If powerful and fuzzy stoner rock is your thing, then two-piece band Twin Wizard are definitely a band you need to check out immediately. Formed by members of Droids Attack and Telekinetic Yeti, the duo have just released their debut album ‘Glacial Gods’ which is getting rave reviews, so Riff Lords caught with the band to know more about it.
Congratulations ‘Glacial Gods’ is an excellent release and I believe it will keep fans of your other two bands very happy! What has been the reaction to the album so far? I take it's mostly positive right?
Brad - Yes, it's been very positive. It seems like there has been some anticipation since we announced we were working together and getting ready to release it months ago.
Anthony - Thank you! I hope everyone enjoys the record as much as we have creating it. It was a long road getting to this point but I couldn't be happier with the positive responses and support we've received so far.
So Brad Van plays in Droids Attack and Anthony Dreyer in Telekinetic Yeti, tell us a bit how the two of you started out and what styles of music you were playing and developing at the time?
Brad - Droids played with Yeti a bunch of times over the years back when they were starting out. They invited us to play some shows, we invited them and we all just became pretty good friends, really. There was certainly a mutual respect for each other's work and from there the friendship just came naturally. Our band's styles complimented each other pretty well too. Very heavy, riff and rhythm oriented.
Anthony - Back when I was a member of Yeti we had the opportunity to play with Droids often over the years. We just clicked really well with them and I've always been a huge fan of Droids and loved their records and live shows. Everything just feels organic and natural working with Brad. We are both very percussive players and I think it really comes out in the big chunky riffs and heavy grooves. We are also both multi-instrumentalists and it makes writing music easy and direct especially as a duo.
This is your first album and it's self-financed, which is something that is very common nowadays. Have you ever been approached by a label, or are you happy to remain independent from any label ties and if so, why?
Brad - Labels are great for handling all of the shit I'm not really interested in doing. I didn't start the band because I wanted to manage a web store. Droids has worked with some different labels in the past and for the most part it has been cool. So long as we get to keep the interest in our music I enjoy partnering up with people who want to invest in us and make some money.
Anthony - Labels can be excellent to partner up with in the right circumstances. This record I was able to fund entirely myself and I've always enjoyed the rewards of being self-sufficient. I think as long as bands can get over that first initial hump of investing in their recordings/masters and keeping their rights to their songs and publishing rights it can be helpful and rewarding as you grow as a band. From there, I think the best thing a band can do is to get out on the road and play as much as possible.
"I went to go see the RHCP and ended up leaving having my mind blown by The Mars Volta. I would say that band had the biggest impact on me out of any band that I can think of. They made me embrace thinking outside the box more and using odd time signatures."
When I listen to 'Glacial Gods', I hear the influence of psychedelic and stoner rock, and I have seen publications comparing you to acts like The Sword and Kyuss, but are there any bands that influence you that might surprise the listener?
Brad - I get comparisons to bands like Kyuss and COC a lot. I wasn't really influenced by those bands, but I bet we share a lot of the same influences. Motorhead is a pretty huge one for me. Black Sabbath, of course. I listened to Clutch, Helmet and Soundgarden the most when I was growing up, but I'm not so sure that would surprise anyone.
Anthony - When I was 14 I went to my first Stadium concert. I went to go see the RHCP and ended up leaving having my mind blown by The Mars Volta. I would say that band had the biggest impact on me out of any band that I can think of. They made me embrace thinking outside the box more and using odd time signatures. They have worked with some of my favorite drummers over the course of their existence. Jon Theodore has always really stuck out to me, he has this extremely powerful, organic, primordial and tribal drumming style that has always left an impression on me. Like a modern Bonham. It's always inspiring watching drummers that put every ounce into their performances and leave it all on the stage.
What topics do your cover in your lyrics, from the song titles I notice a certain fascination with the folkloric creature Yeti?
Brad - For this album I was re-writing lyrics to songs that were mostly worked out while Anthony was in Telekinetic Yeti, so that's the reason why that theme is so prominent. I didn't want to change that, I wanted to try and respect the original material as much as possible so it took some consideration. What lines to keep, what to change and why... For the most part I tried to keep the core of the themes intact, and just polish things up a bit so I could own it more confidently in my performances. There were some other spots that seemed more personal or felt unfinished to me, so I took more liberties there.
Anthony - I've always had an affinity for the Cryptids of the world and I enjoy giving life to them through song themes and lyrics. I've always embraced the idea that there are vast amounts we don't know about our universe.
These are troubled times and we don't know yet how much longer is this virus outbreak going to last and how much time we need to recover, but what’s next for Twin Wizard?
Brad - We're planning on performing some shows as soon as possible. We're also actively writing new material and hoping to follow this one up very soon.
Anthony - Once tours and shows are allowed again we are looking forward to being out on the road supporting this new record. We are using this time to continue working on new material and are excited to be getting close to having a follow up to "Glacial Gods" very soon.
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