Consecration. Interview with Liam

Interview by Richard Keenahan

Today’s interview is with Liam from The UK metal band Consecration.

1. Liam how would you best describe Consecration?

If I could describe Consecration, it would be brutally low, eerie, heavy Death/Doom that harkens back to the old school sound of the 90’s.

2. As well as being the guitar player are you the primary songwriter?

Yes/No... At one point a lot of the riffs were coming from me but for the last 2 years or so since Andy joined the band, we now have 2 guitarists churning out new riffs left right and centre. As a band we then pull it apart and piece it all together so we’re all happy with it.

3. This year has seen an ep released on Cavernous records, this is older re-recorded tracks. Why did you decide to re-record older tracks?

Originally, we were going to record some covers, the main one being a Venom track. After a while it didn’t really fit with us a band so I think it may have been me that suggested we did some older songs we weren’t happy with. It wasn’t met with much enthusiasm but in the end it paid off and we’re all much happier with the new versions of the tracks.

4. Did the band’s sound develop naturally or was the intention to always go Low and Slow?

The band was formed to try and cement some Doom into the local Norwich metal scene. At the time it was mostly Thrash and we wanted to show the scene a different style of metal. Throw in that we were bang average musicians and going fast wasn’t in our repertoire yet ha-ha.

5. Your also what I would class as a traditional band in terms of you practice together, was it easy to find like-minded individuals?

I joined the band in the latter year it was formed. At the time, most of the original line-up was in other bands and they wanted to form something special and dedicate a lot of time to it. To this day we treat it like a social event, jam some riffs, escape the real world for a little while and pretend to be rock stars.

6. Who comes up with the lyrical themes for the band?

That’s all through Dan, he has always been the one who writes all the lyrics in the band. He has a big old tome of lyrics, poems ect he’s wrote over the years, and he’ll often refer to that for new lyrical ideas.

7. What does the future hold for the band?

Well, we have a new album out next year through Redefining Darkness and once that drops, we will hopefully gain a few more opportunities for gigs/festivals going forward. Other than that, it’s all about enjoying it and writing music we can be proud of. Once that stops then the band will stop.

8. Do you have a local scene where you are?

We do but being honest I haven’t been to a local show in Norwich for a long time. We used to have some cracking death metal bands but over time they’ve vanished and trendier metalcore bands or genres I don’t even know have appeared. Usually, I head to London as it’s about a 2.5-hour drive. Spoilt for choice in that part of the world for bands.

Background

9. What was your introduction to metal?

My introduction to metal came from what I remember an uncle who was a maiden fan but it didn’t click properly until I was in high school and discovered the nu metal stuff that was all over the music channels. Once I heard Korn it just clicked for me.

10. At what point did you decide you wanted to play metal?

I’ve always been a day dreamer and when I listen to music I transport myself to a place where I can actually play these songs and I’m up there on stage giving it all that etc. Once I got to college, I picked up the guitar ‘for real’ and muddled my way through songs I knew. Sabbath seemed to be the easiest way for me to learn power chords and write metal songs and helped me form my love for doom metal.

11. Was there a turning point album for you?

Likely it would have been Korn ‘Untouchables’ as that album started my metal journey shall we say but there’s many that inspired me into different sub genres etc.

12. Did you have an album that at first you thought was too extreme, but you persevered with?

Yes! It was Cannibal Corpses ‘Eaten Back to Life’... around 2000 I used to think Korn was the heaviest band on the planet. A school friend showed me the cover of CC and said that was what we should be listening to but I completely dismissed it as noise but there was some parts my head was nodding to. Fast forward and that’s one my favourite CC albums haha.

13. What keeps you excited about metal?

For me, it’s the sheer amount of music you can find that may go under the radar if you just stick to your usual haunts on Spotify or your usual go to place for music. I try and listen to as many people’s opinions as possible, since collecting again I’ve gained that spark to find albums I haven’t heard in years, and it’s been a real help creatively with my own music.

14. So, the New Wave of UK Death Metal, is it taking steps to world metal domination?

It’s certainly a scene that has gotten stronger and stronger. Tom from Celestial Sanctuary has all the credit for coming up with that term for it. Since covid there’s been a massive spark in people wanting more underground bands due to lack of tours from bigger bands. I feel now you can be in any kind of project and if you know how to social media and have a base following you can take that project anywhere.

15. What are your listening habits like?

Usually, it’s based off what I’ve purchased if I’m sitting in my man cave. I try and give everything a good couple of listens before moving on to the next lot. If I’m out and about it’s all Spotify. I create playlists of what I own and albums I need to check out if I’m thinking of picking them up.

16. Any bands you would like to recommend?

That list could be very long, I would say for this interview go check out Visions from Beyond, Eternal Rot, Enchantment & Unnatural.

Instruments

17. What was your first instrument?

Keyboards in school was my first dabble in music but it never amounted to anything. I’ve been music mad since I was a kid but playing one never occurred to me until I was in my late teens.

18. What does your rig look like these days?

My rig hasn’t changed much for many years. For amp, I use a Laney GH100TI as at the time I saw it was a Tony Iommi sig and that’s all I needed. Hindsight would suggest I should got one with a clean channel and one that doesn’t weigh the same as a small car. From there I run into a Revv G3, this has been a game changer for me and for the price it was worth every penny. On the side I use a boss tuner, Kirk Hammet Wah, Delay/Reverb and boost if I need it.

19. Any bad gear decisions along the way?

Like I mentioned, the amp in practical terms wasn’t my best choice, these days I essentially use it as a power amp as my Revv g3 does all the work. I’ve used those stupid multi effects units but when it comes to play with them outside the bedroom it all goes horribly wrong and 9/10 you look like a muppet on stage when you go for a boost or delay and end up with something that sounds like a dog bark.

20. Are you still searching for your perfect tone?

Always, I can honestly say I’ve never personally been satisfied with a tone recorded on a Consecration album. If you have the contacts or money to throw at the premium amps you can achieve it but with a mortgage, kids, and commitments you must usually settle for what you can get. If you can make it all work though and write music your happy with. then you’re laughing.

21. What makes a great band mate?

Someone who doesn’t question your ideas, does what you say and lets you take all the credit… in all seriousness though, just people who can gel ideas together is a big plus for me. I’ve been in bands where there’s no creative spark as a band or someone just refuses to open their mind to what you think may work. Without the chemistry when writing then it doesn’t work in the long run.

YouTube

22. How long have you had your channel?

It’s been over a year now. Time flies when you’re having fun.

23. What’s the main purpose behind your channel?

The purpose was to do something during lock down here in the UK. Being a music nerd and seeing like minded people do it, I thought I should give it a try. The channel has morphed slightly and it’s more now promoting bands and getting music out there I think people should hear rather than me just showing what I’ve spent my pocket money on.

24. How do decide what makes the channel?

Usually, I script up what I think may be interesting but mostly it’s showing what I’ve picked up and hopefully give people a spin on what it could be to them and why they should check it out. I love describing music to people, just showing it is pointless.

25. Is the goal to be the UKs version of Ken’s Death Metal Crypt?

Absolutely not, Kens crypt is one of a kind to me and couldn’t be replicated. Long term goal for me would be for bands to see me as a way of promoting their material if they chose to and for people to respect my suggestions and go check out the bands for themselves. I know what I like, but if I can create a platform that can help others then I’m all for them using it to show the world their music.

Hobbies, future

26. Any hobbies other than music?

These days it’s mainly weight lifting and spending time with the kids. Nearing my mid 30’s, being in a band seems to be the only cool thing you can do. Once that stops it’s likely going to be sat on the couch watching ‘cash in the attic’ haha.

27. Any burning ambitions to branch out musically?

I’d love to DJ my kind of playlists to see what reactions I would get. I see so many that I think are rubbish or just your fisher price metal heads ‘anything that’s in Kerrang’. Would love to do a set of proper metal songs and see what would happen.

Thanks for your time. Rich.