Exclusive Interview: To Obey A Tyrant talk Rabidfest 2022!

If you thought that our Rabidfest 2022 coverage was over a week after the event, well have we got something for you! An exclusive interview with Brandon Singleton, the flame spitting  mouthpiece of  Symphonic Deathcore titans To Obey A Tyrant about their Rabidfest experience! The band took their new album “Omnimalevolent” to the event as a quartet, down a guitarist and absolutely decimated The Bullingdon!

How did you come to be involved in the festival? What was it like being parachuted in at the eleventh hour to replace fellow Deathcore brutes Draconian Reign? “So we were meant to be playing a show in Rotherham with Draconian Reign supporting us the Friday night before Rabidfest, unfortunately their vocalist had been unwell so they had to pull out. Our manager Liam [Unearthed Music] told us they had also pulled out of Rabidfest and informed us he was going to put us forward. That’s the first time we had heard of the event. We were instantly stoked to be part of the line up and perform. We had a great time and were proud to bring some south coast deathcore to the day”

Was Rabidfest all you hoped it would be? How did you find the Oxford crowd and how did it compare with other Festivals and one dayers you’ve played in the past? “We honestly had a rad experience at Rabidfest. The turn out was decent, the crowd were energetic and just all round having a good time. Considering we played at 4pm it was pretty damn busy”

How difficult did you find it to shorten your set list for the more limited stage time of the festival sets? Were there any disagreements in the camp over what got dropped? “The current setlist we’ve been touring with is 45 minutes. We very swiftly just knocked a few songs off the already structured set and we were ready to go”

The Bullingdon is a fantastic venue with great sound but has a fixed barrier in front of the stage. How did that affect the theatrics of your usual performances? “I don’t think the fixed barrier how much of an impact on the performance. I occasionally come off stage during shows to try get the crowd going and bring people in but it’s no biggie”

Do you change anything about your approach when you’re playing a show with a more varied line up like Rabidfest as opposed to one when you’re surrounded by Deathcore and Death Metal bands? What was it like to look at the bands appearing and know that of the twenty, perhaps Harbinger aside, you were the heaviest to take the stage? “As a Deathcore or Death Metal band you have to expect that when you play a show with a large number of different acts that you’re going to be outnumbered by other genres. We appeal to quite a tunneled pool of people. But yeah we enjoy playing shows with different kinds of alternative music, the diversity is great! Every show we play we try to give the audience the truest representation of our sound as To Obey A Tyrant, no matter how heavy, brutal or relentless it may be”

Was it the first you’d heard about the good work of the charity PACT? Have you played a charity event before? “I’m not going to lie I don’t think we actually realised that it was a charity event. That’s great though! And yes we have. We’re also playing a charity event in Bristol next month!”

Aside from your end of November run with Suffer, what’s next for To Obey A Tyrant? “We’re playing Techabilatation in Derby next week and a few shows next month. We have a couple of UK runs booked for early next year too. And of course we’re working on new material so keep your eyes peeled!”

You can catch To Obey A Tyrant live…

w/Borders, Cage Fight, Tiberius

19/11/22 Derby, The Hairy Dog – Techabilitation

w/Suffer

25/11/22 Burnley, The Sanctuary

26/11/22 Wolverhampton, KK’s Steel Mill

27/11/22 Stoke, The Underground

w/Azazel, Pulse, In Depths, Shoot To Kill

11/12/22 Bristol, Exchange Basement

w/Old Wharf

24/02/23 Newcastle, Head of Steam

25/02/23 – Wolverhampton, The Giffard Arms

26/02/23 – Derby, The Hairy Dog

Rabidfest will be back for 2023 over the weekend of 4 & 5th November at The Bullingdon in Oxford!