Bloodstock 2018 – Band Feature/Interview: Dead Before Mourning

This year’s Bloodstock Festival is shaping up to be one of the best ever with a line-up that spans all genres of rock and metal. If you haven’t picked up your tickets yet, what are you waiting for!? Check out our five reasons why you should go there.

Dead Before Mourning have earned their spot on the New Blood stage Sunday of the festival by winning the London Metal 2 the Masses competition.

Tenacity. Determination. Resolve. Dead Before Mourning hail from Surrey, England are defined by these words and more. Juggling the world as you do, journeyman frontman and guitarist Matt Hockham and the insanely talented drummer Steve Ebsworth came together in 2012. It was not long before the DBM ethos and direction were firmly decided on, and the incredible Dom Harvey was added on lead guitar. Pat McGarvey on bass soon followed within months to complete the line-up.

DBM recorded a 3 track demo in early 2013 and set out on the gig circuits of London and the UK. 2013 and 2014 were spent gigging, writing and rehearsing. During this the lads quickly recorded four new songs for an EP entitled ‘The Storm’. That was released in 2015 and was well received by the fans (now known as ‘Mourners’).

2016 saw the band do fewer gigs and instead focus on writing as much as possible. A line-up change was on the cards and in March 2017 thundering Stephen ‘Gus’ Mussett was welcomed into the fold to replace Pat McGarvey on bass. With Gus on the bass the new sound and foundations of DBM’s backline were a revelation.

The journey that would eventually become their debut album ‘Killing Time’ started on the hottest days of summer 2017. The lads chose to work at Barnstorm Studios with engineer and co-producer Rob Barry. 9 songs were chosen from the extensive song list and the drums began to pound. After 7 months of hard graft Killing Time was mixed and mastered. Pounding rhythms, shredding guitars, angry and honest vocals mixed with haunting melodies are the sound of DBM’s Killing Time.

The album was released on all formats on April 1st, 2018.

You can find out even more about Dead Before Mourning by going to their website, liking their Facebook Page and following them on Twitter and Instagram. Listen/pick up their music via Spotify, Google Play, iTunes and Amazon below.

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Interview

1. Congratulations on winning the London Metal 2 The Masses! Tell us about your experience.

We first entered Metal 2 The Masses way back in 2014 in the Kent (S.E. England) competition, And we were very happy to reach the Final!, this gave us a taste of what M2TM was about, meeting and playing with other fantastic bands, the chance to take your own music to a wider and appreciative audience. When you play M2TM you know your audience will be 100% metal, and you’d better give ’em what they want. So for 2015 we dived in to M2TM London!

The quality of bands and the good friends we made that year was fantastic. The size of the event was mind boggling, and strangely addictive. We made the Semi Finals and set to work on polishing our live show which in 2016 took us to the final and in sight of the coveted prize!. After making the difficult decision between work and play we had to miss out on 2017’s M2TM so we could lock ourselves away and record our new album ‘Killing Time’, an experience and learning curve that pushed all 4 of us to new limits.

With the album in the bag we had no hesitation getting stuck in to M2TM 2018 as soon as the applications went out, the competition really had grown since 2016 and we were not the only band that had been working hard to Improve! M2TM’s audience bring the best out in everyone, we salute you. The encouragement and support from the crowd, the organisers and crew is second to none and after many a good night with Mick and the gang at all the heats at the big red we were once again on the stage at the final, held at The Dome, Tufnell Park, London.

When the result was called we went crazy, such an amazing feeling that none of us could put in to words. A dream come true, Dead Before Mourning were going to be a part Bloodstock. Thank you London M2TM, we are truly honoured.

2. How important is the New Blood stage to a band like yourself?

Bloodstock is huge, just look at the line up! The New Blood stage is an opportunity for bands to experience ‘the next level’, and this our chance to rise to the occasion, our aim as always is to give everyone the show they deserve, and hopefully make a lot of friends and fans. And to show the big boys the New Bloods are snappin’ at their heels 😉

3. What are you going to be bringing to Bloodstock sound wise? Why should folks be checking you out?

Were already rehearsing a fast paced, relentless set for the New Blood show to whip up a reaction from anyone who loves Thrash Metal. Our influences are apparent in our music, all the greats from the Bay Area metal scene are in there mixed up with everything metal, Pounding rhythms, haunting melodies, screaming solo’s and vocals that tell a story in the most sinister of deliveries. If your a thrasher, come and check us out and join the mayhem. Have a great Bloodstock!

4. Are you going to be around the festival all weekend? If so, who are you excited to see?

We’re already in the field! Lol, Seriously though we a’int gonna miss a minute and will be there from doors to ‘drink up’. We will be checking out absolutely every band we can, Some fav’s like Venom, Onslaught and of course the mighty J.P. Still can’t get our heads around being on the same bill as these guys! Pinch me. We will be wandering around all weekend, if you see someone in a D.B.M. Tee shirt, come and say Hi.

5. What does the rest of 2018 look like for Dead Before Mourning?

Busy if the last week is anything to go by, already we are booked for the Leicester and Coventry New Blood showcase gigs on the 3rd and 4th Aug plus a send off gig with our M2TM 2018 buddies in London on the 2nd, and that’s before we play Bloodstock! were luvin’ this and hope the rest of 2018 will have us taking the live show to new audiences, places and venues as far and wide as possible. And of course there is album number 2 in the pipeline!