Think that Welsh metal starts and ends with Skindred, Bullet For My Valentine and…er…Lostprophets? Hopefully not, but just in case, Revoker are on hand to bring some tr00 valley ethics to the show, and Soundshock was happy to be introduced to bass-slapper and all around lovely chap Shane Phillips.
Firstly, how excited are you now you've signed to Roadrunner? It sure is a rarity for an English...sorry Welsh band.
It’s the best feeling in the world! After years of hard work playing every club in the country to the sound guy, getting home 4 o’clock in the morning and then going to work at 7, its amazing to see it all coming together and signing to Roadrunner is something we’ve always dreamed of doing. It’s unbelievable!
How did you guys get together?
We all come from the same village, so we all knew each other before the band. Me and Jack [Pritchard, drums] had been playing in different bands for a while and Chris [Green, guitar] and Jay [Mathias, vocals] had always played together. We all love the same bands as each other so when we did start jamming and playing Metallica and Black Sabbath covers we just seemed to gel. When we started writing our own music we all had our minds set on the same thing, getting our music out there and just working towards being the biggest band that we can be!
For a band as young in their career as Revoker are, do you feel pressured to come up with the goods with your debut album?
Not really, no. I mean don’t get me wrong, we’ve been working hard to write the best album that we can and we’ll make sure its going to sound amazing, but we’ve always just played the music we love to listen to and want to hear more of. We all bring something different to the table when it comes to writing and that really helps to put our own little twist on things. We’re all just really excited to get this album out there and start touring.
How do you feel you've managed to come as far as you have?
When I think about where we come from and what we’ve achieved so far, its pretty surreal. We have put the hard work in though, we’ve basically had two jobs for the last couple of years. As well as practicing, writing music, playing shows and recording we’ve had our days jobs to deal with on top, but it’s something that we’ve wanted so much we just put up with it.
What do you have to say to any of the cynics out there that may think Revoker don't deserve the opportunities you've had so far?
I try not to pay any attention to that kind of thing. I think any artist that puts something out there is open to criticism so we wouldn’t be the first band to have something bad said about us. As long as you get people supporting you and fighting your corner, you’re doing something right. If everything you read is negative, that’s when you’ve got a problem.
What can people expect from your debut? Have you got any inside info for the fans at all?
People can expect some head banging riffs, sing-a-long choruses, drums to make Keith Moon wake up and pay attention, crowd pleasing chants, thunderous bass lines and some face melting solos! *laughs* We’ve got a brilliant team working on this album; we’ve got Skindred’s Benji Webbe to produce the album, which is amazing! He is such a cool guy and awesome to work with. We’re also using two studios to record so we can get that sound we’re looking for. We’ll be recording with Dub War’s ex-drummer Ginge at Not-In-Pill Studios and with Dub War’s ex-guitarist Jeff at Junk Yard Studios. Everyone is really excited to work on this album and we just can’t wait to get it out there.
What are your plans for the next year?
Firstly we’re going to get this album out there and then hopefully just tour, tour and tour! That’s what it’s all about and we just love playing live. We played the unsigned stage at Download this year so hopefully next year we’ll be on that main stage!
Finally...the gritty stuff. Mega Drive or Super Nintendo?
Mega Drive all the way, there’s no question about it!
Bullet For My Valentine or Lostprophets...you may choose the weak answer and go for "Anyone who hails from the valleys are friends of us"...but we like strong, firm decisions.
I’m going to say Bullet For My Valentine. Not because I don’t like Lostprophets though, I love their first two albums!
Football or Rugby?...Despite your lot not being good at either (we’re kidding of course)?
What kind of question is that?! Its’ got to be Rugby! Just wait till next year, not only is Revoker’s album hitting the shops but Wales are gonna win the rugby world cup too! Its going to be a good year to be Welsh.
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