com/user/LSOLTACE
My review of L Sol Tace EP
http://www.planetmosh.com/l-sol-tace-ep-review/
Abgott and L Sol Tace October Tour Dates
http://www.planetmosh.com/abgott-and-l-sol-tace-uk-october-tour/
