Festivalphoto spoke with Matt and Joel from Evile just before their album launch party show at the Relentless Garage in London on 29/9/11
Festivalphoto: You’ve just released your new album – Five serpents teeth, which sounds great. Can you tell us a bit about the album?
Joel: It has music on it, its the third one, ten tracks, and we started writing it while we were in America actually, when we started doing it while we were on an RV bouncing around the highways of America whch was a bit uncomfortable. If anyone says to you that an RV is a good idea, don’t listen to them, it’s a very bad idea.
Matt: Yeah it came out on Monday so we’ll wait and see how all the reviews go and whether people buy it. Its gone well so far.
Festivalphoto: There are a couple of songs that stand out on the album ”Cult” seems quite a difference to your usual style.
Joel: Yeah we went more for the choruses this time.
Matt: A bit catchier instead of all out
Festivalphoto: The other song that stands out as unusual is ”In memoriam” – not your usual heavy style.
Joel: No it’s not, we went for the good old ballad.
Matt: I didnt call it a ballad you know, it’s not a ballad, to me it’s not, it’s just a lighter song, more of a mood piece to me, atmosphere mood piece. It doesnt sound like a ballad.
Festivalphoto: I think in the review I described it as the closest you’ll come to a ballad.
Joel: Yeah its not a lighter’s out song, not a love song.
Festivalphoto: With bands like Metallica only really succeeding with their third album did you feel under any particular pressure with this your third album?
Matt: We didn’t really think of it like that. We had these songs to go into the studio with and see what comes out, then as you’re doing it, people keep reminding you ”Third album? You know that’s the important one”.
Joel: Yeah, cheers, no pressure.
Festivalphoto: what’s the writing process in Evile – do you write individually or as a group?
Joel: Both actually.
Matt: Yeah.
Joel: Usually do things separately idea-wise, do a quick recording, send it to everyone and get a quick answer back – either ”that’s good” or ”that’s really shit”.
Matt: we can try it out, see if it works then everyone says ”that bit doesnt work…that bits great…more of that bit…less of that bit”.
Joel: I think that we don’t actually write music, we just kind of argue it into existence. We just shout at each other, especially me and Ol, we just shout at each other till something is right. Also now I just shout at him for a laugh because he doesnt like it. He can’t take it when I shout at him for no reason.
Festivalphoto: You’ve got tonight and tomorrow as album launch shows then a UK tour planned for October – are there any other tours planned for after that?
Matt: We’re hoping so, there’s nothing written in stone at the moment though. We’ll probably do this then hold on till after Christmas because the Christmas market is just saturated really, bands touring everywhere and things like that so probably just play the UK, play some new songs because this is the first time tonight that we’re playing a handful of new songs, then wait till the new year – see how the album does, its only been out five days, so we don’t know if people like it yet.
Joel: Four.
Matt: Four days its been out.
Joel: There’s no real plan – well we’ve got Damnation festival in November – 5th November, remember remember, there’s just that. We just want to get out into Europe in the new year. Like you said everyone’s touring at this time – there’s so many bands out that we wouldnt stand a chance. We’re just doing a couple of low key shows. That tour we’re doing is going to small places that bands dont normally go to. There might just be three people there but we want to go to these places to do them, and that’s fine, but there’s so many bands out touring that we’d just get hidden. With all the big bands we just wouldnt stand a chance so there’s no point till after Christmas.
Matt: This is the sad reality of it.
Festivalphoto: What type of show do you prefer – small intimate venue, large venue or fetival?
Matt: It depends. We kind of said festivals after doing a bunch this summer, but when we played in broad daylight on a massive stage it just doesnt feel right, but if we play in a tent at the same time at a festival it just feels better somehow, that closed atmosphere where everyone’s a bit closer, they seem to be better than the big shows, but they’re all different.
Joel: We’re a second stage band at festivals, definitely second stage. We realise it – we play so much better on small stages in tents. Massive main stages at festivals we dont relaly agree with – we’re not at that stage yet, we cant really do it. Gig-wise, I’m happy with both, I like small ones, I like massive ones, I’ll happily go and play at Jim’s fish and chip shop round the corner then go and play on a big stage with Megadeth. I like both, but main stage at a festival, no.
Festivalphoto: With the main stage at a festival you’re a long way from the crowd.
Joel: True it makes it a lot harder to work
Matt: You’re a long way from each other as well
Joel: Yeah we struggle with that because we’re used to being so close together so we struggle a bit when we’re so far away. Maybe in years to come we’ll be all right with it, but for now…
Festivalphoto: Where did the name Evile come from? Is it that you just can’t spell Evil?
Joel: Yeah we’re all ridiculously dyslexic
Matt: Years ago when we started doing our own stuff I was drawing logos in a book and I was thinking about calling us Exile, so I googled ”Exile band”. Three thousand bands called Exile, so I went ”there’s no point calling ourselves that because its not original”, so I realy did just go X…V, and changed the X to a V and thought ”that will do”, that simple. There’s no huge grand meaning, it just looked better, and different to everyone else. There was a band in Spain called Evile – I think they had two members or something and they weren’t doing anything, the singer was called Matt bizarrely. I thought ”two bands in the world, that’ll work, so we’ll have it, they’re not doing anything”. Dead simple. Not the most fun explanation but..
Festivalphoto: You’ve apeared as part of a museum exhibit at the Tolson Museum in your home town of Huddersfield – does this mean you’re now old and respectable?
Joel: We got to meet the mayor, that was pretty cool.
Matt: It’s bizarre. It’s this old museum thats got loads of exhibits, and they’ve got this one room that’s dedicated to music history and they’ve got ipods where you can listen to the first ever audio recording and then it kicks into ”Killer from the deep”
Joel: Yeah I guess we’re classified as antique now we’re in a museum.
Matt: Everyone around it was reall cool ”yeah you’re a Huddersfield band, you deserve to be here”, ok that’s cool.
Festivalphoto: Were you surprised when they told you they wanted to do it.
Matt & Joel simultaneously: Yes !
Joel: Ridiculously surprised
Matt: Being asked to be in a museum exhibit was really strange, but it was really good fun. The opening was hilarious as well, we had to give a little speech thing in front of the deputy mayor and the people who funded the museum, so we tried not to mess up too bad. It was a good laugh, really cool. I think it’s been taken down now but I think they want to put it up again with more stuff if they can so we’re just going to chuck guitars at them and all kinds of stuff
Festivalphoto: What’s the highlight of your career with Evile so far?
Matt: I think mine was probably doing Sonisphere. I dont know, everything just worked out right on the day, we played great, just knowing what other bands were playing that weekend, Maiden and bands like that
Joel: My highlight didn’t even happen to me – it happened to him, but it is my highlight for Evile definitely. Go on you tell him, you were there, I wasn’t.
Matt: It was backstage at Download actually. The dressing rooms were Portacabins in a circular area and I was just stood outside talking to a guy I know and I just heard ”Hey Evile” and I looked over and thought I know that guy, and it was Phil Anselmo and he came over and gave me a high five, and I’m like ”did that just happen, was that for real”, and I was straight on the phone to Joel.
Joel: Phil Anselmo listens to Evile. Rock !
Matt: Yeah Sonisphere was one, the Megadeth tour was another, thats definitely in the top five, that was amazing. Seeing Gary Holt in pigtails and a santa hat playing Master of Puppets on a banjo, that’s pretty high up when we played with Exodus. There’s too many highlights really.
Festivalphoto: You started as a cover band playing a lot of Metallica so a question for you…What do you think of the new Metallica/Lou Reed stuff ?
Matt and Joel: *laughter*
Matt: My reaction to is is that I daren’t actually click play. I’ve got absolutely no opinion on it whatsoever as I haven’t heard it yet.
Joel: I have no words for it, I can’t even…no I have no words for it.
Festivalphoto: OK the important question – which is the best – Bitter or Lager?
Matt: Bitter
Joel: Bitter
Festivalphoto: Spoken like true Yorkshiremen.
Joel: It’s got to be cheap though.
Festivalphoto: That’s great, thanks very much for your time.
Joel: Thanks
Matt: Thank you.
