Monday, March 13, 2017

Lunatic Hooker Interview


1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?

We are a 5 piece extreme metal band from Southern England. The band actually started as just a fun little side project idea in early 2015 as myself and a couple of the other guys had been recently been getting back into the old death metal and grindcore stuff we used to listen to years ago and thought it might be fun to just write a couple of tracks or an ep of real heavy stuff. Once we started writing we realized right away that we actually had something pretty cool and unique here and decided to get a couple of our other friends on board and Lunatic Hooker then became a proper band. We had all been having some issues in other bands we were playing in and so Lunatic Hooker really became our way of reconnecting with the fun of being in a band with a bunch of friends and writing some heavy as hell music whilst having a few beers. It re-lit the passion for playing music in all of us.

2.You have an album coming out in April, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?

Our sound is kind of a mixture of modern grindcore, old school death metal and sludge/doom metal. Like Napalm Death mixed with early Entombed mixed with Iron Monkey, or something. None of which was pre-planned, it is simply what came out of us when we had a few drinks and cranked up the Boss HM-2 pedals!

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?

Lyrically the album covers a few different topics but overall is mainly looking at the ridiculous and terrible things that some members of the human race do. So there is religion, environmental issues, murder, torture etc etc but the album title 'Embracing The Filth' (and the title track) is actually saying that yeah things can be pretty fucked up but we are all gonna end up in the ground eventually so lets enjoy the ride, have a beer and if the end of the world is coming then lets greet it with a smile!  

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Lunatic Hooker'?

The band name came from our vocalist George and I believe it is simply the result of late night 'herbal' discussions between him and some friends regarding funny stories and names for a band etc. There is no deep meaning behind the name, it is simply the name that he suggested and we all quite liked it and so went with it.

5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?

Well we have only really played a handful of shows so far but have been fortunate enough to play with bands such as Magrudergrind, Ghoul, Hang The Bastard and Conjuror, so they have been cool shows. Our recent show supporting Ghoul at The Camden Underworld was a particularly enjoyable show. Our live performance i would describe as heavy, energetic, passionate and full on. We certainly are not the sort of band that just stands still on stage! ;-)

6.Do you have any touring or show plans once the album is released?

Nothing booked as yet but yeah we are making inquiries and trying to get some shows lined up for once the album is released.

7.The album is coming out on 'Black Bow Records', are you happy with the support that they have given you so far?

Of all the labels we contacted, they were the ones who were most enthusiastic about the album and were able to offer us the kind of deal we were hoping for, that's why we decided to go with them and so far, so good. We always felt that we would rather work with a smaller label who really gets us and is enthusiastic about the band, rather than maybe work with a bigger label that doesn't give a rats arse about us.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of death metal, grindcore, and sludge?

Well it's very early days yet but so far the feedback has been great! We have had good feedback and comments from people into death metal, grindcore, black metal, sludge, doom etc etc and the album reviews so far have been very positive. Which is nice.

9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

Who knows? As i mentioned earlier, our style/sound wasn't a planned thing, it is literally just what came out of us. So who knows what we will come up with in the future? I think we have come across a pretty cool niche sound for ourselves though, so I wouldn't expect us to stray massively away from what we have done on this album.

10.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

Bands that influenced us as regards the sound of Lunatic Hooker would be bands like Napalm Death, Rotten Sound, Nasum, Entombed, Carcass, Dissection, EyeHateGod, Iron Monkey etc etc. What we listen to at the moment? well we all listen to all sorts of stuff. Everything from Depeche Mode to Anaal Nathrakh  

11.What are some of your non musical interests?

Personally, I am into whiskys (especially Islay), I support Fulham FC, I enjoy watching the UFC, Films, Beer, Food, spending time with the kids etc etc. Normal stuff really. Despite us making an unholy racket as a band, we are actually nice, fairly normal people :-)

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

Thanks for your time. Everyone can have a listen to one of the tracks off our upcoming debut album here - https://youtu.be/IGqSTMQg_dY

Keep an eye on our facebook page for live dates, merch, videos, album release details etc.


Cheers


Ross (Guitarist)

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