Pic – Joshua Perera Photography
Beer-soaked metal madmen, Arkarion, have a brand new album, Lessons In Futility, ready to launch at The Rosemount Hotel this Saturday, June 14, with support from Death Dependant, Pyromesh and Darkenium. We had a quick back and forth with guitarist Chris Head.
You guys have been around for five years. How would you say your sound has developed in that time?
We have been a solid lineup for the complete duration and when we started we were fortunate in the fact that we all knew what we wanted to achieve as a band. Undoubtedly we have derived our own individual unique sounds from our influences but from our time together and the experiences we’ve shared as a group, it has led us to solidify our sound and approach to songwriting.
When did you realize you were ready to cut a full album?
From day one the goal has always been to cut a quality record. After some solid shows the time came when we were all at a mutual point in our lives where we wanted to create something we could all be proud of and throughout the whole process we continually only wanted to do the best we could with this album. It has been a long process with a few challenges along the way, including a few near death experiences, an electrocution, amps blowing up, broken bones, jobs and loves have come and gone but at the end of the day all we wanted was to walk away with something great that we could call our own and I think we achieved that.
Tell us about the album.
Well, each songs tells it’s own story, from the struggles of everyday life to the overall perseverance of humanity. The inspiration for the album artwork reflects this and the cover is a reflection for the song A Lesson In Futility and depicts that no matter what path you take, it inevitably leads to the same outcome, so It’s kind of what you make of it.
Where did you record?
We did all the recording here in Perth at The Sound Factory with Wayne Smith and mixed and mastered by Tue Madsen at Antfarm Studios, Denmark. We did all the drums, bass and rhythm guitars to tape, which required nailing consistent takes but it benefited us in the end by providing a continuous flow to the album with dynamic headroom, particularly on the drums which allowed everything to be big and clear.
What’s up next for you guys?
With the album done our sole purpose now is to get it into the hands of every person on the planet! We have a couple of members heading overseas to plug the album, some international shows late 2014/2015 and, of course, some more songs!
