#ROADTOBOA2017 – Spyder Byte

As ever, we’re going to try and cover every single Jäger, New Blood and SOPHIE stage band before Bloodstock kicks off on August 10th. Your chance to check them out and start planning which bands to get there early for!

Trust us when we tell you that this is bound to result in some frustrating clashes because, as ever, there are some great bands on these three stages.

Our thanks to all the bands for taking the time out to answer our questions!

Spyder Byte – Jägermeister Stage, Saturday

Simple things first – where are you guys from?

Nathan Hammond (bass guitar and backing vocals): We are split between two areas. Three of the members are living in Brighton as some of us are studying at university, and two members live in Medway which is where the band originated from.

How long have you been playing together as a band?

N: Well the band have been going for six years which is a fairly long time. I still cannot believe that we have been playing and making music for that long, it’s crazy! We all started relatively young, I’m the youngest in the band at 20 years old. Majority of the band, bar our vocalist, met in school so most of the members were all 14 when the band actually started out!

Where does the name of the band come from?

N: The name Spyder Byte comes from one thing only and that is my irrational fear of spiders. I can’t stand the little bastards. They creep me out and I cringe if I know that I am in the same room as one of them, which is why I always keep my distance if they are about!

Describe your music. What makes you unique?

N: Our music is hard to pinpoint. It’s a huge mix of influences. For example, Dan (lead vocals) is big into his thrash metal, I’m rather big into death metal myself actually, Connor (drums and backing vocals) is a huge power metal fan and both our guitarists (C.C and Luke) like their old school AOR such as Ratt, Def Leppard, H.E.A.T, Winger and Danger Danger… but add a dash of Status Quo and that’s them.

However, our sound is nothing like that. The best way to describe us is if AC/DC, Twisted Sister, and Motley Crue had a love child with Motorhead. It’s sleazy, it’s dirty, and it’s gritty but it’s also strangely heavy in places. This is the kind of sound we wanted to capture for our debut album Addictive. We have a relatively heavy song and then a softer, more tuneful and 80’s inspired hard rock sounding song, and that is how we laid out the album. There’s something there for everyone.

What’s your live show like? Why are people going to watch you instead of another band?

Luke Naylar (guitar and backing vocals): In your face. Consistent electrifying stage presence enhanced by powerful melodic songs that will have you headbanging and singing along all day long! So come party with us and we’ll make sure it will be an experience you will never forget!

Have you been to Bloodstock before? What did you think?

N: None of us have actually been to Bloodstock before. I was due to go two years ago but due to health problems I couldn’t make it, sadly.

L: I think I can speak on behalf of everyone in saying that we are all buzzing to get out and put on a show at one of Britain’s largest metal festivals. It’s going to be a blast and we can’t wait to experience our first Bloodstock… and hopefully not the last!

When/how did you find out you’d been selected to play at Bloodstock?

N: Well we actually found out a couple of weeks after the Metal 2 The Masses Final in our home region of Kent. I had a particularly shitty day at work and I said to myself “Can today get better, please?” and then on the way back home we see those lovely words pop up on an email to the band.

What sort of setlist can we expect?

N: The setlist you can expect from us at Bloodstock will be a huge mix of our influences. So, much like the album, you’ll have heavy Spyder Byte tracks and more sing along party, dance-like Spyder Byte tracks. We’ll have tracks aplenty for the people that bang their head to Slayer to the people that dance around to Van Halen. It will literally be a huge party, and we can’t wait to show Bloodstock what we got!

Which other band do you most hope you’re not clashing with so you can see them play?

N: Personally, being a big death metal fan, I hope we don’t clash with Fallujah on the main stage. I saw those guys supporting Dying Fetus in London and they were insane and they just continued to get better from then on. I’m also hoping not to clash with our friends in Eradikator on The Sophie Lancaster Stage. We played with those guys at Beermageddon Festival in Bromsgrove and I was in awe at how shit hot they were.

Other notable mentions for bands I want to see are Wretched Soul, Switchblade City, Wintersun, Megadeth, Kreator, and Blind Guardian.

What are you working on at the moment?

N: So recently Spyder Byte have been on tour up and down the UK. Our first tour in the six years that we have been going for. We have played Southampton, Newcastle, Birmingham, Nottingham, Bristol, Brighton, Kent, and London, rounding it off perfectly with Bloodstock coming up in August. We have also begun working on the demos and guide tracks for our second EP that will hopefully be released before the end of the year.

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

N: The wildest thing we have seen at one of our gigs I would say is someone getting launched through a window during a mosh pit. That was pretty mad! It’s alright, he lived. It was only a short fall.

The wildest thing that one of us has done at one of our gigs is when C.C (guitarist for Spyder Byte) nearly electrocuted us at our drummer’s 18th. We were near the end of our set and our guitarist was very hot, so he stood over a power socket extension that was plugged in and doused himself in water. We almost didn’t play Bloodstock because of that!

Jager, Hobgoblin Ale, Kraken, Kingstone Press Cider, Kaltenberg Beer or Bulleit Bourbon? N.H: And, yes, we’ll be counting all the votes!

Can it only be one? Yes? Shit! Well at the moment on a huge Jagermeister binge, so it would have to be Jager. Kinda helps that we are playing their stage at B.O.A too!

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