Q and A: Jason Brown (Sunk Loto)

By BRENDAN CRABB

ENDING a 15-year hiatus, Aussie metallers Sunk Loto enjoyed a successful, sold out reunion jaunt last year. Now they return to the road for a tour celebrating the 20th
anniversary of their landmark album, 2003’s Between Birth and Death, whereby they’ll be performing the album in its entirety.

The LP, although revered by many upon release, perhaps didn’t enjoy the commercial success it deserved at the time. The tour also coincides with recently issued single “The Gallows Wait”.

Hot Metal chatted with vocalist Jason Brown about the tour, new music, new guitarist Rohan Stevenson and plenty more. (Although off the table was any discussion regarding the
recent departure of axeman Luke McDonald from the ranks.)

Hot Metal: We’re here to chat about 20 years of Between Birth and Death. When you listen back to that album now, what kind of emotions does it evoke in you?

Jason Brown: “Yeah, it’s funny. Listening back, I probably haven’t been doing that (previously) but we’ve been playing it (laughs). I think when we committed to doing this last year, playing the whole record start to finish, I was sort of going, ‘fuck, what have we gotten ourselves into here?’ Like, playing the full album back start to finish. But the rehearsals the past few months have been … those doubts are gone and we just sit, after we finish playing the album as a set, we just turn around to each other and go, ‘fuck, how good is that record?’ There’s no bad moments there. There’s nothing you don’t want to play. It’s just all fun. And there was a couple of tracks we didn’t play last year on the (reunion) tour that have really been a lot of fun to play this time around. And I forgot how cool those songs were.”

HM: That album I suppose was in some respects ahead of the curve for Australian heavy music. You listen back to it now and I hear Poison the Well and Killswitch Engage influences, some Deftones, maybe a little Meshuggah mixed in there. All these kinds of influences converged, but created this still distinctive sound.

JB: “Yeah, I think it sort of did go over people’s heads a little bit at the time, because the stuff we were listening to was overseas music. I think it was starting to breakthrough out here. I think it did sort of fall by the wayside a little bit. It’s like now it’s more popular than ever and it’s come back so much stronger. We just had to wait 15 years for people to catch on to it (laughs).”

HM: From my own experience, regarding the first EP and debut album Big Picture Lies, I had friends that were really into those releases but that more straight-ahead nu-metal style wasn’t for me. But Between Birth and Death, that changed the game. It was heavier and far more dynamic. It went from me having little interest in the band prior, to being in the front row when you played my university on the album tour. Did you find you were reaching new audiences with that LP – including fans of a heavier brand of metal?

JB: “Yeah, we definitely noticed our fan-base changed a lot when we released Between Birth and Death. We definitely sort of grew in popularity, I feel. I think the first EP, we were 16-17 when we were writing that. And that’s where we were at as a band. But then, unfortunately, Big Picture Lies was … it should have been a better album, I feel, because we were rushed with that record and we were literally writing that thing in the studio. A lot of those songs were written on the spot. Like, ‘come on, you need to come up with something’. So we were disappointed by that. And that’s what sort of fuelled Between Birth and Death is like, ‘We’re not fucking doing that again. We’re going to make sure what we do is the best thing we can do and we want to be the band that we want to be’. So that’s sort of what fuelled that.”

HM: My understanding is your label Sony weren’t really fans of the heavier approach on Between Birth and Death. You indicated in an interview last year that the inclusion of a more accessible single in “Everything Everyway” was label-mandated. Did you not really get the industry support to make the record a success?

JB: “The label at the time were going through the whole… This is when Australian Idol was just dominating everything and bands were being pushed off the label that we were on to make room for that sort of stuff, that sort of manufactured music. And we definitely weren’t fitting into that mould at the time. So I think they were like, ‘Fuck, these guys just are not what we’re after’. And that would have been subsequently why maybe it didn’t get the exposure that it deserved. But we did have people at the label that were very behind what we were doing. There were people that were like, ‘Fuck, you guys, this is an amazing record’. They knew what they had, but then I think maybe higher up, they just didn’t get it. An older executive at a record company … I don’t think you’re not really going to get Between Birth and Death when you first hear it for the first couple of times.”

HM: Do you feel it’s a pity that you didn’t get to follow that album up at the time before splitting? Or are you excited now that you’re in a better space whereby you can create a proper follow-up that will do it justice?

JB: “I think it’s a shame that we weren’t able to continue on the path that we could have continued on. But I think that was because of one thing. It was more of a toxic explosion in the band that was happening. And I think you can look back and go, fuck, if we’d have only continued for that 15 years, where could we be now? But there’s no point thinking that way. We just think, we’re back and we’re just more experienced and wiser now and we’re definitely not taking things for granted. And I think we’re going to continue where we left off, and then some.”

HM: As for this new single, is it a strong indicator of where you’re headed with the new material you’re working on?

JB: “I think it’s a good indicator of what people can expect. We’re bringing out another song early next year, another track out of that session. It’s a bit more up-tempo and heavier. But then I think we’re a band that we’re not going to limit ourselves to just being exclusively heavy all the time. People will probably be surprised of what they get out of the final product. When we release a record, it’s probably going to have a bit of this and that on there. As far as quality goes, I think that’s the benchmark for us, ‘The Gallows Wait’, and I think we’re just going to strive to up it every time.”

HM: In this current industry climate, are you going to do the streaming-friendly releases with singles and EPs, or do you want to release a full-length album?

JB: “We’ve discussed that. I think at this stage we’re going to release another track next year just to keep people, (give them) something to chew on. And then I think we’re going to really try and get a record of full-length (material) written. And there will be singles dropped before the album. But I think we really want something, a full-length record that people can really chew on and get a really good idea of what we’re about. I understand the whole dropping singles is all some bands do now but I don’t think it really paints a full picture. It’s not a full piece of art that you can sit back and really digest properly. So think we will definitely release a record.”

HM: And you’ve got a new guitarist in tow. What’s he bringing to the table for this new material?

JB: “He’s bringing a lot. He’s freshened things right up. We’ve been sort of working on ideas in the background, into later last year after the tour finished. But I think he came along and listened to what we were doing and just gone, ‘Okay, let’s do this’. And it’s really notched things up significantly. So it takes a lot of pressure off me to sort of do a lot of the writing. I can rely on him to write more of the guitar stuff, where I can focus on the lyrical and vocal things.”

HM: I saw one of the reunion shows last year and I suppose it felt like it was almost a victory lap for the band. The shows were sold out and the fans went berserk. But is it a case of the hard work starts now and you have to prove yourselves as a viable band all over again because you can’t just rely on the cache you have with fans for too much longer?

JB: “And that’s why it was a very deliberate thing for us to release new music this year, even before the tour, just to go, ‘hey, you know what? We’re not just about what we’ve done in the past. This is what we have to offer and this is how good we still are’. I think people are going, ‘Fuck, there is a real future here for these guys’. And I think people locked in on what we’re doing. We’re just getting warmed up, really. I think we’ve got more than one new record to offer. I think multiple new records into the future is the goal”.

HM: Were you taken aback by the sheer enthusiasm that fans displayed at the shows last year?

JB: “I expected a good response. (But it) just blew me away how into it those crowds were, just singing every word, and you could just look through, like, a sea of people in a sold out show and just everyone’s face is just so intense. No one’s just staring at their shoes or talking to someone, they’re fully engaged. But in saying that, the same thing has happened with it (again). We’ve done two shows already on this tour. We did the Gold Coast and we went to Perth and the same thing is happening again. It’s like full intense engagement, and it’s really cool. It’s very exciting and it’s like being given a second chance at what you really want to do with your life. I think last year, once things got moving, we were like, we can’t stop doing this again. It’s too good, and we’re too good at what we do to just pack it up for one little tour. We’re just super appreciative from our fans and just appreciative to have the opportunity that we have at the moment. We’re just taking it with two hands and giving it everything we’ve got.”

HM: Okay, I just wanted to touch on a couple of topics from left-field. I recall on at least one occasion the band’s music was featured on Aussie TV stapleNeighbours. What are your recollections of that?

JB: “Yeah, I know ‘Lift’ was used on Neighbours. I think like Toadie got in a punch-up in a bar or something around a pool table (laughs). Someone messaged me last year and they were playing ‘Everything Everyway’ on the AFL (coverage), like in an ad break.”

HM: I can also recall some snickering on local metal forums at the time regarding the band being interviewed for teenage magazine Dolly.

JB: “Yeah, that was sort of the label side of things. But I remember being in Dolly magazine and all those teen magazines (laughs). It’d be a good laugh to see those Dolly magazines now.

HM: Any famous last words?

JB: “Just thanks to our fans for continuing to support us and continuing to turn up to our shows. It’s what’s keeping us going, really. Because without that, then we probably wouldn’t be going right now.

Image: Dan Maynard

SUNK LOTO’s Australian tour kicked off today in Brisbane. 

10/11: The Metro, Sydney

17/11: Max Watts, Melbourne

18/11: Froth and Fury Fest, Pt Adelaide