HISTORY OF THE HAWK have split up! The terrible news was commented by the band in the official statement available below. Furthermore, there’s been further developments of other band featuring HISTORY OF THE HAWK members (Nath, Adam and Luke) called OPIUM LORD. They’re on Thirty Days of Night Records now! Their new record is coming out on CD in January and a teaser video for it has been made available, as well! Check it out below.
Nathan from HISTORY OF THE HAWK / OPIUM LORD was so kind to take some more time with IDIOTEQ and discuss the break-up, as well as the whole new future that opens in front of OPIUM LORD.
Boo. What’s up, guys? One year, lots of amazing reviews, great underground publicity and you’re done?! What the heck is this? Why? What happened?
Hey! Well it’s just one of those things, we have done so much in a year, we are really proud of being able to tour Europe, release an album that was received pretty well and be able to work with some great labels. It just got to a point where I guess we was starting to wind each other up a touch, we all feel now is a good time to walk away with our heads held high, there is no malice to anybody in the band or anything.
Beckley has left the band and I guess it was the main fuse, right? What’s he up to right now?
Yeah kind of, we just didn’t want to be one of those bands who ends up with minimal original band members, it get’s a bit silly doesn’t it and as I said we all felt it was a good time to walk away anyway. Beckley is a solo drone artist and he plays guitar in OPIUM LORD.
Who’s from the original line-up is in OPIUM LORD? Are there any other new project going on after the split?
Well there’s me on vocals, with Beckley and Luke on guitars! Allan and Harper are still to join new projects but I’m sure it won’t be long until they are on it again! Pete our original guitarist, is in a new post hardcore project called NEW ALASKA, they have just finished their debut EP, I’ve heard the mixes and they sound great, their 2nd EP is coming out on Speedowax.
Will there be a final show for HISTORY OF THE HAWK?
Nope, the Hawk is dead, the only thing that is left to come is our cover of “Class Pictures” that will be on a tribute to ORCHID 12″ the awesome Dog Knights Productions are releasing.
Oh yeah, I was just about to ask. Do you have leftovers recorded and ready to be released as rarities collection? Would it be wise to count for more, besides the ORCHID cover?
That would of been a nice thing to do, but nah there is not.
Is Jack Turley exceptionally sad? [smiles] I mean, damn… he’s just joined your pack!
It never actually worked out with Jack as he had a lot of commitments, plans changed for Allan so he came back.
Oh, we missed that. Things change so quickly around you.
You had plans to tour Europe early 2013. Would that be accomplished by OPIUM LORD?
Yeah totally, we are just in talks about a really cool tour in March in the UK with some label mates, we plan to head to Europe in the summer too. Bar that, we will be playing as many shows as we can work permitting.
You’re on the Thirty Days Of Night Records now, right? Tell us more about your collaboration.
Yeah awesome label, we are stoked! Well basically we landed a support slot with BORIS, CAPSULE (the promoters) are a pretty big deal in our circles so we thought we better get our fingers out of our arse’s and record something, I spoke to a few people about putting it out but Faz came back and he was up for taking a punt on it without actually hearing the record.
We missed the BORIS deadline, just decided to take more time on it, the recording came out great so both label and band decided it should be on CD instead of the initially planned cassette.
Very happy to be on TDON, Jamie is such a supportive guy and it’s the perfect label for OPIUM LORD. I guess I am just lucky as I have got to work with two of the biggest independents in the UK, Mark over at In At The Deep End Records is a legend, he really looked after HOTH and he was always on hand, he’s a good dude!
What about putting your debut EP together? Was it fun?
Yeah it was great fun, we recorded with our friend Chris Traverse at The Temple of Boom in Stourbridge, Luke who’s qualified in all that music shit helped in out in regards to engineering, it has a proper organic feel to it!
Niel turned up to recording bass after a heavy night on all sorts of naughty stuff without any sleep (we are talking like 5pm when he had to be there), I had to keep talking bollocks to him to keep him awake, he still pulled it off though, that kid is a narcotic dustbin! He will be the first to die if we ever did a massive tour!
The teaser shows us your demonic side. I’m frightened! [laughs]. No, but seriously, why such stylistics? Is there a plot to it?
I think it all started in HOTH, me and Beckley share a real love for doom and sludge, listening to bands such as YOB, BURNING WITCH, WEEDEATER and BLACK COBRA which we tried to incorporate into the band, I don’t think we could really get away with it so we decided to form a new band.
We asked Luke to join, at that time he was playing in a band called UNICORN ABUSE but he eventually join HOTH when Pete left, and we got my friend Bruce from MOTHERTRUCKER in on drums. I still remember that first practice, at first we was only a four piece with no bass player (that was intentional), but shit me, the stuff Luke was churning out was brutal, I remember looking over at Beckley and just nodding!
Things really didn’t pick up till STINKY WIZZLETEAT split up, they probably was “the” sludge band in Birmingham at the time and I love the way Neil played, he came in on bass then it all just gelled.
So yeah, it’s say the style is pretty natural, we all love the music we play and we have a great time doing it.
What’s up with the whole blackened hardcore hype goin’ on in the world today? Dark Satanic symbols, inverted crosses, goat heads, etc.? [smiles] How much are you into stuff like this?
[laughs] I don’t really know what blackened hardcore really is? Is it a kind of music or the fashion that’s associated with the band? I love bands such as THE SECRET, BLACK BREATH, XIBALBA and etc., if you mean that kind of stuff, I love it yeah, but I really hate macho bullshit and I’ve been to a lot of gigs and seen all that bollocks, so that may tint my view.
I guess it’s just fashion isn’t it, you see inverted crosses on shit in H&M these days, to be honest I don’t really take much notice of what is the in fashion thing or what kind of music everybody is digging right now, I just concentrate on doing what I am doing, I don’t really see doom as a fashionable thing, or maybe it is, not too bothered really.
Yeah, but dude! There’s an inverted cross in your brand new EP teaser! Come on! [laughs] What’s it doing there?
[laughs] It’s not, it’s an O and a L!! The line above it is just for decoration!
[laughs] No way! I bet CVLT Nation will feature you guys asap [laughs].
Alright, how was Christmas this year? [smiles]
Yeah it was okay thanks, a bit of a non event really, yours?
Oh yeah, same here. Some family time, chillin’ out, resting… finally [smiles].
Do you have any wishes for the new year?
I really hope Les Savy Fav make a new album and tour!
Ok. Can we call it ‘the final interview of HISTORY OF THE HAWK’? [smiles] Or ‘the mid-life interview with HISTORY OF THE HAWK becoming full time OPIUM LORD? [laughs]
[laughs] Yeah that’s it for HISTORY OF THE HAWK so I guess OPIUM LORD is my ‘full time’ band now! I’d really like to do a project that’s influenced by bands like DAUGHTERS, ARAB ON RADAR, and etc. also, so something else may crop up in 2013, that’s from a personal angle of course, I’m sure the others will be working on new projects.
I’m also working on an electronica solo project called PEREGRINE FALCON, I love bands like HEALTH, DEATH FROM ABOVE 1979, THE LOCUST and stuff, that will rear it’s head soon and I’m sure it will sound terrible [laughs]!
Great. Drop me line if something new comes up, man. I wish you the best of luck and a healthy new year! Keep it up! Oh, and come to Poland [smiles]. Cheers for the interview!
Cheers Karol, just want to say a quick thank you for all the support you have given HISTORY OF THE HAWK over the past year, it’s really appreciated, keep doing what you are doing!
