Metal music isn’t typically associated with the season’s festivities, but this has not stopped Loathe from turning their annual Boxing Day concert into an eagerly-awaited tradition.
The season of goodwill is upon us and, like an unsightly yet undeniably comfortable jumper, a familiar slew of Christmas songs start thumping into our eardrums every time we switch on the radio or venture outside.
Many of you will instantly roll their eyes at any mention of a White Christmas; certainly not in Malta it isn’t, not while rivulets of sweat are trickling down our necks as we lug bags full of presents through crowded shopping areas.
However, year in, year out, we treat the usual melodies and their unrealistic lyrics as having an essential part in making the experience of Christmas a complete one.
One type of music you won’t hear being pumped in shops and commercials streets during the holidays (or any other time of year for that matter) is metal music.
The image of black-clad singers spouting lyrics about human existence and the depths of its depravity couldn’t strike a more incongruous picture next to the sedate and optimistic tone of Christmas songs.
In an attempt to figure out a place for metal music on the playlist of the heavenly this Christmas, I sit down for a chat with singer David ‘The Beast’ Fenech and guitarist Kurt Pace from Loathe, one of Malta’s top metal bands.
Do metal bands have a serious image problem? Fenech answers my question:
“Yes and no. Obviously, over the years a certain set of expectations around the appearance and behaviour of metal bands has developed, which is as deeply set in people’s mind as their preconceptions about the content and sound of this genre.
“It’s part of the gig really, however, it seems that many bands have gotten so caught up into these expectations that they have started to take them too seriously and have forgotten how to have a good time on stage; that this is second to actually writing good songs.”
Having a good time on stage is probably one of Loathe’s signature characteristics and nowhere is this more evident to their fans than during their annual Boxing Day Bash, which the band has organised every year since 2009.
The sixth edition of the bash will be held once again at Club Edge in Paceville and Loathe promises to rock your Christmas stockings off with tunes from their latest EPs.
So why do five grown men choose to subject themselves to this home-grown tradition while belting out songs that slice viciously through everything one could hold sacred, like an adrenaline-soaked knife.
Fenech’s reply is surprisingly straightforward, almost deadpan.
“Every year at the Boxing Day Bash the band wears stupid and outlandish Christmas costumes, because it’s fun for us. Last year, for example, we showed up on stage in large boxes, covered in wrapping paper, around our bodies and played our gig dressed up like Christmas parcels.”
The year before that, the band prepared the venue’s stage and their own get up, such that it resembled a gigantic Christmas crib, complete with archangel Gabriel (drummer Max Vassallo), a cow (guitarist Karl Cachia), and a sheep (guitarist Kurt Pace).
What do the fans think of this?
“For the audience it’s something completely different than what they’re used to seeing at a typical metal gig.
“We’ve been doing this for six years and we began calling it a tradition quite early on.
“Now it’s become expected of us to do something crazy on Boxing Day, so fans actually ask us about it from months in advance. Turn-up has always been a very encouraging one and we’ve seen it grown steadily from one edition to the next.
Metal bands take themselves and their image too seriously and we at Loathe are particularly keen to dispel that notion
“There’s a deeper reason why we do this, of course. Like I said, metal bands take themselves, and their image, too seriously and we at Loathe are particularly keen to dispel that notion.
“ We do take our music very seriously indeed, but not ourselves. There’s a big difference between taking your craft to heart and being inflexible and unsmiling about yourself.”
Since Loathe was founded in 2001, the band underwent several changes in its line-up, however, the present day incarnation, which has been strong for many years now, is Fenech on vocals, Cachia and Pace on guitars, Mark Debono on bass and Vassallo on drums.
In this form, the band released two digital EPs last year after an extended period of playing exclusively live gigs in Malta and on the international circuit.
Lambs To The Slaughter debuted in May 2013, the band’s fifth release in their catalogue, taking a heavier and more technical approach compared to previous outings. Bucketlove, the first single from this EP, was released in December 2012 and the music video for this track received has now clocked nearly 17,000 views on YouTube.
Perhaps best indicative of the band’s propensity towards taking the mickey out of their own genre, the video for Bucketlove, directed by Cedric Vella, features a band member’s adorable baby son, teddy bears and a generous sprinkling of tomfoolery by the band.
Pace offers a rather blunt and definitive explanation: “The Bucketlove video is our little statement that we’re fun-loving idiots and that metal bands are too serious about themselves.”
I change the subject and ask Pace about the band’s latest EP, released in September 2013, Wolves in the Fold.
“The initial reaction to Wolves has been awesome and we’re truly appreciative of all the positive comments we’ve received. The album features five of the heaviest and fastest tracks we produced to date and they can be streamed from our website or our Bandcamp page, where people can download the album and support our band.”
The band has also made a couple of forays into fashion. Pace said: “Yes, we released our new t-shirts this year on our Basecamp page and we’re very close to selling them out.”
What about the band’s plans for the future. “At the moment, we’re busy writing new music and demoing it. If everything goes well, this will eventually lead up to a full-blown recording of new material some time next year.”
Loathe will be playing with Abysmal Torment on December 26 at Club Edge, Paceville. Entrance fee is €5.
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