And we are back,...........Ive been looking forward to announcing these chaps for a while so let me introduce Entropy Inc.
The lads have been hidden away recently to finish up their forthcoming album which will be ready just before Southport Metal Fest so its looking like we will be treated with a refreshed set and complete show from the Entropy Inc chaps.
WHATS THE NAME OF YOUR BAND, AND WHAT ARE YOUR NAMES AND JOBS IN THE BAND? Well, we've been known as 'Entropy' for the last 3 years now but have decided to change that slightly to 'Entropy Inc.' There's a few reasons for this, but the fact that there are bands called Entropy everywhere has one thing to do with it.... Daz Cooper - Rhythm Guitar & Lead Vocal Rob Boyd - Drums Ian McCormack - Bass & Backing Vocal John Hunter - Lead Guitar HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN TOGETHER, AND HOW DID YOU START? Daz & Rob have been playing music together since 1996, forming the original band in that year, with the original lead guitarist, Karl Rigby. Using that as a start point, the band formed 17 years ago. We basically started like most other bands: learnt a load of Metallica/Megadeth/Slayer tunes and thrashed it out in the school music rooms. Things progressed from there really!.... Fun times! WHAT SETS YOU APART FROM THE REST? It's probably the 'style' of Thrash Metal that we play that differentiates us from the other thrash outfits out there! Thrash is a genre of metal with so many levels and developing the way we have has unconsciously allowed us to not be pigeon holed into any particular sub-genre. Of course, our music is a construct of our collective musical palettes and when that happens, we feel that at times we create something unique, not in the sense that we're re-inventing the wheel, but it's certainly a fresh take on whats been done before! WHO ARE YOUR MAIN INFLUENCES MUSICALLY? Daz - Queen, were the first heavy band I was ever into, as a young kid, and I'm still a big fan to this day. The song structuring and guitar harmonies, are something I still try to utilise in our music when I'm developing riffs or songs! In terms of metal, it was Metallica that really got me wanting to play heavy music, the first Metallica album I heard was Kill em All.... Blew me away! Naturally, I added other bands to those influences, and I think Megadeth & Pantera, would be the most critical of the rest... Rob - My current playlist includes Gojira, Tesseract, Machine Head, Sylosis, In Flames, Coheed & Cambria and a lot of music that isn't too heavy. My biggest influence has been Metallica. John – Changing all the time, currently Guthrie Govan, Paul Gilbert, Petrucci, Devin, etc. I’ve just discovered Black Dahlia Murder…the list is endless. There’s so much good music about at the moment, it’s ace. WHAT ARE YOUR SONGS MOSTLY ABOUT? Daz - Lyrically, I've always felt most creative writing about the realities of life. Things about which I have my own personal opinion, that move me emotionally and make me put pen to paper. I don't think of myself as a natural lyricist, it takes me time to get my message across (my wife would agree). I'd say out of all the lyrics I've written I’m most proud of ‘Weapons For War’. I wrote those lyrics the night after I heard little Rhys Jones was killed.... The lyrics give my feelings on the current state of a minority of our youth...... Other than that, war is a prevalent subject. It’s something on which I have strong opinions; The direction of politics potentially creating dictatorships. It's not all serious though; ‘ Overload’, is essentially a description of the way I felt when I saw Metallica in 99' for the first time.... WHATS YOUR FAVOURITE SONG THAT YOU HAVE WRITTEN? Daz - ‘Weapons For War’ IF YOU COULD DESCRIBE YOURSELF IN ONE WORD, WHAT WOULD IT BE? Infectious..... The music that is, not the individuals :) WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR BEST MOMENT / GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT AS A BAND SO FAR? Getting to the M2TM Final was a major achievement for the band. We lost out at the final hurdle to Scare Tactics; no shame there. WHATS NEXT FOR YOU GUYS? We're currently in the studio, recording the first ‘Entropy Inc’ album. I'd say we're about 50% done so far! It's been challenging and things have got in the way on occasion, but we still hope that it will be available for a May 2013 release. Due to the recording commitments, we took a brief hiatus from gigging but we're committed to gigs in May with the first over with our friends at The Alma Inn in Bolton for Metal Massacre 2013.... That'll be riot! After that, we're back to the awesome Lomax in Liverpool for Mosh Against Cancer, lots of top bands on there, that's gonna be tons of fun. Then it's on to Southport Metal Fest..... Ohhhhh Yeeeeaahhh! WHERE CAN PEOPLE FIND YOU TO HEAR MORE? FACEBOOK YOUTUBE WEBSITE ETC. Our most active social channel would be: www.facebook.com/entropy.metal and for the latest videos, including the Studio Blog, check out our YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/entropyuktv! HOW DO YOU RATE YOUR LOCAL SCENE AT THE MOMENT? It's up and down if we're honest! We understand to a degree, there's a level of separation between some bands which is never nice to see and that has a knock on effect with the attendees. We've always tried to be a welcoming band, always get on well with other bands at gigs. We support where we can, as do most really! Money is always going to be a big issue with coming to gigs, especially when sometimes they can run quite late. Any fans wanting to get that last train may bail out and miss maybe the last 1 or 2..... WHAT WOULD YOU DO TO CHANGE/ IMPROVE IT? We’ve discussed this often with other bands: Let's start by increasing co-operation between promoters; no more multiple metal nights on same nights directly competing with each other. Less bands on a night means longer sets and this means bands won't overrun and the schedule will be kept. Keep it simple, maybe 3 bands with decent sets (and soundchecks!). How about paying the bands (no matter how little, even a few beers or petrol) just some acknowledgement of the huge effort involved in getting a band working. In return, bands need to commit more: to be punctual and professional. No more ‘no shows’ or half shows without fair notice or fair reason. Let's get some respect and etiquette. Manners cost nothing :D Stick to your set times, respect borrowed gear (or get some) and don't be a dick. As bands, we have to acknowledge our responsibility to each other, it's not just about the individual, it's about the collective. We've seen ‘those’ bands in all the gigs we've done, and you can tell the ones who want the local scene to thrive, they'll be there ready to rock with some support behind them. Then there are the bands that don't give a shit, these are generally the ones that show up with no support, no respect, and on occasions that we've seen, no gear....... Respect between each other, and working for each other, is key, but respect is earned at the end of the day! If the local fans, of all bands, see everyone working together, the energy and atmosphere will encourage the scene to thrive! We need to improve our links to other towns and cities, each local scene helping the next. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON EVENTS LIKE THESE- WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE MORE? Most definitely! This is exactly what we mean when we say bands working for each other. Steve Simpson takes an almost ‘ambassador’ type role and these kind of things always have the feeling of an 'unsigned Download Festival' or 'Bloodstock'. We really enjoy taking part and are always happy to be included in them! DO YOU THINK THAT THERE IS A LACK OF ORIGINALITY OR A WILLINGNESS TO PUSH BOUNDERYS IN METAL AS A GENRE? It's a difficult thing to comment on but we do feel like we're putting a modern spin in our music and I think that can be enough. Bands can try too hard sometimes, try too hard to be different, too hard to be technical, too hard to be the individual, and that can be dangerous. It can become noise that no one understands or relates to..... Be who YOU want to be, not what you THINK you should be! When I got into metal, it was because I enjoyed what I was listening to, I related to it, Music doesn't have to be original to achieve that! John – I don’t see why we have to push boundaries in metal; I don’t really see any boundaries to push. Just play the music you like and forget about boundaries. Why is there such an insistence to define and limit music? There’s loads of ace musicians and music about; so much great inspiration and originality. I love it. WHAT IS THE BIGGEST WORRY YOU GUYS FACE AS A BAND? The way we work and the way we operate means that we don’t worry about much. That in no way means we're trying to act cocky. At the end of the day, we're an unsigned thrash metal band making some music, enjoying playing it and going out on the road to kick ass when we can. We have goals and we're developing one of those goals as we speak with the album. Once it's finished and we all look at each other and think, 'we've done it, right there, this kicks ass', then we will feel immensely proud and that’s all that matters. The achievement is in the music, not the sale, or 'making it'..... We're too old to make it now anyway, ha! IF YOU COULD SUPPORT ANY BAND, WHO WOULD IT BE? Daz - Metallica Rob - Metallica, Definitley. John – I have no idea, there’s too many to mention! WHO WOULD WIN- GANDALF OR DARTH VADER? Daz - Oooooo, tough one there. It's wizardry versus the force......... I think Gandalf takes it on points..... Rob - Darth Vader. He's a bad-ass! FINALLY- WHY SHOULD PEOPLE COME AND SEE YOU PLAY? We have something genuine to offer, something raw and energetic and that only truly gets projected in our live performance. We can laugh at ourselves, we don't take ourselves too seriously and we try our best to get the crowd involved.... It's worked so far!
