A beefy one for you today (oo-er) as local-ish lads Tamtrum gear up for a new single release with a ton of details about their current lineup, and what we can expect from them over the next few months…
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
Baz: All over the place! We are based in Glasgow, but Micah is Canadian/American, Ollie is from Aberdeen, Chris is from Fort William, Mark is from Lanark and I’m from Glasgow.
Mark: I’m actually from Paisley, but we’re told that whenever we leave, we can’t ever come back.
How did you meet?
Baz: Safe to say that Tantrum has brought us together to play the kind of music we want to listen to ourselves. The fact we’ve become mates with no egos is a nice wee bonus!
Mark: Yeah, if I hadn’t joined Tantrum, and the existing members hadn’t all gone their separate ways (I didn’t force them out; I’m a really laid-back guy, honest!), then I’d never have met any of the current lineup. Funny thing, though – Billy, the founding member and ex-drummer, used to hang out the same places as me in the early ‘90s and it’s amazing that we were in each other’s company so many times and didn’t know it.
Micah: Baz and I are actually old bandmates from our time with Farseer before the band broke up in 2021. He called me up when the guys split with their previous bass player to fill in for a couple of gigs, and then I just never left. Ollie and I are bandmates from another project as well called Eld Varg. I’ve gotten a lot of mileage out of making friends in different bands!
Chris: I first heard Tantrum when I seen them play last year in Glasgow. I loved the show and messaged Mark afterwards asking if Tantrum would be up for a gig with my band at the time. We’ve just kept in touch since, and offered to temporarily fill the vacant bass position for some upcoming shows. I joined as full time bassist shortly after a pleasant first rehearsal with them!
How long have you been playing as a band?
Baz: The current iteration has been playing now for a few months. Gelling superbly. Tantrum as an entity has been around since 2014 but has evolved and grown so much in that time that no one from the starting lineup remains!
Mark: When Baz joined, everything changed for me. I found a writing partner, which isn’t something I’d ever done in the past and had always written entirely on my own. Then he brought Micah in on bass (despite him being a guitarist), who then brought Ollie in on drums, and when Micah made the transition to guitarist and left a bass-player-sized hole in the band, I told Chris I’d smash all his windows in if he didn’t become our bassist.
Chris: What Mark said.
Before you get sick of being asked… where does the band name come from?
Baz: Nae clue.
Mark: Same. No idea. The band had been going for seven years when I joined as vocalist. Based on my time with what we’d call “the original lineup”, though, I like to think the name came from Steve’s reaction every time Billy used the cowbell.
Micah: I’m pretty sure that one was Billy’s baby. He was more or less the genesis of the band, so I think that must have been floating around in his head for some time before he pulled the trigger. I think I’m gonna go with Mark’s version though.
What are your influences?
Baz: I’d say if you listened to us, you’d hear a huge influence of the classic metal bands. Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, touches of Black Sabbath, Dio, Thin Lizzy, Helloween, Megadeth…My favourite guitarists are probably Adrian Smith, Dave Gilmour, Tony Iommi and Rory Gallagher. Not all of what got us into music is filtered into the Tantrum sound, as we’ve all got really eclectic tastes. What it does do is give us a broad pallet to draw from.
Mark: What Baz said. I only became a singer when I joined Tantrum, so most of my influences are guitarists (Jake E Lee is why I took up guitar) or drummers (Portnoy, Peart) but the singers I listened to most when teaching myself to sing were Kiske, Dickinson, Tate, Dio, Vaughn, and Khan.
Micah: Geez, I could fill up an entire interview just talking over all the influences I have. I think eclectic is underselling it! When it comes to Tantrum though, I just try to think: “Old School Metal. Now how do I take this up a notch?”
Chris: It’s difficult to name a few, but Iron Maiden, Deep Purple, Rainbow, Helloween, Dream Theater, Symphony X, Beast in Black…
Ollie: For me, it all started when I found a copy of Revenge by Kiss, which really solidified my love for rock. That progressed into Metallica, taking me into the world of metal, specifically 80s stuff at the start, Big 4, Maiden, Accept and the likes. Right now it has to be Scandinavian metal, bands such as Grand Magus, Amon Amarth and Wintersun and a little bit further aseas with some Ningen Isu thrown in. Ningen Isu and Grand Magus are definitely the biggest influences on my song writing.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
Baz: It would be extremely egotistical to say our music is ‘unique’ as if we’re some kind of “saviours of British heavy metal”. There are loads of British metal bands, as there always have been, and so many are amazing. We are, first and foremost, about the songs. We work hard to craft them. I would say our songs make us unique.
Mark: I think what makes us unique is that we’re not afraid to experiment, even if it means risking audience perception. We’ll never take as many risks as I’d like, as I can’t imagine we’ll ever break into a 13/8 or drop in a parody middle-eight, but we let the songs develop organically and if it means doing something that we wouldn’t have done before then we’ll still absolutely do it. The fact that all members are multi-instrumentalists makes for some insane sympatico when it comes to finding nuances and dynamics during the writing process.
Micah: Going forward, I think the most unique aspect to us is going to be our new approach. The brakes are off now, and we’re just going to let the Tantrum machine take us all along with it.
Chris: Following from what’s been said, we’re all writers with no shortage of riffs and influences. It shall be interesting to see what the future holds.
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Do you have any particular lyrical themes?
Mark: I tend not to write from personal experience, as I don’t live the type of life that would offer much in terms of lyrical fodder. I hate seeing people being taken advantage of, though; I hate oppression, and I think a lot of what I write has underlying jabs at the political landscape. And I love metaphors and double meanings… so, when you’re listening to “Hellion”, you can either take is being a medieval village being torn apart by fire-breathing dragons or a town being razed to the ground by bombers during World War II. Really, both are correct. I also like to offer listeners a chance to hear the other side of the coin or a conclusion to a previous song, so we have a number of those. Lyrics should be a journey, really.
What’s your live show like? How many shows have you played?
Baz: I like to think our live shows are focussed, tight and energetic. We’ve no shortage of singalong choruses and headbanging rhythms. The more we can get the crowd involved, the more we feed off that. We feed on energy. We’re energy vampires!
Mark: I’m more of a conversationalist when it comes to fronting the band, much to their chagrin. I’m an introvert, find it difficult to be around people, and so I’d rather just chat to them as though they were my mates rather than bounce from the monitors and screaming at them to put their hands in the air… plus, then the folk behind you can’t see! Aurally, though, we’re a wall of tight, melodic, face-melting metal… and we like to have a laugh. I’ve been butt-sandwiched between Micah’s and Baz’s cheeks many times.
Micah: The two things I keep hearing from people when we come away from a show are: “We can’t believe how tight you guys are”, and “You guys just have so much fun up there.” I like to think those statements speak for themselves.
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
Baz: Forgotten we were playing until our intro tape started and I had to be shouted on to the stage by our singer. That was with an old band though, I’m far more sedate these days off-stage at least.
Mark: In my old band, Fury (no relation to the current Fury), back in the early ‘90s, we were playing a place in Livingston called Oscars. Partway through the set, their lighting rig came loose from the ceiling and one side of it came careening down towards me as I stared at the audience. Next thing you know, I’m wearing the rig, still playing away. I’m glad it didn’t damage my guitar. Can’t speak for my head, though.
Micah: Oh boy, the wildest stage moment I’d ever seen was back when I was in college in Canada. A friend’s band were doing a showcase – a really wild project where they were doing some kind of experimental improvisational prog metal. Nothing was written, they just went in with a vibe and decided to see what would happen. Unsurprisingly, there were some… extracurricular substances involved with this event. During the performance of the second “song”, the music is rising to an incredible crescendo, the guy singing and playing bass gets a far away look in his eyes as “it kicks in”, lets loose a primal scream, and proceeds to beat himself in the forehead with the microphone until it breaks. Not a beat is skipped by the rest of the band, and they finish the set with a bloody microphone. I asked him about it later and he was fairly nonchalant about it – just a little embarrassed that it wasn’t his mic that he broke!
What kit do you use / guitars do you play / etc.?
Baz: Recently moved from Blackstar amps to the Helix and I’m enjoying its versatility. My guitar of choice with Tantrum is a Gibson Flying V HP.
Mark: When recording demos, I’ll use a modded Roland kit with a TD-20 module running into a Scarlett 2i4. Live, I’ll use a Shure Beta 58a, and in the studio it’s a Rode NT1-A. I’ll typically demo guitars on either a Mockingbird or a Destroyer, depending on how much crunch I want. Also, Vicks Inhalers – so important!
Micah: At the moment, I’m primarily using PRS guitars – a 2009 USA Custom 24 and a newer SE Tremonti Custom with Iron Gear pickups. For the rest of my sound I’ve been using a Line 6 Helix as the base of my rig for about 5 or 6 years now, absolutely amazing bit of kit.
Chris: My main guitars are: Solar 1.6V with a Dimebucker, a Dean 450 Custom with EMGs, and a Schecter Blackjack SLS C1 with a Seymour Duncan Full Shred. For Tantrum these will be reserved for the demos!
I’m currently using Mark’s Traben Bootzilla 5 string bass, and using Line 6 Helix for the tones!
What, if anything, are you plugging/promoting at the moment?
Mark: We released the Another Life album on July 28th and released “Sands of Time” as the first single. We have the title track releasing as a single on September 29th along with a new video, and we’re out on the road with Tailgunner in October.
What are your plans for the next 6 months or so?
Baz: We fully intend to get out and about around the UK as much as possible to let people hear Another Life live. We are trying to organise a tour with our pals in Promethium, who also have a new album out that you should check out. We are also planning on releasing an EP of covers and the now traditional Christmas Tantrum single towards the end of the year, with all profits going to charity.
Mark: Despite already having written enough tracks for a new album while Another Life was being mixed and mastered, we’ve yet to decide what we’re doing with the myriad tracks we have ready to go – they might end up being a new album or we might drip-feed them more regularly as EPs. Either way, we just want to keep writing collaboratively and letting everyone hear what we have to say. I want to record a live album and video next year – that’s my personal goal for the band, short term.
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!
Baz: A tough one. For me, personally, it has got to be Iron Maiden. There’s such a wealth of good UK bands out there. I’d probably say Promethium, Midnight Force or Lords of Ruin.
Mark: If I had to base it on playing with bands that suit our style then I’d love to play with Helloween, Maiden, or Conception. If styles don’t matter, then it would have been Rush, Alice in Chains, and Soundgarden. For bands we know, it would absolutely be Promethium as we work well together, and their new album is awesome. Two of our members are also part of Eld Varg, and they’re playing with Tantrum on our single launch event. I heard a great band last night called Battalion of Flies, and I’d love to share the stage with them at some point, too.
Micah: I’ve really been getting into the NWOTHM bands popping up in the US lately, and I would love to see us get onto the bill with someone like Visigoth or Eternal Champion. As far as other bands on our level go I’m still pretty new to the scene in the UK, so I’m happy to play with pretty much anyone and build our network up.
Chris: There’s a few dream bands I could list, but for a good show I’d love to do a gig with Fellowship. Or Nanowar Of Steel, they seem a good laugh!
Ollie: As opening band, I would have to pick my own band, Eld Varg. EV are a sort of Viking-esque, heavy metal band, following more along the lines of the Scandinavian bands mentioned before, specifically Grand Magus. And for headliner, would Grand Magus be too easy of a choice? I would say them, or Ningen Isu, I managed to catch them at their only ever UK date in 2020 and would love to see them again and support them of course. Or maybe Metallica? Would be pretty cool to play a stadium to 80,000 people!
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