ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON 20 MAY 2012
With a short string of bone-crushing releases already behind them, Sydney’s Resist the Thought are currently on tour in support of their latest album Sovereignty. Recorded in California with As I Lay Dying’s producer Dan Castleman and featuring guest appearances by Eddie Hermina from All Shall Perish and Thy Art is Murder’s CJ McMahon, Sovereignty has them well placed to be the next Australian extremists to carve out a real name for themselves at both the local and international level. Loud spoke to bassist Mitch Fairall as he prepared to get in the van.
Q: Well Mitch, the tour has kicked off ahead of the album being released, so how can people check out some of the new tracks before they get along to the shows?
A: We released “Extermination” as a film clip about two weeks ago. That’s probably one of the tracks from the album that we thought the kids would get into the most and enjoy, so we did a film clip for that and released it.
Q: One of the press releases I received about the album and tour went so far as to suggest that Resist the Thought are going to be the next Parkway Drive. I see a lot of PR about bands that says stuff like that, and I have to say that it can often be the kiss of death. What do you think about having things like that said about your band?
A: People haven’t even heard the album yet, and they’re gonna have expectations for it. I think what we’ve done is, it’s still the same Resist the Thought, it’s just gone a step above. That’s the best way to describe the album. We haven’t tried to follow in someone else’s footsteps or try to be something we’re not. We’ve done the same thing, it’s just gotten heavier. We’re happy with it, and I’m sure the fans will be happy with it. People are always going to say something about the expectations of the album, but that’s up to them.
Q: Now I think you’d have to agree that the local market for what you guys do is starting to get pretty crowded lately. Do you think that’s going to have an impact on Resist the Thought?
A: I suppose it makes it a bit more competitive, which is good. Each band puts in extra effort to make it the best they can. It’s good because we’ve got a lot of friends out there making albums as well, and I suppose it pushes everyone to make something a little different and something a stretch and a little more difficult to what they thought they could do. I think it’s great that the competition’s so hard these days; it’s pushing everyone to go beyond their limits, I suppose.
Q: I guess it is always easier to go out on tour with a bunch of guys you’re good mates with.
A: Last year with Buried in Verona and Resist the Thought it was awesome. Looking forward to going out with a few other guys this year and hopefully have a few more tours, which should be good. We’ll see what the future holds, but hopefully a few of our mates’ bands will be out there with us.
Q: The cover art for Sovereignty is pretty elaborate, so I get the impression that you guys are still very much into putting together a good-looking package for the punters. How important is that for you now, when so many people seem to be just downloading the songs straight into iTunes without much thought for artwork and the like?
A: Album download does make things a little difficult. Obviously when one person can put it up and a thousand people can download it from that. But I suppose, at the same time, if you’re in a band and you’re only wanting to go about making it to the top by downloading and everybody knowing your name, that’s not really the point of being in it. The CD hard press is something that people are going to have for a long time. That’s why we keep bringing out CDs, a hard press copy with a good album design, and we’ve got the DVD as well. It’s more something that people can have in their hand and say, “Well, this is the new album” rather than just download and have it somewhere in their iPod.
Q: So what’s on the DVD?
A: The DVD is the making of Sovereignty. I suppose it brings out everyone’s personal side, which a lot of people don’t know too much about Resist the Thought. We’re all fairly strange people and we brought in the DVD because, you know, you’ll see us at shows and it’ll be a bit of, get on stage, pack up, leave… because we’ve all got some random job we’ve gotta do and we’re in and out, usually. This DVD is just the making of and our personal side. It’s a good watch, and there’s film clips and photo sessions, and that’s all on there.
Q: That sort of thing is a good way to show the fans another side of the band. How is the vibe in Resist the Thought in general?
A: My band members are like my family. I’ve known them for that long. When you’re around a group of people for that long, you’re pretty tight with them, and I think we’re all pretty similar in many ways so that’s what makes it easy for us to get along.
Q: It must make it so much easier to work together when you’re that tight as a group, especially when you have touring to do.
A: We’re got a group of guys who are all in it for the same reason. This is what we want to do and we enjoy it, so it makes it so much easier. They’re a bunch of great dudes and they work hard at what they do. They’re all dedicated. It’s great to have a group of guys that are all in the same direction and wanting the same things. It makes it so much easier when you’re on tour.
Q: So with the album out and local touring done, what’s the next thing on the agenda?
A: After these shows, we’re looking at doing more international supports and then we’re looking at going to Europe. That’s the next step for Resist the Thought.
Q: Plenty of local bands have been over there of late making in-roads. It really does seem to be the next step for Aussie bands.
A: There’s only so much you can do in Australia, and if you want to get out there and make a name for yourself – when international bands come here they all do quite well, so I think all the Australian bands need to do is go over there so they can start getting their name out over there. And we’ve already had a good amount of bands setting a path for the other Australian bands, so it will be good to go over and see what we can do.
