August 18, 2025 • 33 mins
Interview by Angela Croudace
*CONTENT WARNING - Swearing and Mention of Suicide/Self Harm*
Australian heavy metal veterans Temtris return with their powerful eighth album, Queen of Crows, a record built around the theme of good and bad consequences. Vocalist Genevieve Rodda and guitarist Foxy explained that the concept was inspired by personal experiences and reflections on how life’s choices affect us and those around us.
While their previous release, Chaos Divine, delved into a sci-fi dystopian world, Queen of Crows stays rooted in raw human struggles. Rodda described the writing process as emotionally charged, pointing to Scars of Betrayal, which confronts bullying and self-harm. Written about her own daughter’s struggles, it remains one of the band’s most personal songs to date.
Musically, Temtris continue to evolve while remaining true to their heavy metal roots. “We try to push our boundaries every album,” Foxy noted of their collaborative writing approach. The record blends crushing riffs with Rodda’s soaring vocals, as heard in tracks like Carnival of Tears and closing epic The World Is Bleeding, a critique of greed and consumerism framed within powerful fanfare.
Beyond the studio, Temtris take pride in delivering authentic, high-energy performances. At a time when many bands rely on backing tracks, they remain committed to live musicianship, valuing the thrill of pulling off challenging songs on stage.
The band is preparing for a return to Europe in 2025 with festival dates already being locked in. There’s also talk of a long-awaited vinyl pressing of Queen of Crows. With honesty, passion, and resilience, Temtris prove that heavy metal’s heart still beats strongest when fueled by authenticity.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.
*CONTENT WARNING - Swearing and Mention of Suicide/Self Harm*
Australian heavy metal veterans Temtris return with their powerful eighth album, Queen of Crows, a record built around the theme of good and bad consequences. Vocalist Genevieve Rodda and guitarist Foxy explained that the concept was inspired by personal experiences and reflections on how life’s choices affect us and those around us.
While their previous release, Chaos Divine, delved into a sci-fi dystopian world, Queen of Crows stays rooted in raw human struggles. Rodda described the writing process as emotionally charged, pointing to Scars of Betrayal, which confronts bullying and self-harm. Written about her own daughter’s struggles, it remains one of the band’s most personal songs to date.
Musically, Temtris continue to evolve while remaining true to their heavy metal roots. “We try to push our boundaries every album,” Foxy noted of their collaborative writing approach. The record blends crushing riffs with Rodda’s soaring vocals, as heard in tracks like Carnival of Tears and closing epic The World Is Bleeding, a critique of greed and consumerism framed within powerful fanfare.
Beyond the studio, Temtris take pride in delivering authentic, high-energy performances. At a time when many bands rely on backing tracks, they remain committed to live musicianship, valuing the thrill of pulling off challenging songs on stage.
The band is preparing for a return to Europe in 2025 with festival dates already being locked in. There’s also talk of a long-awaited vinyl pressing of Queen of Crows. With honesty, passion, and resilience, Temtris prove that heavy metal’s heart still beats strongest when fueled by authenticity.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi, I'm Jennet Even. This is spots from Temptress, Sydney, Australia.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Beautiful, wonderful. Whereabouts are you guys right now?
Speaker 1 (00:06):
Actually we're actually will we actually live in Naura, Ah
now the rest of the band is Sydney, so yeah,
we're like two hours from Sydney.
Speaker 3 (00:16):
All right.
Speaker 4 (00:16):
Queen of Crow's is your eighth album? What themes or
emotions were driving the writing process behind it this time?
Speaker 1 (00:25):
When I came up with the concept whenever we temperass
write albums, I come up with themes or concepts to
write about to help with the writing structure and give
me ideas for song lyrics. And I really wanted to
do something about consequences in life and they could be
good or bad and how that affects you personally or
people around you. So yeah, for me, it was quite
(00:48):
easy to have a lot of in depth topics about
that from personal experiences and things we've dealt with throughout
our career. So for me, that made it quite an
easy writing quite easily this time to put my emotions
down on paper. So that was something that sort of
came together. Even for Fox and Consequences, there's plenty of
(01:10):
good and bad to talk about in the world at
the moment.
Speaker 5 (01:12):
So yeah, coming off the back of an album like
Chaosy Vine, the previous album, which really was a journey
into sort of sci fi dystopia and great fun for
writing in different styles and incorporating a lot of new
sounds into the music. But again coming to this album
for Point of Crows just to take that dynamic shift again,
(01:35):
definitely not sci fi this one. I know, we see
the musical trail sort of follows along, so elements that
we've introduced even as far back as the Ritual Warfare
album and even Rapture had carried along through our sound
as it's grown and developed, So there's definitely a timeline there.
(01:56):
But it was it was great to step into, I guess.
I mean in the album cover itself and the artwork,
there's tarot cards, there's a whole I mean, probably a
witch drafty sort of that's sort of vein an element
to it as well, which yeah, again opens up a
whole different range of musical options as far as songwriting
(02:19):
is concerned.
Speaker 4 (02:20):
Yeah, definitely, I did notice that from the previous album
and even previous albums, you guys have stepped away from
what you were doing and it's almost I don't want
to say it's a genre shift because I don't think
it's that extreme, but you have explored new avenues I
think with this album.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
Yeah, we always try to add more or different elements
to our songs. We don't want every album to sound
the same, even though it's still temperous. Yeah, we do
try and push our own personal boundaries that I try
and push vocally. He try and pushes musically. So that's
something we do. Happy to experiment and try things, and
I think that's where you have something to write about. Musically.
(02:57):
You can experiment with other things that were can try things.
And I'll sometimes go to him, Oh I need this
guitar bar and I'll have to sing it because I
can't play it. And then You'll be like, He'll write
me a vocal partner. I'll be like, you want me
to sing?
Speaker 4 (03:09):
What?
Speaker 2 (03:10):
Yeah? Crazy?
Speaker 4 (03:12):
And I watched the music video for the World Is
Bleeding and it had me feeling empowered and it had
really strong female energy.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
You reminded me of.
Speaker 4 (03:22):
Like zena Warrior Princess, isn't it. Where did you guys
film that as well?
Speaker 3 (03:28):
That was actually Newcastle stock stock and Beach.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
Yes, Stockton sand Dunes. They're quite famous for people going
and checking out and you can go on tours there
on a June buggy and because it's just endless dunes.
And our filmmaker Adam literally just suggested when I said
we wanted something similar like the film of the cover
of the album with the sand on it, he said,
I've got the place for you. And when we turned up,
we were just like there was even the tree there
(03:53):
to do the photos for the band, and I was like, Ah,
that's just perfect and.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
So lucky there was no one else.
Speaker 4 (03:59):
I mean, I guess the dunes are expansive and endless,
but it's beautiful. I highly recommend everyone check it out
and can you walk us through the story or message
behind the world is Bleeding out.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
Your Baby.
Speaker 5 (04:18):
It was one of the first songs written for the album,
which is kind of interesting how it ended up being
the closing track, but it was kind of written that way.
It is a closing tracks, It's a finishing sort of song.
Speaker 3 (04:35):
The motifs are really again around.
Speaker 5 (04:38):
About the global perspective of what humanity is sort of
choosing in some ways to do to itself. By what
it chooses to include in it, it's greed and its
approach to capitalism and consumerism, those sort of elements, and
I guess when you're dealing with an album that's themed
(04:59):
around con sequences, lyrically, we're delving into that area.
Speaker 3 (05:05):
But it was also musically was designed to be also
a tale of sort of two parts.
Speaker 5 (05:12):
It's got a very soft, somber kind of introduction, which
is meant to allude to the seriousness of the subject matter.
But then when we cut into the second half of
the song, there's there's a bit of fanfare going on,
and it's a little bit deliberately tongue in cheek written
that way because it's kind of like in some other
(05:36):
areas of the lyrics in other songs, as mentioned, of
this parade of humanity that goes on.
Speaker 3 (05:43):
So musically it was.
Speaker 5 (05:45):
Written to have that dynamic of drama promotion, advertising this
is all amazing, wonderful stuff and how powerful and how
potent the human race is. But of course when you
dig into the lyric content, we're kind of having a
giant barbered ourselves.
Speaker 4 (06:02):
Yeah, yeah, definitely, You've got those sort of opposites in there,
and like you're saying that fanfare for everything that's you know,
advertising and going on in the world at the moment,
but then contrasted with your lyrics as well, it's great
and it's I never thought of it like that, but
now that you're saying it, like how it's divided into
(06:22):
the two parts.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
Yeah, that's that's awesome.
Speaker 1 (06:26):
Thanks.
Speaker 4 (06:27):
And was there a particular track on Queen of Crow's
that challenged you vocally or emotionally.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
Well, Carnival of Tears. When Anthony first wrote that one
and showed me how it has a whole octave jump
in the second verse, I first went, we'reever fucking playing
this live? But we did the other night at our
(06:55):
album launch, and I pulled it off and I was
really proud of myself. But it took me a long
time to teach my voice how to do that because
I had to At first, I was trying to sing
it in falsetto, which I don't do very often. I
normally use my chest voice or mixed voice for everything.
That's why I get the loud I get compared to
being like sounding like a male singer sometimes because I
(07:16):
don't do the symphonic stuff very much. But yeah, it
was definitely. It took me a long time to work
out how to do that, but I'm one.
Speaker 3 (07:23):
Of those people.
Speaker 1 (07:24):
Even with Chaos Divine that track was really high as well.
Once I've been given the time to teach my voice,
it becomes a muscle memory and then I could usually
do it every show.
Speaker 2 (07:34):
Yeah, well done.
Speaker 1 (07:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (07:36):
It's where the songwriting team aspect comes into it, and
we're very lucky even between Jen and myself how we're
able to share expertise and ideas but also constantly push
the bar on each other, and that translates to the
other members in the band as well. Nick Drammer contributes
(07:57):
quite heavily to all the rhythmic side of things to
and he's got a really good hold on writing to
a concept as well.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
So it's great.
Speaker 5 (08:05):
Fun bouncing ideas around and getting all the right rhythm
sections going with all these other mochiefs that are going
on in music, but with Jen in particular and the
Carnival of Tears song, there's always at least one song
on the album where I sort of close it off
to myself and say I'm just going to go stupid
(08:27):
on it. Basically, I'm going to write what's in my
head and I'm just going to ignore any filters and
present it once it's done and then yeah, it's Chaosly
mine was a similar sort of theme the song itself,
because when I brought it to Gen she just looked
at me and just went, what the fuck, that's.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
Not really happening. I'm like, well, that's how I'm hear
it is in my head, So it'd be nice if
you give it a go. Let's see if we can
do this.
Speaker 5 (08:57):
And of course, being the amazing voks that she isn't,
she doesn't back down from a challenge, so we get
these amazing results out of that music.
Speaker 3 (09:08):
But that song, to hear Jen perform it live the
other night in Sydney just phenomenally impressive.
Speaker 5 (09:18):
To listen to a vocalist deliver that sort of level
of vocal performance live off a stage. It makes you
very proud as a songwriter to be able to be
involved in that process.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
Oh, I can only imagine see a lot of your songs.
Speaker 4 (09:34):
I feel like they translate obviously so well in a
live performance. Does it take you, guys a lot of
goes to get a track down in the studio or
are things pretty.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
Rapid this guy. I have to tell him to stop
rewriting because he will keep writing, writing and fiddling and
trying to make things better, which I understand. There's a
point where you have to go, this song's fucking great,
leave it alone. Yes, stop fiddling and studio wise, for me, Drama,
(10:08):
the drummer and myself, we're getting the studio will pretty
much recording three days, three to five days.
Speaker 3 (10:14):
We've done that.
Speaker 1 (10:15):
But the writing process we always put ideas down and
we will tweak forever in our studio here about making
things as good as we can or willis brown and
we're like, hmm, chorus isn't big enough for it's you know,
it's not emotionally driven enough and stuff like that. So
we will keep feeling so we can be. Yeah, I
do have some point go to Fox.
Speaker 3 (10:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (10:35):
Core concepts in songs generally come together fairly solidly, particularly
when we've got such a strong theme to write around,
and Jenevieve and I have been writing together for so long,
we're pretty good at nailing down the big picture stuff.
And then the time then comes into how fine tuned
(10:56):
we want the detail to be. And even I'm guilty
of writing a song and then looking at it later
and just going this, no way I'm going to remember
all these different changes and variations on stage.
Speaker 3 (11:06):
That's just not going to happen.
Speaker 5 (11:08):
So again, having the other writers around and having out
the other members of the band around to sort of go, well,
that's it, no more detail, don't dig any further, we
don't need any more variations.
Speaker 3 (11:21):
We've got the theme, We've got the core of it.
Speaker 5 (11:23):
If you start pushing it any further than that, it's
going to start sounding like Hamilton the Musical or something
like that. So yeah, having those filters on is a
great scene. But yeah, it sort of is that dig
into the detail until I feel like I've challenged what
I've been able to do as a as a composer,
(11:44):
as a writer, and the same for the other guys.
Speaker 3 (11:47):
But yeah, there's always a point where you hit the brakes.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
Yeah, yeah, I can only imagine.
Speaker 4 (11:51):
I feel like I would be that type of person
to obsess over it and go oh but and then
it's good you have the others around you to just
go no, it's okay, stop and jen growing up for
you some of your inspirations. Nowadays, there is so many
more female fronted bands, which is awesome.
Speaker 2 (12:12):
But how about you growing up? Who is some of
your inspirations?
Speaker 1 (12:16):
Look early on, probably my first major vocalist, female major
vocalist that I got john too, was pat Banattar, just
because she had such an amazing vocal range. She was
classically trained and what she did, you know, hell is
for children's song for example, is just amazing and I
often listen to those tracks and go be really cool
to meddle those up and see how they turn out.
(12:38):
So yeah, for HER's she was my first rock vocalist
that really got my attention. Then of course people like
doropesh from Warlock was my other, but I did follow
more into that because there was not so many females
in the business. Was more following Bruce Dickinson when I
really heard him. That was like an easy thing for
(12:59):
me to sort of attached to with my singing style.
And then I had people like Jeff Tait from Queens
write that really grabbed me. But as you say, now
there's females everywhere singing, but the majority of them these
days are either doing symphonic vocals or death vocal Yeah. Yeah,
and I've e't been noticing some of the traditional vocalists
(13:19):
are now just doing death vocal because that's the thing
to do. But I would rather stay true and be
I mean, someone did a review recently and compared me
to people like my idols, and when are we to
get compared to your idols like Jeff Tait or Bruce Dickinson. Well,
then I don't want to do death vocals.
Speaker 2 (13:39):
That's right, No, that's it.
Speaker 4 (13:41):
You're exactly right, And I think it just speaks to you.
You've obviously just nailed down your talent so well, and
you know yourself and your voice and your vocal range
that you I don't want you to and I don't
think you need to go and explore different like the
death vocals.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
Yeah, it's always it.
Speaker 2 (14:00):
It's a thing.
Speaker 1 (14:00):
A few people do you say to me, Oh, you
should could go and do this, And yeah, I probably could, but.
Speaker 3 (14:06):
You definitely can.
Speaker 5 (14:07):
Vocally you can, yeah, but musically, really, we put so
much work into lyric content and making vocal lines like
really stand out points in as part of the vocal arrangement.
Speaker 3 (14:23):
So to sort of.
Speaker 5 (14:26):
Not downgrade, but to put death vocals in amongst that
sort of I don't think that would be being totally
true to what we're trying to represent with the music.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
Yeah, yeah, that's it. That's it.
Speaker 4 (14:39):
And how about what are you guys listening to at
the moment? Is there anything that's really grabbed your attention lately?
Speaker 1 (14:47):
Tricky When we're in the writing phase and recording Faith,
we don't listen to anything else, which is really frustrating
because we get so stuck in our You're just analyzing
everything else so much and you don't want to put
other influencers in. But yeah, Gene, what have we listened?
I mean, I'm keen for the new Primal Fear album,
so I've been checking out what's something with Ralph? Ralphie
(15:10):
always impresses me with his vocals, So yeah.
Speaker 3 (15:12):
We have a little bit of Testament.
Speaker 5 (15:15):
They've too just recently, so I was getting back into
a bit of them and enjoying the fact that bands
like Testament, a lot of the shows they're doing now
are our legacy sort of album shows.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
So you can backtrack a little bit.
Speaker 5 (15:30):
And have a bit of nostalgia and go and watch
Alex Kulnik play the Return of to Serenity solo live
and just get your goosebumps.
Speaker 3 (15:39):
Say yeah, that sort of stuff that loves for live music.
Speaker 2 (15:43):
Yes, yes, definitely. And with dual guitars being such a key.
Speaker 4 (15:48):
Part of your sound, how closely do you work with
the guitarists when shaping vocal melodies.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
We've kind of already spoken about this.
Speaker 3 (15:58):
It's it is very much.
Speaker 5 (16:02):
Like writing, I guess almost for a string quartet in
a way. You've got your bass holding down that cello
part down the bottom. We use seven string guitar, which
would obviously sit.
Speaker 3 (16:19):
In your viola line, and then your other guitar.
Speaker 5 (16:21):
Is your violin, and your vocalist takes the other violin parts.
So those are your four layers of writing that you
then blend across your cord structures and whatever else you're doing.
Speaker 2 (16:35):
Gee, intense. Sounds like a lot of work.
Speaker 5 (16:41):
Yes, I suppose it takes. It takes a bit of
musical knowledge. It's we're not a band that just sort
of jams stuck out and goes, yeah, that sounds good.
Speaker 3 (16:51):
Just repeat that.
Speaker 5 (16:53):
There's musicality involved, and I'll always be pushing lines and
that's the detail we meant before.
Speaker 3 (17:00):
I'm looking for those extra lines.
Speaker 5 (17:02):
I'm looking for the balance of how things sit and
everything is there to deliver.
Speaker 3 (17:08):
That strong vocal performance over the top.
Speaker 5 (17:12):
We get our chance to shine as guitarists whenever the
vocals are sort of out of the way and we're
doing our solo stuff. And Nardi and I put a
lot of work into the harmony writing that we do.
And again, that's I suppose where guitarists like Nadi bring
their strength to the four because he's just a fantastic guitarist,
(17:34):
so he loves stepping up those sort of challenges. I
consider myself more of a songwriter. I play guitar well
enough to get out what's going on in my head,
and sometimes that's fairly challenging. But to work with an
actual guitarist guitarist like Nardi and Donovan, who appeared on
(17:56):
the album as well, they push me in a guitar sense,
and I like to think that I pushed back with
the musicality side of things and challenge them to go
in some different directions than just the standard ur pedgios
or whatever might be be the first response. It's always
(18:16):
a bit like, well, that sounds great, but how could
we make it not better?
Speaker 3 (18:21):
But how could we make it different?
Speaker 5 (18:23):
And most importantly, how could we attach it better to
the theme of the music. And get it more strongly
representing the song as a whole.
Speaker 4 (18:31):
It's really intricate, and it's really interesting to hear that
from you, because it's like with music as a listener,
sometimes you can just hear the music for what it
is and not really understand the complex layers underneath that
have gone into it. And I think it's particularly incredible
that you write on guitar with the vocals in mind,
(18:56):
and you can throw those ideas.
Speaker 2 (18:57):
Back off to Jen and be like, how about you
try this?
Speaker 1 (19:00):
And it's very important because there's nothing worse than being
given a piece of music and people going sing to
this and I'm like, but what am I singing to?
And what is the I need some emotional content to
attach to to write, I just can't. Yeah. I quite
often when we write albums and we go to write
a new album, I'll be the instigator of the theme
(19:23):
to start the process. See, so I can actually create
Go to Fox, Okay, we're going to go down this road.
The ritual Warfare was literally about time and time in
life and stuff. So yeah, we always always have something
to attach to.
Speaker 5 (19:37):
Yeah, it helps the creation and Genevieve, I mean, I
might have my party pieces, but Geneteve will contribute bulk
of lyrical ideas as well, because again, sometimes as a
guitarist you don't really think about simple things like how
is it vocalists going to breathe while singing all these
multiple words and phrases and things. So it is quite
(19:57):
important that Jenna's the vocal with the kind of vocal
delivery she's expected to produce. Yeah, she's able to sort
of go, well, these words go here because.
Speaker 3 (20:07):
I need time to take the rest.
Speaker 2 (20:10):
Yeah, yeah, that's awesome.
Speaker 4 (20:12):
And was there a particular moment or a lyric on
the album that felt especially personal for you?
Speaker 1 (20:19):
I actually wrote Stars of Betrayal, and if you've seen
the single that was our second single, that one is
very close to our heart. I actually wrote that about
one of my children self harming and almost losing her life.
Speaker 2 (20:34):
Oh my goodness.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
That is yeah, bullying and how the epidemic of bullying
is taking over our children in high schools and even
primary schools, and the fact that people are literally you
see so many kids I'm seeing with cuts on. They're
self harming to try and regulate their behaviors and make
themselves feel better. And that's so that track for me
is literally about that, about scars, betrayal, about being hurt
(21:00):
by friends, about being hurt by people you don't know. Yeah, personally,
I've had people attack me online just because of what
I do and who I am, and the fact that
they're not there as well they want.
Speaker 3 (21:12):
To take me down.
Speaker 1 (21:12):
So that Scars of a Child is really Yeah, it's
a really close to home piece, that one, and it's
very it's sad, but it also needs to be told
that it's not okay. What you know, what's going on
in the world, and I think parents have a bit
of responsibility there. A lot of parents are walking around
bullying themselves and children are watching that behavior and seeing
(21:32):
how they're talking and copying.
Speaker 4 (21:34):
Sadly one hundred percent, that adds a whole a new
layer of meaning. I mean, I could kind of guess what,
you know, within the nature of what the lyrics were,
what the song was sort of about. But as a mum,
and you know, with kids in primary school actually even
just today, one of my kids is at netball and
she had an issue with the other kids, and it's
(21:56):
just you feel so powerless, don't you, as a parent.
Speaker 1 (21:58):
But that's the thing you think, think you know, or
we thought we knew how in depth the bullying was,
but we had no idea until you know, it got
to this point. And that's the thing. You can think
your kids are okay because they put My daughter always says,
you're always so strong, So I just, you know, had
to think I have to be like you put on
this brave face. But yeah, you don't realize what's actually
(22:20):
going on even though you think you're doing the best
you can. Yeah, there's the outside that are causing so
much damage to your kids with the bullying. Is really
really sad, and it's going on everywhere. It is a thing.
It's an epidemic at the moment in schools and I
don't know how we get control back over that.
Speaker 4 (22:39):
I know, I know know me either. I wish I
had an answer. And how is your daughter today?
Speaker 3 (22:44):
Is she? Or right?
Speaker 1 (22:45):
She's a great finish school working after UNI.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
Oh good, Oh thank god.
Speaker 3 (22:50):
It's doing awesome now.
Speaker 1 (22:51):
So that's that's I think that's the thing. That she
was one of those smart, good looking pretty girls that
didn't smoke or do drugs, so everyone picked up because
she wasn't yeah into that group, so they didn't like it.
Speaker 5 (23:04):
So I guess the lesson overall is that you you
you really hope people would understand, particularly people who were
going through that sort of emotional state in their life,
is being able to project forward and see that things
can change.
Speaker 3 (23:20):
Yeah. Yeah, that's the hardest message to get across one.
Speaker 2 (23:24):
Hundred percent undred percent.
Speaker 4 (23:25):
And as you know, as parents, I often go, you know,
it'll be okay, and it's like I trust and believe
in that, But how do you get a child to
understand that.
Speaker 1 (23:35):
It's yeah, it's pretty heavy. It's a heavy topic.
Speaker 2 (23:38):
Yeah, yeah, wow. And how do you feel the Australian
metal scene has changed since Tempres first emerged. It's changed
a lot.
Speaker 1 (23:49):
I think.
Speaker 5 (23:50):
Yeah, well, yeah, when we started, it was there was
a lot of rock bands or hard rock bands, and
thrash bands were kind of still a bit of a
new thing, probably shown a.
Speaker 3 (24:06):
Bit of age there.
Speaker 5 (24:08):
But we have been around for all. It's been really
interesting watching the whole musical scene try and adapt to
I mean, initially what was the collapse of the industry financially,
uh and everything being picked up by internet and then
(24:29):
now into the social media world. But yeah, bands and
that whole musical aspect has has changed dramatically, even over
the short space of time that we've been running around.
Speaker 1 (24:44):
Not as many venues to play in. Its socialt like
the Internet. It's all about social stuff now and posting
as much as you can and you know, being in
people's face. It's really I find it. I find it
overwhelming sometimes thinking i' I've got tonight, our album's out tomorrow,
and I've done one little post about our Japanese pressing,
(25:05):
and I'm like, I'm actually like already mentally tired from
my job and keep giving. And that's where it's I
think the industry has changed. It used to be you
could go and play and reach everybody, but now you've
got to play, you've got to promote, you've got to
do TikTok, you've got to do all this other stuff.
Speaker 3 (25:25):
And live stagecraft has changed as well.
Speaker 5 (25:29):
I mean everyone's probably familiar now with the fact that
musicians have got earphones in they're all listening to quicking
top clocks inside their heads. For the most part, more
and more bands are adding more and more sampled sounds
into their musics. It's in a lot of instances now
(25:52):
a live performance is live by how much you almost
feel like some band should be putting a little list
they do on alcohol products, like this performance will be yeah, yeah,
I mean, at the end of the day, it doesn't
really matter. A solid stage performance is a solid stage performance,
(26:13):
and the audience is going to enjoy it.
Speaker 3 (26:16):
But there is.
Speaker 5 (26:17):
Definitely a wide and in split between pure live band
performance and a lot of bands that have now moved
into more it's almost stage show. And the way we
were jokingly refer to music like river Dance and stuff
(26:38):
when that was put on. There's a lot more bands
now that are that are on that path and using
the special effects and using the sound throughout their entire shows.
Speaker 3 (26:51):
It really rang true when we were touring Europe because
we would.
Speaker 5 (26:54):
Turn up just with our boards and our guitars, and
the sound guys would be like, so laptops.
Speaker 3 (27:01):
Computers, ear monitors, like, none of that.
Speaker 2 (27:06):
Eating.
Speaker 3 (27:06):
The drummer will count in and we'll play, Oh well,
the hands that go together. They'd be like, oh, this
is going to be great. I've got to love this.
Speaker 5 (27:14):
And so often the engineers would come off at the
end and say, it's been so long.
Speaker 3 (27:17):
Since I've worked with a band like that.
Speaker 5 (27:20):
So often it's everything is just being automated and done.
Even for them as the mixing engineer, it's all been
done for them. They're told to just plug it in
and turn the volume up. So for us, I suppose
that shows a little bit again of our age, but
it's also it is part of our drivers the band.
(27:41):
We take great pride in the fact that we work
hard to.
Speaker 3 (27:45):
Be good musicians.
Speaker 5 (27:46):
We work hard to write good songs that can be
performed live on stage. Our music is designed to be
a show, but it's a live show. When I walk
off stage, if I've played ninety percent of the guitar
music that I've had to play.
Speaker 3 (28:01):
Correctly, I'm pretty pumped with that because it's not easy.
Speaker 5 (28:06):
And it's the same for the rest of the guys
in the band when we walk off stage if we've
really nailed a show.
Speaker 3 (28:12):
The personal reward.
Speaker 5 (28:15):
That you feel knowing that that's simply on the efforts
of your hard work and the fact that you've just
put all your talent into a great, big ball and
you've managed to succeed with it, it's kind of cool.
Speaker 3 (28:29):
It's a bit like.
Speaker 5 (28:29):
Rock climbing without anchors and safety nets and things. It's like, yeah,
it can all go horribly wrong, but that's kind of
what makes it fun exactly.
Speaker 2 (28:37):
No. I think that's so true.
Speaker 4 (28:39):
And even though you know you guys well, because you
guys have been around for a while now, when you
guys first started out, I imagine that you put on
a live show, and you put on a live show
like there's not much else more to it.
Speaker 2 (28:51):
It's you guys giving your all and your best.
Speaker 4 (28:53):
And I think that in this day and age, we're
losing a lot of that, as you.
Speaker 2 (28:58):
Were saying, like, because it's everything are.
Speaker 4 (29:00):
Very overly produced, and it must be also a bit
of a double edged sword with social media, you being
able to connect so easily with fans, but then also
feeling that pressure.
Speaker 2 (29:13):
Like you have to post constantly.
Speaker 1 (29:16):
Yeah. Yeah, We've actually got a song on a new
album called No One Is Listening, and that's actually about that,
about trying to get through the layers and layers of
the amount of music that he's out there now and
trying to be heard and get your product heard, and
it feels like you're working your ass off and you're
reaching this. Yeah, a little piece every album more a
(29:37):
little bit more.
Speaker 4 (29:38):
So.
Speaker 1 (29:38):
Yeah, that's what that track is actually about.
Speaker 4 (29:41):
Yeah, Yeah, you guys have made it internationally as well, though,
Was there a like significant moment when you thought like,
oh my gosh, like we have made it.
Speaker 1 (29:52):
I don't think. We don't ever think we've made it.
We're always looking at the next goal. He's always said,
I'd be happy to be known of one of Australia's
female heavy metal singers. And I guess I am in
a sense now people know who I am and people
go to me. You don't realize how big you And
I'm like, I'm just a girl from now going to
(30:12):
Europe and we're like, okay, we've played the festival now
and we're hopefully going back again next year to play
some law festivals. And I guess that's what is what
is what defines making it for us. We are happy
what we've achieved. It's been a hard yard to get
where we have got and but we're always pushing ourselves
to get to that next level.
Speaker 5 (30:35):
So yeah, and I mean again, our band is sort
of more built on that musical aspect. For us, making
it is just performing really well and because that is
it kind of our focus. We don't have sort of
benchmarks where we've sold this many albums, so we must
(30:57):
have made it, or we've we've performed at this particular festivals,
so we must.
Speaker 3 (31:01):
Have made it.
Speaker 5 (31:03):
When when we are really happy as a band, it's
because we've delivered a solid set of music to whatever
audience has happened to be in front of us, and
those audience members have appreciated it, they've understood it, they've
connected with it, they've grabbed us after the show and gone,
I had a ship week this week, but I came
(31:24):
and saw your band and suddenly, you know, everything's right
in the world again. That's making it for us from
our perspectives.
Speaker 3 (31:33):
So yeah, it's.
Speaker 4 (31:37):
And that's raw and honest, and I think that's what
it all should be about.
Speaker 2 (31:41):
At the end of the day. It's lovely to hear
that's that's how you guys think.
Speaker 4 (31:45):
And what's next for ten for us after this release,
can we expect a tour, videos or maybe even a
vinyl pressing?
Speaker 1 (31:54):
Yeah, look, i'd love I've always wanted to do vinyl.
It's just been money always runs out at the end
by the time I've organized touring and recording and pressing albums.
And yeah, I would actually would love to do this album.
Point of grows on vinyl, so if I managed to
recruit some costs, that is on my list to do.
(32:14):
But we definitely are. We had to postpone our tour
to Europe after Nick our drama had his heart attack
at Bernie, which is in the Sydney show, which is devastating.
But he's alive, so that's good, all right, He's.
Speaker 2 (32:29):
Back at it.
Speaker 1 (32:30):
We are definitely planning to get back to Europe. We're
aiming at the moment for April May to get back
to Europe. So we're just locking in a couple of
festival dates and then I will hopefully start booking. We
want to get back to the UK again, and that's
then we might take a break, I don't know from
writing always, so we're going to We always say this
is costing too much, it's too much hard work. I'm
(32:51):
too tired from it. I don't want to do anymore,
and then we always start writing again.
Speaker 4 (32:56):
Well, it'd be a well deserved break, I think to
have one. Oh guys, we're loving Clean and Crows already.
It's been so lovely to speak with you both.
Speaker 2 (33:06):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 3 (33:08):
Well, thanks you time.
Speaker 1 (33:08):
I appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (33:09):
The post
Hi, I'm Jennet Even. This is spots from Temptress, Sydney, Australia.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Beautiful, wonderful. Whereabouts are you guys right now?
Speaker 1 (00:06):
Actually we're actually will we actually live in Naura, Ah
now the rest of the band is Sydney, so yeah,
we're like two hours from Sydney.
Speaker 3 (00:16):
All right.
Speaker 4 (00:16):
Queen of Crow's is your eighth album? What themes or
emotions were driving the writing process behind it this time?
Speaker 1 (00:25):
When I came up with the concept whenever we temperass
write albums, I come up with themes or concepts to
write about to help with the writing structure and give
me ideas for song lyrics. And I really wanted to
do something about consequences in life and they could be
good or bad and how that affects you personally or
people around you. So yeah, for me, it was quite
(00:48):
easy to have a lot of in depth topics about
that from personal experiences and things we've dealt with throughout
our career. So for me, that made it quite an
easy writing quite easily this time to put my emotions
down on paper. So that was something that sort of
came together. Even for Fox and Consequences, there's plenty of
(01:10):
good and bad to talk about in the world at
the moment.
Speaker 5 (01:12):
So yeah, coming off the back of an album like
Chaosy Vine, the previous album, which really was a journey
into sort of sci fi dystopia and great fun for
writing in different styles and incorporating a lot of new
sounds into the music. But again coming to this album
for Point of Crows just to take that dynamic shift again,
(01:35):
definitely not sci fi this one. I know, we see
the musical trail sort of follows along, so elements that
we've introduced even as far back as the Ritual Warfare
album and even Rapture had carried along through our sound
as it's grown and developed, So there's definitely a timeline there.
(01:56):
But it was it was great to step into, I guess.
I mean in the album cover itself and the artwork,
there's tarot cards, there's a whole I mean, probably a
witch drafty sort of that's sort of vein an element
to it as well, which yeah, again opens up a
whole different range of musical options as far as songwriting
(02:19):
is concerned.
Speaker 4 (02:20):
Yeah, definitely, I did notice that from the previous album
and even previous albums, you guys have stepped away from
what you were doing and it's almost I don't want
to say it's a genre shift because I don't think
it's that extreme, but you have explored new avenues I
think with this album.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
Yeah, we always try to add more or different elements
to our songs. We don't want every album to sound
the same, even though it's still temperous. Yeah, we do
try and push our own personal boundaries that I try
and push vocally. He try and pushes musically. So that's
something we do. Happy to experiment and try things, and
I think that's where you have something to write about. Musically.
(02:57):
You can experiment with other things that were can try things.
And I'll sometimes go to him, Oh I need this
guitar bar and I'll have to sing it because I
can't play it. And then You'll be like, He'll write
me a vocal partner. I'll be like, you want me
to sing?
Speaker 4 (03:09):
What?
Speaker 2 (03:10):
Yeah? Crazy?
Speaker 4 (03:12):
And I watched the music video for the World Is
Bleeding and it had me feeling empowered and it had
really strong female energy.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
You reminded me of.
Speaker 4 (03:22):
Like zena Warrior Princess, isn't it. Where did you guys
film that as well?
Speaker 3 (03:28):
That was actually Newcastle stock stock and Beach.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
Yes, Stockton sand Dunes. They're quite famous for people going
and checking out and you can go on tours there
on a June buggy and because it's just endless dunes.
And our filmmaker Adam literally just suggested when I said
we wanted something similar like the film of the cover
of the album with the sand on it, he said,
I've got the place for you. And when we turned up,
we were just like there was even the tree there
(03:53):
to do the photos for the band, and I was like, Ah,
that's just perfect and.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
So lucky there was no one else.
Speaker 4 (03:59):
I mean, I guess the dunes are expansive and endless,
but it's beautiful. I highly recommend everyone check it out
and can you walk us through the story or message
behind the world is Bleeding out.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
Your Baby.
Speaker 5 (04:18):
It was one of the first songs written for the album,
which is kind of interesting how it ended up being
the closing track, but it was kind of written that way.
It is a closing tracks, It's a finishing sort of song.
Speaker 3 (04:35):
The motifs are really again around.
Speaker 5 (04:38):
About the global perspective of what humanity is sort of
choosing in some ways to do to itself. By what
it chooses to include in it, it's greed and its
approach to capitalism and consumerism, those sort of elements, and
I guess when you're dealing with an album that's themed
(04:59):
around con sequences, lyrically, we're delving into that area.
Speaker 3 (05:05):
But it was also musically was designed to be also
a tale of sort of two parts.
Speaker 5 (05:12):
It's got a very soft, somber kind of introduction, which
is meant to allude to the seriousness of the subject matter.
But then when we cut into the second half of
the song, there's there's a bit of fanfare going on,
and it's a little bit deliberately tongue in cheek written
that way because it's kind of like in some other
(05:36):
areas of the lyrics in other songs, as mentioned, of
this parade of humanity that goes on.
Speaker 3 (05:43):
So musically it was.
Speaker 5 (05:45):
Written to have that dynamic of drama promotion, advertising this
is all amazing, wonderful stuff and how powerful and how
potent the human race is. But of course when you
dig into the lyric content, we're kind of having a
giant barbered ourselves.
Speaker 4 (06:02):
Yeah, yeah, definitely, You've got those sort of opposites in there,
and like you're saying that fanfare for everything that's you know,
advertising and going on in the world at the moment,
but then contrasted with your lyrics as well, it's great
and it's I never thought of it like that, but
now that you're saying it, like how it's divided into
(06:22):
the two parts.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
Yeah, that's that's awesome.
Speaker 1 (06:26):
Thanks.
Speaker 4 (06:27):
And was there a particular track on Queen of Crow's
that challenged you vocally or emotionally.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
Well, Carnival of Tears. When Anthony first wrote that one
and showed me how it has a whole octave jump
in the second verse, I first went, we'reever fucking playing
this live? But we did the other night at our
(06:55):
album launch, and I pulled it off and I was
really proud of myself. But it took me a long
time to teach my voice how to do that because
I had to At first, I was trying to sing
it in falsetto, which I don't do very often. I
normally use my chest voice or mixed voice for everything.
That's why I get the loud I get compared to
being like sounding like a male singer sometimes because I
(07:16):
don't do the symphonic stuff very much. But yeah, it
was definitely. It took me a long time to work
out how to do that, but I'm one.
Speaker 3 (07:23):
Of those people.
Speaker 1 (07:24):
Even with Chaos Divine that track was really high as well.
Once I've been given the time to teach my voice,
it becomes a muscle memory and then I could usually
do it every show.
Speaker 2 (07:34):
Yeah, well done.
Speaker 1 (07:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (07:36):
It's where the songwriting team aspect comes into it, and
we're very lucky even between Jen and myself how we're
able to share expertise and ideas but also constantly push
the bar on each other, and that translates to the
other members in the band as well. Nick Drammer contributes
(07:57):
quite heavily to all the rhythmic side of things to
and he's got a really good hold on writing to
a concept as well.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
So it's great.
Speaker 5 (08:05):
Fun bouncing ideas around and getting all the right rhythm
sections going with all these other mochiefs that are going
on in music, but with Jen in particular and the
Carnival of Tears song, there's always at least one song
on the album where I sort of close it off
to myself and say I'm just going to go stupid
(08:27):
on it. Basically, I'm going to write what's in my
head and I'm just going to ignore any filters and
present it once it's done and then yeah, it's Chaosly
mine was a similar sort of theme the song itself,
because when I brought it to Gen she just looked
at me and just went, what the fuck, that's.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
Not really happening. I'm like, well, that's how I'm hear
it is in my head, So it'd be nice if
you give it a go. Let's see if we can
do this.
Speaker 5 (08:57):
And of course, being the amazing voks that she isn't,
she doesn't back down from a challenge, so we get
these amazing results out of that music.
Speaker 3 (09:08):
But that song, to hear Jen perform it live the
other night in Sydney just phenomenally impressive.
Speaker 5 (09:18):
To listen to a vocalist deliver that sort of level
of vocal performance live off a stage. It makes you
very proud as a songwriter to be able to be
involved in that process.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
Oh, I can only imagine see a lot of your songs.
Speaker 4 (09:34):
I feel like they translate obviously so well in a
live performance. Does it take you, guys a lot of
goes to get a track down in the studio or
are things pretty.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
Rapid this guy. I have to tell him to stop
rewriting because he will keep writing, writing and fiddling and
trying to make things better, which I understand. There's a
point where you have to go, this song's fucking great,
leave it alone. Yes, stop fiddling and studio wise, for me, Drama,
(10:08):
the drummer and myself, we're getting the studio will pretty
much recording three days, three to five days.
Speaker 3 (10:14):
We've done that.
Speaker 1 (10:15):
But the writing process we always put ideas down and
we will tweak forever in our studio here about making
things as good as we can or willis brown and
we're like, hmm, chorus isn't big enough for it's you know,
it's not emotionally driven enough and stuff like that. So
we will keep feeling so we can be. Yeah, I
do have some point go to Fox.
Speaker 3 (10:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (10:35):
Core concepts in songs generally come together fairly solidly, particularly
when we've got such a strong theme to write around,
and Jenevieve and I have been writing together for so long,
we're pretty good at nailing down the big picture stuff.
And then the time then comes into how fine tuned
(10:56):
we want the detail to be. And even I'm guilty
of writing a song and then looking at it later
and just going this, no way I'm going to remember
all these different changes and variations on stage.
Speaker 3 (11:06):
That's just not going to happen.
Speaker 5 (11:08):
So again, having the other writers around and having out
the other members of the band around to sort of go, well,
that's it, no more detail, don't dig any further, we
don't need any more variations.
Speaker 3 (11:21):
We've got the theme, We've got the core of it.
Speaker 5 (11:23):
If you start pushing it any further than that, it's
going to start sounding like Hamilton the Musical or something
like that. So yeah, having those filters on is a
great scene. But yeah, it sort of is that dig
into the detail until I feel like I've challenged what
I've been able to do as a as a composer,
(11:44):
as a writer, and the same for the other guys.
Speaker 3 (11:47):
But yeah, there's always a point where you hit the brakes.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
Yeah, yeah, I can only imagine.
Speaker 4 (11:51):
I feel like I would be that type of person
to obsess over it and go oh but and then
it's good you have the others around you to just
go no, it's okay, stop and jen growing up for
you some of your inspirations. Nowadays, there is so many
more female fronted bands, which is awesome.
Speaker 2 (12:12):
But how about you growing up? Who is some of
your inspirations?
Speaker 1 (12:16):
Look early on, probably my first major vocalist, female major
vocalist that I got john too, was pat Banattar, just
because she had such an amazing vocal range. She was
classically trained and what she did, you know, hell is
for children's song for example, is just amazing and I
often listen to those tracks and go be really cool
to meddle those up and see how they turn out.
(12:38):
So yeah, for HER's she was my first rock vocalist
that really got my attention. Then of course people like
doropesh from Warlock was my other, but I did follow
more into that because there was not so many females
in the business. Was more following Bruce Dickinson when I
really heard him. That was like an easy thing for
(12:59):
me to sort of attached to with my singing style.
And then I had people like Jeff Tait from Queens
write that really grabbed me. But as you say, now
there's females everywhere singing, but the majority of them these
days are either doing symphonic vocals or death vocal Yeah. Yeah,
and I've e't been noticing some of the traditional vocalists
(13:19):
are now just doing death vocal because that's the thing
to do. But I would rather stay true and be
I mean, someone did a review recently and compared me
to people like my idols, and when are we to
get compared to your idols like Jeff Tait or Bruce Dickinson. Well,
then I don't want to do death vocals.
Speaker 2 (13:39):
That's right, No, that's it.
Speaker 4 (13:41):
You're exactly right, And I think it just speaks to you.
You've obviously just nailed down your talent so well, and
you know yourself and your voice and your vocal range
that you I don't want you to and I don't
think you need to go and explore different like the
death vocals.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
Yeah, it's always it.
Speaker 2 (14:00):
It's a thing.
Speaker 1 (14:00):
A few people do you say to me, Oh, you
should could go and do this, And yeah, I probably could, but.
Speaker 3 (14:06):
You definitely can.
Speaker 5 (14:07):
Vocally you can, yeah, but musically, really, we put so
much work into lyric content and making vocal lines like
really stand out points in as part of the vocal arrangement.
Speaker 3 (14:23):
So to sort of.
Speaker 5 (14:26):
Not downgrade, but to put death vocals in amongst that
sort of I don't think that would be being totally
true to what we're trying to represent with the music.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
Yeah, yeah, that's it. That's it.
Speaker 4 (14:39):
And how about what are you guys listening to at
the moment? Is there anything that's really grabbed your attention lately?
Speaker 1 (14:47):
Tricky When we're in the writing phase and recording Faith,
we don't listen to anything else, which is really frustrating
because we get so stuck in our You're just analyzing
everything else so much and you don't want to put
other influencers in. But yeah, Gene, what have we listened?
I mean, I'm keen for the new Primal Fear album,
so I've been checking out what's something with Ralph? Ralphie
(15:10):
always impresses me with his vocals, So yeah.
Speaker 3 (15:12):
We have a little bit of Testament.
Speaker 5 (15:15):
They've too just recently, so I was getting back into
a bit of them and enjoying the fact that bands
like Testament, a lot of the shows they're doing now
are our legacy sort of album shows.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
So you can backtrack a little bit.
Speaker 5 (15:30):
And have a bit of nostalgia and go and watch
Alex Kulnik play the Return of to Serenity solo live
and just get your goosebumps.
Speaker 3 (15:39):
Say yeah, that sort of stuff that loves for live music.
Speaker 2 (15:43):
Yes, yes, definitely. And with dual guitars being such a key.
Speaker 4 (15:48):
Part of your sound, how closely do you work with
the guitarists when shaping vocal melodies.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
We've kind of already spoken about this.
Speaker 3 (15:58):
It's it is very much.
Speaker 5 (16:02):
Like writing, I guess almost for a string quartet in
a way. You've got your bass holding down that cello
part down the bottom. We use seven string guitar, which
would obviously sit.
Speaker 3 (16:19):
In your viola line, and then your other guitar.
Speaker 5 (16:21):
Is your violin, and your vocalist takes the other violin parts.
So those are your four layers of writing that you
then blend across your cord structures and whatever else you're doing.
Speaker 2 (16:35):
Gee, intense. Sounds like a lot of work.
Speaker 5 (16:41):
Yes, I suppose it takes. It takes a bit of
musical knowledge. It's we're not a band that just sort
of jams stuck out and goes, yeah, that sounds good.
Speaker 3 (16:51):
Just repeat that.
Speaker 5 (16:53):
There's musicality involved, and I'll always be pushing lines and
that's the detail we meant before.
Speaker 3 (17:00):
I'm looking for those extra lines.
Speaker 5 (17:02):
I'm looking for the balance of how things sit and
everything is there to deliver.
Speaker 3 (17:08):
That strong vocal performance over the top.
Speaker 5 (17:12):
We get our chance to shine as guitarists whenever the
vocals are sort of out of the way and we're
doing our solo stuff. And Nardi and I put a
lot of work into the harmony writing that we do.
And again, that's I suppose where guitarists like Nadi bring
their strength to the four because he's just a fantastic guitarist,
(17:34):
so he loves stepping up those sort of challenges. I
consider myself more of a songwriter. I play guitar well
enough to get out what's going on in my head,
and sometimes that's fairly challenging. But to work with an
actual guitarist guitarist like Nardi and Donovan, who appeared on
(17:56):
the album as well, they push me in a guitar sense,
and I like to think that I pushed back with
the musicality side of things and challenge them to go
in some different directions than just the standard ur pedgios
or whatever might be be the first response. It's always
(18:16):
a bit like, well, that sounds great, but how could
we make it not better?
Speaker 3 (18:21):
But how could we make it different?
Speaker 5 (18:23):
And most importantly, how could we attach it better to
the theme of the music. And get it more strongly
representing the song as a whole.
Speaker 4 (18:31):
It's really intricate, and it's really interesting to hear that
from you, because it's like with music as a listener,
sometimes you can just hear the music for what it
is and not really understand the complex layers underneath that
have gone into it. And I think it's particularly incredible
that you write on guitar with the vocals in mind,
(18:56):
and you can throw those ideas.
Speaker 2 (18:57):
Back off to Jen and be like, how about you
try this?
Speaker 1 (19:00):
And it's very important because there's nothing worse than being
given a piece of music and people going sing to
this and I'm like, but what am I singing to?
And what is the I need some emotional content to
attach to to write, I just can't. Yeah. I quite
often when we write albums and we go to write
a new album, I'll be the instigator of the theme
(19:23):
to start the process. See, so I can actually create
Go to Fox, Okay, we're going to go down this road.
The ritual Warfare was literally about time and time in
life and stuff. So yeah, we always always have something
to attach to.
Speaker 5 (19:37):
Yeah, it helps the creation and Genevieve, I mean, I
might have my party pieces, but Geneteve will contribute bulk
of lyrical ideas as well, because again, sometimes as a
guitarist you don't really think about simple things like how
is it vocalists going to breathe while singing all these
multiple words and phrases and things. So it is quite
(19:57):
important that Jenna's the vocal with the kind of vocal
delivery she's expected to produce. Yeah, she's able to sort
of go, well, these words go here because.
Speaker 3 (20:07):
I need time to take the rest.
Speaker 2 (20:10):
Yeah, yeah, that's awesome.
Speaker 4 (20:12):
And was there a particular moment or a lyric on
the album that felt especially personal for you?
Speaker 1 (20:19):
I actually wrote Stars of Betrayal, and if you've seen
the single that was our second single, that one is
very close to our heart. I actually wrote that about
one of my children self harming and almost losing her life.
Speaker 2 (20:34):
Oh my goodness.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
That is yeah, bullying and how the epidemic of bullying
is taking over our children in high schools and even
primary schools, and the fact that people are literally you
see so many kids I'm seeing with cuts on. They're
self harming to try and regulate their behaviors and make
themselves feel better. And that's so that track for me
is literally about that, about scars, betrayal, about being hurt
(21:00):
by friends, about being hurt by people you don't know. Yeah, personally,
I've had people attack me online just because of what
I do and who I am, and the fact that
they're not there as well they want.
Speaker 3 (21:12):
To take me down.
Speaker 1 (21:12):
So that Scars of a Child is really Yeah, it's
a really close to home piece, that one, and it's
very it's sad, but it also needs to be told
that it's not okay. What you know, what's going on
in the world, and I think parents have a bit
of responsibility there. A lot of parents are walking around
bullying themselves and children are watching that behavior and seeing
(21:32):
how they're talking and copying.
Speaker 4 (21:34):
Sadly one hundred percent, that adds a whole a new
layer of meaning. I mean, I could kind of guess what,
you know, within the nature of what the lyrics were,
what the song was sort of about. But as a mum,
and you know, with kids in primary school actually even
just today, one of my kids is at netball and
she had an issue with the other kids, and it's
(21:56):
just you feel so powerless, don't you, as a parent.
Speaker 1 (21:58):
But that's the thing you think, think you know, or
we thought we knew how in depth the bullying was,
but we had no idea until you know, it got
to this point. And that's the thing. You can think
your kids are okay because they put My daughter always says,
you're always so strong, So I just, you know, had
to think I have to be like you put on
this brave face. But yeah, you don't realize what's actually
(22:20):
going on even though you think you're doing the best
you can. Yeah, there's the outside that are causing so
much damage to your kids with the bullying. Is really
really sad, and it's going on everywhere. It is a thing.
It's an epidemic at the moment in schools and I
don't know how we get control back over that.
Speaker 4 (22:39):
I know, I know know me either. I wish I
had an answer. And how is your daughter today?
Speaker 3 (22:44):
Is she? Or right?
Speaker 1 (22:45):
She's a great finish school working after UNI.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
Oh good, Oh thank god.
Speaker 3 (22:50):
It's doing awesome now.
Speaker 1 (22:51):
So that's that's I think that's the thing. That she
was one of those smart, good looking pretty girls that
didn't smoke or do drugs, so everyone picked up because
she wasn't yeah into that group, so they didn't like it.
Speaker 5 (23:04):
So I guess the lesson overall is that you you
you really hope people would understand, particularly people who were
going through that sort of emotional state in their life,
is being able to project forward and see that things
can change.
Speaker 3 (23:20):
Yeah. Yeah, that's the hardest message to get across one.
Speaker 2 (23:24):
Hundred percent undred percent.
Speaker 4 (23:25):
And as you know, as parents, I often go, you know,
it'll be okay, and it's like I trust and believe
in that, But how do you get a child to
understand that.
Speaker 1 (23:35):
It's yeah, it's pretty heavy. It's a heavy topic.
Speaker 2 (23:38):
Yeah, yeah, wow. And how do you feel the Australian
metal scene has changed since Tempres first emerged. It's changed
a lot.
Speaker 1 (23:49):
I think.
Speaker 5 (23:50):
Yeah, well, yeah, when we started, it was there was
a lot of rock bands or hard rock bands, and
thrash bands were kind of still a bit of a
new thing, probably shown a.
Speaker 3 (24:06):
Bit of age there.
Speaker 5 (24:08):
But we have been around for all. It's been really
interesting watching the whole musical scene try and adapt to
I mean, initially what was the collapse of the industry financially,
uh and everything being picked up by internet and then
(24:29):
now into the social media world. But yeah, bands and
that whole musical aspect has has changed dramatically, even over
the short space of time that we've been running around.
Speaker 1 (24:44):
Not as many venues to play in. Its socialt like
the Internet. It's all about social stuff now and posting
as much as you can and you know, being in
people's face. It's really I find it. I find it
overwhelming sometimes thinking i' I've got tonight, our album's out tomorrow,
and I've done one little post about our Japanese pressing,
(25:05):
and I'm like, I'm actually like already mentally tired from
my job and keep giving. And that's where it's I
think the industry has changed. It used to be you
could go and play and reach everybody, but now you've
got to play, you've got to promote, you've got to
do TikTok, you've got to do all this other stuff.
Speaker 3 (25:25):
And live stagecraft has changed as well.
Speaker 5 (25:29):
I mean everyone's probably familiar now with the fact that
musicians have got earphones in they're all listening to quicking
top clocks inside their heads. For the most part, more
and more bands are adding more and more sampled sounds
into their musics. It's in a lot of instances now
(25:52):
a live performance is live by how much you almost
feel like some band should be putting a little list
they do on alcohol products, like this performance will be yeah, yeah,
I mean, at the end of the day, it doesn't
really matter. A solid stage performance is a solid stage performance,
(26:13):
and the audience is going to enjoy it.
Speaker 3 (26:16):
But there is.
Speaker 5 (26:17):
Definitely a wide and in split between pure live band
performance and a lot of bands that have now moved
into more it's almost stage show. And the way we
were jokingly refer to music like river Dance and stuff
(26:38):
when that was put on. There's a lot more bands
now that are that are on that path and using
the special effects and using the sound throughout their entire shows.
Speaker 3 (26:51):
It really rang true when we were touring Europe because
we would.
Speaker 5 (26:54):
Turn up just with our boards and our guitars, and
the sound guys would be like, so laptops.
Speaker 3 (27:01):
Computers, ear monitors, like, none of that.
Speaker 2 (27:06):
Eating.
Speaker 3 (27:06):
The drummer will count in and we'll play, Oh well,
the hands that go together. They'd be like, oh, this
is going to be great. I've got to love this.
Speaker 5 (27:14):
And so often the engineers would come off at the
end and say, it's been so long.
Speaker 3 (27:17):
Since I've worked with a band like that.
Speaker 5 (27:20):
So often it's everything is just being automated and done.
Even for them as the mixing engineer, it's all been
done for them. They're told to just plug it in
and turn the volume up. So for us, I suppose
that shows a little bit again of our age, but
it's also it is part of our drivers the band.
(27:41):
We take great pride in the fact that we work
hard to.
Speaker 3 (27:45):
Be good musicians.
Speaker 5 (27:46):
We work hard to write good songs that can be
performed live on stage. Our music is designed to be
a show, but it's a live show. When I walk
off stage, if I've played ninety percent of the guitar
music that I've had to play.
Speaker 3 (28:01):
Correctly, I'm pretty pumped with that because it's not easy.
Speaker 5 (28:06):
And it's the same for the rest of the guys
in the band when we walk off stage if we've
really nailed a show.
Speaker 3 (28:12):
The personal reward.
Speaker 5 (28:15):
That you feel knowing that that's simply on the efforts
of your hard work and the fact that you've just
put all your talent into a great, big ball and
you've managed to succeed with it, it's kind of cool.
Speaker 3 (28:29):
It's a bit like.
Speaker 5 (28:29):
Rock climbing without anchors and safety nets and things. It's like, yeah,
it can all go horribly wrong, but that's kind of
what makes it fun exactly.
Speaker 2 (28:37):
No. I think that's so true.
Speaker 4 (28:39):
And even though you know you guys well, because you
guys have been around for a while now, when you
guys first started out, I imagine that you put on
a live show, and you put on a live show
like there's not much else more to it.
Speaker 2 (28:51):
It's you guys giving your all and your best.
Speaker 4 (28:53):
And I think that in this day and age, we're
losing a lot of that, as you.
Speaker 2 (28:58):
Were saying, like, because it's everything are.
Speaker 4 (29:00):
Very overly produced, and it must be also a bit
of a double edged sword with social media, you being
able to connect so easily with fans, but then also
feeling that pressure.
Speaker 2 (29:13):
Like you have to post constantly.
Speaker 1 (29:16):
Yeah. Yeah, We've actually got a song on a new
album called No One Is Listening, and that's actually about that,
about trying to get through the layers and layers of
the amount of music that he's out there now and
trying to be heard and get your product heard, and
it feels like you're working your ass off and you're
reaching this. Yeah, a little piece every album more a
(29:37):
little bit more.
Speaker 4 (29:38):
So.
Speaker 1 (29:38):
Yeah, that's what that track is actually about.
Speaker 4 (29:41):
Yeah, Yeah, you guys have made it internationally as well, though,
Was there a like significant moment when you thought like,
oh my gosh, like we have made it.
Speaker 1 (29:52):
I don't think. We don't ever think we've made it.
We're always looking at the next goal. He's always said,
I'd be happy to be known of one of Australia's
female heavy metal singers. And I guess I am in
a sense now people know who I am and people
go to me. You don't realize how big you And
I'm like, I'm just a girl from now going to
(30:12):
Europe and we're like, okay, we've played the festival now
and we're hopefully going back again next year to play
some law festivals. And I guess that's what is what
is what defines making it for us. We are happy
what we've achieved. It's been a hard yard to get
where we have got and but we're always pushing ourselves
to get to that next level.
Speaker 5 (30:35):
So yeah, and I mean again, our band is sort
of more built on that musical aspect. For us, making
it is just performing really well and because that is
it kind of our focus. We don't have sort of
benchmarks where we've sold this many albums, so we must
(30:57):
have made it, or we've we've performed at this particular festivals,
so we must.
Speaker 3 (31:01):
Have made it.
Speaker 5 (31:03):
When when we are really happy as a band, it's
because we've delivered a solid set of music to whatever
audience has happened to be in front of us, and
those audience members have appreciated it, they've understood it, they've
connected with it, they've grabbed us after the show and gone,
I had a ship week this week, but I came
(31:24):
and saw your band and suddenly, you know, everything's right
in the world again. That's making it for us from
our perspectives.
Speaker 3 (31:33):
So yeah, it's.
Speaker 4 (31:37):
And that's raw and honest, and I think that's what
it all should be about.
Speaker 2 (31:41):
At the end of the day. It's lovely to hear
that's that's how you guys think.
Speaker 4 (31:45):
And what's next for ten for us after this release,
can we expect a tour, videos or maybe even a
vinyl pressing?
Speaker 1 (31:54):
Yeah, look, i'd love I've always wanted to do vinyl.
It's just been money always runs out at the end
by the time I've organized touring and recording and pressing albums.
And yeah, I would actually would love to do this album.
Point of grows on vinyl, so if I managed to
recruit some costs, that is on my list to do.
(32:14):
But we definitely are. We had to postpone our tour
to Europe after Nick our drama had his heart attack
at Bernie, which is in the Sydney show, which is devastating.
But he's alive, so that's good, all right, He's.
Speaker 2 (32:29):
Back at it.
Speaker 1 (32:30):
We are definitely planning to get back to Europe. We're
aiming at the moment for April May to get back
to Europe. So we're just locking in a couple of
festival dates and then I will hopefully start booking. We
want to get back to the UK again, and that's
then we might take a break, I don't know from
writing always, so we're going to We always say this
is costing too much, it's too much hard work. I'm
(32:51):
too tired from it. I don't want to do anymore,
and then we always start writing again.
Speaker 4 (32:56):
Well, it'd be a well deserved break, I think to
have one. Oh guys, we're loving Clean and Crows already.
It's been so lovely to speak with you both.
Speaker 2 (33:06):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 3 (33:08):
Well, thanks you time.
Speaker 1 (33:08):
I appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (33:09):
The post
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