RED ENEMY
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What has the road up to the point of recording your new EP “What We Are Contained In, Is What We Are Worth” been like for the band?

We had really been focusing on getting the basics right. We were discovering certain aspects of being in a band for the first time, such as releasing a CD and everything that comes with it. It was a gradual progression up to the point where we recorded our latest EP.

Most bands release a full album after their debut EP, what made the band decide to rather release another EP instead?

Yeah absolutely. I think it just felt right to release another EP. We had absolutely no backing from labels or anyone so I suppose cost was also an issue. We wanted as much studio and recording experience as we could get before we went in and did a whole album.

The 5 songs on the EP sound awesome, how did you approach the song writing for these songs and how did you want to build on the band’s sound compared to your previous recordings?

We focused more on the flow of the songs. I suppose that meant keeping a solid tempo throughout. Our first effort ‘Outsiders’ was a little all over the place to say the least ha! As a band, I suppose you always strive to be that little bit different, but I think originality comes naturally; it comes out in the individuals so it wasn’t something we consciously decided we want to do. You just hope the end product sounds fresh to the listeners.

Please tell us about the meaning behind the title “What We Are Contained In, Is What We Are Worth”?

It came from a lyric Kev wrote in the track ‘No One Will Remember Our Names’. It stood out instantly. It made you think. Ireland’s economy was going down the shitter at the time and it sort of summed up how people felt. Our entire worth as people seemed bounded by the mistakes our government made. Very deep, veeeeery deep haha.

The band’s music is straight forward and in your face and not overproduced. That must be something that really works to your advantage because that same energy people hear on the EP is pretty much what they are going to get live as well?

Yeah I think it really does. I think we all feel most comfortable when we’re playing live so the recording process for us is pretty basic. We write and record the songs pretty much exactly how we jam them. I reckon people can appreciate that.

Is there a specific message in your lyrics and what do you hope people take away with them after listening to your songs?

Most of the lyrical content is quite personal to Kev. The rest is really a running commentary of the state of affairs particularly in Ireland. It’s very hard to tell the listener what they should take away from them, but I certainly think many people could relate in more ways than one to what Kev is saying.

Is there a particular band that stands out in your mind whose music really connected with you and helped to shape you into the musician you are today?

There are so many to mention really. Most of the early thrash bands like Testament and Sepultura certainly had an influence on our style of playing if nothing else. Those bands were so unbelievably tight and in your face. I would say that’s the most important influence we still take with us today.

Monuments guitarist Olly Steele will be filling in for Rob on your upcoming UK tour. How are preparations going for the tour and what are your plans regarding the open spot in the band once the tour is done?

It’s been tough at times for sure. Olly lives in another country so that can be slightly inconvenient ha. But overall it’s going well. We just wanted somebody we knew could play the songs and that we all got along with as friends so we just asked Olly straight up. When we come back from this tour we will be pressing on with writing the album and will begin trying out some dooodz. There is a good bit of interest already, which is cool so we’ll see when we get back.

Red Enemy has played some awesome supporting slots; will there be any supporting acts on this UK tour supporting you guys as well?

Yeah there are some awesome bands playing with us this time around. We Die Tonight and Save Your Grace to name but a few.

I’ve been asking this one a lot lately, but what is the scene like where you guys are from because sometimes you’ll hear a scene is “overcrowded” with too many bands and too many shows while in other parts of the world people are just struggling to keep their heavy music scenes alive?

Ireland is a tiny place with a tiny population. In fact, there is not much of a metal scene and that’s down to the severe lack of metal bands. There are no labels, no management and very few promoters so it’s certainly been difficult to keep any sort of scene going. We have a lot of friends in various types of bands so everyone helps each other out. We somehow do ok!

Any other comments or anything else fans should look out for?

Just thank you guys and everyone else for the support so far, come to a show and be sure to pick up a copy of our EP on iTunes.

INTERVIEW BY NEIL VAN ZYL