Bringing The Noise
"Man, I think there’s a real undertow of pretentiousness in the industry at the moment, and it’s a shame."
"Things have progressed really well, man,” comments Layt on how their trajectory has developed since the release of last year's Fredrick Nordstrom-produced debut album, Dead Or Alive. The band's got a new vocalist in the form of Rhys Flannery, and recently completed their first highly successful tour of New Zealand. “The first show in Auckland we played on a Wednesday night to about 170 people. There were people screaming back our lyrics, and it was awesome. We got treated like kings,” he says.
Their constantly rising local profile has seen the name A Breach Of Silence never too far away from any given week's gig guide. “We've gone from sort of really flogging a dead horse, for lack of a better phrase, with getting on shows and stuff like that, and things in that regard have really started to flow a lot more freely now,” Layt reasons. “We've sort of approached it with a DIY attitude, and started doing a lot of our own shows, and it's had a really positive response in the scene.”
Rather than waiting around for things to happen to them, the band's increasingly active work ethic has culminated in their biggest tour to date this month – a full national run in support of American groups Born Of Osiris and Upon A Burning Body. However, not everyone was as excited about their slot as they were, with certain internet users instead choosing to attack the band's achievements.
“Man, I think there's a real undertow of pretentiousness in the industry at the moment, and it's a shame,” Layt admits. “At the end of the day, members of our band played heavy parts in getting this tour happening, you know? It was kind of a bit of a kick in the guts, but at the end of the day you just gotta sit back and just smile. Everyone's entitled to their opinion, but especially in this scene, everybody's got a really intense opinion. You gotta take the good with the bad, and just keep doing what you do.”
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In keeping with doing what they do, Layt confirms that the band has, “about five or six pre-pro songs about 90% finished” for the next album, and while they're keeping the same production team as Dead Or Alive, this time they'll be visiting them rather than bringing them here.
“We're booked in to go to Sweden in February next year to record the album,” he enthuses. “So we've got a little bit of time, but that creeps up on you really quickly. So we're trying to get as much done as early as possible, so we can change it, and be a bit more perfectionist about it. We just figured that we'd do it like that because they've come out here once, and it's time for us to go out there and experience Sweden in the absolute dead of winter.”
In terms of their musical direction, the almost operatic-styled singer confirms that they're “experimenting a little bit”. “We're taking our direction into where we've been getting positive feedback from,” Layt tells. “For example, lots of people have commented on my style of singing. I haven't really heard too many bad reports about it, so we've decided to really mix a lot more of that into it. There's a song we're playing around at the moment, which I guess you could say is a little bit thrash or '80s metal-influenced. We're going to mix it up a little bit, but we're going to stay true to our first album. We're not going to stray too far from the path just yet.”
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