CONAN
Interview with Chris 26/09/18
MM: Conan are back with a vengeance with "Existential Void Guardian" how pleased are you with the new Album.
Chris:We are very pleased with the album. We set out to write a record that would translate well in the live environment, cut straight to the point and be as heavy as possible. I think we managed on those points pretty well.
MM: Why the title “Voltthrower”
Chris:Volt Thrower is just a pun. It sounded good. The album title "Existential Void Guardian" is more to do with the the impending doom facing us all - in these uncertain times, a lot of possibilities lie ahead of us and none of them look very promising. These feelings of hopelessness and despair of course feed the doom genre as a whole, but we felt the title helped show the almost cathartic nature of playing this music, but if you could replace this feeling with some sort of mythical character that guides the way, or protects the weary traveler from their doom on the quest for ultimate glory.
MM: Whats the reviews been like so far ?
Chris:The reviews have all been excellent. In particular some of them have really understood the direction behind this album. We wanted to develop on the ideas of the previous albums and push ourselves as musicians, whilst still staying true to the original sound and themes of the band.
MM: The album itself boasts so many amazing songs but which tracks are you particularly proud of and looking forward to playing live?
Chris:We've been playing Prosper On The Path, Volt Thrower and more recently Paincantation since our US tour at the start of this year and they have been going down very well. But I'm definitely looking forward to playing the rest of the album live on our next tours. If I had to pick one I'd say Eternal Silent Legend, but I could easily have said any of the others.
MM: You guys head out on tour soon can you tell me what can we expect from Conan live ?
Chris:We want to play as much of this album as we can so it will be difficult to choose which songs, if any, we leave out of the set. But if you have never seen Conan before, expect high volume, earth shaking low end and heads down no nonsense heavy metal.
MM: Do you have a Favourite country to play live?
Chris:Difficult one to answer as we have been very lucky to have played across many countries all over the world and they are all great. However, this year we played in Japan for the first time and it was awesome, a beautiful country with such welcoming people and the gigs were great.
MM : What do you like best about touring?
Chris:Getting to play our music live every night and meeting people who appreciate what we do is a great feeling.
MM: And the worst thing about touring?
Chris:Very early flights!
MM: Which two Doom Metal Albums would you play me to introduce me to the Doom Scene
Chris:Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath Electric Wizard - Dopethrone
MM: can you remember the first time you played live and how it felt to have people watching u?
Chris:Yeah! We were absolutely terrible but for some reason a girl who I'd always fancied at school suddenly found me incredibly attractive. I remember at the time thinking "I could get used to this!" - unfortunately for me it never happened again!
MM - What's the most memorable concert you've been to (other than your own) and why?
Chris:Probably Sleep at All Tomorrows Parties in 2009 after they reformed for the first time in about 15 years. I'd been such a huge fan ever since hearing Jerusalem/Dopesmoker around 2002 but I never thought I would get a chance to see them.
MM: Which Metal / Rock legend alive or dead would you like to meet and why?
Chris:Hendrix or Kurt Cobain, hugely influential musicians for me in my formative years and I'm still a massive fan now
MM : Does music dominate your life or do you get time to relax in between? If so how do you like to chill?
Chris:Yes, pretty much. When I'm not on the road I am producing and engineering bands in my studio Skyhammer Studio in Cheshire. I of course listen to music all the time at home and I'm always buying records when I get the chance so I never fully get away from music! But aside from that, I'm obsessed with motorbikes and bike racing, so I love riding my bike, going to watch racing, watching it on TV, reading about it etc etc. I keep saying I will get a track bike but there's always unfortunaltey something else more pressing to spend my money. Maybe next year, who knows!
MM: What are your views on the current music scene are there any of the new young Bands that you think highly of?
Chris:The underground music scene in the UK and elsewhere is very strong and has been for a number of years. There are a lot of great bands around that I could recommend so I'm going to say Bast, although they're not exactly new they've been off the radar for a while but now they have a great new album coming out soon. And they're young compared to us at least!
MM: Why should we buy "Existential Void Guardian"”
Chris:Well, I've still not got bored if it yet and we've been working on it/playing it live for over a year now so I guess that's something.
MM: Four Words to describe Conan
Chris:Loud, Low, Heavy, Metal
MM: Quick Fire Round
1.Festival or Small intimate gig
Chris:Festival
2.Vinyl or Digital
Chris:Vinyl
3.Bacon Sarnie or Beer
Chris:Beer
4. Liverpool or Everton
Chris:Everton
5.The Beatles or Ken Dodd
Chris:Obviously The Beatles
Final Words
Chris:Thanks for the support, see you all on the road
