Features In The Studio: Gallows

Ever since replacing their frontman, every move Gallows have made has been followed by all manner of watchful eyes. Releasing the ‘Death Is Birth’ EP back in November, we were given a taste of a new band; fierce, fresh and still with a mouthful of blood. However, now the pressure is on, as they head into the studio to work on their highly anticipated new full-length.

“For the EP, it was definitely as though no one knew where they were in the band,” begins guitarist Laurent ‘Lags’ Barnard. 'It was pulling in all these different directions,' new member Wade MacNeil elaborates. 'But I think that’s what it’s like when a band is finding their way. It was a big seven minute long ‘Go f**k yourself.’”

After such an introduction, where is it the band will go from here? “We’re trying to write a record that builds on the best parts of the first two Gallows records,” explains MacNeil. “Those weird angular guitar moments from the first record. Then the second record has this anthemic quality that’s kind of like that first wave of punk, but with a smarter way of doing it. It’s a little more intelligent, more modern.

“So taking those things and then building on them and trying to do them better. I think it’s the best record I’ve ever made. It’s the record I’ve always wanted to make. I think that everyone in the band can say that, and that doesn’t happen every day.”

Returning to their home of Watford to record, the band have set to work with local producers Steve Sears and Thomas Mitchener, which, as Lags explains, was an obvious decision: “I think they’re really talented dudes and they know what we want. Sometimes you can go into the studio with a big producer and they’ve got their vision...”

“You’re trying to make their record - not the other way around,” interjects MacNeil.

“Absolutely,” Lags continues, “but they know exactly what we want. It’s super laid-back and it’s just a really good working environment. We’re working really hard really quickly.”

And has such an environment made for a positive mentality? “It’s definitely an inspiring time for all of us,” states the frontman. “Being able to play music for a living is the most unbelievable thing. I think with this massive shake up for the band, we had to make some hard decisions and really think about our place in music, and the way it sits in our lives, but I think that all of us can safely say that it’s the thing that gets us out of bed every morning. It’s like starting a band again.”

It’s on that same principle though, that a lot of bystanders have asked the question, why didn’t the band just start again? Lags finds the answer easily: “We built the name of Gallows together. There’s no point in just starting again. Gallows, for us, is aggressive punk rock. What’s the point of the same people playing aggressive punk and rock and just changing the name? We’ve still got the same ideas.”

So, what do the band – as artists themselves – want to produce with their third record? “For a long time I’ve been waiting for a young band to come along that looks at everything the way that me and my friends did when we were younger,' says MacNeil. '[A band] that shines a light on some things that are wrong in the world. That just doesn’t seem to happen, so I think we’re going to make that record, even though we’re not eighteen anymore. There’s still enough to be angry about.

“When you make music and put it out into the world, all you want to do is strike a chord. That’s the whole point of this. I think that, when you do that, and you put out a record that people identify with and it means a lot to people, those songs stop being yours. They’re everybody else’s, and that’s why I think the band is stronger than it’s ever been.”

Gallows’ third album will be released in September via their own label Venn Records.

Taken from the July 2012 issue of DIY, available now. For more details click here.