Interviews : Psycroptic (Dave Haley) – 24/10/2008

Preparing to tour around Australia and New Zealand, and with a new album ‘(Ob)Servant‘ just out, Dave Haley from Tasmanian Technical Death Metallers Psycroptic joined us for a chat about the new album, the band’s new label, touring America and the upcoming Aus/NZ tour.

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MO: Hey Dave, thanks for having a chat with us at www.metalobsession.net. With a new album ‘(Ob)Servant’ out now through STOMP (Nuclear Blast outside Australia), what was your own personal reaction to the final product?
P: I’m really happy with how it all turned out. We worked really hard on this one to make something special, and I really think we have… I’m very happy with all elements of the finished result – from the songs, to the production to the artwork. Its the best thing we have done yet without a doubt. I’m looking forward to getting out and playing these songs live!

MO: And with reviews starting to come in, how do you gauge the reaction from fans and critics?
P: The reaction to the album has been killer thus far…its getting great reviews, and a lot of people are sending us emails saying they love it…which is cool! Better than people tell us it sucks. It will be interesting to see reactions to the songs on the live front and how they go down with audiences.

MO: Personally I saw one major stylistic change on (Ob)Servant compared to previous Psycroptic albums, that being the vocals by Jason Peppiatt. The change I hear is that in most tracks he uses alot of variety in his vocals. Was this idea created to keep things fresh for this album, or did it just come naturally from Jason/the band?
P: A bit of both really. Jason wasn’t happy with his vocals on ‘Symbols of Failure’ – they are cool, but he didn’t like them. He had been working on getting a new sound into his vocals for a while and with the new material we just told him to go for it. We left it all up to him, and the results are great! We did want to progress in our sound, so the change in the vocals is very welcome within the band. Vocally, its my favourite album of ours…well, overall its my favourite album!

MO: I also hear another step up in production compared to previous albums, with the guitars sounding especially powerful. Were there any differences in recording this album compared to say, ‘Symbols of Failure’? And how was the mastering process with Logan Mader (ex-Machine Head, Soulfly)?
P: Since Joe tracked the album, he spent a long time getting the sound that he wanted for the album. He had also learnt a lot more about recording and engineering so of course the sound was going to be a lot better this time. We got Logan to mix and master the album, which helped a great deal as well. He knows how to get a really fat sound while still making everything audible in the mix. He was very easy to work with, and we would have no problem at all working with him in the future.

MO: How did the decision on naming the album (Ob)Servant come about? I now some people thought it quite a different title to choose.
P: Its based on the song of the same name on the album. We just wanted to do something different in all areas, including the title. We wanted a short title as all our previous albums had been quite long, and we just chose that one.

MO: Psycroptic recently signed with Nuclear Blast records, how does it feel for a band from Tasmania to be on one of the world’s biggest labels? And how has their support been to the band?
P: Its a really great feeling to be on Nuclear Blast – as they are the premier label for metal in our opinion. It sends a message out to a lot of other bands that it doesn’t really matter where you are from – if you are determined, it can pay off. Thus far they have been really supportive and have done a lot of promo and publicity for us. They are genuinely into the band, which makes a big difference when working with a label. We are very happy with how its working out thus far.

MO: Your about to go on an expansive tour around Australia and New Zealand, playing a lot of smaller town shows. What was the decision behind playing absolutely everywhere?
P: We like touring, and we want to expend our fan base a bit, so why not? Just because people don’t live in a major city doesn’t mean they don’t like extreme music. We have done extensive touring in Europe and the US so we might as well explore our own country! We looking forward to seeing how it all goes, especially in some of the regional areas.

MO: Any word on the re-scheduled Darwin show?
P: Not as yet….we were all bummed out when it got canned, but we are excited to get there eventually. Hopefully sometime next year we can re-schedule it.

MO: And the band will be recording a DVD at the Melbourne show on December 20th at The Hi-Fi Bar… anything special planned for that show in particular that you can let us in about?
P: Well, we of course will try to put on an intense show as we are filming, but we wont treat it any differently to any of the other shows in terms of playing. We will bring in more lights and that sort of thing to make it look visually good…but its all still in the planning process.
MO: You also recently completed the bands first ever North American tour as part of the awesome Summer Slaughter Tour, alongside bands such as Black Dahlia Murder, Vader, Kataklysm etc. How was that  experience?
P: It was great…we really loved touring the US. Its different from here or Europe…its a bit more rough but that just adds to the charm of it all. The Summer Slaughter package was very well organised, and it was a huge lineup – 10 bands each day. The fans really got their money’s worth…and the turn outs were great. It was a perfect introduction to touring the US for us. We are looking forward to getting back over there for  more touring next year.

MO: And how is life on the road in the US? I hear you almost had to cancel a show because of a faulty bus?
P: Haha, yeah, that’s just how things go. When your driving so far, it takes its toll on everyone and everything. Our little bus fucked out, and we likely hitched a ride with the Black Dahlia Murder guys on their bus. They looked out for us, and are awesome dudes. But yeah, it can be tough on the road, but fuck it, you don’t often get these sort of opportunities so you have to run with them.

MO: I’m sure you’re an avid listener to Australian metal. What have been some of your favourite Aussie bands of late?
P: Beyond Terror Beyond Grace are great, as are bands like Black Asylum and Zero Degrees Freedom. There are heaps of great bands around – with each state having a great scene. I could list a whole heap of bands, but the list would be too long, and I have stuff to do…haha

MO: And further to that, how do you feel the Australian metal scene is coming along?
P: Its coming along very well, with a lot of bands stepping up their production, song writing and stage shows to be comparable to anything else going on around the world. I will say though a lot of bands fall into the trap of trying to be ‘king of the hill’ – only thinking locally. You have to think globally these days if you want to push your music out to people.

MO: To finish up, any last words to the Metal Obsession readers?
P: Thanks for reading and we hope to see you all very soon when we’re on tour!

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Band: Psycroptic
Date: 24/10/2008
Origin: Hobart, Australia
www.myspace.com/psycroptic

Click here for all the tour dates on Psycroptic’s upcoming Australia/NZ Tour.

Queries: Brendan Amos (Metal Obsession)
Retorts: Dave Haley (Drums)