With a reputation as New Zealand’s ‘most ferocious’ metal bands, 8 Foot Sativa will wrap up their current tour of Australia this weekend at the Metal Heart Festival. Vocalist Justin Niessen spent time answering our questions.
With the return of yourself and Brent Fox to the 8 Foot Sativa fold... how has that reinvigorated the band? Foxy was in Germany for some time and with me down in Christchurch we had quite some time apart, so getting together again was a trip down memory lane and now it feels like there was no break whatsoever. The band is a unit, one unit, and we have key roles that we all fill. Foxy brings the tone of doom and a stage presence that is simply phenomenal; he is a creature and as we say during the shows: "never make eye contact with the Fox".
How did the reunion come about; and is it a long-term proposition? The reunion was fuelled by Gary [Smith] and Nik [Davies]. I was called up to see how I was placed as I have my own business in Christchurch and I had been thinking about it around that time also. We approached a close friend and contact to the band about managing us as that was a major set back for us in the past. We all knew we needed someone who could deal with the politics while we focused on the music — WE ARE BACK FOR GOOD!
The reputation of being NZ’s ‘most ferocious live act’; how does that sit with you? That's a pretty big call, but it is a label that has been pinned on us. We are a metal band and we play how we play. If people view us as ferocious then that's ok, but we do try and deliver consistent content at each show. We take our gigs very, very seriously and if that interprets into ferocity then so be it.
From across the ditch, we’re well aware of the dub, reggae, drum & bass scene in New Zealand. But metal... how strong is NZ’s stocks? NZ has a large metal scene and we have so much talent. Just to name a few: Dawn Of Azazel, Tainted, The Rising Tide, Blacklight Configuration, Gunt, Amachine... the list goes on and I do apologise to everyone I have not listed.
Tell me a bit about the new album, ‘The Shadow Masters’... happy with the finished result? Very happy with the result. The whole band is and we would like to think we have returned to our sound, but added a ton of diversity. Clint Murphy was brought over from Modern World in the UK to produce this album, so it was different to work with an actual producer and he is a hard worker and pushed the hell out of us to get the best result. It is a real boost to see people knowing the words to the songs at the shows, that's a great thing.
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Was it like the old days once you strapped on your guitars/ plugged in amps etc and started to record? It's always a bit different. This time we recorded in Christchurch rather than Auckland, so the band came down and all stayed down there for the whole project. Recording sits differently with everyone, but for me I really only pop in and out with a big push at the end when I’m needed. Nik, Gary and Brent where there for seven weeks all day every day working with Clint. They all know what they want in a [song] then Clint polishes everything.
Is it a similar beast to other 8 Foot Sativa releases? Or has new territory been explored? I think it’s a return to our roots, but turbo-charged without sounding corny! We worked a lot with with melodics and changing the vocal range, the bass needed to be there and the drum recording I believe is absolutely astonishing and really shows off how good Corey is. The 8 Foot sound is there, and I think that that is precise but the flavour has grown.
You've been in Oz since late March touring... how's the trip been? We tour a lot but we have been gobsmacked with the generosity of the people we have met. The shows have been a blast and it has been so good to catch up with the guys from Frankenbok and the push we have had from Higgo & Trip MMM Distortion, Andrew Haug, Triple J, Big John Howarth at Bullet Proof, all the venues and the people who have come to the shows has left us very humble. We plan to be back again as soon as possible.
Strangest moment so far on tour? Nik opening up his touring bag and realising he had picked up a Showgirls bag, no comment on what it was full of. Code of the road.
You’re headed north to play the Metal Heart Festival... a charity event for heart health awareness — looking forward to the Brisbane crowd? Yes Metal Heart Festival is the best way to finish the tour and we are staying in Australia for an extra week just to play it. The guys have such a good event and to be asked to headline it was just a big “hell yes”. Also, we’re very excited about the event being held at the Tivoli as what I have seen online, it looks like a great venue, best thing is we get to go in early and meet up with festival goers and meet a ton of bands before we hit the stage. Let's hope Brisbane steps up!
What's next for you guys once you return to Auckland... is the current line-up planned for the foreseeable future? We will head back to NZ and take a few weeks out to get back to normal then we have a recording at Neil Finn’s studio, Roundhead, that we won last year so we will head in and do a project that we have been working on. Then we have a few NZ shows to play and start saving for our European tour in October with Soil, American Headcharge & Head Pe. Hopefully after that we will stop in on the way back through and get to Perth as we did not manage to get there on this tour and if we do not get there they will never forgive us.
