Earlier this year Earl of Hell released their debut EP, Get Smoked which includes the single, Blood Disco, one of my favourite songs from last year and the one which first brought the band to my attention.
The band were kind enough to take some time out to answer some questions for the Ginger Quiff.
A review of the EP appears below the interview.
The Ginger Quiff: Tell me about the band – who is everyone – how did you get together as a band?
Earl of Hell:
Eric – Vocals
Lewis – Guitar & Vocals
Dan – Guitar
Dean – Bass
Ryan – Drums
We got together as a 4-piece in March 2020 after seeing Lewis’s “Uncle Sam-style” advert. We found our sound quickly, gelled together well and after only a few meets the pandemic hit. A while later we hired our own rehearsal room and still abiding by the restrictions, we kept practising on through lockdown and recorded our first single, “Blood Disco” in April 2021 and “Arrhythmia in August.
We’ve now been gigging for a year, have just released our 6-track debut EP “Get Smoked” and have decided to introduce a second guitarist, so we’re now welcoming Dan Mitchell as the fifth member.
GQ: You released your first music during lockdown, and you’re now getting out and about playing live. How did that first gig feel, after venues being closed/restricted for so long?
EoH: The first gig was a surreal experience as we were still somewhat restricted and socially-distanced, performing our raw set of originals in front of a very drunk seated audience and it was all filmed for online streaming! That was at the The Ice Box, a wee venue in an industrial estate in the Gorbals (which is a marvel on its own.)
There’s rails of clothes and costumes displayed on either side of the room, Christmas decorations, decapitated mannequin heads wrapped in feather boas. It looks like an air raid shelter but it feels like a film set.) Friends got very comfortable with the venue’s BYOB policy, canoodling on sofas and hurling a mix of compliments and strange requests at us between songs. To top it all off we were followed by three of Glasgow’s finest burlesque acts. As you can imagine, after a year and a half of lockdown, that was like the last days of Rome!
GQ: How would you describe your sound?
EoH: Heavy fuzz rock. We’re a fun-loving, energetic, unpredictable band with a lot of different influences. Each member has their own unique taste in music but there’s a firm middle ground in 70s hard rock, proto-punk and grunge. We were brought together by bands like Black Sabbath, Kyuss, The Stooges and Nirvana.
For people who are really into metal, we probably sound like the Beach Boys. But for those who are more into pop music we probably sound like Slayer.
GQ: Blood Disco was one of my favourite songs of 2021. Before I even heard it, I was attracted to the song purely by the band name and single title alone. It made me think of the movie Carrie. Tell me more about your influences both from a musical perspective and song subjects – did you have Carrie in mind when you wrote Blood Disco?
EoH: We’re big fans of old skool horror and that definitely comes across in our music. The title ‘Blood Disco’ in particular paints a vivid picture of the theatrical melodrama portrayed in movies like Carrie. We’ve joked about our music being used as the soundtracks for low budget B movies before and I think it’s become a theme throughout our all of our songs.
GQ: Who does the songwriting in the band? Do you have a process?
EoH: When we first got together we mainly just worked on songs Lewis had written between rehearsals. Though, recently we’ve been jamming out some ideas first, the lyrics are still predominantly written at home but we each play our part in constructing the song once we have all the pieces to put together. Theres no magic formula but this seems to be working for us at the moment.
GQ: The video for Hang ‘em High looked like a lot of fun to make. What was the recording like?
EoH: We really had a lot of fun shooting the video and we’re so glad that comes across in it. Our budget was really tight and covid caused a few hiccups but in the end we have our mates to thank for pulling together and making it work!
It was our first time doing anything like that so we just over-prepared and used all the ideas we could. We had just teamed up with Slightly Fuzzed (a new record label in the States) so we were totally eager to poke fun at the whole ‘Cowboy Western’ thing and Sean Francis did an excellent job of editing all of our nonsense together.
GQ: What do you enjoy most about playing live?
EoH: For us, being in a band is all about playing live. Travelling to the gig, meeting new people who share the same excitement for music, the pre-gig anxiety followed by the enormous rush of adrenaline on stage! Whether we’re playing to our home crowd, seeing people singing the words to our songs, or winning over an unsuspecting audience in a small town and seeing them leave wearing our t-shirts – it’s those kind of feats that keeps us going on the 400 mile drive home.
GQ: Do you as a band have a favourite song to play and why?
EoH: “Still Blitzed” is always good fun. That’s the one where Eric usually takes a wee wander into the crowd. It can get quite theatrical with its rhythm changes and drawn-out improvised guitar solo.
“I Am The Chill” is a thumper, too. It has an especially good bounce to it when we play it live and it’s Ryan’s favourite.
GQ: If you were to pick a favourite song to cover, what would it be and why?
EoH: We’ve covered a few songs but the one that seems to get the best reaction is “Crazy Horses” by The Osmonds. It’s surprising how many people have known the words to that song. Such an underrated hit! Who knew Mormons could rock so hard?!
GQ: Obviously you played Bloc+ In Glasgow recently, what else is on the horizon gigs wise?
EoH: The Get Smoked Tour continues in London later this month. Then we travel to Rotherham, York and back to Edinburgh supporting doom rockers, Alunah. We have some more dates still to be announced after that but our goal for next year is to get over to Europe and play a few weekenders.
GQ: We’re in festival season right now. What would your ultimate festival line up be, obviously with you playing, and who would you love to get up and play with on a festival stage?
EoH: We like a bit of variety in a festival lineup. The most memorable acts are the ones you wouldn’t expect to have seen.
Slade, Beastie Boys, Grace Jones, Sex Pistols, The Prodigy, Buddy Guy, Scissor Sisters, SAHB, Rick James, Gary Numan, Eminem, Frank Zappa.
GQ: Have you been recording more music? When can we expect a follow up to the superb EP Get Smoked?
EoH: With Dan diving head first into the melting pot, we’re currently just making some improvements to our live show. That’s been a really exciting process, developing on our current sound and igniting some new inspiration for songwriting. Hopefully once we’ve bled the EP completely dry and recouped some expenses we’ll have enough material to record an album. I think that’s how this usually works, right?
Get Smoked EP review
Get Smoked has been out for a while now, but if you still haven’t heard it, you’re in for a massive treat.
The EP revs up to full throttle with single and the EPs opening track, Hang ’em High, the band shifting into top gear immediately and hitting full on spaghetti western desert fuzz rock mode from the off. Just like a juggernaut, once it reaches full speed, the band’s heavy rumble crushes everything in its path, continuing into Parasite feeding off their own darkly intense energy.
I Am the Chill slows the pace down slightly, but with no reduction in the fuzzy wall of sound and thunderous pounding of drums. A mid-song instrument break leading into a carnage inducing finale.
The barrage of hard and heavy hitting guitars is quelled somewhat at the start of Bitter Fruits with a sinister string intro, before the intensity increases once more as the strings mix with a profusion of thunderous instruments, strings, bass, guitar and drums gelling in a perfect dark symphony, with vocals channelling the late great Alex Harvey in places.
Blood Disco has lost none of the punch it packed from the first time I heard it, if anything its power and impact has grown over time, perhaps the intensity increased by its positioning as an introduction to the EPs closer, the bruising muscular epic horror rock of Kill The Witch, a fiercely ferocious and bloodthirstily gory end to this thrill ride of an EP.