Is there a harder working band in Australian heavy metal than Tasmania’s PSYCROPTIC? Let me firmly implant in your minds that that question was beyond rhetorical – these guys have absolutely smashed the frequent flyer miles in the last 12 months alone and, since signing with major metal label Nuclear Blast, the list of bands that the band work with continues to grow in number and stature.
Just in the last six months the band have done an extensive Australian tour in support of the latest record Ob(servant), played the Summer Slaughter tour easily matching their international contemporaries on the stage and in terms of audience reaction, played a slew of European dates with Cephalic Carnage and a six week jaunt in the US with death grind icons Carcass.
After a couple of aborted phone calls trying to tee up an interview with one of the undisputed masters of the skins, Dave Haley, it appears that not only is he constantly pounding blasts out for his own act, but also doing tech work for none other than, as Dave puts it, “the man who started it all for me,” Pete Sandoval of Morbid Angel. Not to mention beginning rehearsals for the new Blood Duster album and upcoming tour of Europe with Melbourne’s grindfathers.
Now on the cusp of 11 shows with the Amenta and Ruins before ANOTHER run of European dates with Misery Index and Hate Eternal, finding five minutes to talk to BMA is obviously nothing we can take for granted. I was curious as to how the band’s perception of touring has changed or differed now that they’ve signed with a high profile label. “The main difference to me has been that promoters are more interested in having us play in their part of the world because the distribution of our music is now taken care of,” Haley explains. “The first thing promoters always ask is ‘can I buy your music here?’ and if the answer is no then you’ve an uphill battle.”
“It hasn’t changed the way that we operate as a band,” he continues. “I live in Melbourne while the rest of the guys live in Tasmania, but we get to decide on when and where we play and make all the decisions. Touring nationally with brothers in metal Ruins, also guitarist Joe Haley’s band, and Sydney’s The Amenta, Psycroptic are once again displaying that insane work ethic that has earned them the gear endorsements and support from a label that is internationally renowned. At the same time they’re also noticing that the crowd is changing and growing. “We see the same faces at a lot of the shows, but on this album we’re seeing a lot of newer faces up the front and that always gets us fired up to play our best.” You can expect nothing less than that which they expect of themselves.
Psycroptic, The Amenta, Ruins and Punishment will unleash extreme fury onstage at The Basement on Friday June 19. Tickets through Moshtix. Br00tal.
