A Bone To Pick

A lot can happen and a lot can change in four years. Since their formation in 2002 Eleventh He Reaches London have been through a heap of changes. While they started off as a post hardcore band in the early '00s, they quickly became one of the biggest bands in Perth. In 2005 they were the only main stage support for what was the biggest screamo/post hardcore festival, Taste Of Chaos, where they supported international heavyweights Killswitch Engage, The Used, Rise Against and Funeral For A Friend. Their debut release The Good Right For Harmony in 2005 and their follow-up Hollow Be My Name in 2009 have become significant records in the Perth musical landscape, but after their release not much has been heard from the quintet.

“We've been sort of pretty distant and absent from the scene for quite a while, and we've been focusing on getting the new material ready to go and we tend to fuss over the details,” begins guitarist Jeremy Martin on the reasoning behind such a long break. “But we work quite slowly as well; we've got other commitments and we're all perfectionists in what we do and we want to put something out there that we're really happy with.”

Bānhūs, set to be released in early October, also marks the first album to be written by the current line-up of the band.  “The new stuff is more streamlined, and it's easily the darkest stuff we've done,” Martin offers. “We'd written a few riffs and a few bits and pieces that were sounding darker and then we sort of said, 'Let's write a really dark album', and it flowed from there.” It's a bold change in direction, but one that the band realises could go either way with their current fans and being able to attract new listeners. Martin describes the sound of the new material as moody and atmospheric. “It came naturally to us [because] we've been listening to a lot of different stuff and a lot of moody stuff. I think we could alienate some people potentially with the new album and hopefully we'll win some people over.”

Bānhūs, the name of the album, is an old English word for body and literally translates to “bone house”. Lyrically the songs are also dark and focus on existence, death and misery but are hard-hitting in their approach to getting the message across. The album took three years to write, record and perfect. Martin believes it is the most honest, intricate and stripped-back record of their catalogue.

Although there was such a big break between records, live performances and tours, the band has never been in a position close to disbanding. “We thought, 'Let's give this album all we can and see what happens,' but there's no intention for us to break up or call it quits soon after this album is released. But we acknowledge time is ticking and the band is not paying the bills, so other things have to. We're excited to have the new record out there and hopefully people can enjoy it and take something from it.”