“Most bands have an amazing few albums, then the next one kind of sucks and they may break up after that, or keep on putting out mediocre stuff. So we just wanted to make three albums that we were really proud of, and what the title alludes to is that we’re making this album with the intention of it being our last.”
That being said, Hickey can’t confirm this’ll be the very last thing the band puts out, or whether the accompanying tour will be the last one they do. This will depend upon the reaction The Death of All Things receives from critics and fans.
“If people buy it, then we’ll definitely be interested in making more music,” he says. “But it’s a funny time for the band because we love playing live. I feel like when we’re playing live that’s how people should see us, rather than listen to a record. But it’s just hard, because everyone’s getting old, everyone’s got jobs and everyone’s got kids and mortgages. We’re a middle aged metal band. If we were 20-years-old, we’d probably be all over Europe, and generally playing a lot more than we do.”
The band’s future is also compromised by the fact Hickey is picking up and moving to the other side of the planet once the album cycle is complete. “As soon as the record comes out, and as soon as we’ve done the tour, I’m moving to London,” he says. “So we’re probably going to be a band, as such, but because we don’t tour – we only tour New Zealand twice a year and come over to Australia only fairly often – it just means that it’s going to be quality over quantity of the shows that we play.”
In the meantime, The Death of All Things is due out in April, and it’s an absolute beast of a record. If it does turn out to be their last, it would be a very fitting send-off for the prestigious heavy rockers.
“I think we’ve just made a record that is better in terms of songwriting and dynamics,” Hickey says. “That’s really what we’ve been striving for; a record that’s more dynamic. The first two records are quite dense and just pummelling the entire time. But this one has a lot more light and dark moments, just the whole quiet/loud thing. I think we’ve nailed it this time.”
The band will soon be back on our sunny shores to give fans a taste of new tunes ahead of the album’s release. The feature show is an appearance at Melbourne’s Rolling Thunder festival, which happens this weekend. It’s an all-day event and the lineup is truly epic, including US headliner The Sword.
“I’m just so excited about playing Rolling Thunder. To have that sort of lineup is just very special, and I think it’s just going to be great fun.”
BY ROB WHITFIELD
