"I got put on a six-man ward, and three of them died": The trials, trauma and triumph of Dinosaur Pile-Up

(Image credit: Tom Brooker)

Dinosaur Pile-Up vocalist Matt Bigland has been through the wringer. After the Leeds-based alt. rockers released the killer album Celebrity Mansions in 2019, Bigland spent much of the pandemic in and out of hospitals after he broke out in painful ulcers across his body.

Now, thankfully, he’s on the mend. With a diagnosis – ulcerative colitis – and treatment plan, Bigland got married in 2022 and the band’s new album, I’ve Been Better, is an absolute belter, exactly the kind of defiant comeback that rock’n’roll was made for, all big riffs and belligerent choruses in the face of hardship.

Celebrity Mansions felt like the moment Dinosaur Pile-Up really hit their stride. Where did it all go wrong?

The making of Celebrity Mansions was actually pretty bleak. We’d been touring 11:11 into the ground, there weren’t any label options, we were tired and there was no money. We decided that Celebrity might be the last thing we ever do, so we wanted it to be fucking ace. We started making it, and Parlophone got interested, so we sent them Thrash Metal Cassette and they were all in. Total reversal!

But you weren’t quite out of the woods. When did your health issues start popping up?

During the making of Celebrity, I started getting these mouth ulcers. I know you can get them from being tired or stressed, but I was getting so many they’d make me talk funny and I couldn’t cope with doing vocals. Everything went downhill from there. At one point I got put on a six-man ward, and three of them died. It was scary because they couldn’t really figure out what was happening and why it was like my throat was collapsing at points.

After all that, how do you write an album that doesn’t just sound like [English doom metal stalwarts] My Dying Bride?

Just because it was a very rough couple of years doesn’t mean my spirit has been broken. I love music that gets me pumped and makes me want to party – like Presidents Of The USA’s debut album.

Dinosaur Pile-Up - 'Bout To Lose It (Official Music Video) - YouTube

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So what’s the most defiant song on the new record?

About To Lose. It’s a raging song. It feels so powerful and strong, but I know exactly how weak I was when I recorded that. I had to do the vocals over and over again because my voice was too weak from being laid on the couch or hospital beds for a year. But listening to that now is empowering.

Dinosaur Pile-Up have shared stages with some iconic bands over the years. What’s the best advice you’ve been given by any of them?

Pixies, Weezer, Sum 41, The Offspring… we’ve done pretty well. Recently I went out with [his wife and musician] Karen [Dio] when she supported Limp Bizkit, and getting to chat to Fred Durst was really cool. He’s a shrewd businessman. But the biggest lesson from Fred, from Noodles, from Sum 41, is how to behave – to be cool and still down-to-earth.

What does the new album mean for Dinosaur Pile-Up?

It’s a monument to our resilience. The one piece of advice I’d give to anyone is: don’t quit. You don’t know what’s around the corner and the biggest part of this is staying in the game. Sometimes, to make your best work you have to look at it as the last thing you’re ever going to do.

I’ve Felt Better is out now via Mascot. Dinosaur Pile-Up play London's Electric Ballroom tomorrow night (September 13) before US dates next month.

Staff writer for Metal Hammer, Rich has never met a feature he didn't fancy, which is just as well when it comes to covering everything rock, punk and metal for both print and online, be it legendary events like Rock In Rio or Clash Of The Titans or seeking out exciting new bands like Nine Treasures, Jinjer and Sleep Token.

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