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Interviews : “We’re just trying to write songs that actually are kind of honest” – An interview with Dylan Gillies-Parsons (Gravemind)

By on May 25, 2018

Gravemind – Dylan Gillies-Parsons

Gravemind is a dynamic deathcore/metalcore outfit from Melbourne who veers headlong into that perilous space between no holds barred heaviness and melodic interludes. The band’s vocalist, Dylan Gillies-Parsons, was available to chat not long after a successful tour of selected capital cities with Diamond Construct and 23/19.

Gravemind unleashed the killer cut, “Lifelike”, prior to the tour. It’s a pit rousing banger that could make Emmure’s resident guitar genius, Josh Travis, nod his head in favour. “Lifelike” might be heavy, and it’s certainly brutal… but all is not as it seems according to Gillies-Parsons.

“We are a heavy band and yes, it’s funny that you said it, it’s particularly brutal. I think we’ve been gigging with bands that are probably even heavier than us. So, we don’t see it as being like the heaviest music that’s ever been written, we’re just trying to write songs that actually are kind of honest, to begin with, and they kind of function as songs and they’re entertaining”

The production on “Lifelike” is world-class. The percussive balance, how the percussion and drums sound against the jig-saw guitar riffs is extraordinary. Gillies-Parsons explains that a Melbourne local is ‘the man’ when it comes to crafting the rich aural aesthetics present.

“Lance Prenc, he is like our little niche industry go–to. He’s just like so good at what he does, everyone needs him in the industry. He mixed and mastered it for us, so he made the drums sound as good as they sound. He made everything sound as good as it sounds and he’s only getting better. He’s been working with Boris The Blade and Alpha Wolf before as well, on their debut album. He goes on tours and mixes those same bands live and it’s so cool now to be a band playing heavy music, getting the record mixed by someone and then having him (Prenc) turn up to the show and just replicate that in like a really shitty venue. It’s the best that anyone could possibly do. He’s just a wiz.”

Readers in heavy bands in Melbourne and surrounds… take note of that name!

An unusual, but the very engaging manner in which the band offered the fans something unique was through the limited run of 10 “Lifelike” test presses on 7″ vinyl. Each test press came with a laser-cut wooden box and a lyric page. The page itself is made of plantable paper.

“Yes, that’s a bit of a fun one. The idea came from work actually. I was having one of those sales meetings that you have at work and they started passing around these little cards to us, like this little kind of like an inspirational quote. I remember looking down and thinking, ‘What a waste of fucking paper. I can’t believe it, like fuck, who gives a shit?’, and I looked at it and was like, ‘This is all bumpy’, and then I saw seeds in it and I looked at the back and it said, ‘You can plant these seeds and herbs will grow’. I was like, “Fuck me. Touché.”

Head to the band’s official Facebook page to find out more! www.facebook.com/pg/gravemindau

About

Andrew is a musician who has spent many years performing on the stages of the pubs and clubs of Queensland. A devotee of the broad church that is rock, punk, funk, jazz and of course all genres of metal... he now shares his enthusiasm via a burgeoning pursuit of music journalism. Follow him on twitter @andymckaysmith