DEPRIVATION - "Bang Your Head or Get the Fuck Out of Here!"
Submitted by Anna on Thu, 17/09/2009 - 4:20pm
With less than two weeks remaining until the first onslaught and incarnation of DeathJam festival, I spoke with Ben Weber, Lachlan Harrison and Albert Bevan who - with the addition of bassist Damien Harrison – are collectively known as Deprivation. Hailing from Orange NSW under a moniker defining that of privation, want and loss, the boys “from the country” have certainly delivered a profusion of intricate melodic ideas, thrashing guitars and beastly vocals!
The four-piece began jamming together whilst studying music, with addition of Albert who replaced original drummer Jacob who left Deprivation near the end of 2007.
Lachlan [guitar] - “Four of us were doing a music course at TAFE together. We started jamming in our practical classes and thought we had some really good ideas and good chemistry together. We wanted to put a modern spin on old school thrash metal. The original line up had Ben’s brother Jake in it on the other guitar. He suggested Ben sing for us and it turned out well.”
Ben Weber - Vocals Lachlan Harrison - Guitar
Growing up on steady diet of metal, Ben [vocals] told me of his metal roots, and his evolution into “the dark side”.
Ben – “My parents were always into music when I was a kid. Mum was into Black Sabbath & Led Zeppelin so I guess that’s where I got my metal roots. I sang in some bands that went nowhere in high school and then sang in a grunge/funk covers band with my brother In-law and progressed from there to the dark side.”
Lachlan found that guitar came naturally to him after trying his hand at drums. He started learning guitar at thirteen, before also being consumed by what Ben described as “the dark side” – that being the side of liberation and deliverance! – in the form of Megadeth and Slayer.
When asked of their influences, collectively and evidently the answer was metal! – individually I found out that Ben - the self proclaimed “old man of the band” - is a huge fan of Phil Anselmo [Pantera/Down], Randy Blythe [Lamb of God] as well as Rob Flynn [Machine Head], and that Albert will write a song about a hobo asking for change.
Albert – “Musically I listen to a lot of different stuff including anyone from Incubus to the Black Dahlia Murder. But nearly everything is an influence to me, from my friends to the hobo that asked me for a dollar on the corner, I will write a song about that dude”
Ben – “I tend to write lyrics according to whatever is happening to me or my surroundings at that point. Everything from being crook… to shit I read in the paper.”
Lachlan – “I’m really influenced by the old metal guys. Marty Friedman (ex-Megadeth) has always been a huge influence on my lead playing, as well as Dimebag Darrell of course. My rhythm playing and song writing is influenced by some more modern metal. I pretty much write music according to how I feel on that day. “
Speaking with Deprivation, it became evident that these metallers have huge dedication to their music, and even though Ben believes that they are now a completely different band to the metal core/thrash kids they were back in 2006, that their first incarnation was definitely a success.
Lachlan - “It really took us a while to find a style that we all agreed on. It definitely wasn’t a failure otherwise we wouldn’t be still playing however we have evolved a long way since the early days.”
Albert - “We want to do as well as we possibly can, and we will pretty much do anything to make that a reality, even if it means driving halfway across Australia to play in some dive bar to 10 people. We’re really willing to put some hard yards in to assure that we do well.”
Being located in the country – the boys told me that the metal scene in “O-town” is growing stronger by the minute, including a huge support for them as a band, with a large and committed fan base.
Deprivation - “It seems as though every year there is another crop of young metal heads poppin’ up and more and more out of town bands want to come out here and play.”
“We definitely have a large and committed fan base here. Once people come and see us play you're pretty much guaranteed that they’ll be at the next one [gig]. Its always great playing at home, all our mates are there and they love our music so we play some tunes and drink the bar dry, like any self respecting metal band would do.”
Deprivation said that recently they have become darker conceptually and musically, translating their lives into their music and rendering that “life is a real bitch”.
Deprivation – “We have gotten a lot heavier and darker with our music. Each of us has been through rough times (like anyone). But we believe we pour our lives into our music. Musically, we believe we are a melodic thrash band although we have been called many other names. We really don't try and pin point ourselves to any particular genre of metal. As long as we still enjoy what we’re doing we will keep doing it. Bang your head or get the fuck out of here!”
The recent departure of their guitarist Brock has not seen Deprivation slow down, or lose focus.
Deprivation - “We’ve had lineup changes before and that’s never stopped us from focusing on what’s important. The music.”
Stating that the decision was made predominantly by Brock himself, fueled by other commitments, they have now had a bit of interest in others wanting to fill the position. Not giving away names, they boys told me that at the moment they are jamming with a long time friend –
Deprivation - “It would be awesome to have him in the band but we’ll weigh up our options before we decide for sure. We aren't too worried about it at the moment as we can continue to play and rehearse as a 4 piece.”
Damien Harrison - Bass Albert Bevan - Drums
I asked the boys of their greatest moment of Deprivation thus far, ranging from Ben jamming in his parent’s garage, and then playing to 1300 people at their 3rd show 3 months later – to Lachlan’s appreciation and pride in having the Australian bands who he looks up to saying that they are awesome, it is evident that their huge dedication transcends even their own expectations.
… and the worst?
Lachlan - “There was a phase of drunken shows that we did. It soon stopped once we realised how bad the performance was getting. We now get sloshed after shows. Not before!”
Albert - “Well it’s nothing too hectic but some sloppy shows taught us a few things about professionalism, and if you want to be the best you have to put you head down cause this shit does not come easy.”
Inquiring Deprivation about the response they are getting from punters at their recent shows, to which they answered with what completely underlines their devotion and commitment to metal, their music and touring their arses off!
Deprivation – “We’re always meeting new people at our shows and getting great reception. We try and play as much as possible. We don't want to sit back and wait for things to happen. We've always been a pretty hard working band. Just the drive from home to Sydney is a 4 hour mission, but we do it in the name of METAL goddamn it! People seem to dig what we do and that’s what gives us the drive to thrash on.”
Don’t miss out on Deprivation tearing up the stage at this year’s DEATHJAM festival with the likes of; Spread The Ashes, Infernal Reign, Mass Burial, Alice Through The Windshield Glass, Tortured, Intrepid, Norse, Synperium and Frankenbok.
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