Constant Agression

The instantly likeable Keith Buckley, frontman for Buffalo hard-hitters Every Time I Die, has a reputation for being more outspoken than most regarding the current state of heavy music. Not surprisingly, raising the topic of whether the band has begun working on a follow-up to latest disc, Ex Lives, leads to the vocalist offering no-holds-barred thoughts on the matter.

“It's gonna depend on what spot we're in mentally when we sit down to write,” he ponders, speaking while on tour in Chicago. “But I think that it needs us to be heavy… For a long time I think that whole element of the genre is kinda getting lost because people, to keep people's attention you've got to write hooks and have huge choruses. But I think what started it is because there's an energy and aggression to it. So I would like to get heavier and heavier; I don't really see it slowing down any. Especially with us getting older, I think people are going to expect us to slow down, but I would like to prove them wrong. If you look at the 'heavy' bands that are coming out now, it's fucking terrible. People consider bands like Black Veil Brides or whatever to be heavy bands, because they have tonnes of mosh parts. But that's not really anything that's ever inspired us. I think we just kinda have to take a look back and see what we were doing when we started and why we were doing it. Look at that level of energy that we tried to base the whole band around from the beginning, and just try to get back in touch with that, rather than cater to the people that really have no idea what heavy music is anymore unfortunately,” he laughs. “They see a band with like a bunch of cute guys in it, that are just playing open E mosh riffs and they think that's heavy. That's not what it used to be about.”

Not only is Buckley somewhat disillusioned with this state of affairs (he does however namecheck Converge and The Chariot as vital bands) but the instant gratification culture spawned by the digital age is also a source of frustration. “I think that you have to be aware of how quickly people want new stuff. It used to be that you could tour a record for three or four years if you were a big band, just play the same stuff and make sure you got it all over the world. But you don't have that window anymore. People want it now and they want it new. You have to get as much touring as you can within a year and then try to start giving them something [new], otherwise they get really tired and bored. The scene is now dominated and dictated by the people that listen to the music, instead of the people that make it.”

This clearly doesn't sit well with him. “I hate it,” he chuckles. “I fucking hate it. I hate it because I think so many good things get lost in people's frenzy to get something new. People get tired of stuff so quick and I don't think that a lot of things that should be paid attention to get the attention they deserve. I think they get vastly overlooked and nobody's really delving into the music anymore. They're just like, one, two or three listens, go see the band live, they want a new record, you know? It's sad, but that's what it is; you've gotta keep up, you have to evolve or die unfortunately. It's like clockwork; we have to do one (album) every two years. We know that we can't make people wait or else they'll lose interest.” Perhaps motivated by this “evolve or die” ethos, Every Time I Die are expanding their musical horizons by participating in this year's Big Day Out, proudly flying the flag for metal, hardcore and hard rock, their first appearance on the national touring behemoth. “We're no stranger to the festival scene, but this line-up is unlike anything we've ever really done. We're kinda like the only heavy band, so we're gonna stick out – hopefully that'll be a good thing,” he laughs.

Every Time I Die will be playing the following dates:

Friday 18 January - Big Day Out, Sydney NSW
Sunday 20 January - Big Day Out, Gold Coast QLD
Friday 25 January - Big Day Out, Adelaide SA
Saturday 26 January - Big Day Out, Melbourne VIC
Monday 28 January - Big Day Out, Claremont WA