Hammers are a no bullshit, balls out, gutsy as fuck turbo metal outfit from the Northern Rivers, and after hearing the term “turbo” metal for the first time, we think it’s definitely the best way to describe the band’s sound. Watching a few of their You Tube videos it’s apparent that these guys are an entertaining bunch of characters on and off stage. They create enormous energy at their live shows and engage their audience to the brink of frenzy, something that some bands sadly lack these days. All members bring a number of music genres and styles to Hammers sound. The shredding guitar solos and grooved up bass lines and licks are the crowd pleasers and lyrically the songs are well crafted and tell a good story.
The guys are supporting King Parrot tomorrow night in Lismore and afterwards embarking on a “Hellions” album tour along the East Coast.
Don’t miss Hammers live @ Wallapalooza, they are playing Byron Bay, Gold Coast and Brisbane this year! We interviewed the guys recently and here's what they had to say...
Tell us about how the band formed, where you’re from and how long have you been together? Are you all original members?
The bands been going for nearly 8 or so years as the brainchild of Fish (Vocals) who had a bunch of riffs that he wanted to get out basically. We are all from the Northern Rivers in NSW with the exception of Wardy who’s from the Hunter Valley. There's been a few different line up changes but the two original members in the band are Fish (Vocals) and Tangles our bass player. In the last couple of years Wardy joined on as the new axeman and Meaty joined not long after as the drummer. Since the addition of Wardy and Meaty the fire was well and truly lit and we’ve really started kicking some goals in the last couple of years. Like finally getting our arses into gear and recording our debut album, landing kick arse supports slots with both Aussie and International bands and just simply playing shows more regularly.
How would you describe the band’s style and who are your influences?
Our songs are all a little different so it’s hard to pinpoint a style really, we originally dubbed ourselves “turbo blues” but at the end of the day we are just a good old Rock ’n Roll band. We all take influences from all the usual suspects like Pantera, Sabbath, Black Label Society, but we all have such diverse tastes in music that helps make us who we are, for instance Tangles is a funk guy! Loves his rock and metal but at the end of the day he’s a funk guy!
Fish loves country music which really shines through with the lyrics of our songs, they are more a story than just a bunch of words to pad out a song.
Wardy is a shred man! Loves all things shred Dimebag, Zakk Wylde, Slash the list goes on hence why we are still big fans of guitar solos.
And Meaty will just about listen to anything as long as its got groove, he’s a massive fan of Doom and Stoner rock bands but was bought up on a diet of Jazz, Thrash and Rock. So put all them together and thats what Hammers is all about. Just a love of music we like really.
What inspirations do you draw on?
Anything you can tap your foot to whilst banging your head.
Tell us about some highlights or low points of the bands career?
Highlights would defiantly be supporting bands like Brant Bjork (Kyuss), Havok (US) and successfully crowd funding our debut album to be recorded and released, which fuels us to keep doing what we are doing due to the fact that so many people supported us! Low points I can’t really think of many at the moment, we’ve obviously had gigs we’d rather forget but shit happens and we move on.
Are the songs a collaborative effort or does the band have a main songwriter. How does the music affect the lyrics and vice versa?
The songs all start as a riff that either Wardy or Fish has come up with then its just a matter of jamming on it until the “magic” happens haha. As far as lyrical content Fish has a mountain of ideas that he can draw on if he feels the music suites the story really.
How would you describe the evolution of the band’s sound?
It’s constantly changing depending on what we are into at the time, a bulk of the songs have been around since the early days and with the addition of new members given their own stamp of originality to it. As we said theres a lot more “shred” these days since the addition of Wardy and Meaty is happy to play as slow as possible to make something sound as sludgy and doomy as possible. So it’s just a constant evolution, but with all that said we are just a rock band at our core.
What’s different in the music industry today compared to when you first started and what would you do differently if you where just entering the industry today?
Facebook! Thats the biggest game changer these days for bands. It’s all just a popularity contest with how many “likes” a band has over another, which is sad but unfortunately thats what promotors and venues are all looking at these days. We know bands that have maybe 100 “likes” on their page but they are some of the best bands you’ve ever heard. As for what we’d do different if we were entering the music industry today, I’m really not sure…we’d still just be playing our music and loving it and hopimg everyone is having as much fun as we are at the same time.
Which of your song/s are the most fun to play live, or which songs are you most proud of?
As The Crow Flies because its heavy, groovy and just got all the ingredients for a killer song.
What should we expect from the band in 2015, or what’s the plan for the band moving forward?
2015 is a big year for us. We will be touring as much as we can in support of our album “Hellions”. We’ve also been signed to Cement Records which will see us releasing a new single later on in the year and also touring on that!
Name some of the bands you grew up listening to?
Meaty (Drums): AC/DC, Motorhead, Slayer, Santana, Sabbath, Anything Jazz.
Fish (vocals): Bob Seger, Little River Band, Farnsy, were always on the record player in my house as a kid.
If you could play in any other band, who would it be?
Meaty (Drums): DOWN
Fish (vocals): Every Time I Die or He Is Legend.
Who did you see at your first ever concert?
Meaty (Drums): Tommy Emmanuel
Fish (vocals): TOOL
What album do you have on repeat in your stereo/ipod?
Meaty (Drums): Black Flower Power - Brant Bjork and Empress Rising - Monolord
Fish (vocals): Honestly, it's our debut 'Hellions' at the moment, but I'm getting over it. I'll probably go back to Kvelertak soon, although they're quite difficult to sing along to.
In your opinion, which local or Aussie band/s should we be watching out for, or who do you think are genuine standout’s at the moment?
Meaty (Drums): Gay Paris! They are already doing big things and you probably don’t need me telling you about them but GODDAMN! They rule. Other bands I’d keep and ear out for are Sumeru from Sydney and Holy Serpent from Melbourne
Fish (vocals); Valhalla Lights