Sikth, August 06

You seem to have been away for what seems an eternity since the 'The trees are dead and dried out' ‘era. First I feel I should say welcome back and ask what you've been up to during your time away?

It’s good to be back. We’ve been crafting an album that we are proud of. Signing a great record deal in America and recording our album out there. Putting this album out and some touring. That kind of shit.

Your new album ‘Death of a dead day’ has recently been released. How was the recording process this time out and how has it been received so far?

The recording process was long and painful but ultimately worth every bit. It’s been received brilliantly.

You chose to produce this album yourselves. Is this a process you feel most comfortable with and something you will continue to do? Or is there someone out there who you would really like to work with?

Colin Richardson wanted to do it but he was busy with Bullet For My Valentine. I spoke to him on the phone to try and make it work but we couldn’t compete with their budget. So we went down the route of recording it ourselves with a great engineer. I do a lot of recording anyway so I know my way around pro-tools.

I would love to work with Andy Wallace – or even Ross Robinson, preferably both.

For people that have heard your predecessor what can they expect from this album? Some bands make a conscience effort not to re-create their previous album? Is this something that was ever on your mind?

We make a conscious effort not to re-create previous songs, let alone previous albums. No SikTh song ever sounds the same. That’s why our albums take so long to compose. We went through many moods and many seasons with this album but the general vibe was faster, heavier and more evil without losing any originality.

How do you feel the metal scene has progressed since you've been away? With more bands embracing technical ability in their song writing and with the emergence of websites such as Myspace, does it feel easier in terms of gaining recognition and exposure. Does it feel any different?

I think the emergence of Myspace is fantastic if you have something ‘good’ to say with your music. Obviously the bad side is the difficulty in escaping the utter rubbish that exists in modern metal as it’s thrown in your face now.

I don’t feel that ‘Metal’ has progressed at all. Sure, there are the underground handful doing something unique, but generally ‘metal’ these days is terrible as it’s lost its purpose in music.

Great Metal used to be created to spark a reaction – to unleash anger – to make you think and was always (along with jazz and classical composing) at the forefront of pushing music forward technically. But these days it is purely created by the masses as a career move… hmmm… Teacher? Fireman? Astronaut? Heavy metal guitarist? It’s a fucking joke.

Some people would say you have quite a unique sound compiled from a number of influences. Who are your biggest influences and who would you note as your most bizarre influence?

We collectively love Pantera and Metallica. They are our TRUE influences. Then we branch out into our own wild tastes… Level 42, Stevie Wonder, The Doors…

One aim that we share while writing is creating original, challenging metal without being abstract and indulgent. We want people to listen to SikTh and enjoy it – not be offended by it. That desire comes from years of listening to Pantera and Metallica, two bands that could be extreme, dark and really aggressive without losing their focus on the main point - ‘the song’.

What were you reasons for leaving Gut Records and moving to Bieler Bros. Do you feel a smaller label such as Bieler Bros are able to offer you more?

Gut had lost control of what they wanted from SikTh. We weren’t willing to stay but they weren’t willing to let us go. We had to walk from a lot of dosh to get out of that deal but shit happens. Protecting our name as a band is far more important than money to us. Being on Bieler Bros. is a different entity altogether – they ‘get it’, they have been long-term fans and their patience has not only been satisfying but heartening; it’s good to know that not everyone in this industry is an impatient prick. Jason Bieler knows he’s on to something special with SikTh – it could blow up for him or be a complete commercial failure – he is aware of that more than anyone. We will not fail though - it’s not in our nature to fail.

You recently played the Download Festival. How did that go?

Download 06 was the greatest SikTh gig to date. I’m told the security had to stop letting people in due to over crowding. It ruled and we were tighter than a nun.

You have a large tour coming up in October. Did you miss being on the road?

Yes – very much… but we have been touring quite a bit. Japan, France, UK.

What else is in store for Sikth in 2006?

New video for the telly. A US tour hopefully too, return to Ireland… also we have started writing Album Three for fun.