Unbreakable bandYou thought the end was coming... but this is another beginning. At last, the future looks right for British rock band Heaven's Basement. Music-News.com finds out what's new
There's never a dull moment in the Heaven's Basement camp. When Music News last interviewed the rock outfit in 2008, there were five of them, their roots in classic rock. How things change. The band have taken on various guises, surviving management issues, different monikers, and members coming and going – all in a few short years. But what hasn't killed them has definitely made them stronger. Just five minutes with the revitalised, almost unrecognisable, Heaven's Basement proves that.
Only drummer Chris Rivers and rhythm lead guitarist Sid Glover remain from the early days and, now a four-piece, the self-confessed "tumultuous" band are harder, tighter and prepared for anything. "Even when we didn't have a singer in the band we still managed to do a European tour," says Rivers recalling the stand-ins they relied upon to complete live duties. "The amazing thing is, since forming in February 2008, we've managed to tour constantly: over 30 countries off our own back, supporting some amazing bands."
But they’ve not taken this for granted. "There's too many people who are safe and sit on the fence," Rivers continues, "and we've always had the attitude of we can go do a tour in Germany or Sweden or Holland, and we've got to go and make sure we do enough to get to the next gig. The toughest it ever got was maybe we'd have one piece of bread between us."
And it’s paid off as, despite all the ups and downs, fans have stayed with them.
Glover says: "Even people who may have been cynical at first, we kind of feel like we proved them wrong. Nobody's written us off and that's it. They've been, 'to be honest I came to watch what I thought would be the end and I've loved it, it was better'."
Rhythm bassist Rob Ellershaw agrees the fans have been good to them. "They supported us really well last year, considering we ended up with so many different incarnations when they came to see us live. We wanted to get the line-up right – we owed it to them – so we took a few months out of the limelight to make sure we found the right singer… and hopefully he's out there somewhere," he quips, with 20-year-old frontman Aaron in earshot.
Aaron Buchanan was one of the first potential frontmen the lads spoke to in their quest to find a member of the band opposed to just a singer. In Buchanan they found exactly what they wanted and their new dynamic is fuelling a great live show, as confirmed in their recent High Voltage Festival set.
He says: "As a four-piece, we are so free to do what we want on stage. We haven't got someone on stage that's not like-minded, so we can go and do something that none of us really know where it's going to go. It usually ends up in the right place. In fact, I don't think it's ever ended up in the wrong place, which is a good thing. The diversity and how loud and quiet we can be on stage is so much better than what we could achieve as a five-piece."
Glover agrees: "[Our High Voltage set] was so much more unpredictable and free because I'm now the only guitarist. Personally I feel completely free. Because us three (me, Rob and Chris) have got such a connection musically, we can do anything. We stopped halfway through a song and just went into a Rage Against The Machine kind of thing. We just jammed it for ages while Aaron went out and wound the crowd up. None of it was scripted."
As if this band would be capable of sticking to a script anyway. "We are probably one of the sloppiest bands in the country," admits Glover, "but I love it because I don't really care. It means that every night it's different because otherwise it can get stale and jaded. It could crash and burn."
What with all the drama and an addiction to touring, the band have yet to put out an album – although there is recently released EP Unbreakable, the title track alone being enough to snare new fans – but they are working on a proper debut. And there's plenty of experiences to draw on.
Rivers says: "In such a short space of time, we've got so much ammo to write songs about and stories from two years of touring. It's been like a constant rollercoaster, up and down. It's brilliant. I haven't got complaints about anything that's ever happened." Ellershaw adds: "I think it's been good because everyone who saw us in May picked up on our vibe, how happy we were as a four, coming back and playing the songs for everyone and playing some new stuff. That came across on stage. We were all really happy with how things were going and we just continued from there."
"I think Rivers touched on a point, which is quite important," says Glover. "I overheard the tour manager describing the change he's seen in everyone. Every bad thing that's ever happened to us has ultimately turned out as a strength. Before, we were kind of snot-nosed little kids who wanted to play loud music.
“We've been through so much stuff, a lot more stuff than most bands go through in a lifetime. We know what we want, we know how to do it and we know what not to do. We've got such a clear vision and we're so passionate about how to do it that it's kind of made us all grow into the band that's now, I think, capable of writing the album that's going to be as good as we need it."
So, with their writing hats on, the band are focusing on the album, but they won’t be completely holed up in the studio. They're lined up to play some acoustic dates with [former Life of Agony vocalist] Mina Caputo in October. Rivers says: "We got offered these acoustic shows and [said] let's approach this like we do usually: we don't just want to sit there and chill out. The whole point is we can go from opening for Papa Roach with an electric set to acoustic shows." And Glover admits they’re keen to rise to the challenge: "As an acoustic ensemble, we're pretty ropey and lairy, and to play alongside [Caputo] is going to be good because it's actually going to make us have to be good.”
Heaven’s Basement have taken the rough with the smooth, but they’ve learned their lessons and are better off for it.
Glover continues: “Me and Chris especially, actually everyone in their own right, have been through bad situations in the past, which made us very aware. This is our family and we're really close. We're very, very careful about who we let in now and we want it to be our decisions and our vision.
“That's why it's taken us so long to get the line-up before we make an album, because now we're in a position where we feel like we've got the control. There are no people outside trying to sway it going, 'hey guys, maybe you should do this'. They can do one. We'll do what we want to do."
So, is it safe to say this is the laminated version of Heaven's Basement?
“I like that: the laminated version,” Glover concurs. “There's no going back. Are you scared?"
Unbreakable is out nowTour dates and more...
