Pop metal is here and it sounds great! Glamour of the kill is giving metal an injection of melody and it’s sounding great. Mark talks to lead vocalist and bassist Davey Richmond about the US tour and the new album.
Mark: You have a pretty cool name, where did it come from?
Davey: We were in a bar in York, with a few friends, and there’s a song called “I am Hollywood”, and one of the lines is glamour of the kill, and our friend was like you should call yourself that. We laughed and said, no that’s rubbish, that’s crap, and then we said hang on a minute, that’s really good, so we settled for that!
Mark: How would you describe your sound to someone who hasn’t heard you before?
Davey: I’d say like pop/metal, we take our influence from everywhere. We love heavy metal, like Maiden, Metallica and Slayer, but we also love catchy melodies, which is what we try to work on. As long as people go away from our shows with our CD’s and singing, we feel we’ve accomplished something.
Mark: How old are you guys?
Davey: I am 23; we range from 21 to 24.
Mark: So, you have a few hard years ahead of you!? I was reading your bio, and you have been cast as the saviours of UK rock! Anybody who has been cast as Metallica meets Thin Lizzy with the party rock of the Sunset Strip is bound to get a lot of attention! Did you guys come up with that yourself or was it your publicist?
Davey: Publicist, I think it was! A lot of people refer to us as Thin Lizzy with the twin guitar sound.
Mark: I can certainly see the comparisons; we loved the album, “The Summoning”. Have you been pleased with the response to that so far?
Davey: Definitely, it has been received so well, and everywhere we play, people know the words, and it’s an amazing feeling writing the songs and everyone loving them. At the moment we’ve just written our second full length album so we are just waiting to record that now.
Mark: Are you still using your stage names, or reverting back?
Davey: We left those behind quite a long time ago!
Mark: I think that’s a wise move! Just to look at a few songs on the album, just to give people a bit of a taste. The opening track, “If She Only Knew” is one of those songs that remind me a little bit of a band a few years ago, called Endeverafter; they managed to do what you have done so much better. I think it’s the pop- sensibilities that sets you apart, is that one of your favourites on the album?
Davey: It’s definitely up there; it was the second single that we released with a video as well. We were playing that song for such a long time before we got in to the studio. I think with that and “Feeling Alive” and “Supremacy” they are definitely the three songs that I like playing live, and the ones I’m most proud of as well.
Mark: Yes, they were one of our favourites too. I actually liked the heavier, “World’s End” too, it reminded me of what Black Tide did on their first album. It’s breathing a breath of fresh air in to the metal genre.
Davey: Yeah, I think that’s what we are aiming for. You wouldn’t really fit my voice to the style of music that we do, and I think that’s why we stand out a little bit. We are big fans of Black Tide, we saw them in 2008, and they are really good friends of ours.
Mark: I loved their first album, but the second one, for me at least sounded a lot like other bands out there, where as the first one was original. So, you are in the middle of a US tour at the moment, how’s it going?
Davey: Well, the actual tour starts tomorrow; the first date is in New York, and we are all so excited! For myself this is the first time I have been to America, I have wanted to come to New York, ever since I saw Home alone!!
Mark: I’d keep that one quiet!!
Davey: I never thought all those years ago when I was playing the Sex Pistols in my garage, I’d ever have the opportunity to set foot in America. We have 27 dates and then we finish the tour on November the 7th, and then we go straight in to the studio with Joey Sturgis, who has recorded with Of Mice and Men, in Detroit to record our second album.
Mark: Do you know the guys well who you are on tour with?
Davey: Alesana” we toured with those guys in January, and they had massive input in getting us over, we toured Europe with them. Now, we are all really good friends, so we can’t wait to see them tomorrow.
Mark: I’ve never seen anything done by House of Blues entertainment before, is it a new thing?
Davey: I don’t know, to be honest. I know they had a big input in choosing the line up. I had heard of This or The Apocalypse who have just been added to the tour, they sound cool, they are on the same label as us, and have the same management, so I’m looking forward to meeting them.
Mark: What sort of crowds are you playing to back home?
Davey: It ranges, really from about 500 to a 1000 people. In London, it’s obviously bigger, but where ever we go we pull big crowds, it’s a real eye opener, and I love touring so much. What we have achieved is an amazing feeling.
Mark: Well, hopefully we’ll get to see you in Australia sometime. I think you’d be great on the Soundwave tour, which is our equivalent of Download. What are you looking forward to most in the states?
Davey: The girls probably!! I just love travelling and meeting new people, it’s all memories in the making, and I love partying and just having a good time! That’s what touring is all about; you might as well live it if you’re going to do it.
Mark: I think some people find it hard, but it’s one of those necessary evils these days. It’s easy to find a hundred bands you love on the internet, but it’s getting out to see the live shows that keep everyone going. How would you describe your live show?
Davey: We always give it 100 percent. We only have about half an hour on stage, and in that time, you’ve got all these people that have come to see you and especially on this tour we have been making new fans, so we have to make a massive impact. We also make sure the crowd are involved, and make sure they are having as good a time as you are. I love playing live, it’s such a good buzz and when the crowd are having a good time with us, it’s even more of an amazing feeling.
Mark: As far as the music is concerned, you’ve probably touched on it a bit already, but what really drives you to get out there and make new music?
Davey: We are always writing music all the time, we have so many different melodies. We have fully written the second album, it’s all done! We wrote it quite quick, but we all have different influences, and we all love making music so much.
Mark: Are you one of those bands that are very collaborative, or do you come in with your own ideas?
Davey: We all write music together, but we all, also come in with different ideas. Sometimes the songs come really fast and others can take a few months. I really cant wait for everyone to hear the new album.
Mark: It’s great when everyone comes to the table with different ideas, it takes the pressure off, and that’s when great music is created. How do you think the new album has progressed, since the first one?
Davey: It’s a lot faster, we’ve gone for some “thrashy” verses, and we’ve held back on the screaming aspect! We’ve really worked hard on pushing the melodies, and we can all sing in the band, and we’d really like to work on that live. Mike Kingswood, our lead guitarist, is doing a side project with a guy from Bullet for My valentine, and that’s made him push himself, he’s just grown and is so much faster and more intense. The music is more grown up, more mature. We want to grow with each album and we want to show that.
Mark: I can’t wait to hear it; I was really impressed with the first album. What are you listening to at the moment? Do you get to listen to a lot of other music?
Davey: I listen to everything! I love pop music, but I love really heavy stuff as well, like Slipknot, Slayer and Cannibal Corpse. But, I also like Katy Perry! I think that’s where we get our sound from. I listen to a lot of old school stuff too, like Sabbath and Thin Lizzy and stuff like that.
Mark: If you could have been involved in the creation of any piece of music, at any point, what would it have been and why?
Davey: I’d probably say, Queen, Bohemian Rhapsody. I listen to that and think, what was going through Freddy mercury’s mind when he wrote that!! If I could have been involved in that, it would have been something to be very proud of.
Mark: Finally, the really easy one, what is the meaning of life?
Davey: That’s a hard one! I think just the chance to wake up every day, and live your life to the full.
Mark; I think you guys have a great future ahead of you, and I certainly don’t say that to every band, so just go out there and do Yorkshire proud! Have a great tour and good luck with the new album.
