2nd June 2022

Exclusive Interview: Eyesnomouth talk “The infinity of non-existence“!

“Everything that has a beginning has an end. I see the end coming. I see the darkness spreading. I see death. And you are all that stands in his way.” ~ Oracle

So at some point in ancient history it was commented that eyesnomouth was a band name that reminded us of an unforgettable scene in the original and arguably finest of The Matrix movies. Putting that aside for a minute, all we can say is, don’t sleep on latest burnt offering from the Bath Summerset based quintet, one called “The infinity of non-existence“ because it’s the gut punch you need. We had the pleasure of speaking to guitarist Ashley Easton about the Nu-Doom Death Sludge Hardcore act about their latest record and here is what he had to say…

How have you found the reaction to “The infinity of non-existence“ so far? “It’s gone down well live and we have had some positive feedback and engagement online from all corners of the world. it’s cool to see that strangers seem to get it like we do. There is so much great music being released everyday by underground bands so it’s nice that it’s been noticed at all!”

If we’re the product of our genes and influences, what is in your genes and who are the influences that helped create eyesnomouth? “Genetically we are bunch of volatile, insecure, mostly introverted folk who like to bring each other out of their shells by winding each other up and generally being idiots. We started out fully embracing the darkness and we were pretty much getting wrecked and spilling out our ugliness, which was somewhat cathartic but also seemed to have an effect of dragging us too far into the depression. More recently we have moved more towards letting the music reflect us more wholesomely, letting a more multifaceted array of emotions through and getting more upbeat in the groove…to us the music now sounds as triumphant as it is dark and sad, which is a bit more honest and uplifting to us. There are pretty big age gaps between us all so we all have different influences from our respective eras, Rob is as old as metal itself so he grew up with extreme metal as it was emerging and has lived and breathed it for 30 years, Steve was about playing in nu-metal band incision in the late 90s (with Corey’s dad) before joining death metal band Ultimate Trigger Mechanism with Rob. Myself and Aiden were teens in the MySpace everything-core era and were active in that scene and Corey is only 20ish so this is his era right now, so that creates quite a vast melting pot of influences, There are some bands we all bond over but we mainly have micro bonds between us which would take forever to list, but it basically covers anything doomy in multiple genres, be it shoegaze, drone, nu-metal, post-metal, punk or whatever”

As a band you identify as a Nu-Doom Death Sludge Hardcore act and listening to you all to those elements are there. If you could only choose one of those, which would you say is the one that you get the most pleasure out of and why? “Doom, the way I interpret it is that it’s a mood rather than a style or aesthetic, and the mood is paramount. We are all generally more moved by a song/piece of music’s aura than it’s meaning”

Guest appearances have been all the rage for a while now in terms of getting your name out there. If the opportunity arose, who would you like to bring into the studio to cut a track with you and why? “We wouldn’t go for a Hardcore style hype verse/bridge (as cool as they are). We have talked before about wanting to hear a haunting female voice over a section before so someone like Hildur Guðnadóttir would be great, she’d bring an amazing voice, the atmospheric strings, the whole package…or maybe in this reality just a track with Aiden and all of our ex-vocalists!”

What’s the scene like in Bath and how has it helped shape you into the band you are today? What’s it been like to share stages with Severed Illusions? “15 years ago it was amazing around here, which helped inspire us to play in the first place having grown up going to shows every week on our doorsteps. Gradually venues have disappeared so it’s tough, Bristol is like the central hub now for all the music scenes. We managed to build a small hardcore scene back up in my hometown of Trowbridge (Wiltshire) to the point it was starting to feel like something again but the pandemic stopped that in its tracks, everyone is in the same boat on that one though I guess…on the flip side there seems to be a new found enthusiasm at shows we have played and been to since everything has opened back up. We played a hometown show with Severed Illusions recently in an old magistrates court room which had a great vibe. They (severed) are like us in the way that they are a mish mash of older dudes from older bands and some new generation dudes, they’re a good laugh and like to get messy and make relentless noise like we do”

What’s next for eyesnomouth? “It’s all starting to feel pretty good, we are going to get out and play our current set as much as possible while we have a solid line up and we are all happy. We are also having the itch to keep writing so we have started working on some new stuff and will probably be back in the studio before the end of the year”

“The infinity of non-existence” by eyesnomouth is out now and available over at bandcamp