THE RIFF REPORT INTERVIEW From studio snacks to stage chaos. INTRO Welcome to The Riff Report 🤘🔥 We’re buzzing to have The Spectre Beneath joining us.
From studio lock-ins to live mayhem, you’ve been doing it the right way — so let’s get into it.
🎤 THE INTERVIEW
1️⃣ For anyone discovering you for the first time — who are, The Spectre Beneath, where are you from, and what sort of noise are you making?
The Spectre Beneath are based in Runcorn, UK. We are a power/prog metal band, a term coined by our very first back In 2019 and we thought it was a fair summing up.
2️⃣ How did the band originally form — and was it smooth sailing or absolute chaos from day one?
Smooth sailing really. We began as a spark of an idea in 2018. Pete Worrall, guitarist for thrashers, Plague and the Decay, and his long-time collaborator, Katy Lennon, got together and wrote several songs which were more melodic than Pete’s current band. Because they liked the result, they decided to channel the music into a brand-new project, The Spectre Beneath. Pete dragged across the drummer from Plague and the Decay and then found L.L from an online demo. Metal wasn’t her first genre, so we were amazed she said yes.
3️⃣ Describe your sound to someone who’s never heard you — without using genre labels.
The music is very riff driven. Pete’s a huge thrash fan so they can be quite heavy and fast at times but, as a juxtaposition, the vocals are very melodic as Katy is a very strong melody writer. We’re not very good at writing about the real world so, thematically, our songs are either based on our favourite movies, such as Sister Hyde, or our own flash fiction. In other words, mix some Megadeth riffing with Savatage melodies and Iron Maiden thematics with Kobra Paige over the top and you won’t be far off the mark.
4️⃣ What bands or artists first lit the fuse for you growing up?
Iron Maiden, Van Halen and AC/DC were the holy trinity of bands growing up, in particular Iron Maiden. The twin axe attack, the songs, the thematics, all hit mark. Then Megadeth, Queensryche and Savatage came along to ensure we’d be lost in this genre forever.
5️⃣ You’ve released The Devil’s Whisper — how are you feeling about it now that it’s out in the wild?
Relief more than anything as we weren’t sure it was going to get finished. L.L had to leave us after our second album due to health issues and we had great difficulties trying to fill the void. The wonderful Nicole Garza stepped into to record our third album but she couldn’t commit going forward. Basically, we had an album ready to go but no one to sing it until L.L messaged Pete earlier this year saying she was fit and healthy and was there anything he had she could sing on. Six months later, here we are and we’re really pleased with the result.
6️⃣ Pick one track from your current releases that best represents the band right now.
We would say the opening track of the new album, Plague (The Black Caress). It’s fast, thrashy, has some groove, some shredding, an unconventional structure and a catchy as hell chorus. It sort of sums us up quite well as it contains all the elements we try and encapsulate.
7️⃣ How do songs usually come together in The Spectre Beneath — riffs first, lyrics first, jamming, or full chaos?
It’s a methodical approach. We don’t write ‘off the cuff’ or jam anything. Pete writes the music and he used to use this method in his previous bands and it didn’t really work for him so he locks himself away and comes back with a nucleus of a track which we then work on. Pete and Katy then spend a lot of time on the vocal melodies and harmonies with L.L adding extra parts and changing lines afterwards. Lyrics are usually the last thing to be written otherwise we end up shoehorning a melody around the lyrics. We’d rather have the lyrics fit the rhythm of the melody.
🎛️ STUDIO TIME & SURVIVAL
8️⃣ When you’re locked away in the studio, what’s the vibe like — intense focus or organised chaos?
Intense and focus these days, it saves money that way and the results are better. In previous experiences, going into a studio, wasting time, being haphazard and coming away with something you’re not happy with makes little sense to us.
9️⃣ Be honest — what’s the band’s go-to food and drink in the studio
Tea. Sadly, we can’t be any more exciting than that. This does include jasmine tea, green tea and traditional, it’s not as if we’re total squares. Foodwise, sandwiches and a flask primarily. Basically, it’s a picnic but in the studio.
🔥 LIVE GIGS, BEST NIGHTS & ABSOLUTE DISASTERS
1️⃣1️⃣ What’s the best gig you’ve ever played — and what made it so special?
We’re friends with an Iron Maiden tribute band who played this small place in the North West of England. Sadly, they didn’t go down very well and they were booked to play the following week under a different name just so they could play 2 gigs. So, they asked us to fill in for them. We dropped The Trooper from our set and played our original stuff and we went down a storm with the owner saying we’re one of the best bands they’d had in.
1️⃣2️⃣ The flip side: what’s the worst gig you’ve played so far?
A small place again in the north west of England, we’d played there a couple of months prior and went down really well and the place was full. The second time we went to play it was only a third full. It turns out, while we were playing a huge fight had broken out round the back of the venue and someone had their nose bitten off. We didn’t hang around because the atmosphere was quite spikey after that plus they wouldn’t play us the agreed amount.
1️⃣3️⃣ Have you ever had a gig go wrong before you even hit the stage?
Not before the show but during, certainly. Our bass player at the time didn’t replace his dying battery in his bass so, after 2 songs, it stops working. He disappears during the third song and comes back for the fourth song with someone else’s bass which is out of tune. He disappears once more and appears for the fifth song with a working and in tune bass. The fifth song is rocking along until he trips over his cable and topples his bass and cab which end up breaking. We gave up after that.
1️⃣4️⃣ What’s the smallest, weirdest, or most unexpected place you’ve played a show?
A small club in Warrington. You had to park in a dark alley on double yellow lines so there was a risk of getting fined. The venue didn’t have a PA so we had to take our own plus all our own gear and the place was up 4 flights of steps on the outside of the building and there was no lift and it was raining, it was hell. We can’t even recall how we got a gig there in the first place, it was a Monday night as well.
1️⃣5️⃣ Any gigs where everything went wrong… but the crowd saved it?
At that same gig in Warrington, even though it was a Monday it was an established rock night so it was at least half full, even though it was half full of people who had never heard of us so they stood at the back arms folder and we hand no-one down the front. We play two songs but then we had some technical issues which took all the momentum out of the performance. Pete’s guitar was still working so he starts jamming some heavy chords, the bass and drums join in and we must’ve done something right as the some of the crowd come to front and start head banging and getting into it. Our technical issues were sorted out and the crowd, probably with a bit of sympathy, really gave us some energy and the gig went really well after that.
1️⃣6️⃣ Which venue, city, or festival always delivers for you?
Manchester. It’s just great for live music. There are so many venues to play.
1️⃣7️⃣ Is there a gig moment that still gets talked about in the band now?
The gig where the bass player’s battery died. It was a big venue and we looked like a bunch of buffoons. We laugh about it these days, albeit through gritted teeth.
1️⃣8️⃣ Pre-gig rituals: what has to happen before you walk on stage?
Nothing really. As long as we’re all in tune and pumped up, all’s good.
1️⃣9️⃣ What’s the one thing that can instantly kill the vibe at a live show?
Technical issues. You feel bad when they happen and they always seem longer than they are because you’re trying to get them fixed, but, most of the time, the audience are very understanding and patient.
2️⃣0️⃣ Do you write songs with live crowds in mind?
Not really. If we didn’t, we wouldn’t write so many ballads.
2️⃣1️⃣ Dream support slot or festival booking — who are you sharing the stage with and where?
Supporting Savatage wherever they go. Pete had the fortune to see them in London last year. Even with all their changes both personnel and music wise, they’re still great and went down a storm. I think we’d be a good fit thematically and they’re a big influence on us.
🎶 THE BIGGER PICTURE
2️⃣3️⃣ What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned so far as a band?
Bad and unfortunate things will happen, it comes with the territory. All you can do is learn from these incidents and take it in your stride, you’ll be stronger and more experienced as a result.
2️⃣4️⃣ The rock and metal scene runs on community — who do you want to shout out?
The band Fellowship, they are incredible. Great tunes, lots of fun and killer live.
2️⃣5️⃣ What’s the ultimate goal for The Spectre Beneath?
Creative satisfaction. If we can reach a point where we’ve released all the music we have to the point where we have nothing left to say, then we’d see that as a satisfying, natural and creative end. Thankfully, this is not currently the case, we have lots of ideas in the tank. We’d hate to get to a point of doing something for the sake of doing it.
2️⃣6️⃣ What’s coming next — new music, tours, festivals, or secrets you’re not allowed to spill yet?
The new album, The Devil’s Whisper out worldwide on July 17th. One reviewer has already given it 97/100, which we’d take any day of the week. Also, Pete has already got a blue print for the next album which we’d like to record sooner rather than later.
2️⃣7️⃣ Finish this sentence: “If you like your rock/metal loud, honest, and played like it means something, you should check out The Spectre Beneath because they a fresh take on the dark, melodic and progressive side of metal for a sound unlike any other band. “🔥
RIFF REPORT SIGN-OFF Big love to The Spectre Beneath for taking part 🤘
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