Holy Roar Podcast

After a monumental break Paul returns to host another episode of the Holy Roar Podcast. This time around he chats with Harry Fanshawe from Modern Rituals. Lots of chat about the history of the band & the recently released, stunning, second full length album, 'This Is The History'.

Garganjua - The New Sun - Radio Edit by Holy Roar

In this episode Paul speaks with Stewart from Bad Own Presents about the ins & outs of putting on shows as they both prepare for the Louder Than God Festival which features a plethora of Holy Roar acts later this year.

For this episode Paul speaks to Jarod & Evan from Secret Cutter via a swish transatlantic connection about their recent UK/EU tour & the Quantum Eraser album which came out on Holy Roar in 2018. This & loads more including the latest news & where to catch your favourite HR bands over the coming months.

Paul speaks to ArcTanGent & 2000 Trees Festival organiser James Scarlett about festival preparation, booking and the history of both festivals. All of this and a rather large side order of chat about 80s hair rock behemoths Extreme.

Paul chats with Ben from UK progressive doom monoliths Garganjua about their journey through the underground doom ranks & ‘Through The Void’, the band’s first album on Holy Roar Records.

Paul Waller speaks with A.A. Williams about her upbringing, the romance of falling in love with music & her debut, self-titled E.P. on Holy Roar Records.

As we settle into the new year Paul Waller reflects on the latter half of Holy Roar's 2018, playing his favourite tracks & delving into the HR Twitter feed one last time.

Episode 57: A Holy Roar Xmas (Part 1) by Holy Roar

Paul gets down to the skinny with Isa Holliday & Jelle Ronsmans from recent Holy Roar signings, Belgium's own shoegaze guitar melters Slow Crush.

This month Paul speaks to Brady from Conjurer about the bands past, present & future & so much more in-between. WARNING: This episode contains much love for Mike Oldfield.

"The ever hospitable George Clift has a grand history with underground music in the UK, I've wanted to speak to the guy about his history for an age. Having a podcast gave me the perfect excuse and to be honest we could have spoke all night. I hope you enjoy this one as much as I did..." - Paul Waller

Paul speaks to Ste Arands, the drummer of Boss Keloid about the creation of their latest album 'Melted on the Inch' and the groups continued rise within the scene that spawned them. 80s chat: Paul Simon - Graceland

Liam from Punks In Pubs podcast interviews Alex (Holy Roar) and Kev (Big Scary Monsters) ahead of their VS stage on Thursday at this year's Arctangent Festival. Grab tickets from this link: http://www.arctangent.co.uk/tickets/ Check out the playlist containing songs from all bands playing on the VS stage: http://www.arctangent.co.uk/arctangent-thursday-bsm-holyroar/

On episode 52 of the Holy Roar Podcast, Paul meets up with Jason Frye from the band Harrowed to talk about his musical history and learn the story of how he became the owner / producer at his own recording studio, Century Audio.

Nic & Holger chat with Paul about the creation of their debut album for Holy Roar Records, ‘JORD’ and also delve into the history of the band from winning the Danish High Voltage Rock Award for Best Upcoming Band to their recent collaboration with director Morton Buzejka Trads on their video for ‘Bruma’. MØL’s 80s pick: My Bloody Valentine - Isn’t Anything.

"Like all regular Holy Roar Podcast listeners I was gutted when Maz began his hiatus when he hit episode 50. So I got proactive and sent the Holy Roar team over a pilot of my own to see if I could follow in his footsteps and be the new host. They were game and now hopefully you lot will be game too. Over the next few months I’ll be interviewing a stack of bands and music industry types; it’ll be ace, nonstop ace I tell ya. In this pilot you can hear a young James Spence from Rolo Tomassi talk about the Hysterics album, also, I will let you in on some secrets of how not to be a journalist and also give you a rundown of my picks for Download Festival 2018." - Paul

The head honcho of Big Scary Monsters Kevin Douch sits down with Mazz and discuss how the label began along with Kev’s early days in Oxford's music scene. Kev answers listener's questions which cover a huge array of topics including about how the industry will change, how he got to work with Andrew WK and the controversies that happened with PWR BTTM earlier this year.

Dan and Mazz discuss how Renounced got together as well as Reading’s early metal scene which included the likes of Viatrophy, Sylosis and Exit Ten. Dan also talks about his experience at TIHC 2017 and going out on tour with the band Vein in the US earlier this summer.

Episode 48 is with Anthony Sykes, guitarist of UK metal/hardcore act Last Witness. Mazz and Sykes discuss Last Witness’s early beginnings including breaking up twice and early LBU shows. They discuss the pros and cons of being a ‘merch’ band and how this lead them to being on some fantastic tours, including Every Time I Die, The Devil Wears Prada and Shai Hulud.

Episode 47 Mazz chats to guitarist and all around great chap Joe Nicholson from Body Hound. Mazz and Joe talk about his early days in Rolo Tomassi and how he met the guys in the band. They talk about how Body Hound got together and some of the great shows they’ve done so far, including 2 appearances at Arc Tan Gent as well as going to Ireland.

In episode 46 Mazz chats to Connor Laws and Ben Pollard of Guildford punk rock record label ‘Failure By Design’. To celebrate their 4th year as a label, Ben and Connor talk about how they started the label as well as the highs and lows of maintaining it. Music comes from Heavy Hearts their EP ‘On A Chain’, available via Failure By Design Records on the 28th of October.

In episode 45 Mazz chats to guitarist and producer Joe Clayton. Joe is a veteran of the Manchester Hardcore/Metal scene and is currently the guitarist/vocalist of Post-Rock titans Pijn. He talks about the demise of his band Old Skin, his experiences as a producer and what plans Pijn have for next year!

To celebrate IDYLLS' forthcoming third album ’The Barn’, Mazz has a chat with Billy and Chris from the band. Billy and Chris talk about what lead to the sonic direction this album takes. They explain what happened after the initial buzz of their first full length including praise from The Needle Drop. Billy and Chris also talk about Brisbane’s local punk scene and some of the ups and downs of touring down under.

In episode 43 Mazz chats to the Brighton hardcore act Up River. Up River have been a stable force in the UK hardcore scene for many years and have been through many transitions. The band chat about their beginnings and experiences touring the UK and mainland Europe as well as discussing their change in sound on their newest record 'If There Is A God Judging Me Constantly’.

As a celebration of all things Brontide and in conjunction with their last ever show Mazz has a chat with drummer of the band William Bowerman. William is now currently a session musician with some of the biggest pop stars but his beginnings were somewhat more simple. They discuss his first serious ventures into music as a career with his influential band I Was A Cub Scout - Will is honest and open about the bands demise and how it eventually led to the formation of Brontide.They then go onto discuss Brontide's career and their groundbreaking album ‘Artery’.....

In episode 41 Mazz chats with Oliver Edward Turner, Oliver played bass in a lot of fantastic bands including Cold Fell, Black Mass, Corrupt Moral Altar and the notorious and influential Grindcore act - Narcosis. They talk about the early North West Metal/Grindcore scene in Manchester and Leeds and the influential artists that came out of them. Mazz and Oli also discuss the career of Narcosis and their demise.

Episode 40 is a special AMA edition of the podcast with Lewis Johns; engineer, producer and all around great chap. Mazz asks him your questions which he answers very honestly and openly. Mazz and Lewis give their opinions on this years’ 2000 Trees Festival as well as talking about his mindset towards producing and recording bands. They talk about his dog Olive, his thoughts on Creepers latest success, his favourite venues in Southampton and much more.

Mazz has a chat with long time friend Zen, vocalist of the UK screamo act Maths. They speak about how they originally first met when Maths got together, Zen shares some old Maths stories including being attacked by an international band on their own show....They go through the bands career and how the band has helped him with his own anxiety and depression.

Mazz is back in the driving seat with somewhat of a veteran in the UK hardcore/doom/noiserock scene. They muse about his past with his bands Bullet Union and Ursa, transitioning into becoming a booking agent and working with some of the worlds biggest metal acts. Jodie then became guitarist in ex-Botch/These Arms Are Snakes supergroup Narrows and played with Earth later on. A must listen!

Guest host Alex Leat catches up with the wonderful Maartje who runs Smithsfoodgroup records in the Netherlands.....

With Ritual Festival 2017 just around the corner, Mazz took some time to talk with festival coordinator Daniel Vaughan. In this episode, Dan talks about how he first started Ritual Festival, plans for this year’s edition, some of the amazing acts playing and plans for the festival going forward. Dan also discusses his love for the current Leeds music scene and what the UK can do going forward to help benefit live music.

Guitarist, drummer and now, videographer - Russell Cleave is a band and touring veteran. Mazz and Russell talk about the formation of Brotherhood of the Lake, the concept behind the ‘Desperation is the English Way’ duo albums and what lead to the demise of the band. Russell also tells Mazz about his new projects and writing with the band Helpless.

Former vocalist of Hang The Bastard and now fronting Group of Man. Mazz talks to Chris about the start and end of Hang the Bastard and how he feels about it looking back. They talk about starting out in the North London hardcore scene, and also chat about the now defunct Uxfest, touring with Sylosis, The Acacia Strain and more....

Mazz had a chat with xREDx vocalist of band Let It Die during the week that their debut album ‘The Liar and the Saint’ is released. Mazz and xREDx talk about his somewhat unusual upbringing in Kettering following his parents on the festival circuit due to their jobs. They also talk about how Let It Die got together, the difficulties they’ve found being where they are located and personal issues. An episode not to miss.

In episode 32, Mazz gets the opportunity to chat with Yusuf and Sam Thredder from sludge metal group Slabdragger about their history, the concept of the band and career highlights. They also talk about recording their two albums at the infamous Crow’s Nest in London and Sam’s career as a recording engineer.

This week we sit down with Charlie Simmonds who works for Venn Records and Wall of Sound Pr. In this 'Ask Me Anything' special, we answer your questions about Deftones, Greg Puciato defecating into a bag, Metallica’s best ever riff and some of the first ever shows we went to as kids and loads more.

Episode 30 and it’s a real doozy! Mazz chats to Lags of Gallows and Venn Records. Lags tells Mazz the history of Watford punk/hardcore and about his first ever band Gimp, the formation of Gallows and recording ‘Orchestra of Wolves’ the bands fast rise into the mainstream, their fast paced rock and roll lifestyle and how it affected them. They talk about when Frank Carter left the band to when Wade McNeil (Alexisonfire) became their vocalist. They also talk about Venn Records and what the future holds for Lags and the roster he’s established....

This episode Mazz chats to Lee Vincent, former drummer of Leeds-based rock outfit Pulled Apart By Horses. After leaving the band Lee has established his career as an events and band manager. The two talk about Leeds prestigious music scene and Pulled Apart By Horses' early shows. Lee also tells Mazz about the no-nos of major touring along with some great festival memories....

Mazz speaks to former Blakfish guitarist/singer Thomas Peckett.... going from playing school halls with Blakfish to recoding their debut album in Seattle with Chris Common of These Arms Are Snakes and finally playing major tours with Biffy Clyro. Thom talks about the early Birmingham ska scene that he grew up in and the tumultuous end of Blakfish whilst on tour. Thom also talks in depth about how &U&I got together and their plans moving forward.

Zac has toured and played in bands consecutively since the age of 18. Mazz talks to Zac about the first time they met on the Throats, Maths and Crocus tour back in 2008. They discuss Crocus recording their debut album and their last ever show at Hevy Festival, then how he transitioned into Bastions and some of his favourite memories with that band. Zac goes on to talk about the future of Terrible Love and what is expected later on in their career.....

Mazz sits down with Thom Weeks where they talk about Gnarwolves career: starting off as a bunch of messy kids from Cornwall to playing all across the globe and meeting some of their heroes. Thom talks about brewing their own beer, playing on a boat in Camden, vomiting in front of NOFX and much more.

In episode 25 Mazz talks to Pete Fraser, multi instrumentalist and lead singer of the band Down I Go. Topics include his days in the early 00’s ska punk scene and how the band Down I Go began, as well as what went into their latest record including flying to Iceland and writing the entire album there.

This episode we chat to Leigh McAndrew, former bassist of UK emo/rock band Goodtime Boys and now bass player of the band Rope. Leigh also runs Welsh DIY label Palm Reader Records. Mazz and Leigh chat about the Welsh punk rock scene, FFAF’s early success, Leigh's label and putting out some of his favourite bands like Hondo Maclean and Creepers first ever release. Leigh also chats about Goodtime Boys' several US tours including playing SXSW before turning his attention towards the future of Rope and Palm Reader Records.

Mazz chats to Paul and Dan from prog/sludge/doom outfit OHMMS. They discuss the bands early days, growing up in Kent’s prolific emo/hardcore scene: from their previous project Babies Three into what they are currently doing now. in OHHMS. The guys discuss how comfortable they feel in their current status with the band and what their future holds for them.

This episode is tour heavy: Mazz gets in the van with Loz Clark, old friend and now tour driver for bands in the UK and mainland Europe. They discuss Loz’s hometown of Bournemouth and his decision into buying a van and being a ‘tour guy’. Loz talks about his experiences around Europe, squat touring and some questionable moments during the whole process.....

Episode 21 features Phil Buch of early 2000’s UK metalcore act Eden Maine, a chat that coincides with the 10 year anniversary of the band playing their last ever show. Mazz and Phil reflect on the bands career and he gives a real insight on how the scene in the early 2000’s was. Phil talks about recording their first EP with Kurt Ballou, touring with Dillinger Escape Plan, Sepultura and an infamous tour with Lostprophets. Phil gives his thoughts on Ian Watkins and they look back at Eden Maine’s last ever show.

In episode 20 Mazz sits down with Alex and Steve from Human Future/Truthseeker Music. They chat about Human Future’s early start from being a bedroom band into a touring band and their future plans with the project. They also talk about Truthseeker Music and where they see the label going down the road.

In this episode Mazz chats with Curtis Ward who, as well as going under many aliases in many projects, hosts a youtube channel called The Pitch Control. Him and Mazz discuss his early days as vocalist in The Long Haul and later as a part of the south cost power violence collective Witch Cult, with a few classic Witch Cult stories sprinkled here and there. They also discuss the UK’s revival of metalcore music and where he sees The Pitch Control taking him later in the year.

The first episode of 2016 and we have the fantastic Matt Davis of Funeral For A Friend as our guest! Mazz and Matt sit down with a cup of tea and chat in a broad sense about the career and history of Funeral For A Friend, including being able to tour with Iron Maiden, touring South Africa and becoming bosom buddies with Boy Sets Fire. They discuss Matt’s perspective on the bands career and thoughts going into their final show later on this year.....

It’s our Christmas wrap up! Mazz is joined by Alex Fitzpatrick and Justine Jones (Holy Roar/Employed To Serve)for a chat about the highs and lows of 2015. They talk about some of Holy Roar’s best releases of the year, when Pariso and Employed To Serve had a weekend away in Ireland and some of the best festivals and shows they’ve been to this year. Then they finish it off with some of their favourite records of 2015! Thanks to We Brought Beer in Clapham for hosting us for this episode - www.webroughtbeer.co.uk