Headline Act: Past The Fall

Things are continuing to build for Past The Fall, after we last saw them plying their trade on the Jager stage at Bloodstock ’23. Let’s delve into their history as Will tells us all about them…

Simple things first – where are you guys from?

We’re based out of Cambridge, UK.

How did you meet?

I (Will) met Thomas the guitarist at school when we were 11! We’ve both been playing music since we were young and been in and out of bands but we didn’t form Past The Fall in earnest until about 2014/15. We’ve had a few drummers over that time as people and the music changed. We’re currently playing with Sebastian Fernandez who we we teamed up with at the beginning of 2023.

How long have you been playing as a band?

Our first tour was probably the tail end of 2014, so about 9 years now!

Before you get sick of being asked… where does the band name come from?

It was from a huge stream of consciousness list I made, the only real requisites being that I wanted it to be more than one word as every single one word band name has been taken, I’m sure! It was the best of the bunch, but it felt kinda right as well as the band was very much about picking ourselves up and starting again after previous adventures, and doing a band much more how we wanted to do it.

What are your influences?

Whether they’re influences or not I don’t know because we’ve never tried to write in someone else’s style, but for sure everything one listens to probably gets expressed when we write. We love to listen to stuff like Black Sabbath, Pantera, Megadeth, Mastodon, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, Motorhead… I love a bit of hardcore too like ETID, Cromags, Hatebreed. But there’s quite an eclectic mix as well like Van Halen, Thin Lizzy, Neil Young… The list goes on! Anything that’s good!

Describe your music. What makes you unique?

I guess we stand out because most music these days is a little bit of a cut and paste of old bands’ styles almost like tributes, or mash up of concepts like shark/pirate/squirrel/bungee metal! Or it’s moved to a much more polished and digitised mathcore element, very cerebral in its originality. We’re neither of those things I guess, we’re trying to carry on that lineage of standing on the shoulders of giants that can trace its roots all the way back to the rock n’ blues and the classic masters, while serving the song without any gimmicks. The zenith of that is it’s brutal, heavy, screaming, soulful with epic solos all whilst retaining a groove that feels human and not metronome’d/gridded.

If you like what we do, consider joining us on Patreon for as little as £1 per month!

Do you have any particular lyrical themes?

I guess we’ve always put more stock into real life than fantasy elements for the music we wanted to create so the themes are always about stuff that has happened to us or we’ve experienced. Perhaps there’s a bit of the hardcore element with that. Our debut album From Insanity’s Ruin has themes of loss of family, depression, loneliness, hope, stalkers, the will to overcome.

What’s your live show like? How many shows have you played?

Ugh, good question! We’re probably getting on to over a 100 now, so it’s changed over the years. We just try to be whatever the vibe takes us. We don’t really do a circus act or anything, I like to just be authentic to whatever the vibe or emotion is with us or the crowd as I think seeing bands just going through the motions disingenuously doesn’t do it for me. We’ve always let the weight of our sound and musical performance do most the heavy lifting really as that’s the angle we’re coming from first and foremost. That said I like to have a natter with the crowd and get them to make some noise! Gigs should be a place to let loose and get it all out without judgement – a place to get primal!

What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?

Well I’ve seen all sorts over the years! Wheelchair crowdsurfing, K holes on the barriers, fights kick off, armed police stopping shows, trips into the pit to play!

What kit do you use / guitars do you play / etc.?

We use ESP Guitars, Jobecky and Mapex Drums, Mesa Boogie and Ampeg.

What, if anything, are you plugging/promoting at the moment?

We’re promoting our final single off our album From Insanity’s Ruin. The track is called “Poison Mirror” and is about the pitfalls of social media, and the disconnect it can foster if not mindfully used. We’ve got several videos and playthroughs from it which look awesome!

What are your plans for the next 6 months or so?

So the promo cycle for “Poison Mirror” will included releasing its content over 3 months or so, but all the while in the studio we’re working on three brand new tracks! Just to give us enough time to complete that and make all the content for them, we’re mainly just focusing on festivals next year to escape the studio!

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!

I’d love to open for Sylosis, and probably a good fit for the opener would be Elyrean. I don’t know them very well but we played with them last year and there blend of tech/melodic thrash metal would suit the bill I think!

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If you want to check out more new music, then fire up our Headline Act playlists on Spotify and YouTube!

Past The Fall: official | facebook | twitter | instagram | threads | tiktok | spotify | bandcamp | youtube

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