photo : Scott Kaufman
26th May, 2023
RUN’s new song, Everyone’s Cancelled, Everything’s Cancer, is brutally vicious and has you spitting straight venom. Is this what we should expect from new material going forward, or was this a therapeutic release to clear the last few years out of your system?
The latter. RUN began as a much more emotional and introspective outlet, but this song was written to purge all the yuck of the pandemic/my brain cancer era from my system. Moving forward, things won’t be so pointed and outwardly aggressive.
How would you personally describe RUN’s current sound?
Post-blackened metalcore. I created the project to mix some of my favorite sub-genres together in a way that I didn’t really hear being done by any other bands. The newer material is leaning much more into metalcore, but still very much embodies the blackened sounds and epic feel of post-metal.
As the long-time host of JJJ’s The Racket, you get to interview a lot of metal heavyweights. Who are some of your personal favourite guests? Any bucket list interviews for you?
Ozzy Osborne and Rob Halford are up there. I would still very much love to interview Lars Ulrich and Oli Sykes.
Why heavy music? What is it about this style and sound that attracts you to it?
The catharsis of it. I discovered heavy music around the same time as I started to realise the world wasn’t quite the way I’d been raised to believe it was and it was very relieving to find a whole community centered around a creative outlet that expressed a lot of the same feelings.
How did you first discover and get into metal?
I didn’t realise what it was at the time, but the 1986 Transformers: The Movie soundtrack was definitely my first metal love. The Queen of The Damned soundtrack opened my eyes to the world of nu-metal and it all flowed from there.
Who were/ are your music heroes? Who inspired you to want to make metal music?
Converge, The Ocean, Misery Signals, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Rosetta, Dark Tranquillity, The Black Dahlia Murder, I Killed The Prom Queen, and Parkway Drive are all bands that inspired me deeply once I had moved on from nu-metal that still continue to inspire my approach to making music to this day.
Was there a defining moment that made you decide to become a vocalist, or was it out of necessity for a band?
I was the drummer in my first band originally. We recorded a demo and needed a vocalist because I couldn’t afford a decent drum setup so it went from there.
Do you play any instruments?
As a child, I was classically trained in piano and then trumpet, and then I taught myself drums and finally started screaming, but all that other stuff laid the foundation for my understanding of music.
How did getting the touring gig in Thy Art Is Murder come about?
My first proper band used to play local shows with Andy Marsh (Thy Art guitarist) early bands, so we went back a long way. He asked me to audition after CJ quit, so I tracked some demos and then waited months to be told they’d given the gig to an American guy. After one week of touring with him they decided he wasn’t a good fit socially, and hit me up to come to the USA the following week to complete the tour, so I jumped on a plane and went straight into it without a single rehearsal. The first few shows were rough.
What other bands have you been in, and when?
Western Decay – vocals (2005-2008)
Mischief – drums (2006)
The Surrogate – drums, vocals (2007-2010)
Nuclear Summer – vocals, keys (2009 – 2013)
Colossvs – vocals (2014 – 2017)
Along the way I have performed as a fill in vocalist for a number of other bands such as Thy Art Is Murder, Psycroptic, Cross The Lips of Grace, Dead Kings, Marathon and Brazen Bull.
Performing metal vocals is an art form in itself. How did you learn to scream? Did you work on different techniques and styles, try to emulate the people you listened to…?
I began by recording demos in my bedroom over the top of songs I liked. The first two were Throwdown – Forever, and As I Lay Dying – Forever. I think I thought it was funny that they had the same name or something. I also sang in the high school choir in high school, and playing the trumpet gave me a great foundation for technique and projection of air. The rest I just did by getting up there and doing it.
Were your parents supportive of your choice to play music, and play in a band?
My parents were responsible for getting me an early musical education, but were not impressed by my abandoning of that in favor of heavy metal. As they saw that heavy music had provided me with a community, employment, and opportunities to see the world they gradually became more accepting and supportive.
How often do you get to practice as a band?
When we have shows coming up, once a week usually, twice if needed.
How often do you practice your vocals?
Outside of band practice, almost never.
What vocal warmup techniques do you use, if any?
I like to sing and hum arpeggios while sipping warm tea or water. Pushups. Let out a couple ripper screams before I get on stage to bust off any cobwebs.
How are RUN songs conceived?
The first time around Mike Deslandes and I would basically map out drawings and notes of songs to illustrate how they would flow and what they would sound like and he would go away to write parts and we’d build it from there. Now that he is no longer involved and the blueprint for the sound exists it’s more like our guitarists Arron and sometimes Lewis will come up with parts and present them to us to arrange or sometimes even bring full songs to the table that we whittle into shape from there.
What artists, old or new, are you listening to currently?
Lately I have been listening to the new material from The Ocean, The Amity Affliction, Liturgy, Cattle Decapitation, Sleep Token, HEALTH, and The Acacia Strain.
What have been some of your most memorable shows to date?
With RUN specifically – playing with Darkest Hour in Melbourne, Dark Mofo in Hobart with Katatonia and Black Sheep Wall. Overall though, the European festival circuit with Thy Art, India with Psycroptic, and South East Asia with Nuclear Summer were all a good time.
What jobs do you have when you aren’t playing with RUN? I do my JJJ radio show, I work for festivals like Dark
Mofo and Into The Fall, and recently started booking tours for the promotion company Destroy All Lines.
Worst touring experience?
Colossvs did an Australian tour with Birds In Row once, and while it was a good time and some of the shows were rippers, a lot of them were real small bummers that made me question the sacrifices made in order to play them.
What’s the last show you saw that you weren’t playing at?
Emperor and The Amenta @ The Forum in Melbourne.
What do you do in your free time?
I spend lots of time at home with my wife and our vast family of pets and plants. I also like to play Xbox, go for bush walks, and train Muay Thai.
Favourite holiday destination?
Toss up between the American East coast and
South East Asia.
Last year you took on cancer again and beat it. How is your health now?
I am healthier than I have ever been. I party way less, eat way healthier, and exercise more than ever.
What toll has the battle taken on you mentally and physically? Do you think it has made you more determined to make RUN a success?
It obviously took a huge toll on me and set my progress back many years, but I feel now I have my momentum back and feel better than ever about dedicating my life to music.
What new bands should people check out that deserve some recognition?
Svalbard, Cabal, King Yosef, Freedom of Fear, Isua.
What’s your dream gig line-up?
Parkway Drive, Converge, Misery Signals, RUN, and a local opener so we don’t have to play first.
Thoughts on U18 venues/gigs?
They used to be my lifeblood but are very hard to maintain and fund without alcohol sales. I wish there were more opportunities for U18s to experience live music, but the scene has aged and demand is not what it used to be.
Cats – lovable family members or Satan’s spawn?
Why not both?
What does 2023 have in store for RUN, and Lochlan Watt?
After our forthcoming Deafheaven tour we are going to make a new record and play a few sick local shows. I will keep working on tours and festivals with the goal for 2024 to be bigger than ever for both RUN, and myself.
Lochlan Watt : @lochlanwatt
R.U.N. : @run_metal