An Interview with
who play 'Mountains Of Metal'
on Saturday July 20th, 2024
@ Record Junkee, Sheffield
Tell us all about how your band came to be and what roles you all have?
Dave: Personally, I came to the band after an advert I saw on a Facebook group for local musicians. I instantly sent a message across and got a trial practice session organised! Ever since I have been blessed to be part of this amazing group of Lads.
Mark: We were originally a 5 piece, and probably started out a little more on the proggy side back then. When COVID came along, it destroyed the momentum we were getting, a couple of the lads got to a state of losing interest and took the decision to part ways.
So we rebuilt, simplified it up with losing a guitar from the mix, and managed to get Blake's interest to take over the drums. He definitely added a certain edge to the back line, and musically wise, we've gelled massively and are tighter than we've ever been.
Blake: I was pretty late to the party, Autonym were already one EP deep around the time they parted ways with their previous drummer. I knew Mark from a previous band we were briefly in together and was looking for something new to sink my teeth into. Got in touch, had an audition and the rest was history. Recently gained the “longest serving drummer in Autonym” title and have brought a few new songs and ideas to the band that I hope will go down well with the fans.
So our full line-up is: Dave (Lead Vocal/Guitar), Mark: Lead (Guitar/Backing Vocals), Connor (Bass/Backing Vocals) & Blake: Drums
Where did your name initially come from?
Dave: The band name originally came from “NEEDING” a band name, we threw around all sorts of silly names until we landed on Autonym, for no particular reason I might add.
Connor: We had a few very different suggestions fired around, Aguero and Calpol Cannon being two of my most remembered ones. Autonym came about when we were rehearsing and during a song Dave wrote ‘Antonym’ in his notebook as maybe the start of a name. One of us then thought of Autonym and then we looked up the meaning of the word and thought ‘Ah that might be clever!’, and with that, the long saga of suggested band names was no more.
Who would you say have been your main inspirations and influences and why either individually or as a band unit?
Dave: For me it was any of the blues cats, BB, Blind Willie Johnson and the rockier of them like Hendrix, that's where it all begins and I fell down the rabbit hole of discovery and as of yet haven't stopped falling!
Connor: Very much bassists from more ‘old school's periods like Geezer Butler, John Deacon, Martyn Willard, Bernard Edwards and probably the most iconic bassist, Lemmy. They've very much given me a love for my bass to sound ‘bassy’; low, rumbling and deep as well as the slightly blues-y elements to my bass playing.
Mark: I got brought up around a lot of Queen, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath. I think my own personal journey started when I discovered Guns N Roses and (Haters gonna hate) Nickelback ? I think that's where I really discovered the blend in what I go with when it comes to gritty rock and all our hard hitting low end riffs. Going on to listening to BSC, Shinedown, Halestorm, Alter Bridge made me appreciate that tight, melodic style with some kick ass vocals to boot, which is why I'm so stoked with nailing onto Dave's gift on the mic and we all appreciate that tight groove but with a little bit of grit behind it all.
On guitar heroes for me, Tremonti, Slash and Zakk Wilde are right up there.
Blake: I could literally talk about music and my influences for days…but to keep it short, Keith Moon, The Rev and Gavin Harrison will always be big reasons why I play the way I do. I was brought up on a heavy diet of Iron Maiden, Queen, Judas Priest and Thunder. Nowadays I’m a pretty big Shinedown fan and have a soft spot for the likes of A Day to Remember and Four Year Strong, I actually feel my kick-heavy style comes a little from those pop-punk influences.
How would you describe your band to somebody who had never heard you before that will be seeing you live on Saturday July 20th?
Dave: We are Punchy, we have some heavy riffs like Metallica and we have been described as Nickelback sounding on occasion, if you like dirty riffs and tight intricate melodic vocals and mids, then we are up your alley.
What Songs/Albums are you most proud of that you have released so far and for what reasons?
Dave: I'm most proud of our newest release to date named 'CRF'. We put a lot of effort and money into the professional recording of those tracks and it came out to an incredibly supportive audience.
Mark: CRF is definitely where we stepped up the mark and I'm proud of it. I'm massively excited with these tracks we've got in production right now though. I think as a collective, this will really put a stamp on just what we're about as a group. Stay tuned on that one!
Blake: Have to echo the guys above, CRF was a huge step forward for us musically but the work we’ve put into the upcoming album…it’s pretty exciting stuff!
What would you say have been the most stand-out moments/highlights in the bands career so far and why?
Dave: To date we have had so many highlights but one recently to mind is being able to share a stage alongside ‘Dan Byrne’ & ‘Oli Brown and the Dead Collective’ in Leeds.
Mark: That show was definitely a step up, and a great night. We played at The Waterloo in Blackpool with Twister last year. I feel like that was a massive step up for us at the time, and we definitely smashed it that night. I definitely think we showed professionalism on that bigger stage and I personally felt like we proved to ourselves that we’re good enough to play at those bigger shows, and turn heads doing it.
Blake: Waterloo in Blackpool was amazing, but also the opportunities that have opened up for us this year, landing our first festival headline and getting on the bill for amazing events like Mountains of Metal and the first edition of the UNCTRD Festival are a testament to the hard work we’re putting in with this band.
What have been the funniest, most Spinal Tap moments in the band?
Dave: Me and Connor (Bass) once had a very heated “discussion” over Onions which ended in a stalemate of opinion on whether or not they are Good or Bad.
Mark: Connor does bring some spinal tap points to the group. He almost died once. We were recording and we'd taken a breather outside. There were a couple benches, some bike rails. We were just chatting sh*t, then heard this almighty scrape across the floor like a bowling ball. Connor had been jumping and swinging on the bike rails, obviously lost his balance and swung right underneath them and made full contact to the floor.
He spent the rest of the day with a huge red lump on his head, and watched through the night with a possible concussion. Luckily he'd finished his bass lines before this, but we had a moment between us thinking this is gonna come up in a talk show at some point where we're like “Connor, great guy, yeah, he died, stupid circumstances” ?
Blake: No comment…but we probably do have a few stories we can share over beers.
What revs you up and gets you going before getting on stage?
Dave: Knowing that the people out there have come for good music, and knowing that I will do my utmost to give that to them through sweat and even sometimes blood!
Mark: Having that real interaction with a crowd that are just as stoked to be there as we are. That's everything for me. And we've been lucky to have that on the odd occasion, it really gets my adrenaline going!
What would you most like to fulfill as a band when it comes to the bucket-list?
Dave: It's a never ending list and would be hard to choose just one, but personally I would love to support a large working band on a world tour.
Mark: A show abroad would be cool AF. There's a lot more bigger than that of course (I mean, touring with a band the level of Black Stone Cherry would be ace) but let's get some lower on that list done first ?
Blake: Releasing this album is a big one for me, if we can get the proper tour to promote it then I’m gonna chalk it off as a huge win personally. Every opportunity to meet someone that loves what we do is always an honor!
What does it mean to you to play the 'Mountains Of Metal' All-Dayer alongside the other bands on the bill?
Dave: It's an honor and privilege to play alongside such great talent, and to be able to meet so many like minded people from across the country is always a thrill.
Blake: For me, it’s a bit of a homecoming, I started out my musical journey in South Yorkshire and the Sheffield scene has always been particularly welcoming, so to be asked to play this event is, like Dave says, an honor and a privilege!
What special message do you have to the folk who are coming to the show?
Dave: “God of Rock, thank you for this chance to kick ass. We are your humble servants. Please give us the power to blow people's minds with our high voltage rock. In your name, we pray.”
Connor: You’ll have plenty of opportunities to sing, jump and headbang with us so you’ll have a brilliant time.
Mark: Wanna start off your afternoon in style, make sure to get down early and let's tear it up!
Blake: “Pit please!”
Feel Free to check out the links:
Mountains Of Metal Events Page:
Mountains Of Metal Events Ticket Link:
