A Brisbane band who favour the doom, psych, and desert rock tones of rock & roll, Dark Moon Society are attacking 2023 as the year to launch themselves into the consciousness of local music lovers.
A group who have played around the traps of Brisbane's local scene since 2017, fostering a number of line-up changes since they made their live debut supporting The Chats in 2018 (who were peaking with their 'Smoko' fame at the time), Dark Moon Society dropped their punk-laced debut single 'Night Demon' mid last year.Their sophomore offering, out todsay, is the chugging seven-minute odyssey 'The Reaper'. "The initial writing stages came to us naturally," lead singer Alex Pierce says, describing the birth of 'The Reaper'.
"After ongoing development, it was what each of us brought to the table individually that delivered our collective lightbulb moment and led us towards our new era.
"['The Reaper'] is drenched with groove, dynamically charged, and packed with the colossal power that howls from our instruments.
"'The Reaper' appears in obsidian silence, born from the shadows; death's harbinger calls. This is only the beginning of the journey we are leading you through.
"This year we are bringing more fuzz, riffs and grooves as we transport you down into our sonic scenery."
Ahead of their home-town launch tonight (10 February) at King Lear's, the band sit down to give us the inside goss.
Who is Dark Moon Society... Based in Meanjin (Brisbane), we're a heavy rock four-piece playing at the intersection of doom, psych, and desert rock territories.
Suspended in head-banging momentum, you're dragged through the darkness of the sludgy down-tuned guitars before you're ripped back up by the dynamic grooves of the rhythm section.
Drawn in by gritty riffs, smooth lyrics (elusive or allusive) that keep you on the hook, Dark Moon Society is coming off the back of a string of shows along the east coast of Australia, where we launched the live set to a new level with a fresh list of tunes.
We sound like... Black Sabbath, Queens Of The Stone Age, Soundgarden, Kyuss and The Sword are among some of our biggest influences.
Our first gig was... At Crowbar in 2018 supporting The Chats. We've been through some line-up changes since then and it's wild to think about how far we've come and how much we've developed.
When did you settle on the group's name, and was it a unanimous decision... This is the hardest part of starting a band. Getting multiple people to agree is difficult.
The list of names was a mile long and it took us about six months but eventually when someone pitched The Dark Moon Society we believed it encapsulated what we wanted our name to represent. We eventually dropped the 'The' because it was too many words.
In the studio we usually... While recording we take turns with one person playing their instrument, one person just pressing record and the other two of us not even listening. Then the person playing asks how the take was and they get three oblivious thumbs up.
However, it is helpful having multiple members of the band being audio engineers and a drummer that is a tech geek with a home recording studio.
If we could tour with anyone... The whole band wouldn't agree on this. . . BUT. . . Not current: Led Zeppelin. Current: Uncle Acid And The Deadbeats or Faetooth.
Social media is... A necessary evil.
My favourite app at the moment is... PayPal!
To date, our most embarrassing moment was the time... One of our belts broke onstage and their pants were falling down.
Life on the road can be... Expensive.
If you'll have us on your bill, all we ask is that our rider contains... Warm towels and one masseuse each.
The most scary scenario we've found ourselves in, was... Our first single 'Night Demon' is actually about sleep paralysis which is so terrifying.
What celebrity/ famous person would you love to be spokesperson of the band... I think everybody would listen to Keanu Reeves if he was our spokesperson.
If you had to live in a city abroad, where would you choose and why? I think our music would become more successful in Europe than anywhere else. So probably London or somewhere in the UK.
Three people you'd like to invite around for a dinner party... If it's dead or alive, probably Chris Cornell so we can pick his brain on songwriting, Rick Rubin, to convince him to produce an album for us; and Keanu Reeves, otherwise how would we convince him to be our spokesperson?!
If we were coming over to your place, what would you cook us? We are on a strict diet of biting the heads off bats.
When it comes to pets are you a lover or hater of our furry friends? Who doesn't like animals?
No matter the expense, send me a case of... Chocolate milk.
The last time I saw the inside of a gym was... Everyday this week. We are the strongest band alive.
What's the one chore you dislike the most? Washing dishes for sure.
Do you have any phobias... Isaac HATES feet. Please use this to your advantage.
Would you ever partake in a reality show? I think it would have to be 'The Ultimate Fighter'. Kevin and Isaac would just beat the hell out of Sam and Alex. Or a spin off of 'Hell's Kitchen' and Gordon Ramsey barges into our rehearsal and yells at us about our undercooked riffs and raw tone.
If you could prank any of your friends, who's your target, and how are you bringing them down? I feel like we all rip on each other so much and we know that if anyone pulled a prank it would just get WAY out of hand.
Best local takeaway joint for a midnight feed that will leave you with a food coma? It's always a kebab shop for us.
Which fictional character best describes your personality? Isaac: Homer Simpson. Isaac loves beer and should not be a safety inspector. Kevin: Professor Snape. Because he can stare down anybody. He's a man of few words and he's evil on the outside but deep down he's actually kind of good. Sam: Scooby Doo. I think you know why. Alex: Lord Farquad. It's the hair.
Last show you binge-watched? 'Breaking Bad' is the best show of all time.
