Interviews : A Million Dead Birds Laughing – 16/09/2009

Bursting onto the live scene in December 2008, Melbourne-based grindcore/technical death metal outfit A Million Dead Birds Laughing (AMDBL) have quickly amassed a cult following within the heavily populated scene of extreme bands. Elliott Sansom recently caught up with Ben Boyle, Dean Turner and Adam Stewart from the band (guitar, drums and vocals respectively), and get an insight into where the band has come from, and where they are going. The band has recently commenced recording of their debut full-length album, ‘Force Fed Enlightenment’, due for release sometime in 2010.

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Metal Obsession: First of all, let me thank you for taking the time to conduct this interview.
Ben: Thanks for having us.
Dean: Yeah nah mad.

MO: Now I’m sure there are a number of people out there curious as to where the band’s name comes from. What can you tell us about the origin of the name ‘A Million Dead Birds Laughing’?
Ben: I originally came up with the moniker around 5 years ago now and it was birthed as a name that could be interpreted different ways; it is broad enough to allow no bias or stereotypical conclusion in an individual’s preconception of what the music may be, but does still retain sinister implications. You can’t just hear the name and know what the band will sound like. Everyone seems to have a different view of what it could mean; even within the band.

Our vocalist Adam gives his own interpretation within the lyrics of our track ‘Requiem’. It is a name without boundaries that allows us to do and be anything we want musically and creatively. I think it’s a name that won’t easily be forgotten once you’ve heard it as it does raise questions and I think it’s important we leave it up to the individual to ponder the answers.

MO: How did AMDBL begin, which members joined first?
Ben: The musical ideas began as a small project of mine around 2005; it didn’t develop into a band until around 2007-2008. Dean and I were involved with a band (Sclera) that unfortunately had fallen apart and AMDBL basically spawned out of that. Dean had joined first, then Sean and finally Adam; it came together relatively quick. We had decided early on we did not want a typical vocalist; we knew we needed someone extremely diverse in order to explore every avenue as we wanted a band without rules and without boundaries creatively.

We also wanted an instantly recognizable voice; I had known Adam from years ago and he was our first choice but was not an easy person to track down at the time; we ran into him by chance and gave him the material. We had tried out a couple of vocalists before him but we knew they would not be able to deliver the diversity we were after. Luckily Adam thought the same and loved the material.

MO: How did the project evolve from demo recordings in a bedroom, to a bunch of live gigs and a full length album?
Dean: Well, at the time of Sclera splitting up; I had heard the AMDBL demo tracks and expressed interest in expanding the ideas I had and developing it into a full band. Ben and I started jamming and writing on AMDBL material and haven’t stopped since.
Ben: Once we secured Adam as the vocalist we were eager to start hitting the live scene and did so around a mere month and half after he joined.

We have written at an alarming rate over the past year since solidifying the line-up due to the amount of inspiration and ideas within the band. We currently have our first 4 albums planned and mapped out with themes and ideas we wish to explore; the first 2 are completely written and the 3rd is in progress. We’re currently tracking our first album ‘Force-Fed Enlightenment’ at 3 Phase Studios with Sam Johnson and we’re hoping to have it out early-mid 2010.

MO: Who writes the lyrics for your music, and is there a consistent theme that runs throughout? Are the lyrics serious / tongue-in-cheek, or a little bit of both?
Ben: Adam is the sole lyrical contributor; we often come up with themes or lyrical ideas as a collective but the end result is entirely up to Adam.

Adam: The lyrics are somewhat cryptic… some may seem very tongue in cheek (ie. “waka waka waka”) but none of them are directly about what they appear to be about. I like to run from a free flow of thought, let the words happen themselves rather than force them to print. This gives them a slight erratic result. Thematically, the lyrics on ‘Force-Fed Enlightenment’ are mainly focused on the dark side of the subconscious; mind control and paranoia. While some aren’t about any topic at all; these ones are spells or curses… depending on whether you’re on our side or not.

MO: Who and what would you as a band, and as individuals, list as your influences both musically and lyrically?
Adam: My influences lyrically are drawn from all my life experiences; both the good and the bad. Most are approached as though solving a puzzle. Considering the single word titles are decided upon before the completion of the lyrics, I m erely translate my interpretation of that word; firstly as a black and white drawing; then as a poem.

Ben: We do tend to draw heavily from art and general story elements; majority of the song ideas begin with an abstract idea, narrative or character and develop from there; also with the lyrics; as Adam mentioned; he often communicates his vision for the song visually as an art piece prior to completing the words; he is quite an established artist. We’re hoping to include all these art pieces within the album package. We definitely draw from an artistic place for inspiration and direction within our music. In regards to bands I admire and that generally influences my song writing personally, there’s Nasum, Ulcerate, Psycroptic, Deathspell Omega, Pig Destroyer, Pink Floyd, Neurosis, Disfear, Mayhem and HORSE the Band to name a few.

Dean: As far as my input into the band goes, I’m deeply influenced by Nasum and Ulcerate. These two bands have really given me a lot of ideas as far as the drumming for AMDBL is concerned.

MO: What has been your favourite and least favourite live experience? What venues have you loved to play at, and what venues would you rather avoid in future?
Ben: Summer Slaughter was definitely a highlight; playing with some of our favourite bands from all over the world. We couldn’t be more grateful to Soundworks for the opportunity they gave local bands in having a chance to secure the spot via the battle of the bands competition across each state.

Dean: As far as venues go, we love The Arthouse, East Brunswick Club and The Corner Hotel. Recently just playing The Pony also I have to say, that venue has some sweet vibes! There are definitely some venues out there that need to lift their game but I don’t think I need to mention them by name.

MO: What bands have you most enjoyed playing with, and what bands would you like to play with in future? Are there any popular international bands that you can see yourself supporting once the album has been released?
Ben: It’s hard to say as we just love playing with bands; I think we’ve been somewhat lucky in that we have been able to play some diverse shows with bands of varying styles up to this point and every band we’ve played with has been really cool. But some highlights were playing our debut show with Beyond Terror Beyond Grace whose music we really dig and we’ve just recently played with Rotten Chop; those guys are absolutely awesome, and it’s always a pleasure to share the stage with The Ocularis Infernum.

Dean: After the album is released we just want to get out and play as much as possible to as many people as possible with anyone who is willing to have us. We’d love to play with some of our favourite artists of course, but getting out there and playing with new bands and discovering new stuff is all part of it. We’re up for anything really.

MO: What is your view on the Melbourne metal scene? What do you think sets you apart from the plethora of other extreme metal bands out there, and why do you think is the reason you have come so far in such a short period of time?
Ben: I think our attempts to create something that instantly grabs your attention has helped to gain some of that support that’s helped us move forward so fast; an example being the band name; it demands attention whether it is positive or negative.

I hope we show unique qualities as a band attempting something fresh within a genre that seems to feed off itself instead of allowing new elements into the fold; to find that balance; our goal as musicians is always to push ourselves as far as we can and we want to create something that is wholly ours and that captures everything we love about music; not just metal or grind; but music across the board. I hope people are able to see that within our live shows, and that we can communicate these elements with our debut album. These elements are getting stronger and stronger as we continue to write. How far we have come and the attention we have so far gained I think relates to that mindset.

MO: What are you plans following the release of the album, are there any tours planned?
Dean: We will definitely be touring in support of the release but there are no concrete plans as yet.

Ben: We also hope to continue expanding musically and amass a wider fan-base. People can expect the introduction of a lot of new elements into our sound as we start introducing newer material to our live set.

MO: Finally, is there anyone in particular you would like to thank, side-projects you’d like to mention, or another band name you’d like to drop?
Ben: I’d like to thank anyone who has assisted or supported us in any way shape or form; we’ve had a lot of great opportunities presented to us in our short existence within the live scene thus far and we’re extremely grateful.

Dean: Cheers to anyone who has brought a shirt or seen us; we love our fans; even to those who don’t much like us or walked out while we were playing; thanks for watching and giving it a shot.

MO: Thanks again for taking the time to shed some light on the band, all the best for the upcoming time in the studio; I’ll be eagerly awaiting the release of the debut album.
Ben: Thanks a bunch!!

Dean: Cheers!!

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Band: A Million Dead Birds Laughing
Date: 16/09/2009
Origin: Melbourne, Australia
www.myspace.com/AMDBL

Questions: Elliott Sansom
Answers: Ben Boyle (Guitar), Dean Turner (Drums), Adam Stewart (Vocals).