Chasing Ghosts release their spanking new EP Bring Me Suffering today, so before you rush out to buy it (and you should), a little more about them…
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
London, Luton and Milton Keynes.
How did you meet?
Lee (bass/keyboard and main songwriter) and Harry (lead guitarist) had played together in a previous band before forming ‘Chasing Ghosts’. Nelson (vocals) and Ash (rhythm guitar) joined about a year later and then after a very long search for a new drummer, Rich (drums) finally completed the line-up this year.
How long have you been playing as a band?
We have been around for roughly six years with a few line-up changes here and there. The band started in 2014 as a personal project and grew from there. It wasn’t until the end of 2016 that we had a full line-up to be able to begin work on our debut album.
Before you get sick of being asked… where does the band name come from?
The name comes from a song Lee wrote back in 2006, in his previous band with Harry, which just seemed to describe the sound of the new project so well.
What are your influences?
Musically we all have a love for bands that we are sometimes compared to unsurprisingly, like Paradise Lost, Anathema, Katatonia, My Dying Bride. But individually we have many, many more and some are quite diverse.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
The thing we would say that sets us apart from other bands right now, is the unashamed honesty we have embedded within our songs, opening our heart and soul, bleeding raw emotion into every aspect of our sound. Heart-wrenching vocals, epic sounding guitars, with dark gothic undertones. We also want listeners to hear and connect with every lyric, which is why we purposely wanted no growling or screamo vocals, the heaviness and aggressiveness comes from the guitars, bass and drums alone.
Do you have any particular lyrical themes?
Suffering, pain, disappointment, regret, acceptance and even hope.
What’s your live show like? How many shows have you played?
Live we like to recreate what the fans know from the record in a polished professional form. We don’t stray too much from the songs templates as they have taken so long to craft in the first place and everything is where it is meant to be, but we do have a few moments of added creativity. The important thing for us is creating the right atmosphere for each song, rather than any breakaway prog jams, however Ash normally ends up breaking a string or two.
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
The singer turning up on time!
Ash has seen a drummer destroy two snares in a row and then ask if anyone else had a snare he could use. Also playing a set on a large haulage truck that was converted into a stage that rocked back and forth as we all were performing, would have been quite a long fall, but added to the adrenaline.
What kit do you use / guitars do you play / etc.?
Gibson Les Pauls and Laney Ironheart amps with some Boss, MXR and Dunlop Pedals, PRS SE, Marshall JVM410H amp, Maxon 808 overdrive, MXR Carbon copy delay, Ampeg SVT-7 PRO, Ashdown amps, Tama drum kit.
What, if anything, are you plugging/promoting at the moment?
Our new single and video for – “Bring Me Suffering” which is the first single off of our EP of the same name, released on 12th June. It follows many themes from our debut album ‘These Hollow Gods’ that we are known for but is an evolution of our sound
What are your plans for 2020?
World Domination would be great, but I think we just want as many people to enjoy our music as possible, so preparing for tours and festivals for 2021, we will also probably squeeze some more song writing in as well.
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!
We would all love the chance to support Paradise Lost, I think that would definitely be a dream come true for us. We know they have heard some of our stuff as Jaime Arellano who mixed and mastered our EP was working on it as he was working on their new album and we received word they heard it and liked it. That in itself is totally surreal and is the kind of that thing that pushes us forward! Supporting Anathema would also be real honour.
We really enjoyed playing alongside Norwegian band Abyssic at Nocturnefest in Copenhagen a couple of years back and said at the time we would love for them to support us if they toured the UK.
Chasing Ghosts: official | facebook | twitter | instagram | bandcamp | spotify | youtube
