INTERVIEW: Andy Mansell, Ollie Gould & Scott Harris – Torchbearer
Watch enough band documentaries and you’ll soon find out that life as a musician comes with a cacophony of ups and downs. Hardcore rattlers TORCHBEARER can attest to this. A band that climbed out of the coffin of predecessor projects that failed to reach their potential, the quartet’s latest EP Against The Tide is one that reflects triumph over difficulty; as well as an insatiable desire to chase their worth. We got the inside track on the inner workings of the band, what is was like starting all over again, and more with vocalist Andy Mansell, guitarist Ollie Gould and drummer Scott Harris.
The band was formed from the ashes of BLOWGOAT and COLLAPSE, but for fans who aren’t aware, how did the band originally come to be?
Ollie: Once BLOWGOAT had to end I moved to London because I wanted more than what the South Wales scene could offer. Mo was an old friend and an experienced bassist who was already living in The Smoke, so six years ago I belled him up about starting a band. Andy replied to our ad and Mo knew Scott from back home and suggested drafting him in. Mo sent me a link of Scott shredding it on the second stage at Download Festival with COLLAPSE. Scott was into it so he joined up.
Andy: We had a couple of guys on drums who didn’t work out before Mo approached Scott, who he goes way back with. Scott was into the idea, and it was pretty obvious that he had the right attitude and the chops to complete the line-up.
Did any of the members carry negative baggage from their previous band experience that was tough to get rid of?
Andy: Even though our old bands didn’t work out, we’re all pretty experienced in the lifestyle of travelling rock n’ roll pirates and all that comes with it, good and bad!
Ollie: I’ve never noticed anything negative in the band that stems from anyone’s previous band.
The title of your debut EP Against The Tide sounds like it’s a metaphor for the struggles each band member has been through during their time in music, would you agree with this?
Andy: Yes, struggles with the music biz is definitely one experience that enforced the theme of the record. We’re also Against The Tide in that we don’t pay any attention to trends, or what’s cool to do right now, we just write what we like. If people are into it, that’s great. If not, that’s fine too.
Ollie: Yeah we create freely without giving a fuck about genre or style convention.
You used a different producer for the drum recordings to the guitar & vocal recordings, was this done out of choice? And was there any concern that the essence of the record could get lost in the shuffle?
Ollie: It wasn’t out of choice no. We mailed Jag from THE GHOST OF A THOUSAND, Oz from FEED THE RHINO and Justin from SIKTH who’re all big record producers in the hardcore world and they all replied saying they were into the demos. Andy, Mo and I have been big TGOAT fans since day one so first prize was to record with Jag, but we couldn’t afford it. At the same time Jack from GIANTS came to a show of ours and fired us an email offering his services. So we split it up because without label money we don’t have the resources to book The Brighton Electric with a big producer for a week. All of the guys we worked with have done a mint job!
Andy: We weren’t worried as we knew Aled and Sam were top draw. We also had the awesome Jag Jago from THE GHOST OF A THOUSAND to bring the whole thing together at the mixing and mastering stage, so we knew we were in safe hands.
Scott: I wanted to do my drums with Sam Kilby and Aled Davies at Unit 13. It’s in Wales and I’ve worked with them before. They know how I like to record my drums and they are metal fans. That usually helps with heavy music. They did their own band SENTRY. They captured my drum sound and the sound we needed for this EP perfectly.
It’s quite clear you’ve been influenced by the likes of EVERY TIME I DIE, but by the same token Against The Tide is really varied in terms of its genre – what other bands would you say influenced your style?
Andy: I think that’s partly due to the mix of personalities in the band. We’re into intense hardcore like COMEBACK KID, old school metal like PANTERA, as well as stuff with massive grooves like RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE.
Ollie: The mix of aggression and melody comes from how I absolutely love how ALEXISONFIRE, MASTODON and KILLSWITCH ENGAGE do it.
Was it tough to feel like you’re starting again with a whole new band when members have already been established in bands previously?
Scott: Not really, if anything it’s been refreshing. Having boys who know how to write and all aim towards the same sound and goals is amazing. We have our moments, but we are a bunch of music fans wanting to play music to other music fans. I mean that’s the end goal here. Play live music and throw ourselves at every stage given to us. Make people walk away wanting more.
Ollie: Finding good people to join me has taken me six years, so to a passionate and ambitious musician yes, I have had to be patient and keep walking that long road to where we are now. Hence Against The Tide and the ship imagery signifying a long voyage. I overlooked how long it would take to start from scratch and how long it would take to attract talent into the band. Anyway, we’ve got the right line up now we’re very excited about this EP and the new tunes for the follow-up album. There’s also a buzz about us from the outside. Our ducks are finally in a row, we just need to go for it now!
Andy: We accepted that as part of the deal to keep playing music. Hopefully we’ve learned a thing or two about what to do (or what not to do!) from previous projects.
What’s your main take away from Against The Tide that you could implement into the next EP/LP?
Ollie: There’s actually one solution, one skill, that if you can pull that off it helps with all the challenges of making a record for an unsigned band; write killer tunes. So I will be focusing a lot on the best riffs and the most infections hooks I can come up with. That’s the shit that catapults you into the stratosphere and just makes the whole thing so much easier.
Scott: We’ve already got a load of ideas, I think Andy and the boys really nailed it with the melodies and hooks. Andy and Ollie have an ear for lyrics. Next to that the amount of riffs and groove in the new stuff is unbelievable. You’ll see how much of a step as musicians we are taking, and the best part is the songs come together quite easily as well!
Andy: We did a fair bit of experimentation, trying some things that were outside of our comfort zone. We now feel like we’ve established our sound and can focus on songs that are even bigger and better.
As we’ve previously mentioned, there’s a kitchen sink of influences on Against The Tide, was it hard to write an EP where there’s so many different styles to fit in?
Ollie: We don’t try and fit loads of styles of music into a record. That’s not how we write. We create freely without giving a fuck about style / genre convention and what you get is what you get. We’re into it.
Andy: We didn’t try to incorporate styles for the sake of it, we wrote the songs that we wanted to hear, taking in all our influences. What you’re hearing is the result of that.
The track Torchbearer was inspired by the terror attacks in London’s Borough Market, just explain how that track came to be?
Andy: The attacks were incredibly close to home. It could have been any of us, our friends or families in Borough that night. I just wrote down what I was thinking the morning after I heard, and that became the opening lines to Torchbearer.
If you could name one track off Against The Tide that defines the bands journey so far, which one would you choose?
Andy: I think it would have to be the opening track, Time Served. It’s so easy to feel like the whole world is against you. Everywhere you look there are obstacles and naysayers trying to tear you down. You can either try to please everyone or stick to your guns and believe that integrity will prevail.
Against The Tide is out now via self-release.
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