If you take the band Silverchair, gave them the power of Queens of the Stone Age, throw in some Metallica inspired riffs, add a sprinkle of dark swamp blues then bake it in the Grunge Oven on high, (all of which has been lovingly stirred by Nick Cave) then you might have some taste of Bill Hetta. Bill Hetta's debut single is an excellent introduction to the brewing shoegaze-metal scene.
By Kamil Bobin
Discovered via Musosoup
Kamil) Hey Bill Hetta, super nice to have the chance to chat with you. What first got you into music?
Hi Kamil. I remember getting into music at a very young age. Maybe around for 4 years old. I remember my mum would always play CDs in the car and my older brother was into metal as well and he showed me a lot of metal when I was young. I always thought guitars were coolest thing ever so I really wanted to have one as a kid. My first guitar was terrible, it was basically a toy. You could barely play it.
Describe your favorite and least favorite part about being a musician.
My favourite part about being a musician is meeting like-minded people who care about their craft as much as I do with mine. I really feel like I'm part of a massive community. My least favourite thing would have to be the industry, it can feel like it's against you sometimes. It's best not to let those feelings manifest as they only end up hurting yourself. It's important to keep going.
Your latest song is 'Weather Cannon'. Can you share with us the background of its creation and did any unusual things happen during its creation?
I got the name for Weather Cannon from an article I saw about the chinese government using a new invention called a weather cannon which they use to manipulate the weather artificially. I thought it was like man playing god so a lot of the lyrics are influenced by religion and nature. We recorded the track ourselves (a lot of critics don't like the production but our fans do). All the vocals are recorded with a cheap microphone I bought years ago from eBay but I think it sounds great.
How do you differ from most other artists?
We differ from most other artists simply from our influences. We like a lot of indie and atmospheric music but also death metal and black metal. I also like using Jazz harmony in our riffs and chord progressions to make our songs sound more colourful. You don't see a lot of heavy bands doing that. They might use the odd add9 here and there but Deftones and Linkin Park did that years ago.
Where are you from and do you have a stable home or do you prefer travelling?
I (Kameron) was raised in Barnsley but met all the other members of the band in Leeds. Most of us are still in University but we plan on staying in Leeds to keep the band going.
How would you describe the music that you typically create?
I would say we're Post-Grunge mostly. Grunge forms the basis of our sound but we make it more sophisticated by incorporating elements from Prog-Rock, Extreme Metal, Jazz and even Shoegaze.
How do you nurture your own creativity?
I like to learn about music theory sometimes. I think that has an effect on my songwriting. It's a hard question to answer though. I really don't try to force myself to be creative. I have good days and bad days when making music. It's just important to be your own filter and have the self-awareness to know if your ideas are good or not.
If you could go open a show for any artist who would it be?
At the moment I would say Kvelertak. They've given me a new perspective of metal and I think they're a really creative band.
Who's your ideal musician to collaborate with and why?
I think working with a Jazz musician would be highly beneficial. It would be a great learning experience. There's a great Jazz band in our local scene call the Amon Ra Collective. They're drummer and bassist are exceptional players and they're surprisingly heavy!
What are your plans for the future?
Our plans for the future are to record more music, starting selling merch and try to give the band more momentum. It's be great to play some more festivals. Next year we're going to apply for the Metal 2 the Masses battle of the bands. The winner gets to play BloodStock and I think we'd have a good shot considering how unique we are.