STACK NZ Oct #67

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Kiwi rockers Villainy on bringing a rawer edge to their sophmore set Dead Sight . By John Ferguson. BAD RELIGION

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!”

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

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. 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 . So what areVillainy’s favourite tracks on the new album? MAGIC MOMENTS Thom Watts:

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.

Dead Sight by Villainy is out now

OCTOBER 2015

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