P
eacemaker, DIE! formed from the
ashes of Blackbyrd. The band are
restarting, with a new EP ‘Chapter One’. The EP will be out 14th April
through Believe Digital. We caught up
with Phil Lye (Vocals) about the new
project.
The band explains “This EP comes from
experience. We are all individuals with
various backgrounds, so there was
always something exciting going to happen
when we sat down to write the record. This is
the result of just that.”
Tell us how the band came together?
Myself (Phil, vocals), Kerry (Bass) and Leigh
(Drums) have been in various bands together
for years so there was a solid base already
there. Darran was a friend of the band and
after some encounters at various gigs, we
just ended up in a room together having a
jam. It sounded and felt great so we carried
on going.
As Leigh said you all come from various backgrounds, what are they?
We are all Valleys boys so the background is
already a shared one there. Musically, Darran
achieved huge success with Funeral For A
Friend, headlining festivals and playing with
the worlds biggest bands. You then have myself, Kerry and Leigh who enjoyed a little bit
of underground success with Dead Against
The Rest. We toured constantly, garnered
some festival slots and got some really good
reviews. Each member knows and understands their instrument and that’s what makes
us click. With such a wide range of influences
and passions, there is so much thrown into
the mixing bowl and the outcome is Peacemaker, DIE!
Whats thrown in the bowl?
Power, melody that builds big songs with
anthemic choruses. As for the sound, guess its
something along the lines of classic rock but
with a modern edge.
What’s the story behind the band name?
We were originally called Blackbyrd, but due
to the amount of other bands that shared
the name, we decided on a change. One of
the hardest things to do is to choose a band
name. We had loads of ideas floating about
but nothing that really stuck out. One day,
Darran muttered Peacemaker Die and we all
agreed in unison. It wasn’t intentionally taken
from the Extreme song of the same name but
also partly due to the Peacemaker Colt handgun which was made famous by Wyatt Earp.
Finch and a lot of late 80’s death metal
and myself, I like Bad Religion and 5FDP
among others.
As musicians, have you found it necessary to change styles over time?
I don’t think we’ve found it necessary
to change styles but I suppose we have
over time. It’s almost been like a natural
progression Whether it’s been down to a
new influence that’s been heard, or whether it’s playing with a different musician, you
sometimes adapt and change without realising this.
How do you see the future of the rock music
industry?
I think that it’s going to be a case of having
to create more and more of your own opportunities to get yourself heard as it drifts more
and more towards the digital side of the industry. It’s a more online business now rather
than the good old fashioned record stores.
On the one hand, it makes getting your music
heard very accessible to be able to build a fan
base but on the other, it makes your music
from a monetary angle fairly worthless.
What do you think makes people say Rock
Music is Dead?
I think it’s because you don’t see so much of
it in the charts like you used to. There’s also
more and more venues closing and less
people going out to watch local bands, especially if they’re playing original stuff. Plus you
see a lot of bands these days calling it quits
because they just can’t afford to run it anymore.
What does the future hold for Peacemaker,
DIE!?
We just want to enjoy ourselves, write some
great music , have a shitload of fun along the
way and hopefully some good opportunities
will come our way in the process. We’d just
like to ask everyone to go and check our online social media and website, give our tunes
a listen and show us some love!
Where can people find Peacemaker, Die this
summer?
We have some local shows coming up:
-May 15th @ The Scene, Swansea
-June 19th @ The Dolls House, Abertillery
-July 18th @ Shield Fest, Swansea
-Aug 30th @ Megaday, Caerphilly.
Since going to press P