It’s actually not the typical music you imagine for sunny hours: When the British metal band Employed To Serve is on stage, razor-sharp riffs are served and an aggressive rhythm team of bass and drums creates a lot of pressure. Nevertheless, the band around shouter Justine Jones has given itself a “positive spin”. An extended version of their latest album “Conquering” will be released next week.
The metallic-tinged hardcore from the previous album “Eternal Forward Motion” has been clearly shifted in the direction of classic metal for the output, which was first released in autumn 2021. With both records, the quintet was a victim of the corona pandemic in that touring was hardly or not at all possible. And yet: “After this difficult time, we just wanted to deliver a positive album that people can listen to when they’re having a bad day,” Jones said in the APA interview. Accordingly, “Conquering” was tough, but not bleak.
“There’s always a risk with this kind of music that you focus too much on heavy subjects,” agreed guitarist/vocalist Sammy Urwin. “Then you shed some light on the more dark times. But if you just talk about it all the time, it eventually weighs you down. So we just wanted to tackle important, universal issues, but with a positive spin. We can all really do that after this bad time need.” Which fits in that playing live is like a kind of therapy for the group. “You can let it all out there,” Jones nodded. “And that’s how we can connect with our fans.”
They witnessed the band’s consistently successful reorientation in Vienna last summer, when they rocked the stage in the Vienna Gasometer together with Gojira and Alien Weaponry (the New Zealanders are represented on the new album version on the track “Sun Up To Sun Down”). “Not least since our new drummer Casey (McHale, note) has come along, a number of doors have opened for us,” says Urwin. “His playing gave us the opportunity to write riffs that leaned more towards the traditional metal sound. Our biggest fear was that we would make a clichéd album. So we didn’t want to completely throw out things that have defined us as a band. Before Above all, the music should remain exciting and a challenge for us.”
It was hard for the group to present a new album in the middle of the pandemic and then hardly be able to present it live. “That’s why we want to get the maximum out of it now, because we’re really proud of this record,” emphasized Urwin. But what was it like getting back in the saddle and onto the stage after months of doing nothing (“You ended up watching everything on Netflix,” Jones laughed). “We were damn nervous at first,” Urwin smiled. “But you have to overcome that and just go full throttle.” Jones added: “Before that, we felt like we were on a hamster wheel at times because your touring schedule is often set a year in advance. But ultimately it was a confirmation that we’re doing the right thing. We just fucking missed it.”
(The interview was conducted by Christoph Griessner/APA)
(S E R V I C E – www.employedtoserve.com )