HomeExclusive InterviewsSummer Bash 2025: Exclusive Interview: The 3rd Anniversary of “Mercury’s Well” by Mercury’s Well!
19th July 2025

Summer Bash 2025: Exclusive Interview: The 3rd Anniversary of “Mercury’s Well” by Mercury’s Well!

At the time of publication there will be just one week until the seventh incarnation of Summer Bash, an annual one day festival hosted by Progressive Death Metal trio Mercury’s Well. That’s seven days to flush the seven deadly sins from your system so you can binge on wall to wall riffs, thunderous percussion and rumbling bass while trying to reduce The Facebar in Reading to rubble with an impromptu circle pit around a pillar that holds the roof up. That will be Saturday 26th July and don’t forget the Hawaiian theme to the beach party, which is basically an excuse that Mercury’s Well use to wear Hawaiian shirts and wear flower necklaces. There will of course be cocktails at the bar and inflatable palm trees beside the stage so you too can partake in the atmosphere of euphoria while witnessing eleven bands make their presence felt! Get a ticket! Treat someone you know! Maybe not a first date! Oh go on then…

Here’s the line up in full:

Hidden Mothers
Masquerader
Black Skull Ritual
Buds.
Tape It Shut
Turning Point
Skin Reaper
Mercury’s Well
Gutlocker
Remnant
Killswitch Enchambers (Killswitch Engage Tribute featuring former members of Kill Chambers)

15th July 2022 saw the culmination of seven years of accumulated experiences unleashed as Reading Progressive Death Metal trio Mercury’s Well gave us their self titled debut album. Bringing forward a rendition of “Blood” from their previous EP “The Way Of Ashes” and adding five weighty additions ensured they made their presence felt while satisfying their creative urges at the same time. In an exclusive interview with guitarist and vocalist Simon Davies and bassist and vocalist James Tiffin we look back at the record that in part has allowed Summer Bash to become the hottest ticket in town…

When you recorded “The Way Of Ashes” in 2015, did you ever think it would take seven years and seven deadly sins to get to record your self-titled debut album?

Simon: “Well, honestly, no. We were most of the way with the recording process by the time COVID hit which put a significant delay on our progress“

When did the process of putting pen to paper with ideas for the 2022 record actually start? What are your memories of that time?

Tiffin: “Once we finished “The Way Of Ashes”“.

Metal Noise: “So… 8th February 2015?”

Simon: “Yeah, we started with “Götterdämmerung” and the ideas for a continuation of the concept. I also switched to a 7 string around that time. I think the self-titled track was a big turning point for us to just focus on writing songs we enjoyed, rather than trying to stick to a concept. So at that point we had a lot of good energy, and that carried through to recording“

Lyrically you venture into some bleak subject matter throughout the album, with songs like “Nadir” about the depths of despair, “Götterdämmerung” about the end of the world and “Zenith” about an emotional apex. What makes the three fun lovin criminals we know and love, wearing Hawaiian shirts, laughing with friends at events like Summer Bash go to such dark places for lyrical inspiration?

Simon: “I think there’s a few different answers to this one really, for me, it’s easier to express all the negative things that I feel through lyrics and music. I find heavy music kind of cathartic in that respect. I also have to fit the vocals and lyrics to what I’m playing. It’s a lot harder to think of something nice to say over a riff that just makes me want to scream my guts out.“

Having played the songs a thousand times over the past three years is there anything you’d change about the record if you had the opportunity to re-record it tomorrow? Has anything been tweaked in the live performances since it made its way to us?

Tiffin: “I really love the record still, the only thing I think I’d want to change is perhaps add some really bleak synths over some of the more spookier passages. “Zenith” has grown a lot with my vocals live with a lot more cannoning between the two of us but I think that adds a lot to the live version and not sure how’d that sound on record“

Does it still give you chills when people scream “Fire!” back at you live?

Tiffin: “I’m not gonna lie, during Fire I’m having too much fun with the dumb caveman riff and yelling!“

You’ve mentioned in a previous interview that ArcTanGent is your go-to festival as music fans. So let’s play devil’s advocate. They invite you down for this year’s event but you can only play a five song set that includes one cover. What are you playing?

Tiffin: “”Fire”, “Blood”, “Mecury’s Well”, “Nadir” and for ArcTanGent I reckon a Mastodon cover could / would go down a treat. Maybe a “Blood and Thunder” or “Oblivion”“

Simon: “Yeah, I think I agree with Tiffin. Those 4 originals are kind of our “core” setlist these days which I think, if we were doing ArcTanGent (or any festival for the first time) we’d want to be at our best and most comfortable“

If you missed it, you can find “Mercury’s Well” by Mercury’s Well over at bandcamp.

We’re proud confirm that Metal Noise dot Net is returning for a third consecutive year as the Media Partner for Summer Bash! Mercury’s Well will be hosting the seventh incarnation of their annual Hawaiian beach party themed event on 26th July 2025 at The Facebar in Reading.

Get your tickets -> here

Tags:, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Related Posts

About The Author

DJ Vapour

Add a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *