Two decades into their career, the three-headed colossus returns with their heaviest sonic statement to date, "Violence Dimension" — the first album with new bassist David Ryley (formerly of legendary '90s sludge band Fudge Tunnel). From the initial shockwave of "Foeman's Flesh" to the feedback-laden nightmare of "Vortexxion" through the fierce and merciless sludge of "Frozen Edges of the Wound", the band feeds from the growing violence and negativity of our society, turning it into an empowering formula for us to fight our way through. Skulls will be crushed, ears will be punished upon this massive, dimension-opening call to arms from the mighty trio. "We all live in the violence dimension, and there is no escape.”
1.“Violence Dimension” is being hailed as Conan’s heaviest album yet. What wasyour mindset going into this record, and how did you push your sound to new extremes?
David: Well, most guitar/bass players evolve their sound constantly because you alwaysthink you can make it better somehow. So, you are forever buying new amps andpedals and cabs looking for that elusive sound that’s in your head.We didn’t do much writing before we went into the studio, just a couple of sessionswhere we played around with some riffs. Some of those riffs made the bones of acouple of songs once went in to record the album, but most of it was made up inthe studio. It seemed to work well. Also, I guess a lot of the credit for the way itended up sounding is down to Chris’s production work. Chris has worked on everyConan release and played bass on about half of them, so he knows what Conan isabout and what it should sound like.
Johnny: We had been writing together regularly leading up to the recording and had beenbouncing ideas around for a few months, but everything really came together in thestudio naturally. We were positive leading up to the recording because we knew wehad a lot of material and ideas to play with and it all came together nicely. The songson VD are basically the result of picking through lots of different ideas and riffs andseeing what worked best and then incorporating additional ideas in the studio. Chris’sproduction was also very important in the overall sound of the album.
2.This is your first album with David Ryley on bass. How has hisaddition influenced the band’s chemistry and overall sonic weight?
David: I’ve been playing in Conan on and off for almost seven years, filling in for Chris,and I joined full time about a year ago. I honestly wouldn’t know about thechemistry, but we get along well and laugh a lot. Chris was the youngest in theband I think, but now, I’m the oldest. It’s a bit like playing music with yourchildren, except that they both know more than I do about what’s going on.Sonically I try to go for more bottom end and a little less distortion than on someof the previous releases, so that will have altered the sound a little bit. Of coursemy voice is not the same as Chris’s either. When I first started playing with Conanthat was the thing that I found most daunting, because Chris has a very distinctiveand quite awesome roar. I knew I couldn’t do what he did, so I’ve tried to evolvemy own way of singing the backup vocals. I’d never recorded them before though,and I was pretty pleased with how it turned out. Again, thanks in large part toChris’s production skills.
Johnny: Dave had been filling in for Chris for certain gigs and tours as early as 2018, so wewere well used to playing together live and just being in a band together in general.Despite his various struggles navigating airports, Dave was the obvious choice whenChris decided to call it a day. It was great to have someone there we knew well andwere accustomed to playing with instead of starting the whole recruiting processagain from scratch. Chris always brought an exceptionally heavy tone to Conan and Dave fills that gap nicely.
3.Conan has long been known for its signature “Caveman Battle Doom” aesthetic.How do you manage to evolve musically while staying true to such a distinct andprimal identity?
David: I don’t think anyone thinks too hard about it. Conan does what it does, and there isonly so much room for manoeuvre within that. But there’s still a variety of soundsand styles you can play with. ‘Violence Dimension’ has a 40 second punk thrashsong on it, and a 12 minute drone track. The other songs use different timings andtempos from D-Beat to painfully slow Doom. It’s all still Conan.
Johnny: I suppose a lot of it is just instinctive to a style of music we all really enjoy playing. Allof us are very much influenced by the same styles of music or at least share a love forsimilar styles of music, and that influence comes through in what we write in the studio.Often Jon will bring a lot of riff ideas to the table, we’ll try them all but if any of themaren’t flowing we will ditch them and move onto the next one quickly. This way we onlypick ideas to use that feel right for us all.
4.Your previous album, “Evidence of Immortality,” introduced darkwave and synthelements. Are there any unexpected influences or sonic experiments on “ViolenceDimension”?
David: See previous answer, I think. I’m not sure what people expect. There’s a bit ofexperimentation as always. But no synth this time.
Johnny: No, not really, not in the same way as “Grief Sequence” on the last album. Although there is a 12-minute bonus track that would do well on a Sunn 0))) album if you’re into heavily distorted guitar drone. It’s pretty cool!
5.Lyrically, what can we expect from this record? What dimensions of violence areyou exploring, and how do they tie into the album’s atmosphere?
David: Well Jon wrote the lyrics, so I can’t be too much help there, but violence is alwaysthere. On the news, in the street, or in your mind. I think that’s an idea that mostpeople could relate to.
Johnny: Obviously, Jon writes almost 100% of the vocals, so I can’t really comment on the ins and outs of the lyrical themes, but I do know that Warhammer plays a significant influence on the lyrics in the album.
6.You’ve joined Heavy Psych Sounds as your new label home. What drew you towork with them, and how has the collaboration been so far?
David: Well Heavy Psych already has a great roster of bands, and so far, all is going verywell. I fact we’re travelling to Italy this coming weekend to play their festivals inBologna and Venezia.
Johnny: So far, they are great. They’re a cool label with great aesthetic and attitude. They also seem to be growing constantly and have some incredible bands on their roster- Pentagram, Bongzilla and Dead Meadow to name just a few. As I write this, we’re gearing up to play two of their fests in Italy this weekend that will no doubt be awesome.
7.Your live shows are infamous for their earth-shaking intensity. How do youtranslate the sheer weight of your studio recordings to the stage?
David: Volume. You can’t replicate overdubbed and doubled guitars and vocals on stageso you really need it to be loud. It helps if the front of house person knows whatthey are doing, and knows what the band is supposed to sound like. It’s maybe also in way that you play. When you play live the adrenaline tends to make mostpeople more aggressive in their playing.
Johnny: This question is probably best left for the two gearheads in the band, but the drop F tuning, the choice of equipment, the crushingly low and heavy bass underlying an already filthy sounding guitar, all at as high a volume as possible, defiantly helps. Not to mention a very good front of house guy too (*nods to Serge). It’s very important that the heft of the albums translates to the live environment.
8.How do you view the current state of heavy music? Any thoughts on milestoneslike the farewell of your compatriots Black Sabbath—or the direction the doomscene is heading in?
David: Regarding Black Sabbath, I’m old enough that I saw them first time round withOzzy, in 1978. I also saw the last show of ‘The End’ tour, in Birmingham, whichwas supposed to be their last ever show. So, I feel a little cheated that they aredoing it again especially given the state of Ozzy’s health. I don’t want to see it, I’drather just remember them being one of the best bands ever.
Johnny: The Black Sabbath show planned for the summer does not sit well with me at all,especially with the condition of health Ozzy is in. it makes me as questions his motives ormore so the motives of people around him. I saw Black Sabbath about 10 years ago inDublin and I have to say it was excellent, but even then, you could see that the bandwere waning. Heavy music in general is losing its heroes in a sense. In ten years, there’snot going to be many bands like Kiss, Judas Priest, ACDC, Metallica, Slayer etc.., worthy ofhuge rock and metal headline fests. But in saying that the more underground elements ofthe genre seem to be thriving in a lot of ways.
9.Looking to the future of heavy music: Which up-and-coming bands should fanshave on their radar?
David: The new stuff from Mares Of Thrace, who we toured with in Canada is really good. Ialso really like the new album from Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs, but theyaren’t exactly up and coming any more are they?
Johnny: To be honest these days I tend to listen more to albums I’ve known for years or even albums of bands that might have skipped me by. Theres almost an oversaturation of music these days and it can seem overwhelming. That said there’s still a constant stream of good releases coming out over the last while. A band from Arizona Named Thraa who we toured with in the US a couple years ago and are touring with again in Europe later this year, they are defiantly one to watch for the future.
10.What are your plans for promoting “Violence Dimension”?Where can fansexperience the new material live—and feel the full force of your latest sonic onslaught?
David: We’re playing a bunch of festivals, starting with this coming weekend in Italy, aswell as Hellfest and Copenhell, and a few others. Then we’re touring the USA inAugust/September and Europe in October. A UK/Ireland tour is planned forNovember I think and we even have a couple of shows lined up for December. Sowe’re going to be BUSY!
Johnny: We’ll be playing a bunch of fests during the summer throughout Europe and then are embarking on a full US tour over August and September and a full European run straight after that in October. More shows will be added to the calendar as time goes on, no doubt so watch this space.
Thank you!
Thomas Wunder
