The 'sound'

Things are looking up.... gigs,new tunes, new bass player, better quality marijuana and a new recording in the pipeline. Everything else in the world might be fucked but that's not too bad for us!

Over the past few months we've been residing in our hollow, writing an overall organic yet wilful and organised cacophony of sounds for the already battle-haggard, resonating ears of the horde...... we have some new tunes.... finally!

Personally.... I believe that the new songs as a collective, although so far untitled and devoid of any mutterings, certainly encapsulate the 'sound' that we have been aspiring towards and although this 'sound' will surely continue to develop and evolve into something that is truly worthy of Beast-Death Spear-core status (or stoner thrash as described in a recent review!) I think that the finished product will be a fine offering. This will also be the first recording with Will, who has now skinned his first animal hide and is ready to finish sharpening the flint for his spear. He has encouraged and somewhat musically demanded a completely different approach to writing, this is evident in the new songs but I think will be more-so in future endeavours.

We're all set to record the drums with Greg down at Hiram HQ. I've decided to experiment with the drum takes this time around by asking a good friend of mine (check out Invasion Is Not An Option) to produce an 'alternative' mix, using 'Superior Drummer' to sample selected parts of the kit. I have always been totally against the use of samples or triggers and believe that they take away the feel, soul and individuality of the player but this is sometimes in sacrifice of a consistent and water-tight take..... I suppose there are arguments for both and this has caused slight debate in the camp but I think, if nothing else, it will help us to interpret and define a consistent, ideal quality of production and a 'sound' that we can replicate both in the studio and on-stage. The vocals will most likely also be recorded at Hiram HQ and if this is not the case for guitars, then there has been talk of doing them down at the MOTM practice room going for more of a DIY/experimental vibe. Time will tell..... we'll keep you updated and hopefully there will be a 'making of' video uploaded to coincide with the release. Yes, it's a bit assuming and maybe slightly egotistic but fuck you! It'll be mint!

So... watch this space! Please keep supporting us, we're still here! Maybe the new recording, a good string of decent reviews and the increasing (slowly but surely) number of gigs will inspire and arouse our inner-beast...... maybe not. Still..... send us money!

Luke.

Hibernation

We've been crippled...

...the pack is split...

...we are weak from the bad hunting this winter...

...but come late spring, the fat offspring of our prey will sate our anguished guts...

May 20th - Dickens - Rotherham

June 4th - Vintage RockBar - Doncaster

...more will follow...

b!x

Jan 2011

Januray saw MOTM MkII do it's first show! Almost as if by ceremony, we did it at West Street Live, third on the bill of four, to a healthy crowd of around 50.

We're all pretty buzzed out after the show, and there is an odd energy flying about the place. However, as much as we might want to indulge our gig heads, we must restrain ourselves and get down to some work.

We have 4 new tunes rattling around the place, 2 of which are pretty much set in stone and another couple that are a bit ragged round the edges. What we will most likely do is, record the lot, 'release' 'em on a demo and continue work on them. This is consistent with our overall approach to writing; we are not afraid to rework our songs and tear them to pieces if needs be. Indeed, this is the way 'Kill Your Boss' and 'Rumsfeld...' were written, originally being one song.

Hopefully after a couple of months we will have the new demo done and will be able to start gigging late April onwards. Where before we tried to go for a nation-wide spread of shows, we have reassessed our strategy and will be focusing more on Yorkshire than elsewhere, and aiming for a few London shows... while this is distasteful to us all, it is a reflection of the situation of artists, the sorry state of the music industry and art in general, and the economic realities of being skint...

...and I think that it is fair to say that we have not a plan beyond that! It is a well documented fact that I have more than a wee liking for planning and it is a not the easiest thing in the world to proceed without some sort of framework... but I also have a great amount of trust in the boys and in our ability to work hard and deliver the goods...

Please egg us on, please keep listening, please demand more songs, please demand us to play shows... we know our place... a touring band, playing shows to rooms full of angry people eager to express themselves and who secretly yearn for a better world...

b!x

MOTM mkII...

I suppose that it is time for a splatter of brainpoo, in the interest of consistency, transparency and clarity.

After recording our last wee offering (3 track featuring SWYM MWYS etc) we had what is known in the business as a ‘hiccup’, which has caused the Mega-mammalian onslaught to be reined in somewhat. A few fundamental problems all conspired against our pack and culminated in Lord t’X Eckford of Tarn to lay down his mighty spear – Bane of mammut americanum – in order to tend to his stalagmites and stalagtites!

So this, along with the fact that, due to lack of concentration and effort we had dropped the ball with writing, meant that we were way behind our schedule as outlined by the ‘Plan’… which accordingly got wrapped round a turd, flushed away and was last seen just off Filey Brigg, bobbing merrily towards the continent.

Anyway all that this means for you, the gracious though plainly unwell bystander, is the following;

Stepping into the bass-shaped hole left in our hearts by his douche-ness Don Eckers, is none other than Will ‘Billy the Kid/Fisher’ Price… Now, while he may be essentially ‘Jailbait’ - being outrageously young, he is, nonetheless, a daemonically gifted player of the guitar and his not inconsiderable skills apply to 4 strings.

Having drafted Will in during my summer sojourn in the bowels of the Iberian peninsula, much groundwork was done by the end of September. Indeed, our collective efforts have been so effective that, at the time of writing, we have 3 songs on the verge of completion and another 2 hovering around the place in a state of readiness… along with the ubiquitous cornucopia of riffs, beats and ideas that clutter our work space.

Gigwise – we’re not planning on doin’ any shows until the New Year, simply because we want to concentrate on getting these final 5 tunes finished, at least. Once that’s done, we’ll probably be looking to gig the living twattery out of the tunes, which should reveal to us whether they are actually any good… then after that we may record something…

We’re still sending the CDs out for a laugh, so if anyone wants to review us you can either drop us a message and we’ll bosh you one in the mail or you can go to our reverbnation or bandcamp pages where you can hear all the tunes from our last CD.

As always, any help, money, blowjobs or interest would be most welcome so if you want to flatter an ego, consider us!

In a bit then,

b!x

Knew Seedy...

With surprising and refreshing swiftness, our wee demo has come together most satisfactorily. Though we have taken a good while over it, snatching sessions at Hiram HQ with Tuffnut twiddling his knobs as and when we could, I think it’s fair to say that we are quietly confident that this recording will put smiles on faces and definitely showcases some of the subtler points of MOTM… stuff that maybe got lost on the last recording (which was executed in double quick time…)

We stuck to our wee plan, were all determined and focused… and G was/is a godsend… and what we’ve ended up with is 3 tracks of prime-cut mammoth...

As mentioned in previous messages, the CD (available from the 24^th July and all other gigs for the extortionate sum of £1) will feature 2 tracks (“Kill Your Boss” and “Say What You Mean; Mean What You Say”) which we have already played at shows, so are not technically ‘new’. But the third track “Rumsfeld’s Unspoken Fourth Epistemological Insight” is brand new… and is, in my opinion, the most interesting and challenging of the tracks…

…but whatever…

…now the easy, fun stuff begins… the shows…

We kick off our short jaunt around the country with a steady hometown show on the 24^th… we’re on early – around 4 – so we’ll be having a good time, having a drink and getting our gig-heads back on before heading on to do Leeds, Bradford, Sheff. (maybe), Birmingham and then London… which is nice…

We’ll be playing a few towns for the first time and we’ll be all virginal, so please do come to a show and pick up a CD; we do try hard and I defy you to find a bigger bunch of show-offs… and that’s just me and Jimothy…

Peace,

b!x

Recordin-an-in-inge...

I have to say, it’s all goin’ well down at Hiram HQ... there’s been a properly good vibe as we try and smoke our way through the last of the Evilness and, I would say, there’s a definite sense of excitement about getting these new songs on tape...

The drums were laid down first, a couple of weeks ago... set up on a Wednesday and were finished by the Sunday. Luke seemed happy enough, and the takes were fucking sweet and Ol’ Tuffnut Turner got some awesome captures. Drums have historically always been a fucking ‘mare, largely down to lack of experience/shit gear, but we spent time working on the clicks, worked hard on the songs and had a steady and reassuring knob-twiddler.

And we are equally as happy with how the guitars are shaping up. We’ve split a signal and sent it through Ron’s Crate BV300 through his custom cabs and Jim’s JCM 2000 through a 2 x 15 cab, and, at Don T’s instruction, we’ve held back on the gain and gone for more rocky tones. At first this might’ve seemed a little counter-intuitive for a Metal band, but as we don’t tune down to the Brown Note and our riffs are quite choppy, the sound really works well...

Ron finished his track and Jim will be starting his soon...

Next will be Eckers – and I’m quite looking forward to it as we’ll hopefully be using Evil Dave’s Ampeg rig (8 x 10 + SVT head)... it should sound like nothing less than the end of the world...

Then, first weeks of July I get ruin it all with my wailing! I’m hoping to try some stuff out and see what I can and can’t get away with... it’ll be cool though; setting up a wee booth and some sexy lights in my home from home; working steadily with a good bud... it’ll be cool...

...now; not without cursing the whole project, I’ll just say that this CD will be something pretty special!

Can’t wait to get it out there...

More to follow...

b!x

For the record...

Yeah...

So in between trying to get people to review our first demo and trying to get a gig in ANY big northern city, other than Sheffield, we have been actually busy actually writing actual music...

We’ve got 3 new tracks to record, 2 and a half of which will be somewhat familiar to anyone who has been to a show... all in all I think we’re looking at around 15 minutes of choonij (that’s tuneage), maybe a wee bit shorter than the first recording...

The three tracks break down as follows:

Kill Your Boss: a bit of a mid-paced, workhorse of a tune with some nice little bits of ‘riff-recycling’, picking up themes left and right... dunno if it’s a tune for the pit, like, but meaty nonetheless!

Say What You Mean and Mean What You Say: plenty of speed here and a possible new opener to replace ‘Generalist’ which we’ve been starting with... not a blast beat in sight mind you, this is just a pounder... and it’s fun watching Luke die every time he plays it!!!

Rumsfeld’s Unspoke Fourth Epistemological Insight: Gobful for a title I admit, but this might change... (if you’re wondering find out about Slavoj Zizek and his take on Donald Rumsfeld analysis Iraq’s WMD’s... or lack of them...)... bit of a weird tune in that there are a few odd little twists and turns, and a mid-section that will break your back through mosh... feels good!

So... Wednesday night we are heading off down to Hiram HQ and we’ll strap Luke into his kit and tell him to be amazing or else...

..or else Eckers gets to handle his junk...

We’re hoping we get the recording right this time... last time we kinda just went for it without planning it and not really having any sense of how it’d all turn out... and if I’m honest, the first demo worked out much better than I thought it would... ropey as it is!

So we reckon this time will be loads better... Me; I reckon I’ve gotta pull something pretty special outta the bag because out of the few reviews we’ve got so far, ALL of them have said that I am a bit shit... some may have put it a little more kindly... others called me out by name and said I should get lessons... so yeah; better get practicing!!!

Let’s wait and see!

b!x