When it comes to guitarists, locals I EXIST take an unfussed, ‘more the merrier’ approach. “Couldn’t have too many, mate,” songwriter and chief guitarist Aaron Osborne assures me. Quite. In fact, the band’s triumphant showing at Hardcore 2010 in Sydney last month saw no less than four axe-slingers onstage. “Really four was a bit silly, but it was ridiculously heavy and that’s what we were going for,” he says. “As we continue to write our next record together we will sort out different parts for all the guitars. So they’ll actually serve a purpose other than just looking cool.”
But we’re getting ahead of ourselves here, as I Exist’s debut I: A Turn for the Worse is still no more than a couple of months old. Smashed out over a long weekend in Melbourne, the album was recorded and mixed by Jason PC of Blood Duster, who’s worked on his own group’s records as well as those of Pod People and Brutal Truth. While the six-piece remain grounded in hardcore, I sees the group further expand on their stoner, doom and sludge influences. The secret track, a ferocious reading of seminal ‘90s group Sleep’s Dragonaut, acknowledges this influence.
“We have moved on quite a bit from where we were with the seven-inch [last year’s Three Nails and a Book of Flaws],” Aaron says. “Where we are now and where we’re going is what I always wanted to do with this band from the beginning. It was just a matter of testing the water to see if people would actually be into it.”
He needn’t have worried. The LP has been received with open arms, garnering positive reviews from publications ranging from youth bible Blunt to Australian Guitar Magazine. “I had no idea people would be this into the band,” Aaron says. “It started out as an idea to just be the ‘heavy’ band we would all be in [as a side project alongside other bands]. Now it’s a real thing and the ball is rolling quite well with it.”
Currently living in Melbourne, Aaron explains his relocation hasn’t slowed the I Exist juggernaut. It’s merely forced the ever-gigging six-piece to be slightly more selective when it comes to bookings. “We’ll probably just end up sticking to bigger shows and tours from now on,” he says. “That decision would have been made regardless of the move. We gotta keep people wanting to see us,” he laughs. “Don’t wanna play every other day like we did at the start.”
They’ve certainly picked a winner for their album tour: playing alongside ludicrously-popular Melbourne-via-Perth band Extortion and Adelaide’s SXWZD. “I can’t wait to hang out with the guys from my band, let alone the others,” Aaron enthuses. “They are both killer bands – SXWZD have two drummers!”
I Exist, Extortion, SXWZD and 4Dead play the ANU Bar on Friday August 13 from 7pm. Tickets are $12 on the door. I: A Turn for the Worse is available on CD through Common Bond and as a limited edition 12” through Midnight Funeral from August 13.
