Playing with the best lineup they have ever had and a recent EP under their belts, Dead Demons are making all the moves. Call of The Wild is the first of many festivals lined up for the band this year as the guys go from strength to strength. Aggy sat down with the guys to discuss how nerves can be healthy before hitting the stage, the ups and downs that can come from producing new music and their plans for the future.
You’re playing tomorrow. How are you feeling ahead of your set?
Pete: Just after watching Deadfire, year we are really excited. If we can get a crowd like that!
Mark: I’m nervous. This is the biggest thing Dead Demons have ever done so far. You’re pouring your heart out on stage and you are literally putting yourself forward and that’s a big thing really. I am excited but nervous at the same time.
We saw you guys on tour recently with The Deadly Romantics and you guys absolutely nailed it. How did you find it?
Mark: Whilst I was excited, Bruce (front man of Deadly Romantics) found out about us from a fan and it was literally out of the blue. Then Bruce got in touch. Can I call him Bruce or should I use his stage name? *Laughs*
He approached us and asked if we would like to do these dates. We were like, really? Have you seen us play? Have you heard us? It was nerve wracking as I didn’t know how it was going to go. Then the first gig went without a hitch. Bruce, Marsh and the boys were like you guys are incredible!
You really were. We can understand the nerves you guys feel but from an outsiders perspective you are amazing on stage.
Mark: I think it was James Hetfield and I know Bruce and Rob Halford have all emulated the same thing. They say that no matter how big the stage is, no matter how many times they have played there is always a certain level of nerves in there. You want to make sure you are spot on. As soon as ‘Outlaw’ starts and opens up the nerves melt away. Every mistake that’s made, because there is quite a few *laughs* you deal with it in a professional manner. You either ignore it or make a big show of it. If you’re late to the stage there is a big show about it, isn’t there Jon? *Laughs*
You guys are doing a lot of shows at the moment it seems to be non stop…
Pete: We just want to play as much as we can. We enjoy what we do and we want to keep on carrying on doing it and do bigger and bigger audiences.
Mark: I think it’s to put Pete in an early grave with all the bass lines we keep making up for him. All the twiddly widdlys *laughs*
Can you tell us about the EPs you have out at the moment?
Mark: so we have our first one out in 2020 ‘Mortuus Daemonia’. That’s Latin for Dead Demons because nobody does Latin anymore anywhere in school. We just decided it was a cool thing to do. See looking back at it now we still can’t spell it *laughs*
Pete: We just have to learn how to say it *laughs*
Mark: Then our latest EP which came out about six or seven months ago ‘Trial by Fire’. That’s the one with the current lineup. It’s a fantastic five track EP. I’m saying that because these guys are on it. It would be amazing if we got another singer on it but let’s leave it there *laughs* That one I think is our crowning glory. We love it and we love playing it. We are very proud of it. It took a lot of time and a lot of hard work. We built it together. It wasn’t just me and Chris or Chris and Pete squirrelled away in a corner. It was done Dream Theatre style inside a rehearsal studio. It’s the fruit of our labours.
How did you find working on music together during lockdown?
Mark: We went to Supernova studios in Doncaster for the recording of ‘Mortuus Daemonia’. We were quite wet behind the ears to be honest as far as our understanding of any kind of recording. Jase Burns was our recording engineer. He’s a great guy and a phenomenal recording engineer. Unfortunately he was going through some personal issues. It happens to the best of people. COVID was just some daft thing in China at that time. So we got it recorded and then as it was ready to get mixed lockdown happened. It gives you a lot of time to get stuck in your head. The recording quality of it was no fault of Jase’s. We didn’t know what to expect or demand out of him. It sounded more like a live demo. It’s similar to Metallica’s ‘Kill em All’ recorded in Lars’a garage.
Chris: We got tarred with a brush that it sounds like something from 1979.
Mark: Yeah and not in a good way. Jase did what he could with it.
You mentioned you feel this is the best lineup Dead Demons has ever had?
Mark: oh definitely by far. The guys we had before had been brilliant but their hearts weren’t in it.
So it’s all from the heart now
Pete: Well it’s certainly not from the wallet *laugh*
What is the future of Dead Demons?
Mark: We’re looking at debuting a new song live. We tend to debut them live before we get them down and recorded. Our next gig will be at the Metal Monocle in Leicester so if anyone wants to come down to that they will see the same stuff we did with The Deadly Romantics and some newer things as well. The next album which will probably take the next ten years to get out *laughs* will be eleven or twelve tracks of fresh material.
What other gigs have you got coming up?
Mark: We have SOS fest in July. Don’t get the calendars out! This is the third interview I’ve done so I kind of know where I’m going *laughs* We then have Savfest in August. Then funnily enough because of Raz, John, Lee and the team here at Call of The Wild we also have the Rockmantic weekend. We can’t wait.
What is your favourite song to perform?
Pete: ‘Devil May Care’
Jonny: ‘Time Is Your Enemy’
Chris: ‘Outlaw’
Mark: ‘Another Space and Time’
We love that you all have different answers! What would you like to say to your fans?
Mark: Keep coming, keep being supportive and share with your friends. Thank you for everything you have done so far. It’s because of you guys we are where we are and hopefully we can continue this upward trajectory. It means everything.
Interview by Aggy Gillon
Photos by Nikita Sharp: NSharp Photography – Facebook