[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Section” fullwidth=”on” specialty=”off” _builder_version=”3.0.51″ background_color=”#c6b381″ global_module=”34325″][et_pb_fullwidth_menu admin_label=”Menu #19″ global_parent=”34325″ _builder_version=”3.0.51″ menu_id=”8″ background_color=”#e0c488″ submenu_direction=”downwards” fullwidth_menu=”off” background_layout=”dark” text_orientation=”center” dropdown_menu_animation=”fade” /][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” background_image=”https://digi.heavymag.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/11/background2-3.jpg” background_color=”#000000″ parallax=”on” custom_padding=”3px|0px|119px|0px” padding_mobile=”off”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” custom_padding=”25.2969px|0px|0px|0px” padding_mobile=”off” column_padding_mobile=”on” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_size=”initial”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image” src=”https://digi.heavymag.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/11/DARKC3LL-logo-gold.png” /][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” background_image=”https://digi.heavymag.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/11/Darkc3ll-Band.jpg” background_color=”#0c0c0c” parallax=”on” custom_padding=”0px||44px|” custom_padding_tablet=”0px|0px|44px|0px” custom_padding_phone=”0px|0px|44px|0px” padding_mobile=”off”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” custom_padding=”30px|0px|644px|0px” custom_padding_tablet=”30px|0px|693px|0px” padding_mobile=”off” column_padding_mobile=”on” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_size=”initial”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” background_image=”https://digi.heavymag.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/11/background2-3.jpg” background_color=”#191919″ parallax=”on” custom_padding=”1px|0px|1px|0px” padding_mobile=”off”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” custom_padding=”70px|0px|30px|0px” padding_mobile=”off” column_padding_mobile=”on” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_size=”initial”][et_pb_column type=”1_3″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”dark” text_orientation=”right” text_font=”Judson||||” text_font_size=”16px” text_text_color=”#cecece” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_size=”initial”]
If you don’t already know about Queensland industrial rock act Darkc3ll, then it’s about time you did. Amidst a wave of Aussie heavy bands making a name for themselves, Darkc3ll have supported goth and industrial heavyweights Wednesday 13 and Combichrist and have performed at international festivals such as The Civil Unrest. Currently in the middle of an Australian tour and having just released their brand new album Haunted Reality, a jocular Jesse Dracman describes the band he fronts as “a Fourth of July explosion at a James Brown concert”. “There’s a darker tendency there as well – like Manson meets KISS. Darkc3ll isn’t a product of the mainstream we’re a product of something out there that many kids can relate to. We always like to bring a party to the stage and everybody is invited.
“There’s a darker tendency there as well – like Manson meets KISS. Darkc3ll isn’t a product of the mainstream we’re a product of something out there that many kids can relate to”, declares the vocalist. “We always like to bring a party to the stage and everybody is invited. We’ve been around for a few years now, recorded four albums and I guess we’re a bit of a black sheep in the Australian music scene.”
So how did Darkc3ll get together in the first place? “We’ve come from various backgrounds. Postmortem and I come from horror bands so we were familiar with the whole getting freaky thing. That’s been with us our whole lives. Darkc3ll for us has been an evolution because Matt and I have been writing for seven years and we had a previous band that was like a rock ‘n’ roll version of Darkc3ll. We had some success with that and we realised that we could do
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”dark” text_orientation=”justified” text_font=”Judson||||” text_font_size=”16px” text_text_color=”#cecece” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_size=”initial”]
quite well if we just created the sound that we wanted, hence Darkc3ll evolved.” With Darkc3ll currently living the dream and touring around the world, Dracman and his cohorts have no regrets.
“Getting to do stuff like this has been a combination of a lot of hard work and personal sacrifice, but if we ask ourselves if we have any regrets about it, no, no we don’t”, he states point blank. “We went to the U.S. with a plan to perform one hundred per cent at every single show and we did that. All our peers and the media over there said ‘you guys are a world class act, you’re bigger than you think you are.’ It was weird hearing compliments like that”. As flattering as the attention was, the vocalist maintains the band still had a lot to learn. “It was a real educational experience for us. It was life changing for us and made us a stronger band.”
Having played some legendary venues in America, were those places all they were hyped up to be? “Oh yeah, certainly. It is one of those feelings that hits you when you are sitting there. It hits you when you walk into the venue and see something like a picture of Jimi Hendrix on the wall or the ‘Budweiser Welcomes Home Motley Crue’ from when they filmed Kick Start My Heart. Seeing those things and then going back stage and thinking about half the bands that have been there, you really feel a shift in the air. It is almost supernatural.”
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”dark” text_font=”Judson||||” text_font_size=”16px” text_text_color=”#cecece” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_size=”initial”]
Jesse goes on to explain how some fans have opened up to the band. “They are very unique and I say that with love and nothing but positive feelings. We’ve realised that with this band we have been able to provide the ultimate vessel that has allowed many of these people to come out of their shells and express themselves in ways that they have never been able to express themselves in public before.”
“Songs like Freakenstein, they get it, that’s their anthem. We sing songs that these girls and guys get and freaks no longer feel like freaks.” Dracman has one message for them; “It’s good to be a freak!”
“That is one of the things, man. We never expected in our wildest dreams that we would be listening to people about what our music has done for them. I’ve had emails from people that have almost committed suicide and been saved by our music”, he reveals. “We’ve had people with health problems, life-threatening illnesses that have come to us and said that our music has helped them through some really dark times.”
The list goes on; “I’ve had families with autistic children come to us and say that our music has been the most positive impact in their kid’s lives because they jump around, they react, they respond.” As much as they enjoy the rock and roll lifestyle, those kinds of responses have given their work more meaning. “It’s great to do shows and all the fun stuff, but it is humbling to know that you are making an impact in people’s lives as well.” Nonetheless, it is an idea that is taking Jesse some getting used to. “I am still trying to learn to say the word ‘fans’ though, because to me we are still just a bunch of mates making this music that we love.”
Darkc3ll’s latest album Haunted Reality is out right now.
Written by David Griffiths
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Section” background_image=”https://digi.heavymag.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/11/video-background.jpg” background_color=”#0c0909″ custom_padding=”60px|0px|47px|0px” padding_mobile=”off”][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row” make_fullwidth=”on” custom_padding=”0px||0px|” padding_mobile=”off” column_padding_mobile=”on” parallax_method_1=”off” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_size=”initial”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_video admin_label=”Video” src=”https://youtu.be/g09HUR8UvJA” play_icon_color=”#750303″ /][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” background_image=”https://digi.heavymag.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/11/background2-3.jpg” padding_mobile=”off”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” padding_mobile=”off” column_padding_mobile=”on” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_size=”initial”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_button admin_label=”Button” button_url=”http://www.darkc3ll.com/product/haunted-reality-cd-pre-order” button_text=”BUY %22Haunted Reality%22″ button_alignment=”center” custom_button=”on” button_text_size=”24px” button_text_color=”#dd9b00″ button_border_width=”2px” button_letter_spacing=”2px” button_use_icon=”on” button_icon=”” button_icon_color=”#e09900″ button_border_color_hover=”#ffffff” button_letter_spacing_hover=”2″ background_color=”#c12424″ /][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image” src=”https://digi.heavymag.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/11/cover-900.jpg” animation=”fade_in” align=”center” /][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]
