Push to Fire: Interview with Anterior

Push to Fire Interview: Anterior
by Rob Barker

In the lead up to their ill-fated Newcastle show with Sylosis and Malefice, Rob Barker caught up with Anterior guitarists Leon Kemp and Steve Nixon, talking burning vans, Limp Bizkit and Lady Gaga.
How’s the tour so far?
Leon Kemp: Really really good, but what happens with tonight remains to be seen.
How would you describe Anterior to someone that’s never heard the band?
Leon: To the wall, heavy, melodic, twin guitars. Like a really heavy Iron Maiden.
There’s definitely that NWOBHM aspect. What about the live show?
Leon: I’d say we’re really tight and work really well as a band, everything’s 99% spot on.
You’ve got a few festivals under your belts too…
Leon: Yeah, we’ve done Sonisphere this year. Festivals in India, for me, the best ones were the two shows that we did with Children of Bodom in Glasgow and Dublin. They were just amazing, 1,200 or 1,500 people and they loved us from the start, it was just so easy.
Steve Nixon: When 'Silent Divide' started, within the first 30 seconds there was a massive circle pit, it was just overwhelming.
What’s the worst gig you’ve had?
Leon: We’ve had a lot of shit go wrong before. We’ve had the van set on fire with people trapped in the back, (Steve) Nixon and Luke (Davies, vocals) and we had to break them out with crowbars and get to the gig, but it was actually a really good gig!
Steve: It’s weird, but you have bad gigs and you come off in a stinking mood, but it’s always the good gigs you remember, you just tend to forget the bad ones.
Do you enjoy doing festivals or venue gigs more?
Leon: I prefer venue gigs, it’s easier to get in the mood where you’re there all day and you can soundcheck and hang out with the bands.
Steve: They tick different boxes don’t they?
Leon: Yeah, to me, you’re prepared and you’re ready to go on, then you can get pissed afterwards. At a festival you just get slammed on, and you’re a bit drunk anyway and it’s just like: “go!”
Steve: Yeah, no line check, no sound check, no monitor check.
And with being on tour with other bands you get to know them, which might not happen at a festival.
Leon: A lot of the time at festivals you’re up against really good bands (on the bill). At Sonisphere we were up against Limp Bizkit, but we had a really good crowd, despite a lot of good bands clashing with our timeslot.
How do you think Echoes For The Fallen differs from your previous albums?
Steve: Just better songs really.
Leon: Maturity really. The only conscious decision I made was to make the songs a little bit shorter. In saying that, you know when they’re finished, it’s never a feeling of needing to take things out, you just know when they’re done. The first album’s a bit immature, and we kind of just wanted to put every type of riff into the same song.
Steve: We’re just always refining it all the time, instead of just a song with ten riffs back to back, we’ll try and have a bit more of a structure. Maybe have a chorus and stuff like that.
Do you find it difficult being innovative while maintaining your core sound?
Steve: Bands are always evolving and changing, along with their music tastes changing and that’s obviously reflected in what they write. But then if bands get known for a certain style and they change too much it’s a double edged sword.
Leon: You’ve gotta change. We couldn’t make an album the same as our previous ones, it’s impossible because it was so long ago and there were lineup changes and everything.
How do you feel those changes affected the band?
Leon: It just made us a better band. We really concentrated this time on making it about songs rather than showing off. We spent a lot of time on lyrics and trying to get hooks in there, really writing songs that people want to listen to again. All of the good bands have that in common, bands like Pantera, Metallica, Maiden, they’re known for their songs.
If you could tour with any band, alive or dead, who would it be? Cutting out Children of Bodom since you’ve already experienced that.
Steve: Pantera.
Leon: Metallica. Way pre-St. Anger Metallica though.
Any guilty pleasure bands?
Leon: Lady Gaga? Journey?

Many thanks to Leon and Steve for taking the time to answer our questions and to Andy T for organising this interview for us. Photo by David Meadows. Find more info and music clips on their Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ANTERIOR1.

Push to Fire Interview: Anterior by Rob Barker In the lead up to their ill-fated Newcastle show with Sylosis and Malefice, Rob Barker caught up with Anterior guitarists Leon Kemp and Steve Nixon, talking burning vans, Limp Bizkit and Lady Gaga. How’s the tour so far? Leon Kemp: Really really good, but what happens with tonight remains to be seen. How would you describe Anterior to someone that’s never heard the band? Leon: To the wall, heavy, melodic, twin guitars. Like a really heavy Iron Maiden. There’s definitely that NWOBHM aspect. What about the live show? Leon: I’d say we’re really tight and work really well as a band, everything’s 99% spot on. You’ve got a few festivals under your belts too… Leon: Yeah, we’ve done Sonisphere this year. Festivals in India, for me, the best ones were the two shows that we did with Children of Bodom in Glasgow and Dublin. They were just amazing, 1,200 or 1,500 people and they loved us from the start, it was just so easy. Steve Nixon: When 'Silent Divide' started, within the first 30 seconds there was a massive circle pit, it was just overwhelming. What’s the worst gig you’ve had? Leon: We’ve had a lot of shit go wrong before. We’ve had the van set on fire with people trapped in the back, (Steve) Nixon and Luke (Davies, vocals) and we had to break them out with crowbars and get to the gig, but it was actually a really good gig! Steve: It’s weird, but you have bad gigs and you come off in a stinking mood, but it’s always the good gigs you remember, you just tend to forget the bad ones. Do you enjoy doing festivals or venue gigs more? Leon: I prefer venue gigs, it’s easier to get in the mood where you’re there all day and you can soundcheck and hang out with the bands. Steve: They tick different boxes don’t they? Leon: Yeah, to me, you’re prepared and you’re ready to go on, then you can get pissed afterwards. At a festival you just get slammed on, and you’re a bit drunk anyway and it’s just like: “go!” Steve: Yeah, no line check, no sound check, no monitor check. And with being on tour with other bands you get to know them, which might not happen at a festival. Leon: A lot of the time at festivals you’re up against really good bands (on the bill). At Sonisphere we were up against Limp Bizkit, but we had a really good crowd, despite a lot of good bands clashing with our timeslot. How do you think Echoes For The Fallen differs from your previous albums? Steve: Just better songs really. Leon: Maturity really. The only conscious decision I made was to make the songs a little bit shorter. In saying that, you know when they’re finished, it’s never a feeling of needing to take things out, you just know when they’re done. The first album’s a bit immature, and we kind of just wanted to put every type of riff into the same song. Steve: We’re just always refining it all the time, instead of just a song with ten riffs back to back, we’ll try and have a bit more of a structure. Maybe have a chorus and stuff like that. Do you find it difficult being innovative while maintaining your core sound? Steve: Bands are always evolving and changing, along with their music tastes changing and that’s obviously reflected in what they write. But then if bands get known for a certain style and they change too much it’s a double edged sword. Leon: You’ve gotta change. We couldn’t make an album the same as our previous ones, it’s impossible because it was so long ago and there were lineup changes and everything. How do you feel those changes affected the band? Leon: It just made us a better band. We really concentrated this time on making it about songs rather than showing off. We spent a lot of time on lyrics and trying to get hooks in there, really writing songs that people want to listen to again. All of the good bands have that in common, bands like Pantera, Metallica, Maiden, they’re known for their songs. If you could tour with any band, alive or dead, who would it be? Cutting out Children of Bodom since you’ve already experienced that. Steve: Pantera. Leon: Metallica. Way pre-St. Anger Metallica though. Any guilty pleasure bands? Leon: Lady Gaga? Journey?
Many thanks to Leon and Steve for taking the time to answer our questions and to Andy T for organising this interview for us. Photo by David Meadows. Find more info and music clips on their Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ANTERIOR1.