our tenth album comes out tomorrow and i want to take this moment to talk about creativity.

every artist ive ever met creates like this - an idea comes to you, you bring it to life, it gives you a good feeling and you want to listen again, you work on it and then you record it. it is as simple as that. how able you are to carry out that process without interference from fear, doubt or commercial pressures is another story - and sometimes the more you ignore those influences the more people will say you caved to them.

we are just like everyone else, normal human beings with lives, families, kids, ups, downs, insecurities, strengths and weaknesses. i realised a while ago why i was drawn to angry music - i, like many others, didn’t have a healthy outlet for my anger. in fact i didn’t know how to express it in an ‘acceptable’ manner at all, but heavy music gave me a space for that feeling, when nothing else could.

today i am 34, not 18, and although i don’t have my anger all figured out, it is not the only feeling that calls to be expressed when i create music, and i believe that to be true for all the members of this band. yes, there are plenty of reasons to be angry and that feeling is represented in these songs, but there are more complex feelings present here too.

we appreciate the all of support and, to be totally honest, i often take it for granted, especially over these last 3 years during which time we’ve played just 16 shows. it has been almost impossible not to become detached from you all, and yet in that period of time we have transformed enormously and asked that you all come with us, should you wish to. of course not everyone will be up for the ride, we know that and we are okay with that. there were moments creating this album where we sat back, listened and knew, without doubt, that what we were hearing was going to upset a number of people…..but we did it anyway, because it felt right to us. that is integrity.