Tides of sulfur Interview is up
1. Its been 3 years between Extinction Curse and current release what has Tides of Sulfur been up to?
Mainly writing and playing. We tend to build up material really quickly we just dont get around to recording that much of it. It's something we are working on.
2. Extinction Curse was on he very impressive label Black Bow and now you are working with Multiple labels I see for Paralysis of Reason EP. Sludgelord Records, Black Voodoo Records, and MinoRobscuR are handling the LP release, with the CD and cassette formats coming via APF Records and Astral Noize Records respectively.Why so many labels this time out for an EP?
There are so many great labels out there doing great things we thought it'd be cool to work with a few that we respected but had never worked with. Plus having a bunch of smaller labels always seemed like a cool idea as we would be heard by new audiences that had heard other stuff of each label plus they may get some extra listens from our fans who hadn't checked out their labels yet. It's a win win and in my opinion that kinda ethos is what keeps the underground going, that constant journey to find cool new stuff.
3. Why not just work with Black Bow again if I may ask?
We have a huge amount of respect for Jon and the great work he does for underground heavy music but our newer stuff has taken a more aggressive, faster paced sound than the majority of the Black Bow catalogue. Chris did a great job of capturing our sound on that album and they have both been total dudes ever since.
4. If you had 5 words to describe the band to someone about to listen to for 1st time . What words would you choose?
Heavy, nasty, intense, genreless, HEAVY.
5. What makes Wales and the UK in general so strong for Sludgy and Doomy music - Acrimony, Loss, Esoteric, Cathedral, Anathema, Electric Wizard, My Dying Bride , Paradise Lost etc ?
I think there is alot of unrest and frustration in the UK at the moment, and has been for a number of years. Making music will always be an outlet for that, in particular anything loud and heavy, not specifically doom and sludge but grind, death metal, punk etc are always going to be around for this exact reason. There is a wealth of underground bands doing amazing things in any genre under the banner of heavy music and as our futures remain uncertain, this will only grow further down the years.
6. What bands influenced Tides of Sulfur I hear Buzzoven, Cavity, Noothgrush,Eyehategod and Napalm Death to name a few?
We have a really wide range of influences, as you can probably guess by our sound, ranging from the standard doom and sludge to more obscure things like harsh noise and even hip hop. We all bring our own influences to the table, for example Chris is big into black metal and more expansive stuff like Neurosis where as alot of my inputs are more death and grind with Tom from a weird place where doom meets blast beats! We all have a few cross overs such as High on Fire, early Mastodon, Lord Mantis, Dragged Into Sunlight, Crowbar and a load more.
7. How has the sound of Band changed from 2013 to now?
We are much less shit now haha! I think the sound is a lot more focussed now than in earlier releases. As we have so many influences, it can be difficult to stay in one place for too long but we have learned to give the song what it needs; if it needs to only be a minute and a half then fuck it, that's all you are getting. If it needs to be a lumbering 15 minute epic, then that's what will happen. We have trimmed alot of the fat away on this release, but I think it needed it given the subject matter.
8. If you could make a proper video off any song on Paralysis of Reason which would it be why and how would you want it presented ?
Other than the video we already have for 'Worms', it would have to be 'Paralysis of Reason' for me. I love the other songs but that one has all the bile from the EP coming to a head. The chorus is so poignant for me also, "paralysis of reason, paralysis of hope, razor of austerity has slit our future's throat" - that is exactly how we feel and that's exactly what has happened to this country, we have no hope, our future is fucked. I would simply have news reels playing out all the travesties committed to date by our government's austerity policies and hope that people wake up to it.
9. How has Digital realms like Bandcamp, Youtube, Social media and Webzines changed the landscape for extreme underground bands?
It's basically just tape trading for the digital age. For getting your name out there to the right communities it is great. For the underground in general I think it's great. I get that there are some hang ups with downloadable content having a negative impact financially, but the majority of bands I speak to make their money from merch and from shows. Let me be clear, you wont make a living from doing this shit, it's basically a hobby that you hope doesn't ruin you financially! We love it and wouldn't change it. It keeps everyone in touch with everyone in the underground. It's done great things.
10. What is the theme or story on Paralysis of Reason?
As touched on previously, it is basically a commentary on modern politics where there seems to be literally that; a paralysis of reason when making decision at a governmental level. Brexit, austerity, Trump, May, Grenfell, NHS cuts, education cuts, the expenses scandal, police cuts.... we could literally go on all day.
11. What bands are impressing the member of Tides of Sulfur?
At the moment on my radar would be Mastiff, The Air Turned To Acid, Leeched, Geist, They Live We Sleep, Casket Feeder and Negative Thought Process. There are a hell of a lot more but for me at the moment, they are my most frequent go to bands.
12. Studio vs Live which do you enjoy more and how does the sounds of the song change from one to the other?
It varies to be honest. It's really satisfying getting a track down and listening back and thinking you've nailed it...but them I'm overly critical and with all the releases, would redo certain parts! We have always prided ourselves on our ability to play live and always try and be as heavy and aggressive as we can (jovial stage banter aside, we are only human!) and I do find that the heaviness at a show cant be replicated on record. The power, that punch you get in the gut, that's what it's all about.
13. I really am wondering at the end of the band what do you want the world to remember from Tides of Sulfur?
We would like to be remembered as a band that didnt give a shit about constraints. We play what we like and that's basically it, we add in what we want, so if we wanna add a clean passage then we will. If we wanna have a bunch of samples shouting cunt for 3 minutes because we think it's funny then guess what; it goes in! But I think if we can leave an impression it would be the heaviness and intensity of our shows. We have had a few comments over the years but anything along the lines of "fucking hell you guys were heavy/intense/crushing etc." Will be the mark we would want to last. That and the stare!
14. How does image and visuals play into a band like yours . In 2019 its a package deal right . How does working with label like Sludgelord help you get that package to the world?
It depends what you mean by visuals to be honest. If you mean having the right aesthetic to play a certain genre, I'd say no it doesn't matter in the slightest, but if you mean the artwork etc I'd say yeah it definitely plays it's part. We take a. lot of care making sure that the images we use fit well into the message we are trying to put across. We spent weeks looking into different ideas for Extinction Curse and had a very specific idea which in the end worked perfectly. With Paralysis, the idea of the artwork came about pretty much the same time as the songs. I know you should never judge a book by its cover, but everyone is guilty of it and we like to be as clear as possible. From song title and release title choices, through to artwork being used. Aaron has been great and has been a big help from the early days so it's been nice to work with him properly. We're glad to be part of something that seems to be gathering steam and honoured that he helped us release something on vinyl.
15. Thank you for the time any closing thoughts here ?
We coined a phrase back in the day "support your scene, kill your ego" and as cliche as it might sound, it's something we have always looked for. Cool people in bands support other cool people in bands, that is what the underground is so look after it! If you have a massive ego, then we have no time for you. There is no space for rockstar egos in our underground or at our shows. Cheers for the questions dude, some real thinkers in there.
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