Did it feel particularly resonant this year, or is it more an ode to the mindset that’s underpinned your whole journey as The Scratch?
Daniel ‘Lango’ Lang: “More so this year, because we lost a member [Jordan O’Leary] late last year, and it was a turbulent period for us. It was one of those ‘grit your teeth’ moments. Plough on, and see where it goes.”
How did this song come to be so much heavier than the majority of what we heard on your first two records?
Lango: “Initially, we were very much an acoustic band with a cajón and acoustic guitars. On the second album, [heavier sounds] started to make their way in, but we didn’t really know how to make it work. Since then, we’ve been working on the instruments and trying to modify things, so we can pivot between super-soft acoustic stuff and really heavy stuff. This time around, we had all our ducks in a row, on the production front. It’s what we always wanted, but we’ve only now figured out how to make it work.”
Cathal: “There’s always been that raucous energy in the band… on this album, we wanted to fucking play a riff. Gladrags came to Dock [Conor Dockery, guitar/backing vocals] in a dream. There was an energy when Gary came in, ‘Let’s not fucking overthink this.’ If we want to play at a million miles an hour, we’re going to do it.”
Lango, yourself and Dock used to be in a metal band called Red Enemy until 2016. Nine years into the future, do you now find yourself resonating with some of the same reasons that once made you want to be a heavy band?
Lango: “Towards the end of Red Enemy, we were ready to not listen to metal for a while. We got into anything from folk to techno, and started pulling from those influences, but as time went on, we started drifting back towards metal. We [used to be] so analytical about everything and hard to please, and now we just get excited about the overall vibe or feeling. I think we’re fucking destined to be metalheads!”
Gary: “It’s ingrained in us.”
What helped you reconnect with metal again?
Gary: “Loathe’s latest single [Gifted Every Strength]. The production alone is so raw, and it kicks you in the head. It’s not this ‘perfect sound’ coming at you. There’s so much happening, it’s aggressive and fast. Look at Kublai Khan TX, Knocked Loose, Speed – it’s just fresh.”