We caught up with While She Sleeps singer Loz Taylor to see how his throat surgery went and how the new Sleeps album is coming along.
2013 was a decidedly mixed year for While She Sleeps. Following 2012’s debut full-length This Is The Six dropping to universal acclaim and an ever-growing devoted fanbase slowly taking over our shores, the Sheffield boys got to take their blistering breed of modern metalcore on the road in the US. Despite also turning their fair share of heads stateside, it wasn’t long before a pretty hefty spanner got thrown in the works.
On December 2, the band issued a statement addressing the fact that frontman Loz Taylor had been battling with throat troubles and that he would require surgery in order to correct it. While it may have been a surprise to many fans, it was a problem Loz had been struggling with for quite a while. “We toured with Parkway Drive halfway through last year and I just started coughing up blood, which wasn’t very nice” he recalls “I just thought with a bit of time and a bit of looking after myself it would pass, so I tried to ignore it, get on with it, tour. I didn’t want to worry anyone, or myself, so I just carried on”.
Unfortunately, it did not pass and the band realised that this was a serious problem that needed to be corrected. This led to laser surgery to correct the grisly problem of a polyp that had grown over a tear in his throat – a potentially career-ending operation.
Luckily, the surgery went well and while he may not be 100% yet, Loz is well on the way to recovery. Despite feeling some frustration at having to cancel a string of Sleeps shows, the singer remains positive about his situation, and with a main stage slot at Download in June earmarking the band’s live return, the frontman is optimistic about the future of While She Sleeps. “I’ve always been 100% passionate about what I do, so I want to be able to feel what I’m doing.” Loz stresses with an air of determination in his voice. “I don’t shout my head off for the sake of it. I don’t want to have to change my style, so I’m going to have to learn how to do it without hurting myself.”
The good news is this situation hasn’t derailed the progress for a new album too badly. Due to the band writing material while on the road at the US Warped Tour last summer and cracking on with recording while Loz has been recovering, the follow up to This Is The Six is well on the way. “It sounds wicked!” says Loz enthusiastically “On the music side of things that we’ve got so far, it’s in the same vein as This Is The Six, where we have very heavy, hard hitting bits and a lot of anthemic bits, with singalongs and [guitarist] Sean Long riffing his head off. We’re excited!” So are we. Expect something very special come the Autumn.
While She Sleeps play Download in June.
Interview by Gavin Lloyd
