BARBARIAN HERMIT are a Sludge Metal quintet from Stockport, Greater Manchester and I was joined by 4 of the members to chat utter bollocks at Rebellion, Manchester, where they also played a heavy as balls show! We talked raging boob sweat, Martin Scorsese films and about the never-ending quest to find the holy brown!
(Key = FRENCHIE, Adam, Chris, Loz, Si)
So how did you all come together to form Barbarian Hermit?
Basically, Reegs [Mike Reagan, guitarist] and I have been in various bands together, we've known each other since high school. He was on hiatus from Bisonhammer, and I'd just left another band, and we were like fuck it, let's get it together and we had a couple of jams. A few different bassists came together before we got Chris and a few different vocals, and Adam... We couldn't get rid of him! But there was always a sense of direction, a sense of doomy, gloomy, stoner shit! That's what we wanted to run with.
There was this vocalist before me, Ed, who used to be in a band called Fatal Fear. They did pretty well in Korea and supported Arch Enemy. To be fair I thought [Barbarian Hermit] were complete when they had Ed, but Reegs invited me down one day to try out vocals, so I was the last member.
Manchester's Doom, Sludge & Stoner Metal scene is packed with talented bands. How do you feel Barbarian Hermit stands out from the pack?
Basically, Reegs [Mike Reagan, guitarist] and I have been in various bands together, we've known each other since high school. He was on hiatus from Bisonhammer, and I'd just left another band, and we were like fuck it, let's get it together and we had a couple of jams. A few different bassists came together before we got Chris and a few different vocals, and Adam... We couldn't get rid of him! But there was always a sense of direction, a sense of doomy, gloomy, stoner shit! That's what we wanted to run with.
There was this vocalist before me, Ed, who used to be in a band called Fatal Fear. They did pretty well in Korea and supported Arch Enemy. To be fair I thought [Barbarian Hermit] were complete when they had Ed, but Reegs invited me down one day to try out vocals, so I was the last member.
Manchester's Doom, Sludge & Stoner Metal scene is packed with talented bands. How do you feel Barbarian Hermit stands out from the pack?
I don't think we do!
Nope, not at all, it's Under, Under are the standout band!
Yeah Under. I agree Under!
We're in a scene crowded with Nomad, Boss Keloid...
Ten Foot Wizard!
When you come to a gig in Manchester you're playing in front of your friends and your extended family, you're not just doing it to make money, because we don't ever!
Nobody makes money! Fucking Hell!
We do stand out because I have the BEST bass rig!
That's probably true, it's a ridiculous bass rig, with an unnecessary amount of amps and pedals. But there are a handful of people who are on their everlasting search for the brown, but we are merely on the journey!
A mere pilgrim in search of the brown!
Yeah Under. I agree Under!
We're in a scene crowded with Nomad, Boss Keloid...
Ten Foot Wizard!
When you come to a gig in Manchester you're playing in front of your friends and your extended family, you're not just doing it to make money, because we don't ever!
Nobody makes money! Fucking Hell!
We do stand out because I have the BEST bass rig!
That's probably true, it's a ridiculous bass rig, with an unnecessary amount of amps and pedals. But there are a handful of people who are on their everlasting search for the brown, but we are merely on the journey!
A mere pilgrim in search of the brown!
Your demo album and your live shows have been incredibly well received, are you guys in a positive place right now?
Nah, I hate my life and I want to die.
Ditto.
My job sucks, but my bass rig is fucking awesome!
Nah, I hate my life and I want to die.
Ditto.
My job sucks, but my bass rig is fucking awesome!
Your music video for "Burn the Fire" is pretty hilarious. Frank Zappa once asked, "does humour belong in music?" and I'll ask you the same question...
I think it definitely does, you don't want to take yourself too seriously, you've got to have fun. No matter how heavy your band is or how gruesome you might sound or how brown you are, you've got to have a laugh with it.
I think it definitely does, you don't want to take yourself too seriously, you've got to have fun. No matter how heavy your band is or how gruesome you might sound or how brown you are, you've got to have a laugh with it.
That's like asking "do genitals have a place in sex?" Of course it fucking does, you're a whole person and you channel everything through this music.
I don't like bands who are unnecessarily quirky like "we're so crazy". There are bands like Grey Widow for instance, there's no place for humour in their set. But Chubby Thunderous Bad Kush Masters... You can just tell by the name that they're ridiculous! Tie dye and corpse paint! There's a lot of humour there. There's a place for everything, just don't be fucking quirky!
I've always wondered, how exactly do you burn the fire?!
It's just the start of the sentence as it were. Why do you burn the fire? You burn the fire for someone else.
I don't like bands who are unnecessarily quirky like "we're so crazy". There are bands like Grey Widow for instance, there's no place for humour in their set. But Chubby Thunderous Bad Kush Masters... You can just tell by the name that they're ridiculous! Tie dye and corpse paint! There's a lot of humour there. There's a place for everything, just don't be fucking quirky!
I've always wondered, how exactly do you burn the fire?!
It's just the start of the sentence as it were. Why do you burn the fire? You burn the fire for someone else.
It fits in with the tradition of working titles which were verb the noun... There was Burn the Fire, there was Finger the Witch which ended up as Widowmaker. Milk the Mermaid!
We broke the tradition with Raging Boob Sweat.
We started playing a riff that sounded totally like Raging Speedhorn, and then we were discussing a friend who had complained about her excessive erm... Boob sweat!
There's quite a few girls who complain about their boob sweat, some of them are quite tall. Two of them in particular... No names!
It's a celebration of all things womenly and sweaty!
It's not, we've totally changed it since then, we're not singing about boobs!
Now the way that we name [songs] is after the wine that we're drinking [at the time].
It's a celebration of all things womenly and sweaty!
It's not, we've totally changed it since then, we're not singing about boobs!
Now the way that we name [songs] is after the wine that we're drinking [at the time].
We've had "Del Toro". "Tigerhorse" as well! "No Sleep 'til Buckfast".
No raging boob sweat!
You seem to have acquired the inescapable nickname Barbara Herman... Who came up with that?
IT WAS YOU, YA CUNT!!!
Was it me?!
It was you or that FUCKING MATT FRANKLIN [Bassist from Under]
I don't think it was me for the record!
I HATE MATT FRANKLIN!!!
IT WAS YOU, YA CUNT!!!
Was it me?!
It was you or that FUCKING MATT FRANKLIN [Bassist from Under]
I don't think it was me for the record!
I HATE MATT FRANKLIN!!!
When you play live, Si likes to dress up, I've seen naked bodies, stage invasions... Do you think a gig is better with a party atmosphere like that?
I think so, as long as you stay away from our amps and instruments and don't spill anything, it's alright!
Party all the time!
Party all the time!
What are your main influences in music outside of Metal?
Definitely Springsteen... And early Fleetwood Mac is THE BEST!
When you've got a really bad gut after a kebab the night before and it sort of bubbles out!
Belle & Sebastian, Scouting For Girls!
I really like The View.
I love Air, they're great!
Definitely Springsteen... And early Fleetwood Mac is THE BEST!
When you've got a really bad gut after a kebab the night before and it sort of bubbles out!
Belle & Sebastian, Scouting For Girls!
I really like The View.
I love Air, they're great!
When we're packing down at the end of practice, we put some tunes on and it's hardly ever Metal, it's usually like Dubstep or something weirder...
It's not proper Dubstep though is it?
Post Dubstep...
It's Post Trap now.
You like screechy weird dubstep.
He likes Brostep!
2step, 4step
I like Clownstep!
It's not proper Dubstep though is it?
Post Dubstep...
It's Post Trap now.
You like screechy weird dubstep.
He likes Brostep!
2step, 4step
I like Clownstep!
When I'm at home, particularly when I'm making love, I solely listen to 200bpm nosebleed gabba from the former Czech Republic!
I once had a girl that I was "making love to" and we had The Berzerker on, and she said "you don't have to keep pace", I didn't realize I was!
I'm actually a big fan of Raphael Saadiq. He's genuine, I think he's amazing. And Steve Reich, because I'm a tragic hipster!
I once had a girl that I was "making love to" and we had The Berzerker on, and she said "you don't have to keep pace", I didn't realize I was!
I'm actually a big fan of Raphael Saadiq. He's genuine, I think he's amazing. And Steve Reich, because I'm a tragic hipster!
What inspires you completely outside of music, whether it be art, films, video games etc.?
TITS!!! FUCKING TITS!!!
I'm a big fan of Rothko since you mentioned art. The almost subliminal effect that those colour combinations have on you without engaging them consciously... I'M A DRUMMER, BUT I CAN CHAT ART... COME AT ME BRO!!! COME AT ME BRO!!!
I like the later day films of Martin Scorsese... You can sit and you can wank all over the Godfather poster on your wall if you want, but his works like Shutter Island, Wolf of Wall Street, The Aviator... They're all fantastic, I love them.
Harvey Keitel in Bad Lieutenant, that's a role model for you!
Coen Brothers for me. I could watch Coen Brothers films all day long!
The works of David Shrigley are superb!
I think my favourite colour is probably international prime blue... That's a big inspiration for me!
Willie Gibson!
TITS!!! FUCKING TITS!!!
I'm a big fan of Rothko since you mentioned art. The almost subliminal effect that those colour combinations have on you without engaging them consciously... I'M A DRUMMER, BUT I CAN CHAT ART... COME AT ME BRO!!! COME AT ME BRO!!!
I like the later day films of Martin Scorsese... You can sit and you can wank all over the Godfather poster on your wall if you want, but his works like Shutter Island, Wolf of Wall Street, The Aviator... They're all fantastic, I love them.
Harvey Keitel in Bad Lieutenant, that's a role model for you!
Coen Brothers for me. I could watch Coen Brothers films all day long!
The works of David Shrigley are superb!
I think my favourite colour is probably international prime blue... That's a big inspiration for me!
Willie Gibson!
Viz Comics! Gary Larson's Tales From the Far Side as well.
What does the future hold for Barbarian Hermit, and do you feel any pressure following up the demo album?
Entropy and death...
That's too far into the future! I meant the nearer future!
We've got 2 new songs written for the new album...
We've got Red Sun Festival at the end of the month, and the MMC show here [at Rebellion], so that's Barbara's big weekender, it's gonna be great! Then we've got a little tour with Boss Keloid and Chubby Thunderous Bad Kush Masters. We've got some other songs that need polishing, and we're hoping to get in the studio by the end of the year with 7 or 8 songs ready to go!
So you're feeling confident?
Entropy and death...
That's too far into the future! I meant the nearer future!
We've got 2 new songs written for the new album...
We've got Red Sun Festival at the end of the month, and the MMC show here [at Rebellion], so that's Barbara's big weekender, it's gonna be great! Then we've got a little tour with Boss Keloid and Chubby Thunderous Bad Kush Masters. We've got some other songs that need polishing, and we're hoping to get in the studio by the end of the year with 7 or 8 songs ready to go!
So you're feeling confident?
Speak for yourself, I'm riddled with anxiety and crippling self doubt!
I think it's been a surprise for us that we've hit the scene and hit it this hard and actually got so much respect from people that we really respect. We've gone from opening up shows to headlining shows and we're really blown away by it. It's all great, we look forward to more!
I think over the next 6 or 8 months, we've going to play to a lot of new crowds rather than playing to the same people. When we first started we hadn't played Manchester for about a year, we just played other cities. So when we first played here, we'd already played a year's worth of gigs in other cities, fine tuning. So over the next 6 or 8 months we'll do it again, like version 2.0. Fine tune it, write new material... We were fairly satisfied with the quality of the demo, because we involved some good people. We got the guy from Ninja Tune Records, so what can we do to make it sound bigger? We're only going to learn if we go out and do it. Hopefully we'll follow the path that Boss Keloid and Conan already set and just give it a bash, because why not?
We also have the wedding bands, which is where we all dress up in drag and play covers, calling ourselves Barbara and the Hermits. And the Mariachi band Los Barbarianos Hermanos! That's a big thing for us, we're hoping to get into the Manchester Day Parade. We are available for weddings, funerals, Bar Mitzvahs, christenings, you name it!
And finally... This one goes out especially to you Chris... My face, your face... Can we make this happen?
What? It's a face swap?
Your face, my face... Can we make this happen?
I don't know what you mean... Is he coming onto me?
GIVE HIM A KISS!
*Chris "reluctantly" gives me a big sloppy kiss*
YAAAAY IT HAPPENED!!!
That's the closest I'll ever come to kissing Aaron Turner!
You should have interviewed Voodoo Blood!
Oh yeah I should have asked them!... GOD!!!
_______________
June 3rd 2016 @ Rebellion Manchester. Photos by Si & Mel.
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