Do you love Punk/Hardcore? Do you love FREE music? Check out this interview with Rhys Davies who slaps the bass for Adelaide Punk/Hardcore group Machete, and then go download their latest EP, ‘Judgement’, for FREE!
How did the formation of Machete occur?
Machete was originally formed back around 2007 I think by our old drummer Jamie and singer Luke. I didn’t join the band until a few months later, but I think they were just messing around on the computer one day trying to create some sort of thrash/grindcore sound and decided to try and turn it into a real band. I’m fairly safe to say we aren’t anywhere near that genre right now though haha! Our sound has definitely changed, hopefully for the better.
Releasing ‘Judgement’ your debut EP free to download definitely eliminates the illegal downloading dilemma, but what really motivated this decision?
We only really had one release before this EP, and that was a demo from back in 2009 with our old singer and drummer. We figured we had changed our sound up quite a bit since the demo and no one had really heard our new stuff. So it was probably the best if we gave it away for free. People could download it and check us out, if they liked it then they might come check us out at a show. I doubt many people would pay money for a bands release they hadn’t heard of! So yeah, the main reason was just getting our name out there and hopefully eventually recording another EP or Album we can sell if people were keen on the idea.
The Australian heavy music scene continues to grow and improve. It is a tough place to be heard, how have you guys been received so far?
I’ve actually been amazed by how well we’ve been received in the local scene. It’s definitely a new scene here in Adelaide, a lot of the bands are really young and are putting out some awesome stuff. We’re probably some of the oldest dudes still doing this stuff in this city haha! Well, except our singer Aeden, who probably has the most connection with the current scene. I think getting him in on vocals and recording some different, more focused music has really increased our chances of reaching out to people who haven’t heard of us before. We have only gone interstate once to play, but we’d really love to do it again and bring Machete to some other cities.
Who is conquering the Adelaide stage right now?
There are so many awesome Adelaide bands right now. It’s hard to say any particular one is conquering the stage as they are all doing their own thing and gaining well-deserved support along the way. Bands like Stolen Youth are still smashing it, while other fairly newish bands like The Weight, Harlow and Jack the Giant Killer are tearing up the stage and will hopefully continue to do so! Shout out to the younger bands though, they are improving every time I see them play. I’d give you a list but there is a bunch, trust me! People should come out to every show they can to check out what Adelaide has to offer, it’s sick!
Any plans on venturing out of South Australia to spread Machetes’ music?
We’d love to for sure! We’ve had a few offers for future shows interstate, but have yet to hear anything about them. A trip along the Eastern coast would be great, and hopefully we can get there sometime in the near future!
What band would you choose to tour with that would help boost your fanbase?
We’d love to tour with one of the better-known bands from the East coast such as Hand of Mercy or Warbrain. They both play different styles of hardcore but I love listening to both, and I think our current sound would be a great mix to support those bands if we were to ever tour. We’d also love to play a few more bigger local International/Interstate shows but a lot of the touring bands that have been here this year have all been metalcore/deathcore. We did get to support the mighty Cruel Hand earlier in this year, and it was definitely my personal favourite show so far. It was such an honor to support a band that I respect so much.
Who are some of your favourite current Australian bands?
My personal favourite current Australian hardcore bands are Blkout, Warbrain, Phantoms, Miles Away and about a million more I can’t think of at the moment! Australia really has some of the best bands in the world when it comes to the hardcore scene. I love being a part of it and watching it grow every year with more and more newer bands putting out some amazing stuff. Some of the other dudes in the band also love some of the heavier mosh bands like Hand of Mercy, Confession and so forth. So it’s a bit of a mixture, and hopefully we can use that to create something that stands out.
Quite a lot of the time a bands debut EP never sounds like their debut album, and then causes the ‘diehard’ fans to whinge. Any new songs already written and are they similar to what is on ‘Judgement’?
We have a few new songs and are continuing to write more. They have changed a bit, but it’s usually because I’ll be listening to a particular band at the time and decide I want to write in that style…I must admit though, my writing never really stays around a constant formula. Probably because of all the new bands I’m discovering every day! We do want to have that familiar Machete sound people are custom to from the EP in our songs. So hopefully people dig the newer stuff! The other guys in the band do an awesome job at letting me know if they do or don’t like something I’ve written, and we are always working to perfect it.
Cheers,
Rhys
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