The Red Shore

Undoubtedly one of Australia’s most renowned contemporary metal outfits, Melbourne based quintet The Red Shore have taken it all in their stride. With a new studio album, new record label and a host of noted domestic and international tours, 2010 has been a defining year for the band. Lead singer Chase Butler kindly caught up with Killyourstereo recently to chat about it all.

G’day mate, just to get things started could you please state your name, role in the band and your all-time favourite Swedish metal record?

Chase (Butler), I sing for The Red Shore and my favourite Swedish record is ‘The Shape of Punk to Come’ by Refused. Sorry it is not a metal record.

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2010 has so far been quite a productive year for The Red Shore – new full-length album, international touring etc. How are things going with the band at the moment?

Things are amazing, just trying to tour the new record as much as possible.

You guys just got back from the States. How was the tour?

Great. We had such a good time over there and met a lot of new friends that we will never forget. The shows were awesome and kids went crazy. Could not have asked for more.

Any interesting tales to share with the KYS readers?

Yeah, we left our friends in King Conquer’s van in the middle of the Texas desert, on the side of the freeway after it had literally fallen to pieces and I tried to blow it up. That shit was hilarious.

So now that you have a break from touring is it a case of kicking up your heels when you get back to Australia, or do you constantly feel the need to keep yourselves busy during your downtime?

Well I went straight back to work, I mean I would like to kick up my heels but I have bills to pay (laughs).

The Red Shore filmed a video for ‘The Seed of Annihilation’ recently. How did that go and when can we expect to see the final cut?

That one will not be ready for a little while still, but we had such a good time shooting it. We actually did it after a show in Virginia Beach then drove two hours out to the location filmed until around 6 am (and) then drove to the next show 8 hours away.

In the same way as ‘Unconsecrated’ was heavier than the EP that preceded it, ‘The Avarice of Man’ is once again a step towards a heavier sound. Is this something that is planned when it comes time to record? Or do you find the sound just comes through naturally?

This one I think was kind of just natural. I mean we wrote it together and took enough time off to get it exactly to where each member was happy with the end result.

How has the move to Roadrunner Records been so far?

Amazing. They have done more for us than we could have ever imagined. We have a very easygoing relationship with them and (they) are such great people to work with. They give us complete creative control of everything we do and support us 100 per cent.

The upcoming Despised Icon tour is looking like it will be a cracker. How are things shaping up for that tour?

We are stoked. We have all been fans of the band for years and could not be happier to do their first and unfortunately last shows in the country with them.

On your MySpace, there are links to pre-order packages that are available via Merchconnectioninc. Do you think with the advent of the internet and music downloading, these pre-order packages and merch sales are crucial to a band’s survival?

Sometimes yes definitely. Music is so easily accessible via the internet now you kind of have to put in the extra effort to make people want to actually go out and buy the record. So we try our best to keep it interesting for fans by giving them some incentive to get the real thing.

What is your take on the metal scene currently? At times, there seems to be a lot of emphasis placed on ‘scenes’ yet from my observations there also seems to be a healthy solidarity amongst bands. Do you have a certain opinion either way?

I think it just comes down to the individual. There is both positives and negatives with the “scene”. Both will always be there, it is just whether you think it’s worth sticking through because the people in it for the right reasons always will.

There was an interesting article(s) in the recent issue of Blunt, which chronicled Norwegian Black Metal in the 90’s and for a lack of a better word, the ‘horrible’ things it led to and was associated with, murder, suicide etc. Do you feel metal musicians still suffer unfair ridicule from people thinking they are all the same and are just like the widespread stereotype (angry, bitter, loners etc.)?

Everything will always have a stereotype. Again, I think it is just a matter of perseverance. Try to avoid the negatives as much as you can because the people that usually “stereotype” are the people who are jaded and clueless for the most part. People will always ridicule and write off things they do not understand. Persevere and conquer.

Just some easy ones to finish off with,

Favourite album(s) of 2010 so far?

The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza – ‘Danza III’

Madball – ‘Empire’

Most disappointing album of 2010?

Everything else.

Album you wished you could have performed on?

Sworn Enemy – ‘As Real As It Gets’.

Any up and coming bands KYS readers should keep an eye out for?

Deceiver from Brisbane, King Conquer from Florida (and) Murder Death Kill from California.

After your already announced tour dates what else is in store for the band going forward into early next year?

More tour dates and a holiday.