What To Expect From 'The Best Brisbane-Based Festival'

"This'll be my third time playing The Dead Of Winter, but obviously my first time with A Breach Of Silence," Trickett admits. As it happens, this isn't the only first he's experienced with the band, who released their second album, The Darkest Road in October last year.

"I joined the band just as the album was released. I'd been friends with the guys for a long time — we used to play shows together years ago — and when I parted ways with the band I was in, they convinced me to come and join them and I played my first show with them in Texas," he chuckles. "We didn't even get to have a road-test here. We jumped straight into rehearsal because I landed the gig four weeks before we went overseas, so first show with the band was on the other side of the world on a 30-date tour; 30 shows in 37 days across something like 22 states."

That was opening for Texas metal act Drowning Pool, who were celebrating the 13th anniversary of the release of their Sinner album. Not long after becoming 2012 Q Music Award winners in the Best Heavy Song category, A Breach Of Silence had signed to US label Eclipse Records, releasing debut album, Dead Or Alive the following year. The Darkest Road hit #1 on the Australian iTunes Metal Chart, while in the US equivalent, it reached #12. "The album was released the week before we went over and as we got there the film clip [for the title track] got released and by the end of the first week it had 100,000 views. We were sitting there beside ourselves thinking, 'This is insane'.

"We were the heaviest band on the tour bill by far and we were a little sceptical at first. We were playing with... still metal bands, but closer to the heavier rock side of metal than the brutal side. I know we can cater for both but it was definitely strange. But when we turned up and played it was a different world. We sold more merch on that tour than in the whole career of the band, something like 500 hard-copy albums. The biggest shock to the system was seeing how well received we were. Halfway through our set you could see the dynamic change and everyone was jumping around and chanting the lyrics with us."

For all that, Trickett admits the band is still recovering from the enormous cost of taking an unknown five-piece across the US for seven weeks, though they're already working on getting the next US tour happening. Meanwhile, there's The Dead of Winter festival. "It's probably the best Brisbane-based festival, especially for the metal and punk scenes. It always leaves you with a messy hangover as well."