Less than a year has passed since While She Sleeps last visited our shores on the wave of Good Things 2023, and the burgeoning British metalcore giants are set to return once more with their biggest Australian headline tour ever, kicking off this Friday.
Following three EPs and half a dozen albums over nearly 20 years, the band has filled the gap since we last saw them with the release of their seventh full-length record, Self Hell, back in March.
The album’s fearless melding of electronica and synthesiser-laden levity might seem out of keeping with the belting kinetic drive of typical metalcore, but to frontman Lawrence “Loz” Taylor, Self Hell is just the latest example of what’s been a long-held tradition in the band’s writing.
“I think for a lot of bands, you find your sound, and you sort of sit in that genre, and you nail it,” he says. “For us, like even record to record, we’ve tried to change it up.
“Our first EP, if you like, The North Stands For Nothing [is] kind of like metalcore on the edge of hardcore. With Brainwashed, the record’s a bit like a punk metal record in a sense. We just try to change it up for ourselves and show that we can do things outside of metalcore as a genre.”
While She Sleeps’ aversion to stagnancy and the electronic leanings prominent in their latest effort may have something to do with the environment they started in.
The band came out of Sheffield, once known as the steel capital of England, and while the city’s mammoth industrial character arguably helped shape the sound of metalcore contemporaries Bring Me The Horizon, it’s also the same geographical region that spawned pioneering electronic acts like The Human League and Depeche Mode, and groups like Pulp and Moloko, figureheads of the Britpop and trip-hop scenes that factor heavily in Sleeps’ latest studio effort.
With such a diverse musical heritage to follow on from, it’s no surprise much of those influences were woven into Self Hell’s DNA; the Britpop stamp on the album is particularly timely with the genre’s poster children Oasis sending fans into a frenzy following recent reunion news.
“I think that 90s Britpop sort of Blur feeling is something that was huge in the UK, and we absolutely love [it],” Taylor remembers.
“There’s definitely a bit of a Britpop sound on this record, and also, I was into Placebo and AFI; there’s also some drum and bass. Some people [said] it sounds almost like a metal or punk Gorillaz in places, and I love that. We’re sort of nodding to the nostalgia that we’d feel listening to like the 90s sort of stuff. I think Britpop was really one of the influences going into this record.
“In 2009, when I joined While She Sleeps, we were just in love with 2000s metalcore; now, we’ve grown up. We’ve matured.”
Taylor suggests that much of the band’s fearlessness in songwriting is due to a range of interests among the different band members. Their protracted approach in the studio under the production duo of Sleeps guitarist Sean Long and Carl Bown, who’s been helping to shape their sound since the first LP, doesn’t hurt either.
“We’re initially slow at recording,” he reveals. “The actual recording process [for Self Hell] was probably a few months. I think one of the reasons being that we do like to try and give everyone the time to sort of have a go at things. It can be quite difficult [working out what] exactly the record should be and trying not to go into it with too much expectation on what we’re going to sound like.”
With a catalogue that spans pop-laden yet thrashy anthems and genre-dipping experimentation, striking the perfect balance between the two approaches remains a priority for the band when sculpting their setlist.
“What’s exciting for me is seeing how the new stuff does pair up quite well with the old stuff,” Taylor explains. “I think live, what people are going to see is the fact that… [the] different records kind of lend themselves to each other, and I think it makes for a more dynamic live show.”
The band adopted the classic Aussie idiom “We’re not here to fuck spiders!” in announcing their upcoming tour, and Taylor said the band has long felt a connection with their fans in the Land Down Under from their early days cramming into the country’s smaller venues in 2012 with New South Wales’ metalcore heroes Northlane.
Since then, the five-piece have made sure to visit regularly.
Last year’s Good Things appearances notwithstanding, the band’s previous headline trek was barely two years ago in support of 2021’s Sleeps Society.
“I think we realised that we had a fanbase up there that’s quite loyal to us, and we always really enjoy ourselves being over there,” says Taylor. “We’re just trying to make it more frequent to see a bit of Australia and connect with the people out there. It makes sense to visit as frequently as possible.”
“A lot of our fans have seen us play in Australia before or recognise us from being over there with Bring Me The Horizon or Architects.
“When you’re a youngster starting a band, you never actually consider that you might be playing Australia one day; it feels so far away to ever be a thing. The fact that we can still come over there and play shows this far into our career is just awesome. I definitely say that our fanbase has stayed true, and they always show up, and we have a great time.”
Announced in May and coming here courtesy of Destroy All Lines, While She Sleeps are being supported by regional Victorian metalheads and Good Things ’23 stage sharers Ocean Sleeper, as well as US-based heavy-hitters Stick To Your Guns and Boundaries, the latter of whom will be visiting Australia for the first time.
While She Sleeps’ Australian tour starts this Friday. Tickets are available here.
Destroy All Lines Presents:
WHILE SHE SLEEPS
Self Hell Live in Australia
with Stick To Your Guns, Ocean Sleeper & Boundaries
Friday 27 September – The Tivoli, Brisbane 18+
Saturday 28 September – King St Bandroom, Newcastle 18+
Sunday 29 September – Liberty Hall, Sydney
Tuesday 1 October – Uni Bar, Wollongong 18+
Thursday 3 October – Magnet House, Perth 18+
Friday 4 October – The Gov, Adelaide, LIC AA
Saturday 5 October – Forum Theatre, Melbourne 18+
