29th May, 2023

Your latest track, Deathtouch, is a step away from your previous work. After Dylan and Michael’s departure from the band, were you looking to reinvent Gravemind’s sound, or did it happen organically?

It’s hard to say what the ‘Gravemind sound’ is nowadays.. It’s developed so far since our early music and I feel that it’s just organically changing as we go.  Our personal interests are constantly changing and I guess it reflects in what comes out as we write! We don’t want to be boxed into writing a particular style of music and it’s really nice to have freedom to smash out whatever is flowing at the time! All that said, Deathtouch is just a small sample of what is to come from the new music!

How was the track received by the metal community?

I feel like it was received really well!  A lot of people enjoyed the harder lean towards clean vocals while others really didn’t, but overall people enjoyed it!

How would you personally describe Gravemind’s current sound?

It’s a tricky one, as I said, we kind of just write whatever we feel at the time. Some tracks are really heavy, while others are all about the feels. If I had to summarize it though I’d say its techy metalcore.

Now that you are back to 2 guitarists are there any plans to add a bass player to the band?

I guess you’ll just have to wait and see 😉

Why heavy music? What is it about this style and sound that attracts you to it?

For me it’s always been about the aggression of the sound – it’s a form of release. Maybe not so much a release of violence or anger, but a release of energy??
Something about listening to something so tough and aggressive just feels good on the soul for me.

How did you first discover and get into metal?

My dad used to listen to Metallica and similar bands when I was a kid, I really enjoyed it, but discovered heavier things when I was in school. I had older mates that would lend me CD’s to suss and discover what I liked. Death metal, black metal, power metal, and I guess I ended up liking bits of all of it!

Who were/ are your music heroes? Who inspired you to want to play metal?

My favourite band growing up was by far Slipknot. Watching Joey drum blew my mind he was definitely my teenage hero. The mystery of the band, and the masks just gripped me and their level of aggression was just insane!

Was there a defining moment that made you decide to play an instrument?

I can’t really remember the start, I just know I came home from school one day in year 1 and told my mum I wanted to learn Piano. A few years later I was at a friend’s house and their older brother had a drum kit. My friend showed me how to play a rock beat and immediately fell in love. I went home and told mum I wanted to learn drums instead. The deal was that if I stuck to piano for another year, I was allowed to learn drums, so I patiently pushed through and got there. I started learning drums when I was 10.

How did you learn to play your chosen instrument? Formal lessons, self-taught, online?

I did private drum lessons though my school for a year until my teacher moved away from the town I lived in (only a small town, so teachers weren’t in abundance)
I’d learned the fundamentals of playing and reading drum music at that point so decided I’d just teach myself from that point! I did a bunch of reading throughout school and town bands but most of my learning was by ear.

Were your parents supportive of your choice to play an instrument, and play in a band?

100% and I’m so thankful for it. I’m honestly surprised they didn’t lose it when I was watching Slipknot DVD’s and every second word coming out for Corey’s mouth was ‘fuck’ hahah! I had to work hard to save and buy all my own equipment etc, but they supported me and would help out my earlier bands wherever they could.

How often do you get to practice as a band?

We generally practice when we have upcoming shows and just do our own practice at home in between

How often do you practice your instrument? Is it playing along to songs, working on specific techniques, etc…?

I don’t practice as often as I’d like to or should, but when I do, it’s a mix of playing along to other bands of different styles of metal and drum n bass, playing along to Gravemind tracks, and then working on endurance exercises.

How are your songs conceived? From jamming ideas at practice, working individually, music first then words, etc…?

Our guitarist, Damon, is our main writer, and usually we get together in a studio with him and a producer and program some drum beats based on what he’s feeling at the time and he’ll throw down some riffs over that. If we have ideas, we can throw them in, but ultimately Damon makes the decisions on the writing, and it’s usually all in the studio, never jammed out.

What artists, old or new, are you listening to currently?

I listen to a bit of everything, but drum and bass and metal are my favs. Pendulum are one of my fav bands and they have some new stuff coming out soon which I’m real keen for! Soulless Hymns by The Last Ten Seconds of Life has recently been put back onto streaming services so I’ve been pumping that pretty hard lately

What have been some of your most memorable shows to date?

Good Things Festival in 2019 were probably some of my favs. The crowds were full of energy, particularly in Brisbane. Something about that one was just insane!
Otherwise, I played a show in like 2010 supporting Soilwork. It was one of my first international support shows and it was packed. I’ll never forget that one!

What jobs do you have when you aren’t playing with Gravemind?

I work in electronics engineering – data comms/internet stuff for a day job, and also shoot music videos for other bands on the side.

Is it hard to juggle work and a touring schedule? Are your employers ok with you taking leave to tour?

In the past with previous band and jobs it’s been extremely hard, but push made for shove and I hustled to make it all work. Now I’ve gotten myself into a flexible role/job where it’s easier and my currently employer is really supportive of hobbies and personal growth, so things are a lot easier now!

Worst touring experience?

Tour always has it’s ups and downs and usually lack of sleep or shitty sleep situations are the worst bit, but the worst experiences have been where gear has failed at big shows. My trigger rig wouldn’t work when I played the New England Hadcore/Metal fest in Worchester, USA with my old band Boris the Blade – that one hurt. But computer issues at Unify last year was probably the worst!

Who’s your bucket list artist to tour with?

Slipknot, hands down.

What’s the last show you saw that you weren’t playing at?

Northlane in Frankston.

What do you do in your free time? Hobbies outside of music?

I like playing video games, watching anime and I’ve always got some random project on the go. I love learning new skills so I’m usually building something or studying something online when I have time.

How did you get into the photography and video side of the music scene? Was it out of necessity in the beginning, or was it already a hobby before it became serious? Who have you worked with?

I’ve enjoyed playing with cameras since I was young and bought myself a DSLR like 10 years ago! I would just experiment with it here and there and took the odd photo for friend’s bands. A mate came to me one day and asked if I thought I’d be able to film a music video and I guess it just went from there.. It worked, then another friend asked and it’s been slowly snowballing since!
I’ve worked with Melancolia, Idiot Dog Brain, Zeolite, Bad Juju, Atlvs, Be’lakor, The Omnific, Bad Juju, and The Beautiful Monument!

Favourite holiday destination?

Anywhere warm with good food and good drinks where I don’t have to do anything haha

Specifically, what gear do you play/ use?

I’m endorsed by DW drums, Evans drum heads, Trick pedals, BSP sticks, Gorilla Snot stick grip and sE microphones.  I truly love all of their gear and am super thankful to have the support of these brands!
When it comes to cymbals, I’m honestly not too picky. I break them all the time and they’re mad expensive! So if it sounds ok and lasts, I’ll use it!

For kick triggering I use a Roland module and for my own tracking and writing I use Cubase. For our live shows, we run a Macbook with Reaper, a Behringer X32 interface and Sennheiser wireless transmitters.

I use Sony camera gear and edit with Adobe Premiere/After Effects.

Who designs your artwork for releases, shirts, tour posters? Do you use the same designer each time? Do you dabble in the design aspect yourselves?

We use different people for designs, but our go to designers are Logan Francis Gray / ThrashWolf designs – @thrshwlf and Kevin Ellis Moore – @softsurrogate

What companies do you use to produce your merch?

We print out merch through one of my best mates who I played with in Boris – Coby Chats at Aus Merch.

Thoughts on U18 venues/gigs?

I think they’re a great idea but don’t happen enough. I used to love going to see bands when I was younger. I just don’t see much of it happening anymore..

Cats – lovable family members or Satan’s spawn?

I’m definitely a dog over cat kinda person!

What does 2023 have in store for Gravemind?

The new album will finally be coming out, and we have an unannounced tour in the second half of the year, as well as a couple of small festivals and club shows!