Interview by Kris Peters
Don’t be confused by the title.
Australian extreme metal outfit To The Grave‘s new album Director’s Cuts is far from a collection of one man’s trash from the cutting room floor. Probably as far removed as you could possibly get.
Following the release of their 2019 debut album Global Warning, To The Grave have become a band in demand – both here and abroad.
“I always saw music as something that…it spoke to me, especially metal. It seems to draw in the outcasts, and we dive deeply into things like how these guys speak to us.”
Dane Evans
Along the way the band has secured themselves room on the same stages as heavyweights Parkway Drive, Polaris, Cattle Decapitation, Thy Art Is Murder, Vulvodynia and Alpha Wolf, but with Director’s Cuts look set to rightfully claim their very own patch of turf.
Their music is tough, brutal and uncompromising, which is beautifully offset by a universal support of the underdog and contempt of those who disrespect their environment and all those who share it.
In effect, To The Grave are a band with a message and an agenda, but without the preaching and self-righteous sensibilities that accompany most people who fight for a cause.
Instead, To The Grave let their music do their talking – and fighting – and with Director’s Cuts the message is clear.
Put up, or shut up. On all levels.
Vocalist Dane Evans sat down with HEAVY during the week to discuss the album and other things close to the band’s heart.
“I’m stoked about the album,” he offered, a smile covering his face. “I used to get really nervous around this time when releasing stuff. But I guess there’s so many hands in the pot now making everything as stress-free as possible, and I realised a lot of that (nerves) was just the stress of doing it myself. What did I fuck up? That sort of thing. Lately, the last couple of records have come together nicely in the last few weeks when everything would usually turn to shit if it was me handling it (laughs). I get really excited now around this time and sit on my hands and go fuck, what do I do now? I’m doing all the media and stuff and there’s still a few sleeps to kill. It almost feels like Christmas when you’re a kid (laughs).”
Director’s Cuts has been called the heaviest material yet released by those who have heard advance copies, so we press Evans on just how musically heavy the album actually is.
“I guess the boys all love their heavy shit so that had to be the biggest pillar,” he measured. “Try to do things that are … how do I put this… deathcore itself is blending hardcore and death metal and shit like that, so we’re trying to do that with as many other influences as possible that also keeps people engaged and interested. There’s a lot of – and it might sound weird – but hip-hop influences and stuff goes into at least what I do, and I know it has rubbed off on the boys a bit trying to make room for that. There’s not necessarily rap parts on the album or anything like that, but just studying the way they do vocals and whether they map things out, I try to do a bit of that. Whereas the music, we just keep it as claustrophobically heavy as possible and then do what we can to make it interesting. Maybe that’s just our brains getting fried enough and coming up with dumb shit (laughs).”
In the full interview, Dane talks more about the songs on Director’s Cuts, the underlying heaviness of the album, music as a weapon and how effective it can be, working hooks and melodies into extreme metal, their recent European tour, upcoming Australian shows and more.
Director’s Cuts is out now.
