Since 2011, Graves have been destroying venues across Australia with a dedicated fan base to back them up. Now, in 2015, this Wollongong based band are about to embark on a national tour in support of deathcore heavyweights Chelsea Grin. I spoke to Graves about what we can expect from the tour, their new material, the new line up and much more. Enjoy!
Thanks for taking the time to do this
interview, there’s been a couple of line up changes over the past 12 months. Do
you mind introducing the current line up for us?
Yeah our other guitarist and drummer unfortunately decided to part ways with us at the end of last year, we have our friends Lachlan on drums and Kieran on guitar now along with the original members Rhys, Ethan and Shaun.
How are things in the Graves camp? What's new?
Things in the Graves camp are going great, we’ve been practicing with the new lads and getting them up to speed with everything and jamming some new material. At the moment we are focusing on the pre-production side of things to really polish of our new tracks but other than that maybe a couple of dates have been booked for recording ;)
Can you let readers in on anything about the new material? What we can expect and the path you’ve chosen to take?
We’ve progressed into a more evolved sound from ourselves. A lot of our favourite genres of metal and hardcore have really been infused into the new material and it’s a little diverse but overall expect to hear a heavy, punchy, pissed off sound, just the way we like it.
Who’s been your favorite Australian and International band to tour with?
That’s a really hard question because we’ve had unbelievable amounts of fun on every tour we’ve done so far and made awesome friends with a lot of super tight Australian bands like Ocean Grove, Elegist and PLAB. But one of the stand out tours would have to be The Acacia Strain tour with Aversions Crown. It was an insane tour, the dudes in the other bands were legends and we got to share the stage with two great bands we look up to, was awesome.
What message is Graves trying to give to their listeners?
Well our main message would have to be that it’s ok to be angry, it’s ok to be frustrated and pissed off at something and to express it, it’s actually probably healthier for you. Our singer has experienced some pretty heavy episodes involving mental illness, he struggles with schizophrenia along with the concoction of other illnesses it goes hand-in-hand with and other members of our band have had their battles with depression and anxiety so I guess one of the things we try and share and express through our music is getting angry, having lyrics that are not only a vent for Rhys but can also be relatable to your own problems and it’s ok you should talk about them because if you hold it in you could end up in a situation Rhys has experienced before.
You’re hitting the road in August with Chelsea Grin and Boris The Blade, congrats on that.
What are you looking forward to about this tour?
Thanks a lot! We are looking forward to getting back out onto the road!!! Haha, we love travelling around Australia and playing music regardless the venue or who to and this will be our first tour with the new boys in the band! We’ve had a pretty quiet year getting the new guys sorted, writing the album and just trying to sort out a lot of our own personal issues that come up from such a heavy year of touring and loss of band members last year. Much excite. Definitely keen to see Chelsea Grin and Boris the Blade tear Australia apart as well.
You had guest vocals from CJ McMahon of Thy Art Is Murder on your Pestilence EP, will there be any other guest appearances on the next release?
OOOOOH I don’t know will there be ;) haha nah we will more than likely get a couple of guesties to come in and throwdown on a track or two. We want to get someone completely out there though, maybe for fill our previous guitarists dream of getting Pete Murray on a track.
Who are some other Aussie acts to look out for?
Some great Aussie bands to look out for would be Justice for the Damned, Staunch, Ocean Grove, I Exalt, Iconoclast, man there is pretty much a never ending list of great bands that have been destroying or will be soon.
If anyone has seen Graves live, they’ll know that you guys are very intense. What goes on in your head when performing live?
Yeah we try and put as much into our live show as possible so hopefully we have that impact. Definitely just to have fun, vent some anger and give it your all, if people are paying to watch your band then don’t stand still. We really try and tell Rhys to be more interactive with the audience but he gets in the zone really hard haha.
Who are some of your personal favorite bands and artists to listen to?
We have a big mix up of musical tastes in this band haha, we listen to heavy bands like The Acacia Strain religiously but also love to jam some Volumes, Devil Wears Prada, Structures, A$AP mob, The Ghost Inside, For the Fallen Dreams (Changes), Whitechapel, Balance and Composure, Pink Floyd, Slipknot, Metallica, Kendrick Lamar, Slayer, Kublai Khan, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Taylor Swift, Her Nightmare, Carpathian, old Parkway Drive, King 810, this is also a never ending list haha.
Do you guys drink? If so, what’s your beverage of choice when Graves are getting rowdy?
Haha, we do like to party a little bit yes. Shaun probably gets the loosest out of all of us, Rhys is the cheapest drunk and Ethan is straight edge but he does like to encourage us to get a bit pissed and is a shitload of fun. We haven’t partied with Kiz or Lachy yet but I definitely think it’s going to be a loose tour in August. There’s usually always a bourbon in someone’s hand when we party so probably that haha.
If you could add absolutely any 3 bands to a Graves show, who would they be and why?
Metallica, Eminem and Taylor Swift, just picture that for a second. It’s intense we know, we plan on making it a reality.
For those that will be attending the Chelsea Grin dates, what can fans expect from Graves in particular?
A new track, a couple of new faces in our line-up and a bigger sound! We have a pretty cool collection of merch we are bringing along with us and we will probably document this more than other tours we’ve done before also.
Any last words for the readers?
We just want to say a massive thank you to anyone that listens to our music, comes to shows, buys merch or supports us in any way. Since the departure of our previous members it really has been an uphill battle for us to get the new guys ready and write and thank you for sticking it out with us and being patient for our first full length. We’ve overcome a lot of personal obstacles that we had stacked against us at the end of last year and are really looking forward to delivering this album upon the world. Thanks again!
You can buy merch from Graves here: www.gravesmusic.bigcartel.com
You can catch Graves playing with Boris The Blade (Melb) and Chelsea Grin (US) at the following dates:
Supported by Boris the Blade and Graves
Tickets on sale NOW from www.oztix.com.au
Thursday, 13th August 2015*
The Rosemount Hotel, Perth (18+)
Friday, 14th August 2015
The Corner Hotel, Melbourne (18+)
Saturday, 15th August 2015
Wrangler Studios, Melbourne (All Ages)
Sunday, 16th August 2015
Fowlers Live, Adelaide (Licensed/All Ages)
Wednesday, 19th August 2015
The Small Bandroom, Newcastle (18+)
Friday, 21st August 2015
The Factory Theatre, Sydney (Licensed/All Ages)
Saturday, 22nd August 2015
Brightside, Brisbane (18+)
Sunday, 23rd August 2015
The Lab, Brisbane (All Ages)
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