INTERVIEW: Mike Regan – Barbarian Hermit

Manchester sludge titans BARBARIAN HERMIT have stormed the stage quite literally, recently winning this year’s Metal 2 The Masses and securing an outstanding set at Bloodstock Festival. Distorted Sound managed to catch up with guitarist Mike Regan before the launch of their first full-length album, Solitude and Savagery, to talk about the aforementioned album, playing at Bloodstock, and the current state of the Manchester music scene.

So, your first full-length album is set for release in November. How are feeling about this huge release?

Mike: We’re staying cool, making sure everyone’s hydrated and kicking ass if someone doesn’t turn up for Hermit Pilates class. We’re really pumped to be honest, the album has had a fantastic reception so far. It’s heart-warming as fuck.

What can fans of your previous ferocious demo expect from Solitude and Savagery? Any particular themes that you are looking to address with the album?

Mike: The new album is a whole new kettle of dick. The main difference is that since that old shit, we’re got three motherfucking new big dick members and we’ve solidified that shit. We used to be cement, now we’re slamming bullet holes like some fucking Kevlar diamond-tipped concrete hard-ons. Honestly though, getting Ed (vocalist Ed Campbell) back on board since he fell foul of the South Korean federal police and had to move back home has energised the shit out of my band. It’s pretty sick that Rob (bassist Rob Sutcliffe) and Gaz (drummer Gareth Manning) joined too. You can hear the jokes in the music now. That’s why it’s going to be better. In term of themes, Ed writes the lyrics and he’s something of a Christian. I don’t ‘get it’, personally, but he’s not a dickhead preachy one so no one cares. So I guess we’re a Christian band with jokes. Actually, yeah, that’s a good way of describing us now: Helmet Christian Sludge Metal.

Do you feel that your musical style has changed at all between the release of your 2016 demo and this full-length album?

Mike: It has a bit. We’re way fucking better now, though.

It’s clear that your new release is going to be a mammoth one. How was the writing and recording process for you all?

Mike: Bit of a nightmare to be honest. Our new drummer Gaz was like “ah shit guys, we need to get some new music or else we won’t have any music”, and me and Adam (guitarist Adam Robertshaw) were like “nah it’s fine mate”. Gaz was right, to be honest, so we wrote like seven new songs on the Saturday before we were due to go into the studio, then we were like “fuck this, let’s get a kebab!” We’ve developed a really advanced communication process that’s modelled on our intense study of global business giants like Google and Facebook and how they run their shit. It’s dope as fuck.

What tracks on the new album were your favourite to write and record? Which are you looking forward to playing live?

Mike: Enter the Hermitage, Black Mass, and Laniakea are all our favourite songs. Recording was horrendous, a fucking absolute nightmare. We just wanted to get absolutely wasted and feed king prawns to each other in CONAN’s garden, but Chris (Chris Fielding) poured boiling piss on us at midnight and beat us with nunchucks like some bad Chuck Norris wannabe until we played the songs right. He’s got a cupboard full of different kinds of nunchucks in his studio – weird dude, right? Gaz just pretended to be asleep when it was happening because he’d laid his drums down perfectly, absolute shithouse. I don’t hold any grudges though, it worked. We sound amazing.

How did you guys find working with Chris Fielding at Skyhammer Studios to produce your record?

Mike: Once you get past how skinny his legs are, the conversation inevitably turned to Father Ted quotes and how utterly abysmal you are as a ‘musician’. But yeah, it was fucking great.

Are there any tracks on Solitude and Savagery that have specific importance to you all?

Mike: We spent a lot of time working around the main riff from Black Mass. It’s one of those moments where the riff is so good that we have to catch up with it. Eventually we did and we’re all very happy with what it’s become. Never underestimate the absolute riff worship of BARBARIAN HERMIT – it is ALL to us.

You recently played a seriously impressive set at Bloodstock Festival on the New Blood Stage. How was that experience for you – was there anything interesting that happened during your time at Bloodstock that sums up the event for you?

Mike: A lot of mad shit happened at Bloodstock, and it was something of a miracle that we managed to pull off a decent set. Vans breaking down, stupid bastards off their tits, losing phones, etc, etc. All standard festival things, really! What I will say is that we’re damn proud that we won Metal 2 The Masses 2018 and all the guys at Bloodstock, specifically Simon Hall and the Stage Crew on the New Blood Stage were hands down the best people we’ve ever worked with.

Your live performances seem to bring with them a horde of loyal fans – how does it feel to be growing a huge fan base so quickly?

Mike: [laughs] We’ve been working hard to make our live shows silly as fuck right now. We’ve got a line of BARBARIAN HERMIT gravy boats, and Ed’s been pouring Buckfast in the mouths of anyone who’s down to fuck during our live shows. The amount of people you see down front varies from show to show, but there’s nothing quite like looking up mid-riff and soaking up the energy from an ocean of sweaty, flailing hair and flesh. You know it’s a good show when you can smell the crowd.

Do you have any plans to return to Bloodstock, or perhaps other festivals in the future?

Mike: We’re doing all that we can to get to Bloodstock next year. That and Desertfest are our goals for 2019. And no, I’m obviously not going to let you know what you’ve got to do – it’s a fucking secret!

You’ve toured before with some incredible bands, including CROWBAR and DOPELORD. Are there any bands that you would love to work or tour with further down the line?

Mike: Obviously we’re extremely privileged to have supported these big lads. It elevates our name and gets us known. Honestly though, we’re just as lucky to play with the superb local bands and our label mates in Manchester. Specifically: BATTALIONS, 1968, BOSS KELOID, TEEN FOOT WIZARD, DEAD RETINAS, MASTIFF, VOW, UNDER, and PIST. And they’re not even half of it. There’s an absolutely huge underground scene in Manchester and Greater Manchester, and the bands in our town right now could easily rub shoulders with the greats.

Your album launch party is being held in your hometown of Manchester. What’s your views on the music scene in Manchester now, especially as so many live music venues are at risk of being closed around the UK?

Mike: As far as metal and heavy music is concerned, Manchester is at the top of its game right now. I can’t speak for other genres, but from what I know of grime and hip-hop we’re also fucking killing it. Shout out to STRIKA MC! Stockport man dem! Venues all over the country are experiencing the same problem. Rising rents, taxes, people staying at home as wages freeze, and austerity policy from central government have hit everyone hard. Obviously, this leaves fewer places for live music and it’s now concentrated around the few existing venues, with an ever-increasing amount of DIY shows. Tides will turn and our music never dies. They can throw anything they fucking like at Manchester and as a city we’re just going to come back at them with great bands, amazing music, and unique venues. People just make do and make music.

Do you guys have any plans to tour the UK, or even Europe, after Solitude and Savagery is released?

Mike: Yeah, but that’s pretty hush hush right now! Of course we’re going to make the most of the momentum from this album, and we’re hopefully going to insert ourselves into mainland northern Europe next summer. We’re looking at Japan and West Cost America too… fingers crossed!

Thank you so much for talking to us at Distorted Sound! Anything else you’d like to say to our readers?

Mike: We’re extremely happy to be featured, and I wrote the first half of this interview drunk off my ass, as you can probably tell! If you like our shit, go buy a physical copy, and/ or a t-shirt, because we get fuck all from Spotify!

Solitude and Savagery is out now via APF Records. 

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