US rock outfit Soil are credited by many as being the pioneers of a genre that has birthed bands of the calibre of Godsmack, Spineshank and Mudvayne.
Regardless of whether you subscribe to that theory or not, one thing that is undeniable is the impact Soil have had on the music landscape since bursting onto the scene in 1997. The seeds for rock revolution were sewn, but it wasn’t until Soil’s major label debut album Scars in 2001 that the world stood to full attention.
“I’ve gotta say that the way they reinvigorated the band, and are doing it now is one of the most brilliant things I’ve ever seen.”
Tim King
One song in particular from that album – Halo – is still on high rotation around the world to this day and is instantly recognisable as Soil and their trademark style.
The album was that well universally received that Soil are returning to Australia in May for a run of shows with Static X where they will be performing that groundbreaking album in full – but with a unique twist.
HEAVY caught up with bass player Tim King to find out more.
“We’ve toured many, many times over the years with Static X,” he mentioned, “and they are great people and a great band, so we’re really looking forward to this one.”
With both bands in the upper echelon of their respective genres, HEAVY poses the question of whether Soil still had to actively seek the support slot.
“The first time we ever toured with Static X Wayne Static personally invited us,” he smiled. “It was in 2002 and our album Scars was out and Wayne really liked that album a lot. The tour was with Static X, Soulfly and Soil, and he personally requested that we be on that tour, and we became really good friends with him and Tony and the rest of the band. From there on out we’ve toured with Static X many, many times. That one was never a management or agency thing. It was two bands that had mutual respect and were fans of each other’s music taking each other out on the road, and when Static X got back with this new incarnation we actually went to the UK and Europe with them in 2019 and that was awesome. Now we’re going back to Australia with them, so it’s great to be able to continue to have all of our bands still out there doing it and going on tour with friends. It makes it more of a what we call “heavy metal Summer camp (laughs).”
In the full interview, Tim talks more about what to expect from the shows, the new-look Static X and how they sound without Wayne out the front, playing Scars in full and how difficult something like that is, his view on why Scars was and is such a popular album, the term “timeless” used in respect to Soil’s music, their last covers album Play It Forward and how it gave the band a new lease on life, his side project Embryonic Autopsy, new music from Soil and more.
