What’s the worst thing about being in a band?
“The lack of normality in your life. You miss out on a lot of things people otherwise take for granted – even down to something like sleeping in a bed or having a shower.”
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
“When I was at university I was given this outlook where being a musician is almost a noble cause; you’re sacrificing a lot of things in your life to make other people happy, so you’ve got to be passionate about it. People aren’t generally interested in how you get there, they just want to see a good show. It’s always stuck with me and I keep it in mind when on tour.”
When was the first time you felt like a rock star?
“Whenever we play in front of a big crowd we get genuine shivers up our spine that people can be so excited about what we do. Like, the first headline show we did in London sold out and the crowd were going crazy, which felt crazy considering we’d flown from the other side of the world.”
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What’s been your worst experience on drugs?
“There’s a lot about in the music scene, but I’ve never really been one to partake. My worst experience is seeing people who do go down that road, running into them after a couple years and see how badly they’ve deteriorated – either mentally or physically. This is one of the only jobs that getting drunk or high doesn’t mean the end of you at work, so some people lose touch with reality.”
When was the last time you cried?
“I’m not really a crier in everyday life, but losing grandparents and friends lately really hit me.”
Aversions Crown have been around for a decade now. What’s it like to be in a band with that kind of longevity?
“It’s very cool to be playing with people who still love it so much. The heavy scene – especially in Australia – doesn’t have that many bands that go for a long time, especially when most don’t make that jump to playing overseas because it’s so hard to do.”
Where’s Aversions Crown’s home away from home?
“Germany has always been really good to us and we always love going there, but also strangely we always have great shows in Budapest, Hungary and really connect with the people there.”
Aversions Crown have always had a strong sci-fi element to their lyrics in the past but have gone in a different direction on the new record. What inspired that change?
“Bringing Tyler [Miller, vocals] into the band gave us an opportunity to shake things up and not regurgitate the same sci-fi themes we’d done in the past. We had been talking about it back on [2017 album] Xenocide but now seems natural to us. I mean, there’s still a four-part sci-fi story that makes up the second part of the record, but we wanted to tackle some real world issues as well.”
What other fresh ingredient do you think Tyler brings to the table?
“We obviously loved his vocals, but the way he approached songwriting for this record really impressed us. He wasn’t just trying to show off how heavy he could be but how to bring out the best in each song. It just goes to show how small the world is now too – you don’t just have to look to your local scene to find people who are as passionate to connect with and expand your vision.”
Sci-fi has a long history of offering escape – what do you use to escape from reality for a few hours when you get chance?
“I watch a lot of European crime shows, actually! I’ve been watching serial killer series a lot because I find it a lot more gritty and raw than what we tend to get from the US. Music too, obviously – there’s a few I’ve really been getting into lately like the hardcore band Higher Power from Leeds whose new album is great. That Abigail Williams record from last year [Walk Beyond The Dark] is the best they’ve done in years too and has great black metal vibes.”
