Exclusive Interview: Break Fifty talk “Every Scream Became A Whisper In The Dark”!

After the better part of three years of radio silence the return of Break Fifty with a new EP “Every Scream Became A Whisper In The Dark” has been has rounded off 2023 in style. The band known for their love of classic late 90s elements with breakdowns and creating a hybrid blend of Hardcore influenced Nu-Metal have been waving the Nu-Core flag since 2017 and with a new line up they’re rejuvenated with a deeply personal record; so after a review we sat down with them to discuss their World view…

Having gone on hiatus in 2020, what was it like coming back with a new line up in 2023? How long had you been working on things behind the scenes before the official relaunch? What made you decide to keep the Break Fifty name and not rebrand? 

Matt: “When covid hit that really put a halt on the bands flow at the time, we were finishing our university finals and really had to focus on other aspects of life, till one day I had a sort of “Do or Die” Mentality towards the band and felt we really needed to just push for a new chapter. We Began writing in early 2021, and had a few member changes throughout that. We did treat this whole process as a rebrand and just didn’t change the name as we felt it kept its authenticity”

We always say that even in the digital age, the first bite is with the eye, so who was behind the artwork of “Every Scream Became a Whisper in the Dark“? How did you go about choosing it and what do you feel it says about the project? 

Matt: “When we were coming up with the concept of using the chattering teeth as a mascot for the band, we felt the best way to portray it was by using the teeth as a gimmicky toy mixed with something real, this is also demonstrated in our Spotify canvases but the image itself was something I had stuck in my head for years vividly, and our Videographer Murry was able to capture that image perfectly. The idea of something Gimmicky mixed with some real just has an unsettling feel to it”

The record is a deeply personal narrative of the band’s journey through childhood trauma; how challenging was it to get the balance right between something harrowing and something people would enjoy listening to?

Angus: “It was quite a challenge to write about this particular subject for us, as it touched many nerves along the way. But we sat down together as a band and spoke about our experiences and I asked for places, feelings(at the time) and any other imagery we could recollect. The hardest part for myself was trying not to overexpose our experiences but use metaphors and imagery whilst keeping raw, hard hitting and true emotion with each track.  I feel we accomplished this really well”

You’ve surpassed 130k of Spotify streams for older cuts from the previous line up like “Gods“, “GBH” and “Pain“; do you still see those songs as part of the live set going forward? Have you found the milestone inspiring?

Matt: “We love those songs and I think always will, but what we are doing now is so exciting to us, we have had a few conversations about revisiting those songs but as it stands we will be focusing on new material before playing any of the older content. I’m very proud of those songs as it was the start of the band and will always be able to look back to those tracks fondly”

If we are the product of our genes and our influences, what’s in your jeans and who are your influences? 

Matt: “A lot of emerging bands currently take heavy influences from bands like “Slipknot” and “Limp Bizkit”, which is something I think we do subconsciously at this point, growing up with Kerrang! And Scuzz listening to all these guys really leaves a mark when writing music today. A lot of the newer material and where the “Nu Core” Scene is now has played a big part in our writing style as well, and also pushed us to try and find unique ways of portraying that sound”

What are your aspirations? Where do you see yourselves in the next five years? Touring Europe? Appearing on the cover of Metal Hammer Magazine? Releasing a signature guitar model with someone like Carillion or simply to be full time musicians?

Batchy: “Some of our near field goals are that we want to be out on the road in Europe before the end of 2025 playing with some of our closest friends in the industry. Landing main spotlight features in major publications like Kerrang! And Distorted Sound is certainly something we want to aim for in the coming years but there are some serious heavy-hitters within the scene at the moment and are really proud and appreciate the support these companies have already shown to us. As a guitarist, a signature guitar has always been a dream, there are some really interesting custom guitar brands out there at the moment so working with one of those in the next few years is definitely on the bucket list. One I have been keeping my eye on in recent months is Promethean Instruments based in Melbourne, Australia”

What’s next for Break Fifty?

Angus: ““Every Scream Became A Whisper In The Dark” is the beginning for us. With our new line up, the attitude within the band is very positive. For me in 2024 – Gigs/tours/more music and hopefully some festival opportunities”

“Every Scream Became A Whisper In The Dark” by Break Fifty is out now and can be found everywhere you’d expect it to be…