After a long hiatus, the return of a beloved band can feel like a rush of energy that’s been kept dormant for too long.
Cult classic Brisbane hard rock outfit The Butterfly Effect have released this energy since their return to the Aus-rock stage, which has been lauded by fans and critics alike, and are now set to bring an electric live show to Northcote Theatre on October 13 and 14, with special guests Thornhill and Caligula’s Horse.
Since reforming with the original line-up, consisting of lead singer Clint Boge, guitarist Kurt Goedhart, bassist Glenn Esmond and drummer Ben Hall, in 2017, the band have toured relentlessly, only slightly hampered by the arrival of the pandemic.
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During that time, The Butterfly Effect have been hard at work on a new album, recently released in the form of IV, their fourth studio release. About to embark on a nationwide tour in support of their new release, the band have found a way to reconcile their past grievances to prove they are still one of the best hard-rock acts in the country.
You’d think that after so long since a new album that the band would have lost some of their spark, but lead vocalist Clint Boge doesn’t think so. Even after “fourteen years between drinks, you’d think that something would’ve changed, but it didn’t. It stayed exactly the same.”
That old familiar feeling may not have changed, but the ways of achieving that success certainly has. “The only difference this time,” says Clint, “is that we didn’t have Glenn in the room, as he lives in Sydney. So it was just the three of us in the room.”
Back in 2012, the band was originally in turmoil, with Clint Boge leaving the group after heated resentments grew too hot to handle. It was not the most amicable of departures, but now the band have been able to push past their old grievances.
“We’ve kind of crossed a bit of a bridge with each other,” says Clint. “All part of the reconciliation effect. Putting our trust in each other a bit more. We also took criticism a lot better than we ever did before.” The new album is “wrapped up in getting back together, not thinking we ever would make another album again.”
IV is a culmination of the old and the new. “We were able to cherry-pick through songs that were in various demo formats from 2008 when we wrote a little bit more than we needed for Final Conversation of Kings. We had these hard drives lying around with about 30 demos. Some parts with just guitar riffs; there’d be a little vocal thing over here. We were really lucky to have that at our disposal.”
The hiatus was vital for this work to see the light of day. “Having that long break from each other since 2012 was really important,” says Clint, “because everyone was really invigorated, the energy was really good in the room, we were getting along better than ever. [And] it’s all rolled up in this new album. We’re just as proud of our effort to get to this point.”
Miraculously, the length of time and disparate musical elements have only helped elevate IV. “To me it actually sounds more cohesive on this album, which is weird because it was written in chunks, bits and pieces, and we recorded it in different studios, with different producers, and separately too. We did things in our own time. We didn’t feel pressured and stressed.
“Getting this album out after such a long time has been a release of energy. That pent-up thing of looking back at those old demos and thinking how much good stuff was there and how much I’d love for people to hear it.
Case in point, ‘Visiting Hours’ was written straight after Final Conversation of Kings came out, so it was really important for that song to go on this album. I think it fits perfectly. Moreover, the sequencing of this album was handled with the utmost care. Song to song, we all sat around and did God knows how many sequences of this album to make sure that the flow and the story was poignant and didn’t meander and stray off course.”
For Clint, the ability to play live again for fans of The Butterfly Effect has been one of the true joys. “Getting out in front of our fans is one of the greatest privileges ever. Without them we’re nothing, we don’t have a vehicle to shuttle the sound. That’s where we come from. We were just a touring band originally. It’s the little things, you know. Getting in the tour van. Seeing all the sights again. I love flying into Sydney, driving in the streets of Adelaide.
“There’ll always be some memory like ‘Do you remember when so-and-so did a nudie run past that 7-Eleven in Adelaide?’ and everyone will laugh. There’s a lot of great memories and you get to relive that. We get to be kids again for a little while every night.”
Clint can’t wait to spread that love that he thinks their fans deserve on tour. He can’t wait to “get to to give everyone cuddles, when we’re standing at the merch desk, which is always a treat. But someone did bring this up the other day, saying we should be careful we don’t get sick. I hadn’t thought of that! So fingers crossed everyone comes to the shows healthy and no-one’s going to dribble on me.”
After so long between albums and a touring hiatus on top of that, The Butterfly Effect have come back in a big way and the band are more stoked than ever to share their new music on stage with their fans. “We feel extremely grateful and honoured that we get to keep going,” says Clint.
“Not only just as a legacy act, which we kind of are, but I think to have new music out there is really cool too.”
The Butterfly Effect are playing Northcote Theatre on October 13 and 14 with special guests Thornhill and Caligula’s Horse, buy tickets here.
This article was made in partnership with Northcote Theatre.
