Exclusive Interview: Iferann talk “Desecration” and more!

Earlier this month we reviewed “Desecration” from Edinburgh Thrash giants Iferann. Granted an audience with them, we asked a few burning questions we had left over from the review as well as about their influences and where they want to end up. Here’s what they had to say… if you’ve not had the pleasure, you can find the EP over at bandcamp

Reading between the lines of your bio it seems like it took a few years to get the right players on board and find the sound you were looking for. How do you think the band has evolved behind the scenes in terms of writing, practicing and playing shows from where you started out to “Unearthly” and then “Desecration“? I would say the band has always been at the mercy, so to speak, of whatever the guitarists in the band play like. There’s definitely a more classic thrash-heavy metal sound in our earliest songs, and in Desecration there’s a lot of a 90’s influence, with more groove and extreme metal.

We love the socially aware lyrics of “Raised In Hate“, so did you all find the same things growing up or did those lyrics cause any raised eyebrows in the band as a whole when they were brought to the table? Those lyrics aren’t at all influenced by anything that happened in my life or anyone I know. It’s just an interesting concept I came up with that I’ve not seen before in any other song. As for what my band mates think, I’m not even sure if they ever read the lyrics aside from our singer Ian Gill, of course.

When it comes to playing modernized Thrash styles, what do you think of the material that other acts like Road Mutant and Inhuman Nature bring to the table? I personally am a huge fan of both bands. Those bands have defiantly taken influence from Power Trip and other modern crossover bands. I’d personally LOVE to bring more of this influence into Ifreann’s music. Road mutant in particular bring a really cool ‘Razor’-esque vibe which you don’t see very often.

The resurgence of the Thrash sound over the past few years could lead to shows overseas, particularly in Canada where the likes of Delirium and Raider rule the territory. If you could head out anywhere for a run of shows, where would you go and who would you pick to support? I’ve noticed a few great bands coming out of Canada, like Hyperia for example. We’d love to head over there and play some shows with them. We’ve also made some great connections in Europe, from France, Germany, Norway & Hungary. 

Outside of those “Big Ten” influences of Exodus, Testament and Overkill who you have mentioned on social media, what other bands or styles of music outside of Thrash have had an impact on you? I know that other members playing has taken a lot of influence from Death (the band), and myself, I’ve found myself influenced by Mario from Gojira. Our vocalist Ian is also a big fan of Matt Barlow and Stu Block from Iced Earth, and I can hear the influence a lot.

Metal Hammer Magazine contact you to record a cover song for an upcoming compilation album of exclusive tracks for their magazine cover. Which track would you choose and why? Covers are actually things that Ifreann have struggled to agree on for a while now. Most Metal Hammer cover comps have a theme, usually a band or an album. I’d like to think we’d pick a lesser known song by whatever band/album they asked for. If I had to choose one, it would be the song we’ve covered the most, which is Testament’s ‘The Preacher’.