Exclusive Interview: The Hope Burden talk new EP, Bloodstock and Sad Art!

Sometimes in Metal, as in life there are moments that are simply awe inspiring and when you stumble across something special, you want to find out more about it as well as telling all your friends. For this writer, one of those moments happened in November at Rabidfest when a band by the name of The Hope Burden of whom we’d never heard a note took to the stage. What was witnessed that day will live long in the memory as their blend ambient dissonant Post-Metal with Deathcore inspired unclean vocals created the perfect juxtaposition between musical melancholic tones and vocals brutality, all soaked in cathartic misery. So when the opportunity to talk to vocalist Josh Day about the bands new EP “Abandonment // I Want To Be Well” over a two part interview arose, we jumped at the chance! Here’s part #1…

Although there have been two singles in between times, it’s been four years between EPs so how does it feel to have “Abandonment // I Want To Be Well” out in the World?  “It’s definitely been a long time coming and we actually recorded this release in October/November 2021 so it’s been great to finally get it out there for everyone to hear!”

One of the attractions of the band is that you have the full aesthetic very much nailed; as you mention it on social media “the sad art” aspect is also very much an important part of the bands work, the broken piano for the EP cover tying into the music video for “Abandonment” perfectly. How did the creation of the whole vibe come about? “I think it’s been quite an organic process to get to where we are with our sound today. We started off as an instrumental band with a very ‘post-metal’ sound but since adding vocals we have gradually introduced more black metal, hardcore and sludgy elements. But it’s not something we’ve ever sat down and tried to define prior to writing or recording. Similarly the lyrical content has fallen into consistent introspective themes of depression and loss, but it’s not something we have sat down as a band to discuss, although we all agree on keeping a sense of humour when promoting ourselves As for the piano on the artwork, we found that rotting outside our rehearsal space and so we decided to recreate its demise for the Abandonment video!”

We’ll be honest in that we’ve heard a lot of music and not heard anything quite like The Hope Burden before; what has inspired you to create such a unique sound? “We’re super happy to hear that people think we have something even vaguely unique going on. With so much music being released it’s important to at least attempt to find your own identity and we’ve made a point of not trying to fit into any particular scene or subgenre – hopefully that comes across as more authentically ‘us’ . Drawing from broad influences definitely helps”

What made you choose to go with a remastering of 2020 single “Lamentation” for the new EP and not add 2019’s “Waves Dissolve” as well? “Lamentation was recorded just before the pandemic hit, at the same studio with the same producer as Abandonment // I Want To Be Well (TAD Studios with Umair Chaudry). We released it in April 2020 but it got a bit lost given what was going on in the world. In the meantime Umair had been playing with the mix and we decided that it shared many sonic qualities with the new tracks so we might as well release it with a new lease of life as part of this project”

You won a slot on the New Blood Stage at the 2019 incarnation of Bloodstock and played Rabidfest in your home town of Oxford in 2021. Aside from being a fantastic occasion, how much does having these bigger shows on your band’s CV do for you in terms of opening doors? “It definitely opens doors! We just recently supported Napalm Death and Raging Speedhorn and I don’t think we would be considered for those sorts of shows without things like Bloodstock being on our CV, so we’re really grateful for having had that experience”

What’s next for The Hope Burden? “Hopefully some more shows further afield now that gigs are getting back to normal. We already have some new songs in the works for another release. Fingers crossed we can get back in the studio before the end of the year”

“Abandonment // I Want To Be Well” is out now and available over at bandcamp