Dripback have just released their Blessed With Less Than Nothing EP and potentially some live dates when things level out…
How long have you been playing as a band?
I think we started the first incarnation of Dripback in maybe 2007 with me on bass and Tom from Dishonour the Crown on vocals. We had one jam and wrote ‘kick out time’. In 2009, I moved to Sweden, but we wanted to get it going again so we convinced Adam to play bass and I switched to vocals so theirs guys could jam properly and I could just fly over here n there.
Before you get sick of being asked… where does the band name come from?
Dripback is when something runs down the back of your nasal cavity and into your throat.
What are your influences?
Early 90’s Earache and Roadrunner bands!
That’s pretty much it!
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
I don’t really think we ever set out to be unique as such, but from what I’ve heard from followers of the band and from the music press is that we’ve managed to blend Hardcore, Grind and Death metal without it sounding like Metalcore or Deathcore or whatever the kids pigeonhole stuff as nowadays.
We just do what we do and if we dig it it makes the cut.
Do you have any particular lyrical themes?
They’ve changed slightly through each release. The debut release was really a mishmash if lyrics by me and Gino and they kinda lacked a specific direction.
I tried my best while writing for ‘Failed futures’ to have more of a collection of cohesive themes. What I ended up with was a whole bunch of Anti Government, some “The end is nigh and it’s our fault” vibes, Buddhist wrathful god stories, drug addiction realizations and some songs about DMT. The new EP is pretty much all based on my frustration with modern day humans and the hypocrisy that goes with political and social agendas. There’s an LSD tune in there just to mix it up a bit.
What’s your live show like? How many shows have you played?
We give everything we have live.
We try to engage with the audience as best we can and make sure we deliver the tunes the way we should. We love playing festival stages, but if you really want the full Dripback experience it’s best to catch us at a small venue with next to no stage. It’s a lot more rabid.
Wow, the amount of shows we’ve played? I couldn’t say… not all that much for our “career span” I’d guess.. maybe 80 give or take a few?
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
I dunno about wild.. but I can say for sure the most ridiculous show was when we played with The Defiled. You know those guys used to have stage costumes n all that sorta stuff right? Well we ain’t about any of that, but we thought it would be amusing to do a similar thing for that show so me n Gino bough white vests and sports shorts and kids woolly hats from sports direct and made the whole band stage clobber. The thought of Hellhog playing blast beats in a teddy bear woolly hat creases me up.
What kit do you use / guitars do you play / etc.?
Everyone plays Jackson.
At the start they used peavey 6505s, but after the Jackson deal I think they switched to EVH 5150 heads. Adam uses a Sansamp and I ain’t got a clue what Hellhog uses! I’m the vocalist! I know nothing about this stuff!
What, if anything, are you plugging/promoting at the moment?
We have an new EP out on 4Family Records called Blessed With Less Than Nothing. It’s produced by Russ Russell (as always) with some executive production from Nicholas Barker.
What are your plans for 2020?
Well our released shows were cancelled due to the Coronavirus, and everything’s looking a bit bleak in the wake of that, so I guess maybe just trying not to die?
Hopefully as things level out we can grab some sweet support slots and do some UK shows for the people who support us and take it from there.
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!
Man we’ve been so lucky to play with so many cool bands we grew up listening to. If the 18 year old me heard I’d be playing shows with Pig Destroyer, Nasum, Crowbar, Lockup, Soilent Green and Biohazard it would have blown my mind! Personally I would to have loved to see Lockup do a headline tour for the ‘Demonization’ LP and had the opportunity to be main support. Even tho they’ve taken us on two short runs in the past. To have Dishonour the crown open that show would have been sick too, but also a bit daunting for us as they are tough to follow!
From previous Band of the Day, Khaidian: Do you believe metal should challenge the listener?
Not necessarily. Basic and brutal is sometimes all you need!
From another BotD, Not Ur Girlfrenz: What was the first concert you ever went to?
My first ever live show was a DIY HC/Death metal show in Grimsby. I guess I would have been 15/16. It was Imbalance (who ended up on Household name records) and Crawlspace (the death metal band from UK, not the Belgian HC band) Jamie the vocalist/guitarist is now in King of pigs and Mordhau.
And from Last Hounds: What is your packing list for a tour?
Lots of cheap socks you can throw away rather than carry around dirty in your bag. Headphones for when the others get annoying or you need that time alone in your head. Contraband supplies do you don’t have to rely on local sources.
