It is quite fitting for a band with the name Decembers Deadline to be releasing new material just days before the year rolls over through January, but then again, this isn’t just any normal release from the Brisbane metal outfit.
Since the band’s last single Unique came out in November 2021 much has changed with Decembers Deadline, most noticeably two new members in the form of guitarist Peter Muldoon and vocalist Saxxon Olejniczak. Bringing with them a fresh outlook and renewed vigor, Decembers Deadline have taken on a much harder edge, redefining their sound without straying too far from what existing fans of the band would expect.
“I think people will understand that the space we are going into was going to be a bit different to Unique.”
Saxxon Olejniczak
With the December 29 HEAVY premiere of the new track Cross-Hairs looming fast, we sat down with both new members to chat about the new material and what to expect from Decembers Deadline two years on.
“Since then (Unique) we’ve had a bit of a member change,” Muldoon explained. “As Sax mentioned, him and I came on last year. So a bit of a line-up change, a bit of a reshuffle within the band. We had a sit down and said let’s do this and let’s get our influences in on this as well and shape the sound and take what those guys had and hopefully improve on it and come out bigger than ever.”
We ask for a bit more information on both of the new kids on the block and what they bring to Decembers Deadline.
“I feel like we’re both bringing a fresh face and new sound to things,” Saxxon offered. “In the demoing stage of things, it was definitely Peter going ‘is this what you want?’ and everyone jumping on board and saying yeah we’re gonna run with this. So I guess it was definitely bringing a new aspect to the writing of the band, and I think that was the biggest thing we were bringing. Fresh faces, a fresh sound, and a way to get the band still going without it being too different to what the old stuff was.”
That said, we ask the boys to tell us more about Cross-Hairs musically.
“Musically, I listened to what the guys were doing,” Muldoon began, “and they were throwing their influences around. As Saxxon said, I came up with a bit of a riff, that main djent style riff, and sent it through to the boys and said ‘is this what you wanted’ kind of thing. It’s funny, because that then plays into the lyrics as well, where the lyrics and chorus say ‘is this what you wanted?’ (laughs).”
In the full interview, the boys talk more about Cross-Hairs, how it differs to previous material, if the song is a good reflection on the future direction of their sound, future plans and more.
Check out a sneak preview of Cross-Hairs below. The full song and video will premiere via HEAVY at 10 am AEST December 29.
