Perth punk-rock quartet Scalphunter release their debut album 'Lies' at this week, a scathing portrait of the world gone mad.
“'Lies' is not a concept album,” vocalist Steve Knoth explains.
“But it heavily lays against a theme of a disenfranchised generation waking up to this capitalist, media-driven society and basically realising that we get lied to through the government, through media, through social media, and I think that people are starting to wake up and not accept what they're told. The songs are an extension of that theme.”
Scalphunter's critique of a screen-obsessed society being fed and fattened like cattle by filtered information isn't too far removed from reality at this point.
Lead single from the album 'Men With Square Eyes', released earlier in the year, has been an apt preview for what 'lies' in-store from the record.
“I'm no f@%#ing political scholar – I'm reasonably smart but I'm no genius – but I know the difference between right and wrong, and I really feel like everyone else is starting to get onboard with that as well and not taking shit for how it's drip-fed to us,” Steve says.
“It's so easy to get information now and I feel like we're getting drip-fed absolute bullshit and it's time for it to stop, it's time to wake up and start making our own valid opinions rather than listening to other people's.”
Scalphunter have already released three EPs as well as a four-way split 7-inch, and Steve says the album comes after a long period of perseverance and determination by the band to make the record. “We're just so excited to finally get it out because three of us are dads in the band,” he says.
“So we've got other things going on in our lives and we've never compromised family in the making of this album. So we kept pushing and juggling family and band, and I really feel like we've done it the right way.
“We haven't bent over backwards for anyone, we've done it on our timeline when we've wanted to and we're putting out a f@%#ing good album man, so we're absolutely pumped. We don't take the foot off the pedal once I think.”
Scalphunter recently made the cross-country trek to Brisbane for the annual BIGSOUND conference where they strutted their stuff for the music industry bigwigs, which Steve says was a whole, new level of performance for the band. “The BIGSOUND showcase on the Thursday night was a different show,” he says.
“We didn't have the crowd eating out of the palm of our hand to begin with, which I guess [from] slaying it in Perth for so long we've gotten a bit used to. We had to work hard for a bit of affection at BIGSOUND; certainly by the end of it we were rocking and flying at 120 per cent, but I definitely worked for it at BIGSOUND, that's for sure.”
Safely back in Perth, the lads are taking on a few shows around their home state before returning to the east coast early next year. “We're tearing up WA for a little while,” Steve says.
“We've got some central and regional shows to play over here and while that's happening we're going to be organising our eastern-states tour as well, so we'll definitely be back for that.”
'Lies' is available from 29 September. Scalphunter play Prince Of Wales (Bunbury) 6 October and Punktoberfest at The Boston (Perth) 7 October.
