INTERVIEW: Graham Bywater & Bean Radford – Possessor
From chatting with London based sludged out thrashers POSSESSOR it seems clear that the only thing they take seriously is the almighty riff. Poised to drop their fourth full length, Gravelands, we chat with guitarist Graham Bywater and sticksman Bean Radford about the POSSESSOR journey, their inspirations and process, and why it’s never a good idea to be hungover on a flight.
Can you tell us a little bit about the themes and inspirations behind Gravelands?
Bean: I’d have to pass the mic to Graham here. The themes are really born from him. By the time the material comes to me, it’s virtually fully formed. My role is really to inject it with some velocity and keep it sounding lively. With that being said, early on, from a musical perspective I heard it as a POSSESSOR‘s ‘punk’ album. The energy of it drew me back to bands like classic DISCHARGE, or even the later wave of bands that took inspiration from that era. Think SEPULTURA when they put out Beneath The Remains. That’s the head space I was in for the sessions.
Graham: There’s the usual themes of life and death running the whole way through this record, but not in a particularly serious way, more like a warning. Flight of The Mutilator is a subtle dig at drink driving and how the reaper knows best if you’re gonna be an idiot. Backwoods is about a jock style character who thinks he knows best and heads into some dangerous woods alone only to meet his match when he is greeted by the towns less than hospitable locals. (Yes, I’ve seen one too many films!) Savage Rampage is based on the insanity of Ted Bundy. Breathe Fire was named by my three year old son who loves dragons. I’ll leave that one to the imagination.
Films always play a huge part. I personally feel like there have been some brilliant new horror films over the last few years. Get Out, Blair Witch, Don’t Breathe, Veronica, Happy Death Day, The Babysitter… I love that stuff. It makes me happy that films like that are still being pumped out and making me wanna write riffs and lyrics. It’s not always about the classics. The album was certainly inspired, for me, by the other two in the band. Other peoples enthusiasm and performance is radical if I’m going to have a good time.
Also worth a mention is that as a kid I grew up with the album Graceland by PAUL SIMON so there’s a subtle bit of humour going on there with the title that probably only amuses me.
How would you say it differs or is a continuation of 2017’s The Ripper? What do you hope people take away from the new record?
Graham: Historically speaking, The Ripper was very much a British inspired record, influenced greatly by the early works of IRON MAIDEN, ANGEL WITCH, later CATHEDRAL and such, not to mention the ever looming presence of Jack the Ripper himself and his sordid spree in Whitechapel. Having worked in and around Soho for years I always feel a sense of nostalgic fear walking those streets, bringing to mind the heyday of video nasties, hidden bars, heavy metal, dodgy book shops, strip clubs and grime. I’m not sure if it’s due to the crunchy production sound or the speed of most the songs but The Ripper to me sounds like a knife slicing through the air at night. It’s a reasonably relentless set of tunes and it takes no prisoners, just like saucy Jack. Gravelands is a similar album in many ways but it’s also far more punk in feel. From the outset Bean and I knew this one was our ‘spit and sawdust’ album. Hitchhike to Hell was intended as a fifteen minute opus similar to RUSH’s Hemispheres but we play too fast so it became a hell of lot shorter. This also meant the album in general became shorter. But that’s cool as I like records that keep you wanting more. I think the progression between Electric Hell, Dead by Dawn and The Ripper was significant. I don’t think there’s such a massive jump with this new album, perhaps because we have settled into our sound a little more. At the end of the day all POSSESSOR exists for is for folk to feel good and want to let rip. Maybe the next album will be our taken on Bitches Brew as long as the POSSESSOR vibe is there.
Bean: I’d say it’s a more ferocious album than The Ripper. That one had a striding, groovier weight. By comparison, Gravelands is frantic. It’s also deceptively straightforward. It smacks you with a simplicity that doesn’t necessarily reveal the breadth of influences straight away. There’s melody and metal in there but it’s all wrapped around a dense, high velocity brick.
POSSESSOR have built up a pretty stacked back catalogue over the last five years – what’s your drive behind being so productive?
Graham: Four albums, an EP and a single seem like a reasonable body of work for a band going half a decade. I struggle to not write. I think my mental health forces me to seek an output, as I get inspired easily, artistically frustrated frequently and daydream 99% of my life.
How do you feel POSSESSOR in 2019 is different to when you started out? And how are you still the same?
Graham: The essence of the band is unchanged and I think to a degree so is the music. It started off as just me and a drum machine and never intended to be a live band or expand too much. I was very lucky that Electric Hell quickly got a rather dedicated cult following. As with anything, the longer you stick at it the more you capture what you really want. I often see this band as a dark cloud and even to me it has always felt a little mysterious like it’s always lurking in the shadows or hiding under the bed at night. The only real change image wise I guess is it all started out with a bit of a witchy/occult vibe but I got bored to death of that pretty quick so now it’s just heavy metal horror music. Slice and dicing, not cauldrons and capes. Although I would wear a cape if I had one, the fantasy kind of element of the early music remains but is not resurrected very often. Only Creature of Havoc on the new album harks back to my Fighting Fantasy days.
Bean: The most obvious change is the move from what was essentially a one man project to what is now a full live band; but we’re a few years down the line with that, so it doesn’t feel like a new thing. In terms of what has stayed the same, POSSESSOR has always maintained a lo-fi approach. Recordings are done very rapidly. It’s a case of set up, throw it down, keep it visceral. Retain the feeling of being chased through the woods by a knife welding maniac!
Can you talk us through the recording process of Gravelands? What made you pick Bear Bites Horse Studios and Wayne Adams to work with?
Graham: Wayne has mastered every release we have done so far and each time we end up chatting about how he should record the next one but it never happens for one reason or another. This time it worked perfectly. He’s a very focused guy and reasonably strict with what we could realistically do with the limited time frame (sixteen hours) which was what we needed. One reason I was intent on making a record with Wayne is because of his work with London power-violence loons ART OF BURNING WATER. I’ve been mildly obsessed with that band since they started. He gave them a very special sound that was akin to being run over by a Marshall stack. Ellie Mathews [Bass] is also a fan. Also worth mentioning his stellar work with U.S.A NAILS, GREEN LUNG and 11 PARANOIAS, to name but a few. Check out the drum sound on those bad boys! The recording process was intense and fun but quite sobering. He also has quite the amp collection so I was in nerd heaven.
How did you come about releasing Gravelands through APF records? You’re releasing on vinyl and tape as well as CD and Digital – are you fans of the more traditional formats?
Bean: What I appreciate about the collaboration with APF is it comes from a mutual love of music in general. Fieldy [Andrew Field, APF head honcho] loves music, we love music, and we’re all just getting involved and expressing that in our own way. Music connects people. We’re all just fans that want to share that appreciation and contribute to the scene. As for the upcoming release, I’m definitely a fan of traditional formats. I love the ritual of collecting and selecting music. I’m in my element with a stack of albums and a stereo. Either that or browsing the vinyl bins. It’s just a continuation of how I got into music. Playing an album, looking at the sleeve, reading the lyrics and checking out the artwork. It’s a bit of a cliche to say it, but it’s a fuller experience as far as I’m concerned, and one that can’t be replicated with a download. I do use Spotify on the move or for checking stuff out, but generally it creates a shopping list for me. If I like something, I’ll want to buy a physical copy
Graham: We were approached by Fieldy who was very excited about the band and wanted us to join his roster. We were all quite taken by his dedication and enthusiasm for what he did and felt like it would be a good opportunity. It’s also the first time we’ve properly been signed to a British record label. As great as it has been working with US labels the time zones can often delay things and cause slight issues. Also, Fieldy is a die hard RUSH fan like myself so there was instant trust [laughs]. We’ve always sold tons of cassettes around the world so I personally was very keen to continue that format. I think at first CD was the main format in mind but we’ve gone for everything which is exciting. Vinyl is much loved by fans of all music, and I like a good digipak myself although I’m perhaps in the minority.
If you could only play someone one track from Gravelands to hook them on the whole record, which would it be and why?
Graham: That would be Flight of The Mutilator as it has most the POSSESSOR-vibes covered. Stomping drums, fuzzy low endbass, FU MANCHU rip-off riff, HELLOWEEN-inspired guitar solo, horror vocals, and it’s also nice and snappy.
Bean: I’d pick, Savage Rampage. It’s a perfectly named song that gets everything across in a few minutes. It covers the spectrum from blackened thrash to hammering post-hardcore riffs. In many ways it’s a celebration of heavy music in all its many flavours!
If you had to describe the record in one word or sentence, what would you say?
Bean: Always read the label before use. Side effects may include, headaches, nausea and a frantic devotion to the riff.
Graham: This ‘aint the summer of love.
POSSESSOR have toured with some big names on the scene including UNCLE ACID, ALL THEM WITCHES and TRUCKFIGHTERS – have you got any stand out memories or anecdotes from these shows?
Bean: Definitely looking out from the Sonic Blast stage in Moledo, Portugal. It was the largest show we’ve played and full of excited people who just wanted to listen to riffs. It’s a great festival. There’s a swimming pool in the middle of the crowd! I remember seeing people in the water, facing the stage, arms aloft and enjoying the music. It was a bit of an odd environment for a band with so much invested in the grim, foggy atmosphere of horror, but it worked and we had a really fantastic time.
Graham: Well I’d say my return flight home from after the Sonic Blast festival was pretty unpleasant. I was alone, starting to feel horridly hungover and hadn’t slept more than half an hour only to find out the flight was delayed by eleven hours and not even the bars at the airport were open. I was too scared to sleep as I had all my gear on me and was paranoid I’d be robbed, so I hid under a bench in the freezing cold for the duration and thought about the good times. This was after hitching a ride with ALL THEM WITCHES at 3am having only just passed out on a gym mat in a sports hall while I could hear SALEM’S POT playing somewhere. The moral to that story is: make sure accommodation is 100% sorted before getting hammered.
What’s next for POSSESSOR? Can we expect shows in support of the album?
Graham: We never really tend to tour but who knows? Definitely some shows so we get to play this album live. Our official launch is on July 18th at Blondies Bar in Clapton. So if any readers are in London, come say Hi! That will also be the launch of our signature beer from Weird Beard brewery. Good times.
Gravelands is set for release on July 26th via APF Records.
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