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Essex death metallers Beyond Extinction – Jasper Harmer [vocals], Jude Bennett [guitars], Danny Russel [guitars], and Niall Ali [drums] – recently dropped their long-awaited debut album ‘Where They Gather’, and Jude was on hand to offer up some insight into the album.
What are the origins of Beyond Extinction? How long have you been playing together?
We formed during our school years, with myself joining just a little while later in 2019, so that would mean we’ve been going for seven years now!
How did you feel performing your first gig as a band, and how was it?!
It was definitely… interesting! We’re glad that only five people were there…
Debut album “Where They Gather” was recently released; were you nervous about the release? Excited? Both?!
Extremely excited and desperate for our fans to hear this – it’s been a huge achievement for us, in the wake of everything that’s happened in the last few years in our personal lives.
A few years in the making, was there any pressure to rush the album out, rather than wait until the songs were ready? Did you have the songs brewing for some time before recording them in the studio?
Absolutely no rush to have the album out, as we took great care to ensure everything was spotless before it was released. You only get one shot at a debut album, and we weren’t going to waste it. We’ve been working on material since late 2022, when our dear friend and bandmate Zach was still with us, and we are so glad we were able to incorporate so much of his writing in the album to ensure his legacy continues.
Out of all the songs on the album, which one was the trickiest one to get just right?
‘Seven Spears’, without a doubt. We re-wrote that song about 10 times! But we got there in the end, and we love it. We’re nothing if not perfectionists!
One of the standout tracks on the album is ‘Apache’, which features Ingested’s Josh Davies. Where does the connection with Josh come from?
We have known Josh for years, as we played with his previous band Monasteries, so he was a natural pick to feature on the album. After he sent his parts, he then joined Ingested, so it was great timing on our part!
‘Apache’ was inspired by the harrowing 12th July Baghdad airstrike by 2 US Apache helicopters, which came to light through the WikiLeaks video titled ‘Collateral Murder’. Due to the wall-to-wall TV coverage, the Iraq war was perhaps the first time that war was played out in the safety of people’s front rooms. Does art still have the power to shock people while graphic, real-life horror is just a click away?
Definitely. Art has always provoked discussion, outrage, and scandal by often pointing out exactly what people don’t want to bring attention to. Sometimes it’s better to see an artistic representation of something to hammer home that it is real and that people are affected by the fact something happened, and that it’s not just something on a TV monitor that could be from a video game. Art also immortalises things, especially harrowing events. Atrocities such as the 12th July airstrike should not be forgotten.
How much of a concern is the growth of AI in music?
It’s a concern that is spread across the entire creative sphere. A lot of people are uneasy about it, and we’ll have to wait and see whether it was an unfounded worry or if our fears were right. The great thing about our genre and the violent nature of our music is that it’s so human and so visceral. When you listen to “Where They Gather”, it’s a world created by people and imagination, not a plagiarized mess extrapolated from a database.
Out of all the band members, who is most likely to “do a Momoa” and join the pit from the stage?
It would have to be Jasper, as Danny and I have injuries (getting older), and Niall is too cool.
Who would be your dream act to go out on the road with?
Probably one of our hero bands like Thy Art is Murder, The Acacia Strain, or Meshuggah!
Excluding yourself, which new band would you like to see break out and become a success?
Really hard question, as there are so many good bands in the underground right now. Burner are a fantastic band we’ve played with, and they’re all such great guys. If you like heavy riffs, gloomy atmosphere, and raw vocals, (if you like us, then you should), then they are definitely one to watch!
What frustrates you about the music business?
We’re lucky that the underground metal scene is really nice and everyone sticks together, so we haven’t come across anything nasty in the industry! It takes a while to get going and get noticed, so to anyone new in the scene, we’d just say to keep going and don’t give up.
What was the last gig that you attended as a fan?
My last gig was Download Festival, and Danny’s was Busted! That shows the variety between us!
What current social issues are you particularly passionate about?
It seems like everything in the news at the moment is doom and gloom, even at home in our country right now, so we aim to create a friendly and inclusive space at all of our shows so whatever has happened to you in the week or your life recently, you can come down and let your frustrations out in the most pit. We feel like metal is a great channel for turning negativity into positivity and that’s why we all turned to metal in the first place.
Everybody is a fan of something. Who or what are you a fan of?
West Coast Hip Hop, Star Wars, and 80s music.
What new music have you been enjoying so far this year?
The new album from Thornhill, the new Karnivool, new Acacia Strain are just some of the new releases that have been on our playlists!
‘Where They Gather’ is available now. More information HERE.
FIND BEYOND EXTINCTION ONLINE
Photo credit: Dobbin Thomas
