Back in April, MADCAP Records Australia welcomed their first-ever heavy rock act MERGATROYD to the label.
After months of writing and development including some personnel changes, MERGATROYD released their brand new EP ‘Splitting Hemispheres’ in October.
We had the MERGATROYD lads answer a few, simple questions to tell us what they’re all about.
Darryl Young (guitar, lead vocals)
What is your role in the band? Guitar, lead vox and designated drinker.Describe your playing style? Kamikaze guitars. A mix of grunge, blues and rock through an overdrive pedal.
Two guitarists who have influenced your playing style? Toni Iommi [Black Sabbath] and Kirk Hammett [Metallica].
Why did you start playing guitar? Music runs deep and channels a lot of things from the underlying subconscious, and the guitar felt like an automatic decision.
As the frontman for Mergatroyd, what is your creative vision for the band? To keep testing the boundaries of what we think we can or can’t do.
Aaron Karney (guitar)
What is your role in the band? I provide meaty riffs.Describe your playing style? Messy.
Two guitarists who have influenced your playing style? Dimebag [Darrell, Pantera] and Mikael Akerfeldt [Opeth].
Why did you start playing guitar? It looked like something I could do.
How does your guitar work complement, or contrast with, Darryl’s? I think we approach the guitar in a different way, so we have a complementary contrast going on. I don’t do lead [guitar] stuff, so Darryl does that.
Mick Maduna (bass)
What is your role in the band? To bring the drugs and thunder.Describe your playing style? My style is something like Sid Vicious [Sex Pistols] playing bass for Metallica.
Two bassists who have influenced your playing style. Damn it. The answers are Shavo Odadjian of System [Of A Down] and Nikki Sixx, haha. There are plenty of better bass players that I know but I’m certainly not good enough to be influenced by them, LOL.
Why did you start playing bass? I sucked at drums and guitar just has too many strings.
Most difficult bassline you can play? Probably porno bass.
Complete this sentence: "Hello, my name is Mick and I’m…" Hello, my name is MICO and I’m not an alcoholic! The judge said I had to come! Oh wait, this isn’t AA? Pass me a beer!
Rhys Edwards (drums)
What is your role in the band? Co-founder, smasher of drums, composer and arranger of songs, merch organiser, logistics liaison, man on the ground, graphics and web guy, and I drive the van aka 'the White Whale' aka 'the Merga-Tank'.Describe your playing style? I listen to a lot of different styles, but mostly a heavy dose of hard southern rock with a dash of jazz and a pinch of black metal.
Two drummers who have influenced your playing style. There are a lot for their different styles but to narrow it down to two it would be: Vinnie Paul [Pantera] and Jimmy Chamberlin [The Smashing Pumpkins].
Why did you start playing drums? I’ve always had a love for music even as a young lad – tapping away on any surface within reach, sitting back watching my INXS ‘Greatest Hits’ VHS. But it wasn’t till one day; I was watching my MTV and Pantera’s ‘I’m Broken’ came on, and I saw Vinnie [Paul] playing those drums. I knew from that moment that I wanted to play the drums, hard and heavy.
The hardest thing about being a drummer? Carting my kit around, setting it up and taking it down.
