We’ve spoken to Pteroglyph a couple of times (2015 at Wildfire, and 2016 in the runup to Bloodstock) but never really sat down for The Big One. Plus their new album is out today so, you know, timely…
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
We are based in sunny (drizzly) Leeds! With band members hailing from the north east and the deep south of England.
How did you meet?
Pteroglyph started as a one man bedroom project that slowly evolved into a full band production, we had all played with each other in variations of different metal bands but have all been friends for years. We just happen to be the right set of metal obsessed idiots to make it work! The best of the best!
How long have you been playing as a band?
This current incarnation has been playing together since roughly 2018. We’ve spent the last couple of years out on the road, playing to anyone that will have us. Honing in on our sound has been the objective before hitting the studio!
Before you get sick of being asked… where does the band name come from?
Pteroglyph is an amalgamation of words mashed together like a toddler to create something…unique
Ptero – (To have wings)
Glyph – (Symbol/carving)
If you like what we do, consider joining us on Patreon for as little as £1 per month!
What are your influences?
Modern technical metal with one foot in the old school.
Meshuggah, Gojira, Decapitated, Sylosis, Architects
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
Punishing and relentless tech metal riffs being played way faster than they should be. Like if Meshuggah and Gojira had a radioactive three-headed child. Our focus is on being neck snappingly tight and shovelling as much air as we can out of our instruments!
Do you have any particular lyrical themes?
The current song themes are loosely based around the prevalent inequalities in modern society, whilst also coming from a post-apocalyptic point of reference.
Seems very fitting these days!
What’s your live show like? How many shows have you played?
Expect 40 minutes of expansive aggressive metal with full energy from the get-go. Drop in a dime of tightness and infectious groove laden head nodding.
Last year we played somewhere between 30 – 40 shows, including week-long tours of the UK.
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
Where to start…off the top of my head… a man once set his hand on fire in the middle of the pit, people crowd surfing through the actual ceiling, Ansley (guitar) jumped off a speaker cabinet and soiled himself and a man jumped off the top of our van and tried to grab a lamppost….he didn’t make it.
What kit do you use / guitars do you play / etc.?
Jimmy (Vocals/guitar) plays ESP/LTD guitars, and Helix Amp modeller running into a Hughes and Kettner 4x12Guitar Cab
Ansley (guitar) plays Jackson guitars into a OG Marshall JCM800 and using a Marshall 4×12 Cab
Bradie plays Tama drums with a selection of Sabian Cymbals
What, if anything, are you plugging/promoting at the moment?
We’re currently plugging our new album ‘Solaire’ (released 6/11/2020), we have the title-track single already out and available on all streaming platforms. The second single ‘Black Death’ has also just been released.
What are your plans over the next 6 months or so?
Unfortunately, due to COVID chaos, any live gigs we had scheduled have been postponed/cancelled…but! we do have a gig booked for August 2021, fingers crossed it still goes ahead!
We’re working on putting together a high-quality full gig live stream but there’s no set date just yet.
We had been live streaming performances from our homes during lockdown and the plan is to get back to that for the time being, whilst also harassing everyone on the internet with the new release!
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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!
It’s got to be Meshuggah headlining, any chance to be near the same stage as them would be an honour….and watch ourselves get our arses entirely handed to us? It would be great!
We went on a tour last year with a London band called SlaveSteel, they were absolute dudes. Great band, great musicians, really professional and awesome to be around…also great to drink with!
Pteroglyph: official | facebook | twitter | instagram | youtube
