Exclusive Interview: Destruction Of The Healer talk “The Living World Can’t See“!

A couple of weeks back we reviewed the sophomore EP in “The Living World Can’t See“ by Australian multi instrumentalist Jackson Meldrum under the moniker Destruction Of The Healer, drenched in Gothenburg sound (Dark Tranquillity, In Flames, At The Gates) influenced guitar work that blew our tiny minds like exploding popcorn kernels. After the addition of salt and sugar we spoke to the man himself about the record for which he chose quality over quantity before handing off to be mixed and mastered by Kane McCarthy…

How have you found the reaction to your new EP “The Living World Can’t See“ so far? “Pretty positive, however this is very early days and things have only just started right now. I think the overall reception of this EP has been alright being my first mainline release but I’m excited for people to see what’s next!”

The Elephant in the room is one we’re curious about (and a question we never ask anyone!); where does the name “Destruction of the Healer” come from? “Haha, it’s a weird name I guess, but I’ve had a lot of bad experiences being in Hospital due to chronic health issues, and a lot of that came from shitty, under-qualified doctors, surgeons and nurses who made things harder for me than they needed to be. I suppose the name comes from a resentment to that treatment, but not the healthcare industry as a whole”

Your debut EP “Losing My Mind” was a distinctly Black Metal affair however this new offering is Melodic Death Metal with Gothenburg Sound styled leanings. What brought about that style shift? “Well as it happens, despite being released earlier, the black metal EP was actually written after ‘The Living World Can’t See’. Pretty much ever since I heard my first melodic death metal song, I knew that was the kind of music I wanted to play. And ‘’The Living World Can’t See’’ was actually recorded between late 2020 and early 2021. The black metal EP was recorded around July 2021, and the reason I made it was mostly satirical and out of spite of my phone service provider overcharging me for a SIM card (go figure). I never meant for it to be counted as a legitimate Destruction of the Healer release, but I’ve gotta live with it now hahaha”

“Mourning Tarnished” has a lot of vibrant leads on it which are sensational; was there ever a point where you thought it might be too much and you wanted to strip it back thinking less is more? “I think this is the result of me cutting it back haha! I had a lot of ideas for Mourning Tarnished but I only kept the riffs that fit. If anything I mostly questioned if the lyrics were good enough, but overall I’m happy enough with the song and how it turned out. As a matter of fact I think Mourning Tarnished has some of the best, most fun-to-play riffs I’ve ever written”

Destruction of the Healer is currently a solo project; do you harbour any ambitions to unfurl your wings, flesh out to a full band and take these songs into the live arena? “Yes, actually right now I’ve gotten some people together, but Australia is in a pretty strict lockdown at the moment, so we have to wait till we can start meeting up for rehearsals, let alone gigs. I think the bandmates I’ve gathered so far seem beyond capable and are excited to play the material I’ve written and I’m keen to start playing with other people”

What’s next for Destruction of the Healer? “All the instrumental recordings have been done for the upcoming LP entitled ‘Let The Earth Reclaim Me’. I’m still in the process of writing lyrics but I expect to hopefully release the album late 2021 – early 2022. After that, I’d like to have a full band put together. I think the quality of the music will increase significantly if combining the musical talent of others, rather than me recording everything”

“The Living World Can’t See” by Destruction Of The Healer is out now and available over at bandcamp.