London Melodic Death Metallers GraViL return with new single Decommissioned / Sophomore album No More Forgiveness released 5th May.
We managed to catch up with frontman Grant Stacey as he talked about the upcoming release, latest track and more!
So how pumped are you for the release of ‘No More Forgiveness’? Tell us about the new album.
We’re so looking forward to release “No More Forgiveness”. I know it’s a cliche, but it honestly is our finest work to date. It has small links to the last album, but as a writing force we are completely different. This is a new flavour of GraVil. Tony has done really well, by taking the new songs that are influenced by Charlie and Perrin’s input and keeping the melodic lines that were heavily used in Thoughts of a Rising Sun.
As a unit we have made a conscious decision to take a small step back from the synths that were on the last album. We’ve concentrated on getting the melody lines we needed onto guitar instead. That’s not to say they do not appear on the album, just less frequent.
Lyrically the album takes a lot from our (the world/the band/myself) journey since the last album. I’ve fallen out with very close friends, i feel Brexit was a heavy blow for Europe and England, I personally feel Trump has rocked the foundations of America and it’s community. On an extremely personal note, my partner lost a baby in the early stages of pregnancy in 2012 and I didn’t handle it very well. I was unable to talk about it, and couldn’t deal with the loss. This album was my way of venting those years of pain and suffering. Theresa from Metaprism helped on one of these songs “Fractured and Divided” and it’s a personal favourite.
There wasn’t very much room for filler on this album, we took a while to really tweak it and I think we’ve all achieved something monumental. Charlie’s song writing has added a whole new layer to the band, Perrin’s grooves have really helped it flow, Sparx has worked in some really nice bass lines and Tony’s lead work has really come to fruition on this album. The link we share as a band is mind blowing, even before knowing my lyrical content Tony had penned solos that fitted the mood unquestionably.
I’m proud of it.
What is your favourite song/s from the forthcoming release?
This is always an area of conflict within the band, as we all love different songs. My personal favourites are “Decommissioned”, “Detonate” and “Fractured and Divided”.
How has the release of lead single ‘Decommissioned’ been so far? What’s the response been like from the fans and critics?
Decommissioned had been welcomed with open arms. It was very very humbling to be greeted back into the metal community so comfortably. Critics seem to like it so far and fans are loving it. It’s a very aggressive song that leaves no room for easing up. We put that foot forward to let people know we’re back and we’re still heavy.
Any particular highlights in the studio while recording the new album? What was the funniest moment?
Unfortunately there were no real funny parts, other than the usual toilet humour and banter.
But as far as highlights go, I guess seeing what we could do with this album and pushing ourselves to our limits of musicianship was a highlight. Normally I’m left to my own devices when recording, but obviously new band members meant new ideas, and Perrin wanted to work with me in the studio for support and to strengthen his vision on what the vocal delivery should be. I learnt a lot from him in regards to what he wanted and although it didn’t always work out perfectly it’s certainly something I’m keen to keep doing.
If you could work with any band on a new song, who would it be and why?
Again if you were to ask the band, you’d get 5 different answers. Myself personally, is love to work with the greats “Metallica”, “Iron Maiden” etc just to see how they do things and watch them create history.
But if it was choosing someone that complimented our sound, I’d love to work with Chimaira (RIP), Fear Factory, The Defiled, Soilwork. I could wish list for hours
What was your first gig that you ever went to?
First ever gig? I think that was black sabbath at a young age. I never remember which year, but my first proper gig that I remember crystal clear was “Killswitch Engage” & “36 Crazyfists” -” at the London Astoria. It was just after recruiting Howard Jones on vocals and that mans voice was powerful!
What has been your proudest moment to date as a band?
I feel this album should be our proudest moment. Headlining the Takeover stage at Download Festival is a very proud moment in our career and going on tour with HellYeah was also amazine. Watching living legends like Vinnie Paul & Chad soundcheck and warm up pre show was surreal stuff.
GraViL are back on the road in May and June. Are you looking forward to the shows?
Will see more live dates across the UK announced?
We are, we have a new set bursting at the seems with new album tracks, a few little surprises. New merch. It’s our first dates out with Charlie which is exciting.
We are currently mid flow of booking shows, we’re aiming for a few more dates targeting towns and cities that everyone can get to easily enough. So expect more dates to be announced over the coming months!