28 / 64
Kiwi rockers Villainy on bringing a rawer edge to their
sophmore set
Dead Sight
.
By John Ferguson.
BAD RELIGION
T
hey certainly didn’t sound it, but
Villainy reckons they were pretty
green when they released their
debut album
Mode.Set.Clear
back in 2012.
So while there haven’t actually been any
changes to the band line-up for their second
album, front man Neill Fraser sees their
sophomore set
Dead Sight
as being the
product of Villainy 2.0.
“When we made the first record we’d
only played a handful of shows,” he explains.
“This time around we’ve done numerous
tours of both NZ and Australia as well as
festival slots and supports. We’re a much
tighter unit and you can hear that on the
record.”
Working once again with producer,
Shihad’s Tom Larkin, at his Melbourne
studio,
Dead Sight
is certainly a leaner and
meaner affair that also boasts a rawer, more
aggressive sound, whether it be punchy
anthems like
Syria
or the almost punk thrash
of tracks such as
No Future
.
According to Fraser, the band were
looking for a more organic live sound for
their new record, with a minimum of over-
dubs and editing. Guitarist Thom Watts adds:
“Yeah, getting something that felt live and
captured the chemistry of the four of us in
the room was the most important thing. We
wanted to create something that sounded
unique rather than a ‘paint-by-numbers’
modern-rock sound where all the tones are
dialled in and there isn’t much in the way of
character.”
Unlike
Mode.Set.Clear
, there is not a lot
in the way of quieter, acoustic passages,
although the band maintains that was not
a conscious decision. “It wasn't necessarily
intentional, more just how it worked out,”
says drummer Dave Johnston. “We started
off with around 30 songs for this record. As
we worked through the pre-production phase
in the studio, we started culling tracks and
a general tone and feel started to emerge,
which sort of determined which songs made
the final record.”
That said, there was still room for
experimentation, particularly on the jagged
rhythms of
Love & War
and the moody
soundscapes of
The National Guard
. “When
we walked into the studio
Love & War
was an expansive jam,” recalls Fraser. “My
favourite version at the time clocked in at nine
minutes!”
Johnson continues: “We spent a hell of
a lot of time working on those two tracks in
particular before we recorded the final tracks.
There were probably five or six 'versions' of
each of those tracks spanning the last couple
of years as they developed and there was a lot
of honing before we were all happy with the
final version.”
The band also pay tribute to Larkin in
shaping the sound of
Dead Sight
, with Fraser
saying that he pushed Villainy hard to get
strong performances right off the bat, which
ensured the album sounded a lot fresher for it.
Watts adds: “Tom understands band
dynamics, so a lot of the time, he’d leave us to
fleshing out ideas and then tap back in when
we needed a bit of perspective. While we
were in Melbourne we were all living together
in the same room for more than a month, so
he had the additional job of trying to rein in
the more extreme bits of insanity!”
visit
stack.net.nzFEATURE
MUSIC
28
jbhifi.co.nzOCTOBER
2015
Neill Fraser:
The National
Guard
- this was the song I was most
attached to throughout the process
and admittedly the most protective
of, too. The end result is better than I
could have ever imagined.
Thom Watts:
Depends on the
mood really.
Ghost
,
Tantalus
,
Love
& War
and
The Great Unknown
are
what I’m especially keen on today.
Dave Johnston:
Tantalus
is a
real banger to perform, the energy
between us on stage is absolutely
nuts. My favourite ‘listening’ track
changes regularly, though - at the
moment, I’m loving the vibe of
The
National Guard
.
James Dylan
(bass)
:
My favourite moment from
the whole recording process
was probably tracking
The Great
Unknown
. Everyone was on the
same page and it really felt like we
were creating something that would
resonate with people.
So what areVillainy’s favourite
tracks on the new album?
MAGIC
MOMENTS
Dead Sight
by Villainy is out now