What’s the idea behind Rejects Asylum?
The idea of Rejects Asylum kicked off as a collaboration between Align The Tide (ATT) and the team at Rejects. Following their highly acclaimed debut music video The Golden Throne, we instantly knew these guys weren’t to be taken lightly and, after being approached by one of their band members, we decided to join forces, which went on to be one of our most successful gigs to date.
Is there a story behind the name?
The name was originally inspired by ATT’s debut music video, The Golden Throne. The video tells the story of a man who couldn’t endure his employer’s constant bullying at work, driving him to the point of murdering him, thus ending up locked down in a mental institution where he gets an electric shock treatment.
We wanted to expand on that, merging it with the idea of a ‘haunted’ 1800s mental institution – without attaching any stigma to mental illness of course, and more as a nod to pop culture elements.
Then again though, all our events tend to be a little bit crazy in some way, shape or form, so we knew the name would fit perfectly.
This is the second edition – has anything changed?
The second edition will feature ATT once again; the band will be launching their debut album Dead Religion during the event.
ClubMurder, who’ve recently made a beasty comeback at this year’s edition of the beer festival, will also be performing, and, finally, there are also some very special guests coming all the way from Germany – Dying Humanity.
How did you go about choosing this year’s acts and what can you tell us about them?
There’s a lot of hype surrounding all the three bands. ClubMurder are in the final stages of releasing their highly-anticipated album in the coming months, as a follow up to Where Everybody Dies, so one should expect some new material performed on the night. Their recently released lyric video Everything is Dead is a little tip on what we should be expecting from their brutal sets.
Align the Tide, meanwhile, have come quite a long way since their debut back in the first edition of Rejects Asylum. They subsequently released a second music video, Welcome to Hell, and performed in numerous local gigs, most recently at Metall Insula at The Garage.
Being their debut album, the hype is surreal, and after listening to it only recently, I can safely say it’s gonna leave everyone in awe.
We’re also very excited for Dying Humanity’s first show in Malta; the band has performed over 200 shows in Germany and overseas, and has released four albums, the latest being the acclaimed Deadened. They promise to deliver a killer set and are very eager for the show in Malta.
What about the DJs – what can we expect from their sets?
We will have two DJs for Rejects Asylum – Noel Mifsud and Despise. Both DJs like to deliver a rather assorted set from different genres by both local and international bands. The sets will be based more on a heavier style, ranging from nu metal to death metal, which complements the bands’ styles.
The main aim is to continue delivering an experience for the crowd both as a warm-up for the bands and as a proper ending in style for Rejects Asylum II.
What is the biggest challenge in bringing it all together?
The hardest part is always about getting started. Once everything got set it was all about getting the ball rolling, which we did eventually after numerous coffee breaks, whisky breaks, chair-smashing breaks... you know, all in a day’s work.
What can you tell us about the new venue?
The Garage is one of the few venues for as long as I can remember, dedicated and designated almost exclusively for live bands and music. We organised our first gig there in July for the debut EP launch of A Broken Design. The sound was top notch thanks to engineer Steve Lombardo, and the atmosphere was unique. We’re thrilled to be working again there.
Rejects Asylum takes place on August 26 at The Garage. Tickets are available at the door.