Unsigned Cornwall based band Godstone have just recently self released their debut EP Monument of One and it has been receiving positive reviews from zines as well as the over 200 plus crowd that attended their release show, so they must be doing something right. I caught up with the band and asked them some questions to get to know them more before they hit it big as I am sure they will. For fans of Alter Bridge, Shinedown and Stone Sour.
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
We are all from Cornwall in the Southwest of England.
Could you give us readers at Moshville Times a brief history of the band and how you came together?
Well myself (John) and Alex have been playing guitar together in and out of bands for years. We’ve both known and collaborated with Pasty, the bassist, for just as long. We knew Matt from the local circuit, he’d played in bands for a long time and we recognised him as a great drummer so asked him if he’d be interested in joining – luckily for us some of our influences were his favourite bands! And after months of posting ads online to no avail, we got a message from James with some videos of his voice in relation to the demos we’d put out there. Think we collectively knew we’d found our guy from the moment we heard his voice.
How would you describe Godstone and who would you say are your major influences?
Major influences include Alter Bridge, Shinedown, Karnivool, Tool, and Stone Sour. I think the best way to describe how we sound to someone who hadn’t listened to us is a union of the guitar-centric groove you might hear in a death metal/metalcore band with the melodic hooks and powerful energy of our combined influences in the more accessible hard rock sphere.
Do you have any particular lyrical themes?
Lyrically, the recurring theme we’ve found ourselves drawn to, especially for Monument Of One, is the idea of change or growth.
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
At a local festival here in Cornwall at the end of our set, a guy ran up to the stage waving his driving license shouting that he was in fact from a village called Godstone!
What kit do you use / guitars do you play / etc.?
Our drummer Matt plays a custom Orange County drumkit, our bassist Pasty uses a Warwick 6-string fretted bass, guitarist Alex is playing an Epiphone Les Paul, I play a PRS SE Custom 24. Both Alex and myself run EVH 5150s through Zilla cabinets. Pasty uses a Hartke bass amp. As a band we are endorsed by Vocalzone, New Tone Strings, London Drumstick Company, Protection Racket, and Zilla Cabs.
How often is the band able to get together and rehearse? Do you all work full time so you can’t get together as much as you want to?
We aim to practice once a week. We all work full time jobs so whilst we have to be flexible, we acknowledge that to get our show as slick and professional as we’d like it be, we have to put the time in behind the scenes.
Where did you record the new EP and who did you get to produce the EP?
We recorded our EP in the home studio of John Cornfield. John is the owner and main man behind Sawmills Studios and has worked with a huge amount of names, including: Robert Plant, Muse, Oasis, and Ben Howard. We wanted this EP to have real substance, and as he is a friend of our drummer Matt, we knew that John would bring our sound to life in a way that only a producer like himself would be capable of doing.
What should the crowd at your EP release show at the St Austell Brewery on Saturday 7th April expect from a Godstone show?
We all have been really looking forward to this show since the day we announced it back in (February?). St Austell always has such a good crowd and we are all bringing 110% on Saturday.
How much fun was it to record your official video for “Full Circle”?
A lot of fun and a lot of work! As a band it was our first experience with shooting a music video of such high quality so none of us were sure what to expect. We can’t thank Ryan from Crashburn Media enough for all the work he put in and having to listen to that track all day!
What lies ahead for Godstone for the remainder of 2018?
Well we’ve got a few shows lined up, many are in talks. We’re hoping to set our sights toward some festivals and beginning the slow but worthwhile process of arranging and creating the full-length debut album.
A fun question to end this interview. If you were second on a three-band bill, which band would you love to be supporting and which band would you choose to open for you? A chance to plug someone you’ve toured with, or a mate’s band we’ve not heard of before!
I think collectively we’d all love to support a band like Alter Bridge, as they’ve been a huge influence to our music. But that might still be a bit of a pipe dream for now! In terms of a supporting act, I’d say Little Clone Humans. They’re a local band to us, three members. They’ve not been together for a long time but they are really heavy and all great musicians.
Monument of One is out now
