Australian experimental rock duo DEAD have a new album called Untitle, which officially comes out tomorrow, but for all fans of twisted rockin’ itching to hear it early, we have a surprise in store for you as we’re hosting an exclusive premiere of the entire record below! Check it out and scroll down to see our quick Q&A break down session of the record.
Hailing from the Australian regional city of Castlemaine, DEAD is a mongrel beast fashioned from the structural scruff of KARP and MELVINS; the stuttering ultra aberrations of WIRE and GANG OF FOUR and the technical riffage of GODHEADSILO and NOMEANSNO, who have unfortunetaly announced their break-up earlier this week. Following the release of Collective Fictions, their vinyl-only split LP with Mark Deutrom (MELVINS, BELLRINGER) earlier in the year, this September sees the official arrival of Untitle, volume two in DEAD’s four LP series The Trilogy and a starkly different record to anything they’ve done before. Its sludgy riffs put us in familiar territory and the whole effort prove the band’s riffage remains instinctive and fierce. Building exquisite tension,Untitle is a great indication of the good that comes from the band in the last chapter of this story.
The band is Jace (bass, vocals), Jem (drums, vocals), BJ Morriszonkle (keys, vocals, toys, broken instruments).
How did the idea of a four LP “Trilogy” come about? Are you not just making extra work for yourselves or are you just gluttons for punishment?
I wanted to release a trilogy and then I got carried away ‘cos that’s what I do. We are gluttons for punishment yes and we greatly enjoy the cheekiness that is being a DIY band that acts like we are more important than we are.
I understand that you run We Empty Rooms as well as playing in DEAD. Do you find that a difficult balance? As DEAD, would you ever consider signing to another label if approached?
Yes it is a difficult balance and extremely exhausting. But labels aren’t banging on your door to sign you when you play in a band like ours. We’ve worked with other small labels here and there and our experiences with them have been pretty great for the most part. We haven’t made any money for anyone though so it’s a labour of love for them. If a good offer came our way we would take it but I won’t be holding my breath.
Just how different is Untitle compared to these other albums in the trilogy?
To me it’s very different and sits on its own but I can’t say how other people will hear it. BJ Morriszonkle was an equal member of the band as far as we were concerned when making the record. So it’s our songs but peppered with his flavours all throughout.
How best would you describe DEAD to someone who hadn’t heard you before?
Two blokes with little man syndrome trying to punch above their weight and generally pulling it off.
What one thing above else do you want listeners to take away from hearing Untitle?
I don’t really consider it my business. But at this point we have had enough time to gain some rally dedicated fans; people whose trust we’ve gained and they are willing to go with us if we do something a bit different. They understand we are serious about it. And that I find really rewarding, when people tell me they didn’t like something at first but stuck with it and now they love it. We don’t make our music for anyone but us but if people enjoy it and get something out of it then it feels great.
More About the band:
Since their formation in 2010 the duo have forged a prismatic catalogue of rained-out sludge, metal and stripped back post-punk releasing records on Eolian Empire, Wantage USA, Tym Records and Rock Is Hell. They worked with producer Toshi Kasai (Tool, Melvins, Helmet, Big Business) for their 2014 album Captains Of Industry; An apt title given that the pair have been cutting a path of their own since 2005 operating independent record label/Screen Printing, We Empty Rooms.
For Untitle, DEAD shifted into three-piece mode with the addition of cult one-man weirdo band BJ Morriszonkle***. No one knows exactly what he played on the record and maybe it’s safest not to know. Armed with a DIY recording setup he entered a garden shed filled with broken instruments and emerged days later covered in sweat, clutching a USB, his parts contained therein. It was an honour for the band to work with him and they make no apology for potentially ruining his career.
Relentless domestic and international tour fiends, DEAD were the first non US band invited to play cult music festival Total Fest alongside the likes of Big Business, Thrones and Hammerhead, and returned to co-headline the festival in 2013 with Red Fang, Helms Alee and Federation X. Since then the band has toured South East Asia, Japan, New Zealand and in Australia at the request of Torche, Jucifer, Earthless, Black Cobra, Monarch and Cough.
Recorded and mixed by Mike Deslandes (Cosmic Psychos, The Nation Blue) Untitle by DEAD will be released on 30th September 2016 via We Empty Rooms.
