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DANCING WITH THE DEVIL Thanks To JOHANNES ECKSTROM From AVATAR · HEAVY Music Interviews

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Hello. This is Johannah's from Avatar the band, and this is Heavy mag
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and you know what's something. We're coming to see you. We're coming to
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see you very very soon, first time in Australia. You need to be
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there because I will nah. I'm very good mate, Thanks for joining us
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today. Happy to be here man. No, as you mentioned, Bryla
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Avatar inching closer to your debut performance this in Australia with a string of three
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shows, starting in Melbourne on August to twenty fifth before I had to Sydney
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the following night and finishing in Brisbane on Sunday August at twenty seventh. You
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say you're excited, mate, but have you actually packed yet? He's ready
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to go. No, I have. I have two more days before that.
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We need to do that because we're gonna start out in France for a
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festival and got straight from there to Australia. But also I'm gonna I'm gonna
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pack Freddy Lights. It will be an easy one, a three days tour.
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As big deal of as this show wise, in getting to come over,
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in travel arrangement wise, aside from the lung flights, it's a it's
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an easy one, so I will put three pairs of underwear in my pocket
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on Friday. Good. It's actually it's been the next question, right,
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like I've always wanted this. I've never asked anyone like aside from your underwear
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and your thoughts to their essential chorren and what other things do you have to
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take on a bet? I guess excuse me. Stuff to work out is
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high on the list, and a lot of sets are comfortable clothing, and
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then one set of what we call human clothing when when we have to look
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like a person for a business lunch or something like that. And then yeah,
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really high on the list. It's actually I ten years ago now my
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now wife think girlfriend, and we found a little plush toy penguin that I
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take with me to take to take pictures in front of things, which has
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become you know, and the level of ambition comes and goes a little bit
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depending on how new places and stuff. For instance, there will be I'm
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expecting to take a tons of penguin pictures in Australia now, as that is
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for the first time. But it's also been a good way of you know,
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when you if you are somewhere on your own sight, seeing you don't
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really end up taking if you take a picture, so just it's just a
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building, even if it's a really cool impressive building while you're there, you
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know, and self is also become obnoxious if you take them all the time
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walking around by yourself. But this penguin is like taking take a picture of
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your body in front of the Eiffel Tower or whatever. So it's so it's
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actually like a good thing to have. So so the little when the penguin
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is high on the list, work up stuff is high on the list.
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And then I tried to aside from penguin and passport passport, I tried to
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not bring too many things that I cared too much about because I lose them.
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Yeah, you know, and I think are going to be your first
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ever shows that Australian mate despite being a band for over twenty years. So
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I think the big question everyone is right, I wants to know is why
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have you neglected this for so long? I never really liked you. No,
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so no, it's not always within our control. I think the short
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answer is the first time it's always the hardest, the first time that you
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get to do something to get that foot through the door and I think in
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particular. I mean, we're a Swedish band, so playing first time in
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Germany for nobody was it easy? And then you keep going to Germany until
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you play for somebody and the travel costs are manageable, but you can't.
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It's hard for a band living where we are to go where you live to
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play for no one. I guess you know. So then you I think
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it's all about really making enough name for yourself in your home turf so that
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you have a bit of momentum coming over, which clearly we have because this
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is I don't know exactly how many tickets we sold, but a lot,
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a lot, yeah, but I mean combined it goes up to the couple
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of thousand at least, you know, which is incredible for our first visit.
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So so it's all about that having enough momentum combined with working with the
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right people so you have just get the ability to travel that far for shows.
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I mean, that's really it. And what else was I thinking along
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those lines? No, but first time it's the hardest, but I think
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we were going to make enough of a splash to make the second time the
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easiest and stuff. And then twenty years that we've been a band for twenty
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years. It's not like we have been where we are at the right now
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for twenty years because we we started young. We are one of those There
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are a few examples of being the you know, the metallic guests of this
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world or whatever, where pretty much more or less, the same gang of
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kids keep on being a gang and a band together way into where we are
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at now, as opposed to I think it's more normal that everybody start outs
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starting a shitty band with our friends. Then the two or three ambitious kids
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find the two or three ambitious kids from that other shit eband one house over
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across the street to one tonover, and that becomes the band. But we
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were that shity band, but we were also all those ambitious kids that went
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out to seek a better band. But we found it in ourselves. So
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we have that lifelong journey with each other. So it's just now, I
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don't know. This is the album on which we started our record label.
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This is the several dance that is This is the album where we see so
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much control, which I think has something to do with us really being able
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to push the envelope in doing things that our way, which includes let's go
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to more places for the first time, right, and so this being your
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first time over here, like, what are you actually expecting from Australian fans?
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Like you do a bit of research and oh do you come in cold?
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Like what do you when it comes expectations that put more expectations on ourselves
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in sense of it's I have certainly been told by people, Oh, you're
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going to Australia. Oh, you're gonna love it. They're so wild,
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Like bitch, I'm wild, and I'm gonna and even if they weren't wild,
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there will be wild, you know. That's that's kind of the mindset
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here. It's I was never a team sports person growing up or whatever,
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so that or sports in general. So this is now my competition is going
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on stage, you know where I get that in and I'm there to prove
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a point. So I expect to, how do you say it, reap
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the rewards of our violent, erratic behavior basically, So that's as far as
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shows go, and then figure it out. I thought we were going to
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pretty much land and just power through this, which act like, but we
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have more than a day extra upon arrival some expectations. I mean, I've
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gone a ton of press now for this, and I'm not once have I'd
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said any anything good day mate, or down on there, for I haven't
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done the gym carrier, shrink band, the barbie and confused with Austria.
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I avoided all the cliches. That being said, I really really liked Crocodile
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Dandie when I was a kid. I loved those movies, you know.
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And and I mean, I don't think I won't get the chance. I
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think to go and I walk about and discovers myself in Australian wilderness. But
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if I just get a taste, if if one rural fella happens to drive
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into town and park next to me and look a circumvay way, it will
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enrich my life vastly, so good. I hope for Australia to be a
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bit Australian, you know, and see what that is for real. But
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then I also know, I mean, I have about Australian friends over here.
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And of course then you get a a version that is, you know,
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as new once as any other. And Australia's such an interesting melting pot
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of things at this point of figure, because you are of the Commonwealth.
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If you want to use that term. You know, there's a European colonial
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heritage that this will be very clear. But at the same time, your
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closest neighbor isn't Ireland, it's Asia. And what that does now I look
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forward to it whatever time I end up having to take a look around.
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Then when you go to a country for the very first time, I love
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how little it takes because thes street lights will be slightly different, the pavement
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we look a bit different. You can go into the gas station and look
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at what is your selection of candy and bars, you know, and go,
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oh, you know, it takes a little in the beginning. Then
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when you stop going regularly you have to amp it up. You know,
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in the first US story, was enoughter Walmart parking and the you know,
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and everything that tastes like corn serve was plenty in the beginning. And now
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you have to go and watch the sunrise at the Grand Canyon and camp in
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the Redwood Forest in California, and do those things too, get that get
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that high chasing so you're chasing that dragon. But you know this, it
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will be a stars package. So and if someone is really good at throwing
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a boom right now, I went there, you know that would be fun
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and it could. Guys, you've heard it. He wanted the Cooper,
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so bring them all. Now you guys are coming overmate, with people all
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over the world singing your praises. It's like, even though it's some people
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call you one of the greatest slide bands in history, Like I'm not doubting
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you at all made, but it's a lot to live up to. It
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is a lot to live up to. But we do it in a way
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that we enjoy doing it, which I guess is what yields the results,
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right we. I think it's speaking on melting pots. I think Avatar,
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it's a bunch of those things. Like we. I like to go to
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shows where I'm fine if people stand very still and to play really really really
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well, you know, and I want us to play that well, play
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like that. And I also love chaotic, run until you puke kind of
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shows where everything falls apart, and we I guess we try to do both,
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you know. And I think it has something to do also with the
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fact that we are theatrical, which is different than from being theater. I've
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been I've seen plays, I've seen I've been to the opera. I've seen
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ballet, and I like all of it, but our art form has more
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to do as obviously it's a rock and roll show, and a rock and
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roll show is more like, I don't know, a comedian, stand upset,
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a magic show, a pro wrestling match, stuff that realies on the
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feedback from the audience, where the audience is truly a participator. And to
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balance out the theatrics, the bells and whistles with capturing whatever's going on in
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that room that particular nights and then completely give your body two to that.
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Let's call that ritual, you know, the thing that takes place. I
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think metal seems to sound and feel the best when it's when you make it
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a bit hard for yourself. I mean, you have to set some kind
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of high standards for the musicianship and just nailing what you want to nail musically.
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But that being said, I want to be out of breath. I
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want things to hurt just a wee bit. I want to be I want
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to sweat. You know, we sing and play in a way that that
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demands something from our bodies, and I think that comes across. So it's
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a bunch of stuff that goes into it, and yeah, people, of
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course I use get to hear only the nice feedback. It's the social media
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bubbles as they are. But I heard these things too, and I mean
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I'll take it. We we do this, which such a passion for it,
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so so yeah, I'll take it. Very beautiful. And I thought
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you're tour on the back of your new album Dance, Double Dance, which
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came out in February this year. But before we go any further full transparency
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here, I had not listened to one of your songs before the interview to
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Dave. When I set out and listen to the whole album, and fuck
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me it is it is sensational man like you guys have Now that meant a
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really really quality album. Thank you very much. I appreciate that. So
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how much of that are we going to be hearing on stage? Made you
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playing a lot of it? Yeah, I think we come to around a
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good half of the album, I guess, yeah, I think about half
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of the album is in the set list. I mean, we we like
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to think that always heard newest is our best thing, so we insist on
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doing a lot of it. But the response has been amazing, and I
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mean, now there will even be some changes from because the set has been
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very very has been pretty much exactly not pretty much, it's been exactly the
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same for all our headline shows so far this year. But I can remember,
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oh yeah, we got a song based on a novel based on that
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takes place in Australia. Maybe we should play that. Yeah, so we
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will. So we'll shuffle things around just a little bit to accommodate this special
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location of popping the Australian cherry, if you will. And but yeah,
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so half half on the new album than a pot pourria of you know,
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there are those must place. It's also a balance to be found between innovation
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and tradition when you when you're a metal band, I think and and then
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there are always those songs. You know, you got those songs that you
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know everybody will be into it will be special because of that. Then you
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have those songs that hopefully everybody is a bit into, but one third of
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the audience will be really into it. It's their song, you know.
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And you get a feel for which songs kind of get that part it,
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get fill that role, and you want to do some songs so you hit
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all three thirds, so to speak. And those kind of things. I
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think we've balanced out. Credit damn well on this one and the one song
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on the album that really really really struck me by and it's probably the last
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one you'd expect, But although A Train was a brilliant song, it's just
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it came from absolutely nowhere. But it did started off like the bluesy sort
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of swagger and then you just smashed. Where did that one come from?
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Man? I thought it was fla well, it started with I was.
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It's good that you ask about those that I that I started, right.
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We kind of finished those some songs together to some extent, but yeah,
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I came up with it, so that's good. I was just in the
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trick of writing a lot of music. I actively looked for a different angle
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of things, and I wanted something I was listening back to, you know,
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I always once per week pretty much. I listened to the soundtrack of
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Twin Peaks. It's my sauna album, and so Angelo Vala Rest in Peace
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became an influence. I wanted to capture that vibe and a bit combined with
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I was thinking about. I checked the sound went back to the soundtrack of
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Adver siss Or Hands. So Danny Elfman and just wanting to Okay, now
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I've been you can kind of get stuck in the same chord patterns, so
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whatever your hand start to move similar way every time you pick up a guitar.
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So then you can actively that you know, I don't going to take
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something exactly the way it's done by someone, but just go a bit and
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listen and play along to a figure out a bit of what somebody else that
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you enjoy. What he what is he doing, what is she doing?
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And to just give yourself a different starting point. So it was a mix
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up bat Lamente and Danny Elfman for about for the first five minutes, and
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then the group then it built from there really and and yeah, and then
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comes to those things like I'm a huge we all are big tom Weights fans,
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and and there's something it's not even a song, but you remember,
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you know what's he building in there? I guess it's sort of mule variations.
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That's just spoken word a poem with very with a very suggestive, eerie,
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creepy soundscape, So that idea of that kind of storytelling vibe and then
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taking the ynamics off or something like it's RV right by faith No More,
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which also which I like that this thing that that song sounds so heavily influenced
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or something old, something lost, something this sounds nostalgic, but it's also
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finds his completely own way of dealing with with it and when nothing it reminds
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you of a bygone era, but nothing of that bygone era actually sounded like
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that, and that that idea doing something similar also played into it, so
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you know, it was very actively steaking out, like they felt it was
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between doing you know, gotta want to write and dance devil Dance and those
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kind of feel like I need something different, and then while working on it,
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it's ended up being also that the album needed something different and came together
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naicely, and then it became a homage and we had a dog here that
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past and oh my gosh, well early last year and had always intended I
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have sampled and a bit recorded some barks and some playing sounds and stuff that
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we ended up that then I warped and not manipulated because it's a little chihuahua,
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but you know, played around with his sounds, stills, all those
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sounds. It's a down pitch, slow down chihuahua. Have playing Tugo War
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with him pretty much and one of his high yelpy barks are pitched and added
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a lot of fixed on dude concert what you know, foreign low sounding thing
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in the heavy part. So that's actually a little tribute and putting the sound
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of a little Jacob the Chihuahua out there to be heard forever. Is that
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one of those songs that you played for the selective might because if you played
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it Brisbane, I will give you this slute. We are yet to play
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it live plan this time live. It's not a bad thing to do.
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We need to remember how it goes, how you actually played it. Probably
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probably not this time, but maybe next time, because it's definitely something that
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will end up and in the set with at some points. We Yeah,
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it's a special one and it can definitely serve a purpose in a live set.
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So maybe not this time, but at some point definitely. They just
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have to see us twice twenty years mate, so make sure you come back
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a lot sooner. All right, Yeah, keep showing up. But bactually
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the album, ye like, it's fair to say the Dance over Dance is
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probably the most popular album to date, but from your point of view,
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like, do you think it's necessary that much better than anything you've done before?
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The public just gravitated to this one. You know, it's my job
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to say every time an album is out and I'm being into you that this
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is the best album we've ever done, But I also yes, but that's
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what I feel for specific I mean, I'm very has something to do with
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that. I feel we still managed to make albums for the right reason and
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find a way to challenge yourself to feel a bit like beginners every time,
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and that makes for albums that at least pleases us immensely. So that being
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said, there was a very conscious effort to make the songs feel more focused
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because Avatar is we're very eclectic in in what we put in a song,
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but this time I didn't want us to and we didn't want to, you
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know, walk away from that from playing around with all these different influences,
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but make each song as coherent as possible in that environment. Whereas I mean,
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where we might have in the past, I've done a song that is
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really angry and really sad and then a bit horny, you know, And
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now is that we focus on making one really angry song, one really sad
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song and one a bit horny song, you know, and that gave actually,
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at some point towards the end of writing and having this mindset, it
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was funny to read finally read Rob Halford's book Confess, Confess, and when
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getting to when he's talking about British Steel, seems like they were in a
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very very similar mindset there. And I appreciate the seventies Judas Press as much
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as the next one, or maybe I don't really I really like it.
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There are a lot of bankers there, but some people have there as a
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favorite thing. But I think there's something to be said about getting laser focused,
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cut off the fats, you know, and what Pretty Steel ended up
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meeting for the band and for the world of heavy metal at large that I
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totally restonated with and totally related to. When it came to what we were
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trying for with dance, that will dance, and with that we did a
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better job than ever before. So that's why, in a way, I
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feel like this is the best thing we've ever done, and then I fully
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expect to at some point I'm going to stop feeling like that, And that's
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also part of the job because as actually as all now I kind of start
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to take writing the next thing seriously, and it's too early to say exactly
23:36
what will end up being. But the early stages of writing new stuff is
23:41
also of course I acknowledge what you are about and what you have done,
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you know, what's good about it, but also kind of to find out
23:48
what's wrong with it. So what's the next step to become better? And
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so you know, I'm almost now trying to shake off that feeling of being
23:57
so proud and pleased with as that will desk. But it's harder than it
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usually is, which again speaks for what that album is. Yeah, yeah,
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before we go by, I've started do you think? Up with Heavyweight,
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we're asking bears that we interview to give us three of their own songs
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the three separate playlists, so they can give us one of your songs that
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you'd listen to yourself up you go out and party, one of your songs
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that had save your marriage, and one of your songs that will potentially end
24:25
your marriage. Okay, for the first one, it's a bit on the
24:36
nose, but it's also one you know that it's in a major key and
24:38
stuff, So why not Nights never ending for the first one, mm and
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for saving well one that's really about nuts giving up and fighting for each other
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and all that would be and you know, dealing with yourself would be a
24:56
secret door. And for the third one a fun one. Yeah. And
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I'm just thinking in which one I think of as the worst and most destructive
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sides come out. Let's do clouds difting chrome from from dance sevil dance for
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that one, because that is dealing with ugliness but not not very destructively,
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so so beautiful. Before we go, made just a couple of quick questions,
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do you mind if I use a video or this? Or would you
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rather I didn't? While you're not done up? Now you're fine, You're
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a fine guy. Too easy again. And the other one is I've been
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having this chick's been messaging me all day when she found out us talking.
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He can you just give a quick shout out to Lauren for me that I
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can record and Sander so she shuts the fuck up, Lauren, no matter
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what he says, you yeah, yeah, yeah, here we go,
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Lauren, No matter what Chris says, do not shut the fuck up.
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We all appreciate you. Thank you for giving so much meaning to what we
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do by having it means something to you. Now. I excuse to see
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you in the front row on all three shows. Thank you. You and
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me are gonna have words, I think mate with me. Mate. Thanks
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very much, Guji. It's been an absolute pleasure be at the Brisbane ship
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right, so ifully we get good. You forwarded absolutely I hope so too.
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Thank you so much for your time. Man, enjoy enjoy flight over
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mate, will be it for your week.