Metalcore act ARTIFACT have released not one but two EP releases, with a third EP on the way, out real soon! Some shows are being set into play, as well as touring perhaps. For now, the band talks about these plans, releases, and what dream they hope to achieve.
1. Please tell us about the history of your band and its members.
Artifact started out as a bedroom project between just me (Michael Veneris, vocalist) and our original guitarist Andrew Atkinson. We wanted to write music similar to bands like spiritbox with a big emphasis on orchestral elements however with the lineup changes and us maturing as musicians and people the goal shifted to creating music that is as authentic as possible. Basically, there's no rules now, we want to just sound like us and explore different timbres, textures and create something new and fresh.
Harvey our drummer joined the band in its early days and put in a lot of hard work outside of playing his instrument. Hayden our guitarist reached out online and showed us his chops, his influences are melodic death metal and progressive music which add a new flare to what we already have. Bec (vocals) has been a close friend of mine for a very long time and played in a small folk/acoustic duet with me. She loves her metal but really clicks with emo/prog/folk stuff. I have composed with Nathan our most recent member in the past, Hayden already knew him and pushed for him to become a member. A few tracks on the EP were actually songs we worked on months prior to him becoming a member, originally created as demos for fun.
2. What’s the origin of the band’s name?
Artifacts are unwanted or accidental sonic material like hisses, clicks and pops which happen when say you push a compressor too hard etc. Andrew suggested the name and I agreed. It sounded cool and we are far from perfect; there's hundreds of mistakes in our music that we spend hours trying to fix but you know what, may sound cliche but that's what I think makes us sound human.
3. Where is the band based out of and what is your music scene like there? Are there any local bands you could recommend?
We are a bunch of bogan Aussies based in a small-ish town in regional NSW called Wagga Wagga. Honestly there aren't many metal acts from here that I am aware however Albury which is around an hour's drive has some good talent. Bands like Trancestate, Arkangel, Soulsleep, Grim seem to be doing some very cool things.
4. How would you describe your style?
We are metalcore but not cookie cutter metalcore (does not quite narrow it down I know). We have a mix between deathcore growls and shrieks, groovy guitars, catchy female sung clean chorus melodies with odd rhythms not from playing different time signatures but through metric modulation. Our songs are quite a blend, and the vibes and themes change dramatically from each release while we try and find what works for us.
5. What have you released so far and what can someone expect from your works?
We have released two EP's so far Unravel and Insurrection. Unravel is very emotional and discusses grief and trauma as the main topics with a heavy emphasis on orchestral elements in the mix. Insurrection is more introspective with anti-war themes and potential societal collapse. It's groovy and I would say is the reason why we have started to get noticed.
6. Do you have any new music in the works?
We absolutely do, our new EP Umbra is coming out on the 6th of February and is very different from the rest. There are a few nods to our older material however each track is extremely unique and it's one of those releases where it's hard to pick a favorite. It's far more progressive, introspective and raw than the other two. You can check out our singles A-voidant and Requiem which have visualizers on YouTube and other streaming services.
7. How about playing shows and touring, have anything planned out?
At the moment we are organizing a few shows and hopefully an east coast tour in Australia however nothing I am allowed to say much about just yet. We have had to take it easy after our tour in SE Asia as a lot of us work fulltime.
8. What plans do you have for the future as a band?
Grow our audience more, move on to bigger and better shows, more frequent tours and as an end goal, do this fulltime as a career. That's our dream.
9. Where can we listen to your band and where can we buy your stuff?
Our material is on Spotify, Tidal, Apple Music, YouTube etc. - https://linktr.ee/artifactau if you want to support the band which we would greatly appreciate, you can find our merch online here: https://www.indiemerchstore.com/collections/bleeding-art-collective?fbclid=IwY2xjawM4x3ZleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFYd1BqNzRCZkJianFremZXAR6USFQFe3IBxW68zRt26CQwu_OegTbaSvGchpIulWVf_SiApgtNk9vs7JEKlQ_aem_5MZkYClA_tveeBFt2giYvg
10. What is it you’d like a listener to remember the most when hearing your music for the first time?
That what we do is raw, authentic and honest. With the new material we have specifically, that you're not alone.
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