Originally formed in Dublin in the year 1991, Abaddon Incarnate are finally returning to Australia after a decade spent abroad. Known for playing old school death metal mashed together with grindcore, the band has released eight studio albums ranging from their first demo in 1995 to their Pessimist LP in 2014. With the latest being highly regarded as one of the best albums released by an Irish band, Abaddon Incarnate are firmly back on the circuit after taking a hiatus from 2003 to 2007.
“My memory is somewhat hazy about the last time I was in Australia, as I was drunk the whole time,” says vocalist and guitarist, Steve Maher, on why he has a little trouble remembering the last time he came to our shores. I do remember that the show in Geelong was killer, and also the gig in Newcastle with Mike Hunt. It was an awesome gig in Canberra too. Generally, the thing I remember the most is our time spent in Melbourne hanging out, doing BBQ’s with the locals, drinking beer and enjoying the laid back Aussie lifestyle.”
It has been quite some time between drinks, and the band have a lot their looking forward to. “Getting to play places, which we didn’t reach last time such as Ipswich, Lismore and Wollongong. We are also playing the Such Is Life festival in Raglan and camping out. I’m also really looking forward to seeing Melbourne again.”
As Melbourne is a long way from home for the band, with such a different scene it was remarkable to see what differences an Irish band had with Australia. “I don’t think it does much. We got into heavy metal/ thrash at a young age, about ten or 11, through people in school and I learnt guitar from both my stepdad and uncle,” says Maher. “But I don’t think there is anything specific about Dublin that made our sound, except for the grim concrete rain seagulls and junkies inspiring grind core maybe?”
There is no shortage of records for a band like Abaddon Incarnate, as over the span of their 26-year career, to say they have a few records is a great underestimation. Their latest release was in 2014, on Candlelight records and as they proceed to our shores, Steve says “We are playing stuff from every release, bar The Last Supper. My favourite record is Pessimist at the moment, with my favourite track being Broken Spectre. I really dig the lyrics and the song structure/riffs.”
“We have been writing new stuff, but we have been pretty busy touring. We hope to focus on writing after this tour and then have something ready by the end of summer.” This just means we have to wait until the European summer to hear more of Abaddon Incarnate. After a few years, a few more months won’t hurt. When they are not producing and rehearsing music the guys do “Boring shit, computer programming, cooking/ being a chef, weed farmer, archaeology, joinery student, parents etc etc,” he laughs, “No relevance without grind.” Behind every band there are a plethora of obscure hobbies that Abaddon Incarnate are not afraid of doing.
With having such a crazy tour schedule just around the corner, Maher divulges the rest of the year will be a little less hectic, though productive. “Writing and recording for the rest of 2017. We also have a few gigs here in the U.K and Ireland, but the focus will be writing.”
By Romy Elle
