Exclusive Interview: “Grey” track by track with Drenched!

Newcastle Alternative Metal quartet Drenched have been making a name for themselves with shows across the north of England and Scotland in recent times, their sound soaked in influences from Deftones, Loathe and Tool to name but a few. Fans have waited a while but having tried and tested their songs in the live arena, they have finally been committed to tape with debut EP “Grey” set to appear on 23rd April. So having reviewed the record, we took the opportunity to catch up with the band. As they’re fantastic dudes, they gave us a track by track breakdown which goes something like this…

““The Change” was the first song we wrote with Mak [Wilson, bassist] in the band. In the past, we struggled to create more rhythmically interesting basslines as it would be difficult for Marc [Mitchell, vocalist] to sing and play. However, with Mak now joining, this gave Marc more freedom with his vocals. With these new changes in the line-up, we aimed to create a song that was both fun to play and showed off our strong musicianship. The song manages to piece together soft, hypnotic melodies, powerful scream-filled vocals, blast beats, and odd-timing breakdowns, all while staying groovy throughout. Tackling themes such as depression and anxiety, “The Change” is about breaking through a mental barrier, growing within yourself, and finding the self-confidence to overcome a negative situation that has been a struggle throughout your life.”

““Cycles” is about struggling with a toxic relationship, falling in and out of love while always second guessing your own actions. This mindset then creates a real difficulty with self-confidence and being comfortable in your own skin and thoughts. The lyrics are often repeated throughout the song to emphasise the idea of being stuck in a cycle. During the writing process we wanted to keep a great amount of room in the verses to allow the vocals to be the prominent lead throughout the track. The chorus feeling like a release of all this space and time building up, matching the feeling of the lyrics “wasting time again, hanging on for you. There you go again”. “Cycles” showcases one of the bands main strengths in blending soft, groove based verses with extremely strong and powerful vocal performances in the chorus”

““(in)sane” introduces the listener to our heavier sound whilst still maintaining a progressive edge to it, something that can be heard in tracks such as “The Change”. Stemming from influences such as Deftones, Sevendust, TOOL and Porcupine Tree, the aim of the track was to create a song that shows our range and diversity as a band whilst also being very fun to play live. The music portrays the themes that the main character in the song is experiencing, confusion, a loss of mental stability and a state of unease and delusion. The lyrics talk about someone who is sacrificing their own mental wellbeing for someone who never cared for them from the beginning, only using them for their own good and benefits. Benjamin Smith – vocalist for Negatives – features in the bridge and outro, acting as a second voice of the speaker once he finally let’s go of his mental sanity”

““Tonight” is about trying to overcome a deep sense of loneliness, struggling with the confidence and self-belief to reach out to someone. Fighting a mental battle to seek help and not be ashamed of doing so. The song also has themes of trying to build trust with others, struggling with negative past experiences. “Tonight” can be especially relatable for a younger audience, experiencing these tough topics for the first time and learning how to deal with and overcome them in a safe and positive manner. We wanted to create a very intimate atmosphere within the song, using a simple instrumental to create lots of room for the vocals and lyrics to be the real driving force of the track. Using a simple instrumental also helped us make the verses very hypnotic, allowing the audience to become lost in the song and connect to the themes within the lyrics. The whole song builds to the outro, a huge release of tension, with the speaker eventually coming to terms with their state of mind.”

“Grey” by Drenched is out 23rd August, everywhere you would expect it to be as well as a few you might not…