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A Sonic Continuation With MARK PALFREYMAN From ALARUM · HEAVY Music Interviews

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: M hm m hm.
• 0:22
  Speaker 2: Oh, yes, so this is uh, it's powerful Alarum and uh, yeah,
• 0:25
  Speaker 2: we've just released our new album Recontinue today. It's our
• 0:29
  Speaker 2: fifth album and yeah I'm looking forward to uh everyone
• 0:33
  Speaker 2: checking it out and have a chat with Chris now.
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: And yeah, yeah, thanks for joining us today, Thank you
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: for having me pleasure. So Alarum have set forth your
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: new album, Recontinue into the world today. I made so
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: basically you've got no control over it at all anymore. Mate,
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: So is is that a nervous period view or is
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: it sort of more of a relief to get it
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: out there?
• 0:57
  Speaker 3: Oh mate, it's so.
• 0:57
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: Look, we're just happy to get it out there, like you,
• 1:00
  Speaker 2: been working on it for a few years. So it's
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: exciting to have new music out there. And yeah, looking
• 1:07
  Speaker 2: forward you know, for feedback and hopefully people enjoy it.
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: So, so tell us a bit more about the album
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: from a point of view and what a you're going
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: for with it.
• 1:20
  Speaker 2: Okay, yeah, so this time around, Yeah, we really wanted
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: to work at the heavier parts being heavier and clean out,
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: the cleaner jazzy parts being clear and jazzier, throwing in
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: some new ideas and influencers expanding on you know, all
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: elements that we've touched on in our previous four albums,
• 1:34
  Speaker 2: and they're just trying to give it its own identity,
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: you know, still.
• 1:37
  Speaker 3: Be an Alarum album and and do something.
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: Yeah of the time, and Alarim are a band who
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: have never compromised when it comes to your music, bro,
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: So I'm guessing it's no different on Recontinue, but like
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: gives you sometimes put stuff in there that you know
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: shouldn't go in there just as a fuck you to
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: people and go we can do it.
• 1:59
  Speaker 2: No, No, really, it's just it's just keeping interesting for ourselves.
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: Is let's just have a go, like there's no rules,
• 2:05
  Speaker 2: you know, and over over the course of time, Like yeah,
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: most things seem to seem to work and flow, you know,
• 2:10
  Speaker 2: as well as we can try and make it work.
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: From what I can see, Bro, you've only released the
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: one single, is that correct? Yes?
• 2:20
  Speaker 3: For this album?
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: Yeah? Yeah, Look what's the full process behind that? Bro?
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: Like I know, in the modern age, people like you
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: think that you need content all the time. But I
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: like the way you've done it, bro, Like it keeps
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: an air of mystery to the album, you know, like
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: when you don't hear half of it and singles before
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: it comes out.
• 2:37
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: Well, yeah, and I suppose the album for the this
• 2:42
  Speaker 2: one as well as a previous like that, an album
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: is a real album for us, so when we're putting
• 2:46
  Speaker 2: it all together and there is a flow from the
• 2:48
  Speaker 2: start to the end. So you know, just releasing the
• 2:50
  Speaker 2: songs as themselves as singles, you know, for us, it's
• 2:54
  Speaker 2: it's not you know, the ideal way for us, because
• 2:59
  Speaker 2: it takes it away from that album experience. So but yeah,
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: obviously in the current day, I was still wanted to
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: release something so people would hear something new and get something.
• 3:05
  Speaker 3: Out with the video clip as well.
• 3:06
  Speaker 2: So yeah, we decided we'll do the one one single
• 3:09
  Speaker 2: and then yeah, leave it for the for the album
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: so you can get the whole album experience.
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: Well, so that one single imperative. It basically represents the
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: whole album. So why why did you choose that song
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: for people to listen to to get into it.
• 3:23
  Speaker 3: Yeah, well, it was more something that was a little
• 3:26
  Speaker 3: bit more straightforward and driving.
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: Whereas you know, as you know after listening to the album,
• 3:30
  Speaker 2: there is quite a lot of diverse styles in the album.
• 3:34
  Speaker 2: That song had a little bit of jazzy at the end,
• 3:36
  Speaker 2: but the majority of it's you know, it's pretty pretty
• 3:39
  Speaker 2: straight ahead sort of metal song.
• 3:40
  Speaker 3: So it was also.
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: You know, not showing everything in the one song, you know,
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: leave a few surprises you know, for the album as well.
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: So it was just, yeah, that's that's pretty well the
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: reason why we showed that song.
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and I had to listen to the album earlier, Bro,
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: and it's a beautifully eclectic slaby music. But you sold
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: me on the first song interest you've made it was
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: it was nothing like I sort of sat down and
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: I got ready to be pummeled, and I said, it's
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: just a nice way of ambience came over me. It
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: was just it is not often you can listen to
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: an album and be calmed and still enjoy it after that.
• 4:13
  Speaker 2: But yeah, well it was an idea to have an
• 4:18
  Speaker 2: intro to the song for before the first sort of
• 4:20
  Speaker 2: metal metal start kicks in, and John had an idea
• 4:23
  Speaker 2: to you know, to do some drum and bass with
• 4:25
  Speaker 2: some guitar solos. Our last album Circles, then we've finished
• 4:30
  Speaker 2: with Fade Out with an acoustic fade Out with Scott.
• 4:32
  Speaker 3: And a queen lead over the top.
• 4:35
  Speaker 2: So this time we decided that we would fade up
• 4:38
  Speaker 2: from the point that the last album ended and then
• 4:41
  Speaker 2: fade up from that, fade out as a fade up
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: into the intro, and then sort of joined the two.
• 4:45
  Speaker 3: Albums that way as well.
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: In the modern age, bro like where people put albums
• 4:50
  Speaker 1: on and they're skipping songs and it's never really listened
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: to and digested as one experience. I guess how much
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: thought actually still goes into that first song. Is there
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: a lot of thought and planning or it's a bit
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: blase these days.
• 5:03
  Speaker 2: Look for us, it's like, yeah, like if we want
• 5:05
  Speaker 2: someone to listen to the album, we do want it
• 5:07
  Speaker 2: to listen from start to the end. And yeah, so
• 5:09
  Speaker 2: they wanted to just jump in and hear anything anywhere
• 5:12
  Speaker 2: you know that they might catch something. But it was like, yeah,
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  Speaker 2: let's put it at the start. Let's let's make it.
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: Let's make it the start of the journey. So yeah,
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  Speaker 2: if people listen to that and then it's not heavy
• 5:23
  Speaker 2: enough or whatever and they skip the rest, well you
• 5:25
  Speaker 2: know they'll miss out.
• 5:27
  Speaker 3: They'll miss out on the rest.
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: But yeah, of course you guys aren't all just about
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: the music either. Like the topics on the album are
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: pretty deep and resonate with modern society, don't I Yeah, yeah,
• 5:38
  Speaker 1: so yeah.
• 5:39
  Speaker 2: I suppose a lot of the lyrical content and that
• 5:42
  Speaker 2: it was it was coming from a sort of a
• 5:45
  Speaker 2: dark sort of feeling point of, you know, being in
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: isolation through COVID after we released our last album. We
• 5:50
  Speaker 2: couldn't tour it all, so it was really trying to
• 5:53
  Speaker 2: find things to hold on to to sort of, you know,
• 5:55
  Speaker 2: get through that negative sort of experience and try and
• 5:59
  Speaker 2: find some positive things and then view what's going on,
• 6:02
  Speaker 2: you know, in our own lives and around the world,
• 6:04
  Speaker 2: and really just try to you know, find ourselves and
• 6:08
  Speaker 2: look to improve, you know, things on a personal level
• 6:12
  Speaker 2: and a wider level everyone.
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: Yeah. Overall, would you say it's an album of hope
• 6:18
  Speaker 1: or an album of despair?
• 6:21
  Speaker 2: No, A lot of the previous albums as well. It's
• 6:24
  Speaker 2: definitely trying to find the element of hope.
• 6:27
  Speaker 3: I mean that.
• 6:30
  Speaker 2: The album we did in two thousand and four, which
• 6:32
  Speaker 2: was Eventuality, the artwork reflected nature being taken over by
• 6:37
  Speaker 2: the human race and cities and then being left with one,
• 6:40
  Speaker 2: you know, one.
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  Speaker 3: Homeless person with the last hold in the last plant
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  Speaker 3: and flower.
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  Speaker 2: So artwork wise, it's a continuation from that theme as well,
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  Speaker 2: so you've got the recognition of that. And then on
• 6:52
  Speaker 2: the top of you know, the top of the Decaye
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  Speaker 2: human Racer with the with the tree, the semi dead tree,
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  Speaker 2: you've got like element of pave up up the top
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  Speaker 2: where the moon is. You know, there's a few sprints
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  Speaker 2: of life. So yeah, it is you know, trying to
• 7:07
  Speaker 2: hold on and you know, do what we need to
• 7:10
  Speaker 2: do to make things better, how we can each one
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  Speaker 2: of us.
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: Musically, there's so much going on. There's elements of progressive metal,
• 7:18
  Speaker 1: there's jazz in there, there's some bullshit technicality going on
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: made and moments of brutality. So how hard is it
• 7:26
  Speaker 1: to get the balance right in the creative process, Like
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  Speaker 1: I couldn't imagine that it all come together easily.
• 7:32
  Speaker 2: We've always had like a like a core foundation of
• 7:35
  Speaker 2: you know, of the thrash metal, you know, but be
• 7:38
  Speaker 2: it on the progressive side or the technical side or
• 7:41
  Speaker 2: you know, and that with all our wider influences of
• 7:46
  Speaker 2: progressive music or death metal or technical metal, jazz fusion.
• 7:51
  Speaker 2: It's it's all the melting pot of having on ideas
• 7:55
  Speaker 2: and we might have a metal rip idea, but also
• 7:57
  Speaker 2: might have a bebop idea at.
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  Speaker 3: The same time.
• 8:00
  Speaker 2: So they do all sort of come together. It's not
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  Speaker 2: just oh, let's just write all of this style of
• 8:05
  Speaker 2: music and let's throw a little bits in to mix
• 8:07
  Speaker 2: it up. It's the writing so so always writing different
• 8:11
  Speaker 2: styles of music all at the same time, and it's
• 8:13
  Speaker 2: just done. Yeah, throwing the ideas there and find in
• 8:17
  Speaker 2: a way that they do blearn together.
• 8:21
  Speaker 1: Look, do you have cutoff poison in the studio? You know,
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: like where you're just look at each other and just
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: going no, mate, pull it up. That ain't going anywhere.
• 8:30
  Speaker 2: Now, and look at it hasn't really happened yet, so
• 8:32
  Speaker 2: you know, we'll still keep on trying to push the boundaries.
• 8:34
  Speaker 2: It's not the same way, but we'll probably still get
• 8:36
  Speaker 2: to the guard and see how it goes.
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: Yeah, this might be a tough one for you to
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: answer because every album you've got so much going on.
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: But how would you say the band's changed or grown
• 8:46
  Speaker 1: musically from your debut fluid Motion to recontinue.
• 8:51
  Speaker 2: Yeah, look, over the course of time, I suppose it's been.
• 9:00
  Speaker 3: Growing into a.
• 9:01
  Speaker 2: Point where the albums are becoming more albums instead of
• 9:03
  Speaker 2: just a whole lot of songs put together to make
• 9:06
  Speaker 2: an album. You know, from like the earlier days, you know,
• 9:09
  Speaker 2: we're writing songs, whereas this time and the last time
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  Speaker 2: we sort of set out with a female idea for
• 9:15
  Speaker 2: the album.
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  Speaker 3: Set out with a bit of you know, we want
• 9:18
  Speaker 3: to try and you know.
• 9:20
  Speaker 2: Make it, do this, make it, do that, ad this,
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  Speaker 2: add that more consciously with with this time, we also
• 9:28
  Speaker 2: wanted to turn around in it in a less amount
• 9:30
  Speaker 2: of time between the albums, so I suppose there was
• 9:33
  Speaker 2: less touring, there was more focus on on the the songwriting.
• 9:38
  Speaker 3: So the way it's.
• 9:39
  Speaker 2: Changed over time, it has come to the where it's
• 9:42
  Speaker 2: a bit more planned as to what we want to
• 9:44
  Speaker 2: do and when we want to do it, as opposed to.
• 9:45
  Speaker 3: Just continuing writing songs touring, you know.
• 9:48
  Speaker 2: So that has a lot to do with the amount
• 9:50
  Speaker 2: of time that was you know, in between previous albums
• 9:53
  Speaker 2: that we're just getting out and living it as opposed
• 9:55
  Speaker 2: to planning the next stage.
• 9:58
  Speaker 1: Speaking of Jordan Brayer, part way through a run of
• 10:01
  Speaker 1: dates with Pestilence and a Bramola and so how the
• 10:03
  Speaker 1: show's been going.
• 10:05
  Speaker 3: They have been going awesome.
• 10:06
  Speaker 2: Yeah, So we did Brisbane on Wednesday night, Sidney last night,
• 10:10
  Speaker 2: and we've got Canbra tonight Melbourne on Sunday.
• 10:13
  Speaker 3: Yeah. Man, it's been awesome. Bremelain and Pestilence have both
• 10:16
  Speaker 3: been amazing.
• 10:17
  Speaker 2: The crowd response has been great and yeah, man, if
• 10:21
  Speaker 2: anyone is h has a chance to go on and see
• 10:24
  Speaker 2: the next few shows, absolutely it'll be blown away.
• 10:28
  Speaker 1: It's also Pestilence's first time in Australia. Mate, So how
• 10:32
  Speaker 1: are they like it? Like, have you've been playing tricks
• 10:33
  Speaker 1: on them? You told them aboutdrop bears and stuff yet
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: or yeah, yeah, well.
• 10:37
  Speaker 3: We've just got to hear it and just surprised them.
• 10:41
  Speaker 2: Up in the line and we've gone into grab a
• 10:44
  Speaker 2: room and then we're already up the stairs on the
• 10:45
  Speaker 2: next floor as they came out the other way. There's
• 10:47
  Speaker 2: a little quite surprised that we're playing tricks on them.
• 10:49
  Speaker 2: But yeah, they've been awesome, many good fun.
• 10:52
  Speaker 1: You Colin, what's Win's up? Bro? Have you got your
• 10:55
  Speaker 1: own shows lined up to promote the album or not
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: looking that far ahead?
• 11:00
  Speaker 3: Yes?
• 11:01
  Speaker 2: So after these these shows with past months, we've got
• 11:04
  Speaker 2: a couple of launch shows. We've got Adelaide on Friday
• 11:07
  Speaker 2: the summer of the sixth and we've also got Melbourne
• 11:09
  Speaker 2: on Saturday and the seven at the seventh, So we
• 11:11
  Speaker 2: do those two launch shows and then you know, early
• 11:13
  Speaker 2: next year we will be out again doing some shows
• 11:17
  Speaker 2: and then.
• 11:20
  Speaker 1: Saturday de seventh, seventh? Is that the same data as
• 11:23
  Speaker 1: Good Things? Pretty sure it isn't it.
• 11:27
  Speaker 2: I think the I think the Melbourne one. I think
• 11:29
  Speaker 2: the Melbourne one's on the Friday. Yeah, I think it's
• 11:31
  Speaker 2: the day.
• 11:32
  Speaker 3: I think. I think so. Yeah, I think I think
• 11:35
  Speaker 3: our show is on the different days of the Melbourne.
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: We've gotta be down for the Melbourne Melbourne Good Things.
• 11:40
  Speaker 1: That's going to say. If it's on the same night,
• 11:42
  Speaker 1: we'll buck off the headliners and coming to see you guys.
• 11:48
  Speaker 3: Do it.
• 11:50
  Speaker 1: Before I let you go, bro, have you started a
• 11:51
  Speaker 1: new segment called photo Bomb, But basically before I chat
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: with you, I troll through all your social media, find
• 11:57
  Speaker 1: a few photos, find not a little bit more about
• 12:00
  Speaker 1: Like I got to say what I was going through
• 12:01
  Speaker 1: yours the first photos. I'm thinking, like, these guys are
• 12:04
  Speaker 1: pretty fucking boring. But once you get into it, you
• 12:07
  Speaker 1: guys have a lot of fun.
• 12:10
  Speaker 2: That's good to hear, Like, yeah, it's always been about
• 12:13
  Speaker 2: having fun, that's you know, doing it, you know, for
• 12:15
  Speaker 2: as long as we have for you know, around about
• 12:17
  Speaker 2: the thirty years. Like we do it because we love
• 12:20
  Speaker 2: doing it, and we do try and make it as
• 12:22
  Speaker 2: fun so you're like, yeah, we'll have a laugh at
• 12:24
  Speaker 2: ourselves as well as you know, just enjoying it as
• 12:26
  Speaker 2: much as we can.
• 12:27
  Speaker 3: Now.
• 12:28
  Speaker 1: So what I want to know, mate, is like, how
• 12:30
  Speaker 1: do you how do you get to nowhere? And more importantly,
• 12:33
  Speaker 1: how do you find your way back from there? Again?
• 12:35
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's that's pretty cool that that was well, was
• 12:39
  Speaker 2: that it was in It was in America.
• 12:41
  Speaker 3: So we were in the in the tour van with Arses,
• 12:45
  Speaker 3: So we're on the.
• 12:46
  Speaker 2: Tour with Neck of Pages, Cattle Capitation, Arsus and your
• 12:49
  Speaker 2: axis and yeah, those guys were kind enough to let
• 12:52
  Speaker 2: us let us jump in the van with them and
• 12:54
  Speaker 2: hire a trailer and yeah that that.
• 12:57
  Speaker 3: Was just one of those things where what, well, what's
• 13:00
  Speaker 3: going on here? It was a good photo moment, man,
• 13:04
  Speaker 3: And yeah it was the.
• 13:06
  Speaker 1: Town or is it is it just something that someone's
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: put there for?
• 13:09
  Speaker 2: It was just the truck stop somewhere man, and we
• 13:11
  Speaker 2: all have to stop and you get supplies or whatever,
• 13:14
  Speaker 2: and it was just like, yeah, that's funny as there
• 13:16
  Speaker 2: was other ones that had kangaroos in that. So anytime
• 13:18
  Speaker 2: we saw something that that we that we like the
• 13:21
  Speaker 2: look or we definitely got some picks and yeah.
• 13:24
  Speaker 1: Well this next one sort of shows your sense of
• 13:26
  Speaker 1: fun a little bit made like forest here for wrapping
• 13:29
  Speaker 1: the horns.
• 13:33
  Speaker 2: Yeah, look, John's are very good at, you know, making
• 13:36
  Speaker 2: sure when he needs to rest he will mate. So yeah,
• 13:37
  Speaker 2: there's there's probably quite a few of those shots kicking around.
• 13:42
  Speaker 1: Like interially I thought he was trying to do the
• 13:44
  Speaker 1: et but fucked up and put the whole hand there.
• 13:46
  Speaker 3: But yeah, he's he's about last man. John's awesome, Yeah,
• 13:53
  Speaker 3: very good.
• 13:54
  Speaker 1: Made a will let you go down because I know
• 13:55
  Speaker 1: you want to get a bit of rest into your mate.
• 13:57
  Speaker 1: But your new album Continue and Recontinue is out now
• 14:02
  Speaker 1: and it's an absolute sucking ball Seerer as you said before,
• 14:05
  Speaker 1: there's a few shows with pestimers coming up some more
• 14:07
  Speaker 1: after so if you're in there otherwise, have a crack
• 14:10
  Speaker 1: of the album MA because us of God on Man
• 14:12
  Speaker 1: good on here.
• 15:01
  Speaker 4: Away says say.
• 15:19
  Speaker 3: I don't se.
• 15:25
  Speaker 4: Say little three US spisode Washington says, sucks nimes.
• 16:45
  Speaker 1: That song.
• 16:49
  Speaker 4: L I s s.
• 17:03
  Speaker 3: Say through the.
• 17:10
  Speaker 4: Three Times
• 17:22
  Speaker 3: Yeah, Jum