Since reforming in 2016 with new vocalist Ezekiel Ox (Mammal, Over-Reactor, Full Scale), Superheist have released the critically acclaimed album 'Ghosts Of The Social Dead' in late 2016, following that up with a relentless run of dates around the country.
Now the veterans of the Australian metal, hard rock scene are back with a new album titled 'Sidewinder'. “The way I like to describe it is this record has all the elements of Superheist turned up to 11!” exclaims guitarist DW Norton, the only remaining original band member.
“It's heavier, it's more anthemic, it's more hip hop and it's more electro than we've ever been before.”
DW shrugs when asked if maintaining a prolific public image is a set marketing ploy aimed to keep interest in the band high. “All we do is pump out what we write,” he says.
“It doesn't take us a long time to write what we do. We put it together, we pump it out and we'll build a tour around what we're doing plus a couple of videos.
“So we don't think we have a profile or anything like that; we just put it out and however it is received by the public, we're always grateful.”
After completing their successful, inaugural nation-wide Heistfest tour (which featured themselves, 36 Crazyfists and From Crisis To Collapse), Superheist recently released (3 May) their second album 'Sidewinder'.
It's an album Norton promises will emphatically raise the already high standard set by 'Ghosts Of The Social Dead'. “We gave the album the name 'Sidewinder' because we feel that the record moves around like a snake, from sound to sound,” he says.
“Superheist is a reasonably eclectic band. We are known for some seriously heavy riffs, but we're also known for big, catchy choruses and other fiddly bits that we might do here and there, and this album's full of them.”
With such a diverse range of musical styles and genres, the capacity for overkill and mismatching of ideas is something that seems inevitable. But Norton stresses that each song dictates its own musical direction, rather than the band's intent to specifically mix styles. “We treat every song on its own merits,” he says.
“The songs kind of take themselves in a direction and we've just got to help steer them a little bit. We have this motto in the studio when we're working on the songs that good is good, but better is better.
“We're always trying different angles to make the song better and better until it gets to a point that we're really happy. We don't limit ourselves in any way. Often we'll sit back and listen to the record and we'll say 'you know what? We need a faster song in here. The album's great, but we do need a bit of a pick me up.' Which is what happened on this one.
“We pumped out a song, 'God Knows', which is a bit of an ode to Cardinal George Pell and it's really quite a vicious song. Superheist are not known for our fast punk beats, but there's definitely a bit of a Slayer beat happening in that song.”
Although having a strong following before disbanding in 2004, the second coming of Superheist, and in particular the choice of Ezekiel Ox as vocalist, has seen the band not only retain existing fans, but also gain a multitude of new ones.
Ox is the consummate frontman. Brash, outspoken, divisive and highly opinionated, his propensity for igniting the masses is matched only by his musical talent. Inserting him as the focal point of Superheist was seen by many as a gamble, but Norton shakes his head when asked if he thought it was a risk at the time. “It was really quite an exciting time when we announced Zeke as our singer.
“We kept it under wraps for a long time to make a bit of drama out of it and it was really quite fun when we came out with it. A lot of people are saying now he is the perfect fit and I believe he is. I feel like he believes he is. He describes himself as the final singer of Superheist, so I think he might hang around,” Norton says with a laugh.
'Sidewinder' is the first album released by Norton's own label Black Mountain Records. “The decision to put it out on our own label was a very simple one.
“In 25 years of being in the music industry and the amount of records – I don't know the exact figure, but I know personally I've sold just under 100,000 records, I've never seen one cent.
“I want to change that and do it ourselves, so we can see the black and white and account for it, and we can actually make a bit of an economic platform from music, which would be lovely for a change.”
