Jim caught them at the recent Damnation Festival in Leeds, and they have their own dates coming up in the new year so what better time to check in on Godeater…?
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
Ross: The band is based in Glasgow, Scotland. Four of us live here but our drummer is from Bournemouth!
How did you meet?
Ross: We met largely through playing music in the same local scenes. With regard to forming the band, Will and Andy approached me and our former drummer about putting together a new band with the intention of playing heavier music again. Josh had been a friend of the band before auditioning and joining full-time early in 2017. After a few years of searching for a full-time drummer, Tim completed the line-up in 2019.
How long have you been playing as a band?
Ross: We have been playing together as a band since 2016.
Before you get sick of being asked… where does the band name come from?
Ross: I don’t really know at this point! We had a big list of names and this was the one that stuck most at the time.
What are your influences?
Ross: I take influence from so many different things so it’s really difficult to narrow it down to specifics. I do take a lot of influence from heavy bands like Viatrophy and Cult of Luna, but I also take influence from everything from jazz fusion to hip-hop. I definitely take influence from artists like Olafur Arnalds, Susanne Sundfor, This Will Destroy You and Mono.
Josh: For me lyrically bands like Architects, Cattle Decapitation and Gojira opened my eyes to the fact that you could write about the kind of things we have in our lyrics. I never want to just copy what they say so I try and read as much as I can and put my own spin on it. Corey Taylor, Zac de la Rocha, Mike Hranica are some people that I find influential vocally speaking.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
Ross: I think one of the most unique elements of our music is how varied it is. It draws influence from so many different styles and genres of music and tries to cover a lot of ground. I think people have responded really well to this because, despite being a complex and dense record, there really is something on offer for everyone to enjoy.
Do you have any particular lyrical themes?
Josh: There are lots! Most of All Flesh Is Grass explores themes relating to climate change and humanity losing its way. It’s a concept album about seeing all the things and figuring out what it means to me and what kind of life I want to lead as a result of them.
What’s your live show like? How many shows have you played?
Josh: Our live show has become quite intense over the past year. The type of music we play isn’t widely renowned for its live aspect, so we want to change that! Currently, we’ve played 25 shows with Damnation Festival being the 26th!
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
Ross: Josh head-butted me into the drum kit at the end of the last set on our recent tour with Harbinger, that’s about the wildest it has ever got for me!
What kit do you use / guitars do you play / etc.?
Josh: Shure SM58 mic
Ross: Ibanez Guitars, Kemper Profiler, D’Addario Strings (NYXL, 13-56), Dunlop Jazz 3 picks
Andy: ESP Guitars, Fractal Audio Axe-FX, D’Addario Strings (NYXL, 13-56), Dunlop Tortex picks
Will: Dingwall basses, Line 6 Helix, NewTone Strings
Tim: Sonor Drums, Mapex steel snare, Czarcie Kopyto pedals, London Drumstick Co sticks, Code drum heads
What, if anything, are you plugging/promoting at the moment?
Ross: We recently released our debut album All Flesh Is Grass so we are touring to promote that just now!
What are your plans for 2019?
Ross: Following the release of All Flesh Is Grass and a UK tour with Harbinger, we just wrapped up our last show of 2019 – playing at Damnation Festival in Leeds! We are currently focussing on our co-headline tour with Vexed in January 2020!
- Glasgow, 23/1/2020
- Manchester, 24/1/2020
- Bristol, 25/1/2020
- London, 26/1/2020
- Liverpool, 27/1/2020
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!
Ross: My current picks for a headliner would probably be Crystal Lake, August Burns Red or Whitechapel. For another smaller band, I would say Vexed or Bearers.
Josh: I’d have Colours to Shame headline because they’re the greatest band Glasgow has ever produced and I’d have Slipknot open to make sure it sells well.
