Wayde:
Greetings Stu! Let’s just start off with a brief run-down of what you’ve done musically in the past (bands you’ve played in, releases you’ve played on and anything else relevant) and what you’re up to these days.
Stu:
Hey Wayde! Ok I'll try to keep it brief as there's a lot of stuff! Basically I started playing in metal bands while at school around 1990 that really went nowhere until I started a band called Detruncation who did a fair bit of gigging around Sydney in 93/94, we did a couple of unreleased demos before splitting. I then formed Elysium in 1994, we did a number of demos and an album before changing the name to Stone Wings and doing a few more releases, but that has been in hiatus for quite some time now. I have also been involved in a few other projects over the years, Of Grief Everlasting (doom band that did 3 demos), Decayed Divinity, Bludgeoner (did 2 MCDs) and Corpsickle (so far have done 2 demo's, a split CD, 1 album and the second is nearly done). Also played guitar for Backyard Mortuary for quite a few years now, we have a full length on the way, but the band is pretty much over and The Slow Death which is a doom recording project that is near completing the 2nd full length now. Finally I just joined Mournful Congregation as well. Sorry if that’s a bit disjointed, it's all overlapping haha.
Wayde:
You’ve certainly accomplished quite a lot in the last 20 years with your music! Let’s talk a bit about the releases you’re currently working on. You just mentioned a new The Slow Death album is in the works, what can you tell me about that?
Stu:
It's much along the lines of the first album for whoever has heard that, the main difference being we had a real drummer play on this one (Yonn, from Backyard Mortuary/Nazxul etc). It's 5 songs of epic death/doom male and female vocals, about 70 minutes long. We have been working on it for about 2 years slowly so it will be a relief to finally finish it and start the next one which is 75% written already musically. We should have the CD out towards the end of the year though.
Wayde:
Cool! I’m looking forward to this, the first one was great. What can you tell us about the Backyard Mortuary album you also mentioned? Also; you say that the band is pretty much over, does that mean after the album there won’t be any more releases and/or shows by Backyard Mortuary?
Stu:
I'm not sure what is happening with the Backyard Mortuary CD to be honest, I know the actual recording part was finished around April, and now Dave (guitarist) is mixing it, so I don't know how that is going or who is releasing it or anything haha, all I know is we did 8 songs for it. We are talking about doing a farewell gig early next year once Chris (vocals) gets back from South America, but I think that will be the end of the band. It's really up to Chris and Dave as it's their band but I'd be surprised if anything else happens with it, but time will tell.
Wayde:
That’s a shame! It’ll be very unfortunate to see such a killer band come to an end if that’s the case. What about Corpsickle, are you guys working on more material? If so, is there any info you can share about what’s going on there?
Stu:
Yes, it is a shame but I had no say in it haha. Corpsickle is something I am undecided on at the moment, we have a new full length that's 95% completed, but I haven't been doing anything new with it and it will be some time before we gig again if ever, I need to see how I feel about it after a break for a while. On another note, I forgot to say in my first answer that I have started a new death metal band as my kind of “replacement” for BM, which has ex Bludgeoner/Grenade/Backyard Mortuary guys which I'm sure will start gigging next year.
Wayde:
Well, it will be interesting to see where you go with Corpsickle. Here’s hoping things turn out well for the band!
This new death metal band sounds cool. Would you mind providing some info about it? Who exactly is in the band, and how did this band come to be? What are the bands influences and what sort of direction are you taking with the music? Have you got much material written yet? Are there any plans for a release?
Stu:
We've only just started writing with the new band and are only beginning to jam together in a couple of weeks so it's real early days. The lineup is Karkuss (ex-Bludgeoner on vocals), Yonn (Backyard Mortuary on drums), Dan (Corpsickle/ex Bludgeoner on bass), Ben (ex Grenade on guitar) and myself on guitar. Our influences are European death metal such as Bolt Thrower and Asphyx etc but as I said it's early days so we'll have to see how it turns out. It came about when I knew Backyard was coming to an end and I still wanted to play death metal! No plans for releases, definitely won't be anything this year, but next year if things turn out we'll do something.
Wayde:
Excellent! It will be interesting to see how this goes, keep me posted!
You mentioned earlier that you have recently joined Mournful Congregation on guitar duties. This must be very exciting for you, because if I recall correctly, they’re one of your favourite acts! How did this opportunity come about for you? Will you be a “full” member of the band, or simply a “live” or “session” member?
Stu:
Yes, is very exciting for me, at the moment I am just playing live and they have just finished recording the new album so it'll be quite some time before anything else is recorded so we'll see what happens. I have been mates with all the guys from MC for a long time, Damon I've known for about 15 years now and Adrian and Justin over a decade, so when Petch decided he couldn't commit to touring anymore they asked me to do it and I immediately said yes, even though to rehearse I must fly to Adelaide, but they are my favourite Australian band, so it's worth the effort I think.
Wayde:
I think a lot of people would kill to be in your position, joining your favourite band is the kind of thing that happens in movies! Haha.
While on the subject of Australian metal, what is your general view on the Aussie metal “scene” as a “scene veteran” (God I feel dirty using the word scene so much, ha!) so to speak? What Australian bands are you into? What are your thoughts on there being no “central hub” for Australian metal, do you think it’s a good or a bad thing that bands are so spread apart? Would you like to see more “gatherings” such as the recent Evil Invaders, Armageddon and Black Conjuration festivals?
Stu:
For me there's not a whole lot in the Australian metal 'scene' that interests me a whole lot at present, I could probably count the number of bands that still exist that I like on my hands but we've had some totally killer bands in the past that easily equal any overseas bands in my opinion like Cruciform, Misery, Armoured Angel, Disembowelment etc. Cauldron Black Ram, Stargazer, Portal, D.usk, Assaulter, are some of my favourite current Aussie bands. I think it's good that there's no central hub as bands get a better chance to get their own identity. I love the good fests like Evil Invaders etc but if they happened more often I think it would lose the appeal, they work when they have great line ups like EI did but if it happened all the time and with lesser quality bands it would make things less of an event I think.
Wayde:
I think you’ve raised a pretty good point with it being a good thing that there is no real “hub” for Aussie metal. Especially when you think of some overseas scenes such as (obvious example here! Haha) the San Francisco Bay Area which has been plagued with clone bands from the beginning. I’d much rather have a variety of bands spread all over the country than a bunch of clone bands all in the one city!
What made you decide to start playing guitar all those years ago? What are your influences, musical and non-musical? What made you want to play death and doom metal type music? What do you pollute your stereo and ears with on a day-to-day basis?
Stu:
I'm not sure what made me want to start but I'd always liked guitars since I was really young but didn't manage to get one before I was about 14. My influences are many and have changed over the years, these days I wouldn't say any one thing influences me, I've been writing long enough to have my own kind of style. Anything that had some sort of feeling would have been influential though. With Death metal for me I love playing it live, I really like the energy and aggression, and with Doom I love the feeling and heaviness, it's my favourite style, so I guess that made me gravitate towards playing it. I love playing downtuned heavy guitars, and though I listen to a lot of other stuff, this is what I love to play. Stuff on my stereo varies like most people, my favourite bands are Iron Maiden and Dio, so I listen to that and a lot of older metal stuff but also a lot of doom and death metal, a lot of thrash, bits of black metal and grind. On the other side of things, I love Pink Floyd and Porcupine Tree and also have a thing for alternative female singer/songwriters like Tina Dico, Charlotte Martin, stuff like that.
Wayde:
Is there anything outside of music that influences the music you write, such as films, literature, history and so on?
Stu:
For the most part I'd have to say no, except for lyrically with Corpsickle, which is heavily influenced by horror movies and novels.
Wayde:
Since you’ve been playing in bands for so long, I’m sure you’ve had a lot of ups and downs, low-points and high-points, what would some of these be?
Stu:
Yeah there will always be high and low points. Low points would be bands splitting, backstabbings, a few bad gigs, being fucked over by a few labels, but that happens to all bands I guess, high points for me would probably the excellent reaction I’ve got from the Stone Wings and Slow Death albums since they are the bands I’ve put the most effort into.
Wayde:
What advice would you give to any young musicians out there just picking up their instruments and getting started out with their bands?
Stu:
I would advise them to play what they really want to play and not something to try to fit into a trend as there's little chance that you'll make it far in Australia. Prepare to be cult haha.
Wayde:
Wise words indeed mate! Haha. Well, I’d like to thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to ramble with me! Any last words?
Stu:
Buy some Evoken albums. Haha.
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