We’re working full tilt here at Moshville Towers, what with the runup to Bloodstock (where Insurgent will be playing) and Our Great Leader moving house. We’ve always time for a chat with an up-and-comer, though, and Insurgent’s guitarist Joe Rowley updates us on what’s been going on since their Band of the Day feature from around two years ago…
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
The home of Heavy Metal, Birmingham UK.
How did you meet?
We met at BIMM University Birmingham. It’s a great environment to meet like-minded musicians and the local music scene is just bustling with people that want to be involved in the industry!
How long have you been playing as a band?
We’ve been playing together for the best part of three years but the latest iteration of Insurgent really shows how strong we have become as a unit over the last year or so.
Before you get sick of being asked… where does the band name come from?
Honestly, it’s a cool word. However, the idea of being an ‘Insurgent’ and fighting against the norm resonates with us. We like the idea of challenging societal beliefs and changing things for the better so it is a fitting title.
What are your influences?
We take a great deal of inspiration from bands like Alter Bridge, Trivium, Slipknot and Jinjer, but everyone in the band has a fairly diverse music taste. Katie loves a bit of musical theatre and Mike (although he won’t like to admit it here) loves some Craig David.
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Describe your music. What makes you unique?
We always aim to balance technicality and unique ideas with accessible motifs and hooks to deliver a unique piece of music. It’s tricky but we feel we’ve really formed ‘our sound’ with this debut EP.
Do you have any particular lyrical themes?
We often like to challenge the Status Quo of society and aim to deliver the message to people that they can improve their lives for the better if they take positive action. Despite the mean guitar riffs and heavy rhythms, the resounding message behind our songs is generally positive.
What’s your live show like? How many shows have you played?
We haven’t actually played a great deal of shows (despite doing an overseas tour) and Covid certainly hasn’t helped us on that front. We aim to connect with our audience and deliver an authentic performance every time, that’s for sure.
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
We’ve had the good old rowing boat in the crowd before, that was a good laugh, nothing too crazy other than that though! (yet)
What kit do you use / guitars do you play / etc.?
Joe uses PRS guitars and a range of amps / modelling units. Jake uses Dingwall basses and Trace Elliot amps whilst Mike uses an array of drum gear, mainly composed of Tama and Zildjian pieces. Katie uses a microphone sometimes.
What, if anything, are you plugging/promoting at the moment?
We are currently promoting our debut EP Sentient which is out August 6th.
What are your plans for the next 6 months or so?
It’s so hard to say given the state of the world! We have a few gigs lined up, we’re playing Bloodstock Festival after winning Metal 2 The Masses and we’d love to get more songs recorded. We’ve also got some exciting content on its way out on social media in the coming months.
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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!
We’d love to support Alter Bridge, and it would be great to have our friends from Take Breath supporting us. They write awesome music and we  supported them in July in Birmingham so it would be great to return the favour!
Pre-save Sentient EP digitally or grab a physical copy! It’s out on August 6th.
Check out this month’s Headline Act Playlist on Spotify and YouTube
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