In our latest interview, as they stop in Doncaster, we chat over the phone with lead vocalist Stitch D and keyboardist, electro-man and backing vocalist The AvD, songwriters in one of the biggest industrial metal bands in the world today, The Defiled.
“We’re getting more done than ever before…” – The AvD
As the two unique-looking band members get themselves settled into the comfortable corner of a bathroom of their choice (apparently they are fond of doing interviews there) only then to have to put up with Needles [drums] pi**ing right next to them, we discuss touring, living around the world, the new album, their aims for 2013 and onwards. They are about to release their second full-length album, ‘Daggers’ and promote it with a two-year tour of the world, and with the way things have been going for them lately, the vicious nature of metal gigs seems ever more undisputed. “It’s been quite brutal,” speculates Stitch, “we’ve had broken teeth, broken jaws, but I guess that’s all in a day’s work.”
A day’s work indeed! And the band are certainly promoting themselves by constantly changing and expanding, and things have only been on the up and up for this year, and not just with the extensive touring. The signing with Nuclear Blast, and Stitch’s move to LA have been huge, and have only made the band stronger as a unit. We delved into these developments. On moving away from, and coming back to the UK, Stitch says, “It’s been good man, it hasn’t really caused any problems yet. But it means that when we’re back over here, we work a bit more, it feels as though we’re actually working whereas in London it’s a bit lazy.” “When Stitch comes back we get more done than ever before and we’re a lot more productive as a team,” laughs The AvD. “We get to the recording studio every day and get sh** done really.” So, travelling really does enrich the mind! In this case, their horizons have broadened as far as Nuclear Blast.
“It’s a dream come true to be honest,” he continues. “It’s a worldwide deal, and doing it ourselves is impossible. Nuclear Blast is the way to do it. The team we’re working with is second to none. It’s full speed ahead!” So, we can expect meticulous touring? The Defiled are going to be everywhere for the next few years. “From August we’re gonna be touring the world, and we are hoping we’ll be in the States more than anywhere in the world.” With the band members scattered all over the place you’d think it would be difficult for them to re-group, but as it turns out the worldwide concept has actually made it easier! “The way it works is we get together before touring in whatever country it will be and then we rehearse and go and do it.” The AvD adds, “We did spend most of our life together so it’s not like ‘oh now the band’s far apart and it makes this huge difference’ because we’re together every single day when we tour so living far away from each other doesn’t really affect anything.”
Anyone who has seen this band live know the raw energy that’s reflected in each riff, and looking forwards the gigs are only gonna get more intense. In fact, given the budget, this band would probably be as cinematic and action-packed as a Rob Zombie show, and we all know how enthralling those are! The AvD claims, “We’ve been trying to take imagery as far as possible. We’ve been coming out with new outfits and we’re trying to take our live shows to the next level as well. We’re very proud of the album, man. We want that to be reflected in our stage shows and natural progression. People are paying money to come and see something so, y’know, we make an effort.” What we wouldn’t give for Defiled’s budget to hit the roof, then the gigs would be taken even further, and they wouldn’t have to scrounge anymore, which the band have done their fair share of, AvD confirms: “We haven’t seen a penny [from the deal] yet. We’re still scrounging. I sold my car for nothing, because I had no money.”
What about the new album, then? We already have two brand new tracks to hold us over until August. The opening to the album, ‘Sleeper’, is a haunting orchestration of furious speed, melodies and raging guitar and bass, with drumbeats to get our heads moving. We ask the lads if this is a good introduction to the full record, to which Stitch replies, “I guess so, but it’s by far not the best song on the record, I mean it’s fun to play live.” Speaking authoritatively, The AvD comments: “You wanna know how the record starts? That’s the intro! We put it out as a teaser, people are calling it a single, but it doesn’t have a real video. Our first single off the album is ‘Unspoken’. It’s one hell of a track as well, with a gritty and mildly disturbing video to go with it. We’re really excited about that one.”
Certainly, the themes of deceit, betrayal and disappointment are going to be prominent in this new release, and The AvD confirms the personal connection of each song. “There’s definitely a couple of tracks, one called ‘Five Minutes’ that was about the death of a family member of mine, then we have another one called ‘No Place Like Home’ which is about family troubles which is what was happening in Stitch’s life. ‘Unspoken’ itself you can translate into our everyday lives in the band. Many bands write about the stress of being on the road and the like, fair-play. ‘The album is just a diary of how we felt at the time, and literally every song is personal to us, and as cheesy as this sounds it’s something that really represents us as human beings.” The Defiled’s boundaries are only getting larger, the albums only growing more intense, and the tours becoming as great a spectacle as any of the great metal acts of today.
