Chickenhawk

If you have a penchant for doom laden rock music containing growling vocals, crazy time signature changes, crunching riffs, yet still sounds accessible, then you might fancy a blast of the self titled debut long player from Leeds based Chickenhawk to blow away the cobwebs on these cold dark winter days.

The Leeds based metal outfit have been making appreciative ears bleed for the best part of half a decade at venues across the North and beyond. During this time they have made occasional personnel changes before settling on the current line up of Paul Astick (vocals, guitar) Rob Stephens (guitar) Ryan Thomas (bass, vocals) and Matthew Reid (drums, badges). Matthew is the band's most recent recruit, having joined soon after Chickenhawk's debut album was recorded as a three piece, with Paul Astick, the original drummer on the album, switching to guitar.

Speaking before taking the stage at their recent Royal Park Cellars' gig supporting Take a Worm for a Walk Week and Lavotchkin, lead singer Paul explains the group's genesis. 'Rob and I were both guitarists in our former bands,' he says, 'but when we started jamming together in the basement of our shared house he wiped the floor with me, so I did the vocals. We didn't have a drummer at the time, but I knew how I wanted them (the drums) to sound in my head so I just started playing one day and found it really cathartic, just being able to hit them hard as I could. Trouble is, as our songs became more intricate it became more difficult to drum and sing live.' Rob added 'We used to tour with Matt's old Band, Whores Whores Whores, so adding him to the line up meant we could much better recreate our recorded sound live. because Paul's guitar could return to the dynamic. Most of the album has lead and rhythm guitar parts on.'

When asked who made him want to start making music, Rob discusses his early influences. 'Some friends and I started listening to Metallica songs in our teens,' he says, 'and thought that if those guys could stick a some riffs together then why couldn't we?' However, the band claim to have a wide variety of musical tastes which stretch way beyond the confines of metal. Paul admitted 'We're very aware that listening to the same type of music will probably result in our sound becoming stale. We're also really lucky to have been able to play with loads of different bands over the years and appear in lots of different line ups which has hopefully helped us avoid being tarred with the same metal brush.'

Talking about Chickenhawk's 12 track debut, recorded with Sound Devastation Records, Rob stated that, although it was an intense sounding album, the finished songs were the result of a 'let's see what happens' approach. Paul added, 'We're a very laissez-faire kind of band and I think that comes across in our songs. Yes there is some structure but there are also moments of improvisation.' Rob also pointed out, 'the album is supposed to take you on a journey, so the songs can't all be the same as the listener would soon get bored. That's why there's ebb and flow to the record.' When commenting on the ferocity of the vocals, Paul felt they defined the band and commented that the lyrics reflected his neuroses, adding 'In my head, there's a lovely melody to every song we write!'

The band have endured their fair share of misfortune since their inception, firstly surviving a car crash when returning from a gig. 'One minute I was asleep, the next our driver was being cut out of the wreckage by firemen' mused Rob, adding 'It made us re-evaluate what we were doing.' Secondly, to add to their woes, the album was delayed for several months. 'The tracks were actually recorded in 2007 but production was held up for ages because the CD factory was closed down,' complained Paul.

The band's immediate plans, apart from unleashing a brief but memorable 6-number sonic assault in the Royal Park Cellars, (a perfect antidote to the karaoke in the ground floor bar!) is to record a 3 track EP including stand-out album track 'NASA vs. ESA.' There are also plans to produce the band's first video with not insignificant assistance courtesy of Brew Records. 'We're shooting a video for “NASA vs. ESA” over the next couple of weekends and we're going to fake the moon landings!' quipped a grinning Paul, although my follow up question, asking if the video would emulate 'Capricorn One' was greeted with a look of bemusement. Showed my age there!

A new album is likely to follow in 2010 and is most likely to be recorded with Brew Records, although the band are keen to point out that Sound Devastation Records have provided the perfect launch pad for the quartet and they're incredibly grateful to have been given that chance.

interview by Mike Price