A Dirty Dozen with WILL WRIGHT from PAST THE FALL – October 2019

According to a recent press release: “PAST THE FALL featuring Will Wright – (Vocals/bass) and Thomas Cope – (Vocals / guitars) along with Sam Mclean (Drums) have released their long awaited and highly anticipated debut album From Insanity‘s Ruin on October 18, 2019. There are few things more powerful than an inspirational shared vision. For bassist/vocalist Will Wright and guitarist/vocalist Thomas Cope, friendship and creativity have collided in a shower of brilliant sparks with the arrival of “From Insanity’s Ruin,” the debut album from UK-based metal ingenues PAST THE FALL. A formidable display of modern metal braggadocio, refined classicism and subtly progressive flair, it is an album that has been a very long time in the making and which represents the long-awaited achievement of childhood dreams.” We get singer / bassist Will to discuss new music, influences, and much more…

1. Tell us a little about your latest release.  What might a fan or listener not grab the first or second time they listen through?  Are there any hidden nuggets the band put in the material or that only diehard fans might find?

Probably the biggest thing about it is that it’s our debut full length release so it’s a massive statement of intent on what were about! We’re all about not just churning out cookie cutter metal, each song has a unique personality so there’s actually quite a lot I think fans will pick up on multiple listens. No real easter eggs in the music so to speak- any of our fans that’s caught us live will have heard some of the protoypes but this record is really so different, focused and heavy its pretty fresh- even for us!

2. What got you into music, and can you tell us about the moment you realized you wanted to be a musician?

Phew! That’s a while back now! For me it was probably when I was 10/11 years old, the world was coming out of its love affair with grunge and my sisters were handing down their copies of Pearl Jam 10, Nirvana Bleach, The Pixies mix tapes, that’s when the fire really started to burn, I’d always listened to music before but it was more kid like – top 40, indie rock that kinda stuff, but this new stuff was sending me to space! My dad had an old classical guitar he made in the 70’s stashed under his bed so I’d sneak in when he wasn’t around and try to work out from ear some nirvana tunes! Since then it’s been almost impossible to distinguish music from my life.

3. Building on that, is there a specific song, album, performer, or live show that guided your musical taste?

Probably Nirvana’s VHS ‘Live, Sold out’ when I was a kid, but soon after that I was trying to ingest everything guitar related so it would be hard to pin down- but for sure the big hitters were in the big moments – …And Justice For All, Far Beyond Driven, Are You Experienced, Dirt, Rust In Peace, Last Supper, but there’s too many to mention!

4. Who would be your main five musical influences?

Nirvana, Black Sabbath, Alice in Chains, Pantera, and Sepultura

5. If you could call in any one collaborator to do a song with, who would it be, and why?

That’s a tough one! Probably Mastodon – I really love that band for the way they have evolved over time and not been afraid to change their sound if that’s what’s genuine for them – and in that sense I think we kinda match up in that way, plus they like to explore the darker proggy side and still crush it!

6. How would you describe your music to someone who’d never listened to you before? What is the one comparison a reviewer or fan has made that made you cringe or you disagreed with?

It’s dark, heavy, groovy, grungy, proggy, a bit thrashy – built over an epic backing of heart on the sleeve metal. Haha I do remember in our formative touring years we had a couple of people say we sounded like Cryptopsy! That made us cringe, no disrespect to Cryptopsy – but we couldn’t more far apart in our styles! We were like ‘what the hell!?’ must have been a t shirt we were wearing or something!

7. What’s the best thing about being a musician?

Blasting out something raw and honest for an audience that gives the energy back- that’s a truly untouchable feeling.

8. When the band are all hanging out together, who cooks; who gets the drinks in; and who is first to crack out the acoustic guitars for a singalong?

Probably me loading the shopping cart with booze, Thomas bashing out a killer curry – Sam’s drinking too much and being thrown out, and sing along? Well I’ve seen Thomas so drunk he can’t get up the stairs – but he could still play the solo from “tornado of souls!” haha

9. When was the last time you were star struck and who was it?

I had dinner with Josh Homme once, I like to think that I’m pretty level headed and people are people, but I love queens and have listened to them for most my life – so that was super surreal, probably wasn’t the most stimulating conversation from my side haha! Lovely guy, and great fondue!

10. If you weren’t a musician, what would be your dream job?

Probably something that has a lot of travel, I love meeting new people and I’m learning Spanish and French, so I don’t something that involved all those elements would be cool!

11. Looking back over your career, is there a single moment or situation you feel was a misstep or you would like to have a “do over”, even if it didn’t change your current situation?

It’s tempting for sure, as god knows there’s been plenty of life lessons along the way, but as cliched as it sounds if none of it happened I wouldn’t be where I am today! If anything its helped put us in the position we are today, so maybe I could of done with failing more and quicker!

12. If you could magically go back in time and be a part of the recording sessions for any one record in history, which would you choose – and what does that record mean to you?

Probably something by Sabbath, maybe Masters Of Reality, being part of a recording experience then (I’m led to believe) was much more ‘lets get the vibe, who cares if there’s a few mistakes’ and jammed together, I mean there’s nothing wrong with how we do it now but its much more ‘under the microscope’, so being witness to that back then would definitely be cool – plus who doesn’t want to pop to the pub for a pint with Tony and Geezer after the session? I mean, come on!

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Category: Interviews