Labels & webzines often like to write at the end of a bio or review with the term ‘for fans of’ such & such bands. But we really think the band itself should be telling us this. So enlighten us if you would. TRIPLE KILL is for fans of?
Unironically this is impossible to answer anymore. Why? We strive to be the hardest clean vocal band there is. Not because we’re trying to write listener-friendly music, not at all. But when your lead singer has a voice in a league with Ronnie James Dio (sorry Rodney, it’s true you angel), you lean into that and you play to your strengths. So when you listen to the songwriting you hear such a diverse array of inspirations from bands like The Black Dahlia Murder, Archspire, Cattle Decapitation, Opeth, Fit For An Autopsy, Malevolence, Rivers of Nihil, Lamb of God & Aether Realm. But then with the vocals we’re writing for it comes out like other bands that we love, such as Unleash The Archers, Soilwork, Judas Priest, and possibly a loving dash of Iron Maiden… But dude, you come and see us live, and suddenly you’re throwing all of that out the window because you’re too distracted by our unnecessarily fantastic stage show, and are laughing the entire way through.
Each of us are drawing from such a breadth of musical inspirations that we’d be here all day listing bands that influenced our writing for this record. But if we were to distill it down to give you something of an elevator pitch it’d be something like; heavy metal with the melodicism and larger-than-life theatricality of Unleash the Archers, the propulsion and groove of Lamb of God, and the knuckle-dragging breakdowns of Malevolence. Now pray we never corner you in an elevator and start talking about our favorite bands.
Where did the name TRIPLE KILL come from? You guys part of the seedy underground or something?
This one is easy. We’re part of a seedy underground mob that specializes in trios of hits. Nah nah, unless? Nah we’re not.. unless? Nah it’s a video game reference, namely from the Halo series to which we all have expressed immense joy playing at some stage of our lives. It has sometimes been interpreted as an ode to those mid-eighties thrashers who have fast and edgy names like Anthrax, Overkill, Slayer, etc.. which I guess works as an answer too if I was trying to cover up our seedy underground ties..
Your new album, ‘Blackened Dawn’, is out on August 25th independently. What would you say to a metal punter now to convince them to part with their crypto or credit card & grab themselves a copy?
Your digital money and physical currency aren't going to be worth a thing when the world economy collapses. He who controls the riff controls the universe. Invest in Big Riff™ today!
Your video clips are very entertaining to watch with a lot of acting parts mixed in with the song to create a short story. Your latest single ‘Shai-Hulud’ is a classic example of that. What made you set out to create these type of video clips? You secretly trying to land a movie part?
Christ, if these videos land us a movie part then the film industry is in even more dire straits than we thought. That being said, we’re open to your calls, Mr. Nolan. The videos were actually something of a happy accident. Our only plan for Triple Kill, when we started, was to hit the ground running with professionally recorded music. However, we inadvertently jumped the gun and published the Triple Kill band page early. We didn’t want people following a band page with nothing to show for it, save for the classic “big things coming, watch this space” post, so we got creative. Connor’s been making short films and sketches since he was a kid, so he wrote a script and made a short sketch that essentially introduced the band and took the piss out of the fact that we had nothing to show for ourselves. We weren’t sure what people would make of it, but it was fun to shoot and the video made us laugh so we put it out, and as luck would have it people responded really well. Strangely enough, it meant that by the time we released our first track not long after, people were actually more interested to hear what we sounded like. We’ve been making those sorts of videos ever since, having a blast doing it and trying to make them bigger and better each time. It never gets any less exciting hearing from people that one of our videos made them laugh or squirm. The Shai-Hulud video feels like the culmination of everything we’ve done as a band up to this point and we’re super proud of it. No doubt it’ll be snubbed when Oscar season rolls around, but hey, that’s showbiz.
Is there an underlying theme or concept behind the new album?
While the album wasn’t written from the outset with a specific theme or concept in mind, there are some recurring themes across the record that are reflections of where we were as a band and as individuals over the last few years. Themes of introspection, fatalism, perseverance and ultimately hope to name a few. The album is deliberately bookended with the two tracks that explore these ideas most thoroughly, while still being inspired by the kind of escapist art and entertainment we love. We’ve always enjoyed taking inspiration from movies, video games, comic books and the like to use in our music, but this time a more concerted effort was made to capture what specifically reached us about those properties. In some cases it was purely the sense of escapist fun, the feeling like a badass who can take on the whole world, the theatre of the thing. In other cases it was that they told tales of heroes with their backs against the wall, lost and bereft but finding strength to persevere that made us feel like we could do the same in our own lives. In any case, we managed to nail down what exactly we felt was exciting, vital or life affirming about those stories and write music that reflected that for us. We certainly hope that the resulting tracks can offer an escape, a sense of fun, and some solace to those who hear it and connect with it, but we’re excited to hear what else people derive from it. That’s one of the most exciting aspects of making art.
You are about to embark on an Australian tour with good mates Orpheus Omega. What kind of shenanigans can fans expect from yourselves?
This is the (blackened) dawn of a new era for us (god we’re clever). We’ve got a whole new set full of material we’ve been dying to experience live with the audience. Anyone who’s seen our Shai-Hulud video can (for better or worse) take a guess at some of the unhinged material we’re going to be bringing to the stage, but we’ve got plans for some real esoteric shit that might only make us laugh, but hey that’s steered us alright so far, and it’s always been something to behold live. Be there!
Mainstream metal vs the underground – what’s your preference & hit us with 3 bands that have been tickling your fancy lately & we should check out.
Not to be a hipster or controversial, but neither. There’s a beautiful middle ground somewhere of bands who are absolutely busting their asses and are creating god-tier music in doing so - but aren’t making their way to Australia any time soon (I imagine) because of the amount of traction they receive. These are bands like Khemmis, Sumerlands & Visigoth. It’s fun shit, go & listen my friends.
It’s great to see bands such as yourselves, Orpheus Omega & Voyager having fun with your music & film clips. Showing metal can have a lighter side & it’s not all about bullet belts, grimness, anger & war. Will we see you guys gunning for Eurovison next year?
Our bullet belts are being held by customs. I mean we all enjoy the grim side of metal as much as the next guy but that’s just not us as people. We love seeing people laugh and smile as well as bang their heads and try to create an environment which fosters that. We appreciate the inherent absurdity of life and want our art to reflect that, and we can think of nothing more absurd than us representing an entire country in a songwriting contest, so let’s fucken go boys.
Favourite musical format? Tape, vinyl, CD or digital & why?
Vinyl 100% - There’s just something magical about having this excessively large disc which is inconvenient to use due to the flipping and decaying paper, but so rewarding to hear. Plus there are some cheeky bands out there like Orpheus Omega who intentionally release the vinyl with a different master! If that doesn’t make the fan inside you go... “Fine, I’ll spend more money” then let it also be the cool disc prints and the giant info pages.
What formats will your album be available on?
So far just a CD & digital, as we are funding this bad boy all by ourselves, splashing out on formats is something we’ll revisit when the Lotto numbers come in. We are also DYING to get a vinyl release, but with shortages and no support from print-on-demand companies, that’s unlikely to happen until later when the *starts laughing* money *laughs harder* rolls in *dies of laughter, rip*.
A lot of bands in the current climate are adapting & coming up with some interesting & out-there ideas for merch. Anything you plan on doing differently? Or if not, what do you have on offer at the moment?
We tried selling shirts with a mock snake oil brand bundled with vials of fake semen earlier this year (not a joke). Now we’re trying long-sleeves.
Hypothetically it’s 2025, you’ve released another sweet album & you’ve booked a massive national tour. What would be your ultimate Australian heavy music line-up that you would take with you to support you on it?
Voyager
Fierce Deity
Primitive
And lastly…. Most overrated metal band ever is?
Triple Kill. These hacks continue to fail upwards. They can’t keep getting away with it. Most underrated metal band ever is? Fierce Deity, Jonathan Barwick is making some of the most exciting and interesting heavy metal music out there. If you don’t know anything about it, then you’re doing it wrong. Go listen to his stuff, go buy his merch. This one-man-band is renewing power metal, bringing the fantasy back to stoner metal and marrying the two together in an extraordinary way