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 Brisbane ‘circus-metallers’ HEADKASE talk to LIAM GUY about the launch of their long awaited debut album The Worm County Circus.
Born in the western suburbs of Brisbane, Headkase gained a reputation in the early 2000s for a unique style of music they (and their fans) dubbed “circus metal with a techno twist”, which led to a popular reputation as a live band and several packed-out shows at the now-defunct Her Majesty’s Bar. While their live presence was held in high regard, Headkase’s fans waited and waited for a recording to surface. In 2009, fans have finally had their patience rewarded in the form of Headkase’s debut The Worm County Circus. After all these years, what can fans expect from the new album?
“I guess they’ll hear the uniqueness in the sound.” Headkase vocalist Nutty D explains. “I think people will find in this record something that is meaningful, as well as something brutal. I think we accomplished that not only with the songs, but also with taking a lot of time to get the sound right.”
And was that striving for the right sound the reason why this album took many years to make?
“We did this record ourselves, because we didn’t really trust anyone else in getting the sound that we wanted.” Nutty continues. “There is a process in trying to find that sound, where you’ll try it one way and it won’t work, then you’ll try another way, and another way and then finally it will work.”
“We certainly put ourselves into it, and we produced each other’s parts.” guitarist Raleigh Valemont reflects on the recording process. “Like for example Nutty would help me get the right guitar sounds, and I would do the same with his vocals.”
The Worm County Circus is thirteen tracks of the band’s repertoire, including all their fan favourites from live shows. Upon listening, it seems certain to embrace the band’s hungry fans, as well as draw new listeners into the strange world of Headkase. So, just what is it that generates this band’s creative spark?
“I think it just comes about naturally.” says Nutty. “We don’t really work too hard toward it. It’s about what excites us, trying different things, and pushing toward that excitement all the time.”
“I’ll never forget when we opened for Killing Joke...” Raleigh recounts one of the band’s proudest highlights. “I told my father and he was like ‘Oh! That’s a band I used to listen to!’”
So after all the years of work and perseverance spent on The Worm County Circus, what’s the band’s next goal? Will the wait for the next album be as long as the first?
“We really want to get our music to more and more people.” Nutty answers “We’ve been stuck in Brisbane for the last five years working on this album, so we really want to get it out to Australia and hopefully write and get the next album out a lot sooner. Just like it says on the album’s liner notes: ‘It has only just begun’.”
And if that weren’t enough, Raleigh adds this by means of reassurance: “Albums are like multiple orgasms, the first one often takes the longest, but after that they usually keep coming”
HEADKASE launch THE WORM COUNTY CIRCUS at Rosie’s on Friday May 8 with The Kidney Thieves and Magnertron. The album is available through the band at www.headkase.net.
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