Where are you currently based?
Billy: We are currently based in Melbourne, Victoria!
How did you first start playing music?
Billy: Lucas and I first started playing together in 2015 after meeting in high school. We quickly got talking about metal and rock bands that we liked and spent the next year or so writing songs together. In late 2016, we met John – I’d only met him briefly before, but heard he was a crazy good drummer that loved bands like Metallica and Slipknot. We all clicked instantly and began jamming along to Metallica songs. We started performing around late 2017, when we were all still underage, so we didn’t tell the venue how old we were so we could actually play shows!
Jordan joined on vocals in 2018 after we played at a friend’s party together, and just had instant chemistry as a group. I feel like that’s when the band as it is now really begun.
What’s been happening recently?
John: We’ve been super busy, just having come off a run of shows to promote our debut EP, Panic, which dropped in late July. That was a blast, and we got to play with a bunch of really cool bands. We also just dropped our favourite song yet and have been super busy behind the scenes recording our new project, which has been sick as!
Your latest single ‘I Watched You Fade Away’ is out now, what influenced the sound and song writing?
Jordan: I think we were all really falling in love with Deftones at the time, while that influence probably didn’t come out a lot in the final song, it definitely informed a lot of our stylistic choices. I really tried to be as candid as possible with the lyrics, drawing from personal experiences I was going through at the time regarding the symbolic loss of somebody close to me. I really used this track as catharsis for those feelings.
How did you go about writing ‘I Watched You Fade Away’?
Lucas: While ‘I Watched You Fade Away’ was recorded at the same time as ‘Panic’, it tells a different story, and in many ways, was the song that solidified our creative vision, and the direction we wanted to take musically. This was the first song we
wrote together after having spent years apart from each other due to COVID-19 lockdowns. Having already written the bulk of ‘Panic’ before COVID, we weren’t sure how we would go writing together after so long.
When we went in to record it with Chris Vernon, it occurred to us that this song that didn’t quite fit the theme and story we were hoping to tell with our debut EP. So, we decided to rewrite the song with Chris, and give it an independent release, to allow ourselves to explore a different narrative, delve into a more straight-forward approach to song writing, and narrow in on certain elements of our sound that we wanted to emphasise:
When and where did you record and who did you work with?
Jordan: We recorded the song at the same time as the rest of the EP. As it was written after the bulk of the EP, we wanted to release it separately, to present it as somewhat of an epilogue or a companion piece to the EP. Chris Vernon really helped us shape it towards the sounds we were experimenting with at the time, like a next progression to our sound and narrative.
How did you approach the recording process?
John: This song was the first one we wrote all together after the lockdowns here in Victoria. By that point, most of the EP had already been written, and it was the first song we’d written together in so long. When we were in the studio, we rewrote the
song with Chris Vernon, keeping the original chorus and bridge and adjusting a couple of sections to make it the best song it could be.
You’re playing at Stay Gold in Melbourne on the 18th of November, what can we expect?
Lucas: We’ll be giving ‘I Watched You Fade Away’ it’s official live debut, so if you’ve been loving the song so far, this will be a must. The show is celebrating the release of Suspyria’s new album; we’re super excited to play with those guys, we’ve been good mates with them for a while and they always put on a great show. We’ll also be playing alongside Ransom Revue and Harroway, which will be our first time playing with both those bands!
How do you prepare for shows?
Billy: We have a routine of catching up, planning, discussing our upcoming week, and playing together at least twice a week. That way, we feel confident and eager to get back on the stage each time.
Who are you listening to at the moment?
Jordan: Personally, I’ve been listening to a lot of Kacey Musgraves, Uyama Hiroto and Between Friends. On the metal/rock side of things, I’ve been listening to Movements pretty religiously. All of us have been loving Bad Omens, Holding Absence and the new Dayseeker album.
What do you like to do away from music?
Jordan: I try and go to the gym as much as possible, I love making beats and working on other music projects. My whole life really has something to do with music in some regard, so when I’m not doing music as a career I’m doing it as a hobby.
What’s planned for the remainder of 2022 going into 2023?
Lucas: We’ll be continuing to promote the new single, and playing a few yet-to-be announced shows! We’ve got plenty up our sleeve for next year, with even more new music on the horizon, so definitely stay tuned!
Favourite food and place to hangout?
John: Guzman Gomez slaps so hard. If I could eat one thing for the rest of my life it would probably be that.
https://www.facebook.com/Nthrdband
https://www.instagram.com/nth_rd/
