Exclusive Interview: Kilonova talk writing and recording “Moment Of Clarity”!

Back for round two of our exclusive interview pairing with Newcastle Thrash meets Extreme Metal quartet Kilonova? Vocalist Ellen Hill, drummer Steve Rouse, guitarist Jonny Sloan and bassist Joe Bambrick were one again in a chatty mood as we spoke about what went on behind the scenes of recording their sophomore EP “Moment Of Clarity“, a record which blew our collective minds!

How did your previous experiences writing and recording the 2019 EP “Omnicide” and follow-up stand-alone single “Immortal” help to smooth the path of the new record?

Ellen – “We actually knew what we were doing this time, we have learnt a lot from the previous recordings and writing and have really started to develop our own style of “thrash”. The songs on Moment of Clarity are Kilonova where as Omnicide was just the start of it, we were getting used to how we each write and honestly how to say to your band mate “nah scrap that and start again”

Jonny – “As Ellen said, we basically stumbled into the recording of Omnicide with next to no recording experience. By contrast we were a lot more prepared for Immortal and by the time it came to Moment of Clarity we had a good idea of what was expected. I feel the production of our releases in order shows how much more prepared we are now”

Steven – “As a band you always have individual opinions on how your record should sound but I think we were all on the same page for ‘Moment of Clarity’. It’s just about being honest and wanting what’s best for the record. There’s a million different ways to approach recording but I’d like to think we did it the best way possible this time round”

How does the writing process of a new track start? Melody, riff or rhythm first? How does it evolve from there before you consider it the finished article?

Ellen – “Nine times out of ten Joe and Jonny will get together and pour through the riffs they’ve been stockpiling, then try and work on a few at a time. Once they have something they think will work they will send it over to me and Steve and from there we would write our own parts, normally me and Joe will get together as well and work out some lyrics. Then we bring them to a practice and tear it all open and rebuild it once again”

Steven – “Yeah the beginnings of a song usually come from the string section. Ellen writes her lyrics/vocal line and then I write the drums. It’s not written in stone though, it’s important to be as organic as possible when writing. There’s no wrong way of doing it in my opinion”

The EP is one of powerful dynamic contrasts with moments of Thrash but also Extreme Metal. How did you go about getting the balance right between the aspects, especially the vocal parts?

Joe – “The phrase we always come back to is, “if everything is heavy, nothing is”. You need that contrast to make the heavy parts feel truly heavy and the melodic parts really shine. It’s mostly that we just go with our gut about what feels right for what we want the song to communicate”

If you had the opportunity to work with a guest in the studio next time around, who would you like to work with and why?

Joe – “I’d love to work with Josh Middleton of Architects and Sylosis. I’ve been a fan of his since before he joined Architects. He’s someone I look up to a lot in how he writes raw, urgent Thrash but in a way that feels contemporary and original. His voice and his riff powers would sit brilliantly with ours I think”

For us gear nerds out there, can you tell us what you’re using gear wise (pedals, strings, drums etc) to get your sound?

Jonny – “I’m running through a Kemper. I got the Josh Middleton pack a few years ago and spent some time dialing in a tone I loved. I’ve not changed it at all since. The only pedal I use beyond the Kemper pedalboard is my Dunlop Wah. I use Ernie Ball Power Slinky strings”

Joe – “I’m an old school neanderthal gear- wise. I use a Rockbass Corvette and Westone Thunder as my primary basses, running into a Joyo US Dream distortion and a Trace Elliot ELF amp. I tend to use a Hartke 2×10 cab but I’m not fussy, the tone is all in the distortion pedal for me. I also have a TC Electronics Mini Sub’n’up to give me a high octave to fill the traditional rhythm guitar space whenever Jonny’s parts diverge from mine. Ernie Ball hybrid slinky strings too because they give me the right feel”

Steven – “My first acoustic drum kit was a 9 piece Mapex (two bass drums and all) and although I’ve scaled down a lot since then I’ve stayed true to Mapex. I currently use a 6 piece Saturn V. As for the cymbals it’s a medley of brands including Zildjain, Meinl and Sabian. The louder the better really, I do like my china cymbal to be as obnoxious as possible so I opted for a 18” Zildjian Oriental China. I recently changed to longboard pedals and the Pearl Demondrive bass drum pedals are the best I’ve ever played”

What difference would it make to you as a band if you could land an endorsement from a gear manufacturer?

Joe – “We’re pretty happy with the gear we use but having a steady supply of strings, cables and spare underwear would make touring easier for sure”

“Moment of Clarity” by Kilonova is out now!