Interview by Alan Daly
© Olga Kuzmenko
Photos by Olga Kuzmenko
On Saturday afternoon, Bournemouth-based six-piece band Metaprism delivered an impressive performance at the New Blood stage at this year’s Bloodstock Open Air Festival. They have been referred to as “Beauty and the Beast” thanks to their dual male/female vocalist team of Theresa Smith and growler Jut Tabor. We cornered four of their members for a five minute chat, and asked them about their festival experience and current plans.
Alan:
Hi. Thanks for taking a few moments to chat. Maybe you can start by introducing yourself, telling me what you do in Metaprism, and tell me one thing about yourself that the others don’t know.
Ollie:
I’m Ollie [Roberts]; I’m a guitarist; and… that’s a tough question… What don’t they know about me?…
Alan:
Ok, well how about this: If you had to throw one of your bandmates into the river here, who would it me?
Ollie:
Oh, that’s easy; Mike.
Mike:
I knew I’d get that!
Ollie:
Mike’s a liability. He’s probably fall into the river on his own.
Mike:
I’m Mike [West]; I play bass; and I don’t know if the guys knew this, but I had a trial for the England chess team.
Theresa:
I did not know that.
Ollie:
Oh yeah. I had trials for the Reading F.C. Football Club.
Theresa:
I’m Theresa [Smith]; I’m a singer; and my favourite number is seven. You might not know that!
Jimmy:
My favourite number is seven aswell! Woah! I’m Jimmy [Alford]; guitarist; and these guys don’t know that I can’t actually play. I’ve been miming the whole time.
Alan:
And we’re missing two of your bandmates…
Ollie:
Yeah, Jut Tabor is our growler. And James Clarke is our new drummer. He’s only played two gigs with us.
Alan:
So tell me something about Jut and James that they wouldn’t want you to tell us.
Ollie:
Jut’s a massive poser with an ultra-ego. But we love him though. And James…
Theresa:
James is a bit of a mystery.
Ollie:
But he has only just joined us.
Jimmy:
To be fair, he’s come along and he’s picked up the songs really quickly, and he’s put his own twist on some of the existing songs.
Theresa:
The way we found him was his girlfriend spoke to a friend of mine in a cafe and said “my boyfriend’s looking for a band”, and he just came along.
Alan:
And what happened with your previous drummer that left you in need of a new one?
Mike:
Yeah, we had Jonny; he spontaneously combusted onstage. A bit of Spinal Tap there…
Alan:
Haha… So this is your first time playing at Bloodstock, right?
Jimmy:
Yeah, as Metaprism. I’ve played here with another band, but this is our first time performing here as Metaprism.
Alan:
How did you get here? Was it through the Metal 2 The Masses competition?
Theresa:
Yeah, we won the Bournemouth heat.
Alan:
And how was that? Was it hotly contested?
Ollie:
Yeah, there were a lot of great bands there. It was tough.
Alan:
And now that you’re here, how has the festival been for you so far?
Jimmy:
It’s alright [laughs].
Ollie:
Fantastic. So cool. We had a really great crowd today too.
Alan:
Yeah, there was a big crowd there. So where are you in terms of recording at the moment?
Theresa:
We’re writing the album at the moment. Hopefully recording at the end of this year.
Alan:
And what about E.P.’s?
Ollie:
Yeah, we’ve got a three-track E.P. already out, which you can buy on Amazon or iTunes and from our website.
Alan:
Cool. So, immediately after your set in the New Blood Tent today, Lacuna Coil were playing on the main stage. There are some obvious similarities there in terms of the male and female vocalists. How would you compare yourselves to Lacuna Coil? Or at all?
Jimmy:
Not really. Other than the male and female vocalists. We’re heavier, and a bit more progressive as well. More elements.
Theresa:
Musically, our influences are more like Scar Symmetry. They have dual vocalists, but obviously we have the female vocals as well. Amaranthe are another big influence for us.
Alan:
I think inevitably, people were going to draw comparisons with Lacuna Coil because of the way the scheduling was today. Who would you recommend to your friends and fans to see here at Bloodstock today or tomorrow?
Ollie:
We need to buy a lanyard to find out who’s playing! I guess Megadeth, Saxon and Biohazard.
Alan:
Cool. Well, thanks for chatting. Enjoy the remainder of Bloodstock.
https://www.facebook.com/Metaprism
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