INTRODUCING: Big Iron
When you mention the words ‘Scotland’ and ‘rock/metal’ the generic response you’re most likely to be greeted with is THE PROCLAIMERS or BIFFY CLYRO. To those willing to look deeper than surface level there is a vast range of incredible talent amongst their ranks. Progressive metal outfit TIBERIUS, blackened thrashers HELLRIPPER and hardcore bruisers DEMONSTRATION OF POWER are but a few of the host of rising talent sharing the spotlight. Also, anyone who has somehow managed to miss the meteoric rise of BLEED FROM WITHIN needs to get their eyes tested. Hoping to hop onboard for the ride are newcomers BIG IRON, a bunch of experienced musicians in the scene looking to bring their new venture to the forefront.
“It all started as a bit of a lockdown project between me, Kieran (guitars) and James (drums),” explains guitarist Jack Sandilands. “Me and Kieran had left PERPETUA and we were initially writing instrumental songs but they just felt really boring. I watched The Dirt, The MÖTLEY CRÜE documentary on Netflix and I was like ‘that’s it! We’re bringing cock-rock back’. We wrote a full album worth of material and when we finally got the chance to jam it after the restrictions lifted we realised it was actually fucking awful. We had one song, Miles Away, which made it’s way onto our first EP and that was the only one which survived. We’d been trying to convince Ollie to join the band for months, eventually he finally relented. I think I turned up at one of his shows. Ollie and his drummer were in a load of different bands and they played a gig where all of their bands played on the same night and it was incredible to witness so when he was packing his stuff up I accosted him and he finally decided he was in.”
“I’d been working in several different projects, like DISPOSABLE, being in a David Bowie tribute band, writing my own solo work, and when I got less busy I thought the idea of just being a lead singer sounded like fun. Jack caught me at exactly the right time,” adds frontman Oliver Wardell.
Considering the endless array of artists inhabiting the music world, it can be quite painstaking to devise a name which either hasn’t been chosen already or is a suitable fit for its intended purpose. It became quickly evident to Jack and company that the band name was quite low on their list of priorities. “The name BIG IRON was inspired by Marty Robbins and Fallout: New Vegas. We’d gone through a bunch of names and most of them were terrible. We got to the point where we thought ‘who actually cares?’. As long as you write decent tunes the name of the band means very little in the grand scheme of things.”
“We’re just a bunch of idiots and we don’t want to have a super serious band name,” admits Ollie. “I’ve always liked the idea of bands that take their music very seriously but everything else about them is just funny and a bit daft. PERIPHERY for example, very technically gifted band who write incredible music but they’re just complete jokers who are always having a laugh.”
Their debut EP, It Gets Bigger, was released at the end of 2023 and was already well underway prior to the arrival of Ollie. Once he began to bring his own flair and influence to the table you could see the stylistic shift in their output, adding additional dynamics into the mix. “I feel like we’ve found a good balance of our individual influences,” states Jack. “We have discussions about what we feel may work or not work but we have a combined love and respect for each other. We wanted to avoid being pulled into any specific space and if anyone has any ideas they’re working on, nothing is completely off the table. Sometimes Ollie will just turn up with a full song and at times we do have to rein him in before he does something completely mental.”
BIG IRON‘s next instalment, Frontier Living is due for release in July and is poised to usher them into an exciting new era. “I feel like the title represents us pushing the boat out a bit, like we’re living on the edge of civilisation,” describes Ollie. “We’re moving out of our comfort zone, taking a risk and being experimental with this EP and it felt very appropriate. I wouldn’t say we’re distancing ourselves from what we have done before but it’s more expanding on the idea of what we can do. What can BIG IRON encompass under their umbrella? We want to be able to be heavy, poppy, silly, funky, have riffs and breakdowns.”
“We have been very lucky that we’ve been in bands before, we’ve built good connections and that has given us opportunities to play in front of different types of audiences,” adds Jack. “We initially got thrust into the classic rock scene, and there was nothing wrong with that, as it has allowed us to play in front of some great crowds, but we don’t want to be perceived in one specific way. We have some exciting shows coming up this year so we’re looking forward to getting out there and showing off the new material.”
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