Our Last Enemy may not be the best known name on the Australian heavy music scene at just yet, but that is about to change.
Our Last Enemy may not be the best known name on the Australian heavy music scene at just yet, but that is about to change. This Sydney-based industrial/alternative metal five piece formed back in 2007 and now have so much on their plate, and are so busy, that it must be making their collective head spin. It certainly is for singer Oliver Fogwell. A new album – produced by one of the bigger names in world metal – is set to be released, a national jaunt in support of that record is happening right now, and a rather big-name addition to their lineup, as well as further national and international touring are just a few of the things the band have on the go right now.
“After Melbourne we’ve got Gold Coast and Brisbane,” Oliver explains, regarding immediate plans for the band, “which are really good towns for us; we always get a good response there. Then it’s off to New Zealand for dates in November. Then there’s an Adelaide show in November as well, which has just been confirmed.
“Then,” he adds, “we’re looking at going to Japan. Early next year we’ll be in Japan for a couple of shows. Our new guitarist Bizz is from Genitorturers – from Florida in America. They’ve got a really good following in Japan, so we’re going to get a good response just from his name, as well [as the band themselves]. Hopefully we’ll crack that market and put that as a regular stop on our touring.
“Bizz just moved here,” he goes on, about that new addition to the band, “he’s from Florida. He’s actually getting married here. He met an Australian girl while he was on tour with Genitorturers. It’s good for us,” Oiliver adds, “he wanted to join the band. He’s an absolute professional, he brings a whole other level to this band.
“We really think we’re putting ourselves at an international level with the lineup at the moment, which is really good.”
The next few months look like being a whirlwind of activity for these guys, however this is just the beginning, with 2011 shaping up to be even bigger, as Oliver expands. “We’re in talks at the moment for the Segression tour,” he reveals, “for their new record that drops next year as well. Which will take us all round the country, even over to Perth, which we didn’t get to on this tour. So then, we want to go to Europe and get back to the ‘States, especially with the dollar the way it is at the moment!”
Speaking of the ‘States, the band’s debut album, Fallen Empires, comes out this Friday, and was recorded in LA with no less that Christian Olde Wolbers (formerly of Fear Factory fame), on production duties. This and other factors made making the album an arduous undertaking, but well worth the effort in the end. “It was a really long journey for us,” Oliver recalls. “I think it was January ’09, so well over a year ago (when we started the album). We spent a couple of months in LA. Yeah, it’s taken a long time, but we’re really happy with the final product, which is good after putting all that time and effort into it. It’s like ‘thank God it turned out all right’!
“It was a different ball game for us,” he continues, on why it took so long to bring the album to completion, “going overseas to record, dealing with different labels, they’re things that we hadn’t done before… during the time we were over there, there was a big legal thing with Christian, ‘cos Fear Factory got back together without him, and they were using the name. That took him a few months out of working on our record ‘cos he had to do a lot of legal stuff with that. And he had a band himself, Arkaea, who dropped their debut, and they went on tour. So it was just a scheduling thing.”
What was it like working with Christian, and what did he bring to the table creatively? “It was fun and hard work,” Oliver remembers, “we worked every day. It was long days and nights. We went down to Temple Studios in Chatsworth, which is owned by Ray from Fear Factory and B-Real from Cypress Hill. It was great to see all his tricks in the studio… he did a lot of things with layering, especially with vocals.
“He had a lot of ideas that I hadn’t thought of which worked really well on the record, some ‘call and response’ kind of things, and some whisperings in certain parts. He’s just got a really keen ear for how to layer vocals. So it was a real eye-opener.”
OUR LAST ENEMY play The Tote this Friday October 15. Their album Fallen Empires is out now.