Hot New Band: Fathoms

Lurking in the grey area between crushing metal and more hardcore-tinged fare, Brighton-based scoundrels Fathoms’ cross-pollinated assault won’t appeal to everyone – including our own reviewer, who awarded their debut album, Lives Lived, ⁵⁄₁₀ last issue.

However, there are few more convincing examples of the way modern heaviness is increasingly driven by a post-iPod pick’n’mix approach. With everything from bowel-rattling deathcore to the angry end of post-hardcore, this band offer further evidence that the UK is developing its own unique strains of savagery and providing some much-needed catharsis for everyone involved along the way./o:p

“Lives Lived is about personal experiences, like losing a loved one, but also about how fucked-up the world is,” says frontman Max. “You change as you get older and every year it’s a new you. We’re chilled out, but everyone needs to let off steam. We all have important things to say and you’ve got to have a healthy way to let out your anger. We just want to make music that we want to listen to.”

Having embarked on numerous overseas jaunts, plus a UK trek supporting obnoxious deathcore bellends Attila, Fathoms are determined to put in the work required to make a name for themselves. However, the pursuit of new experiences via life on the road often leads to a steep and startling learning curve./o:p

As Max explains, there are always lessons waiting to be learned…

“We’ve had too many disasters on tour to mention!” he laughs. “The weirdest one was when we ended up doing hallucinogenics with a bunch of Juggalos in the US! We went back to this dude’s house after a show and it was like hanging out with the family from The Hills Have Eyes. We thought what we were smoking was weed, but then we all started tripping out, rolling around on the floor… the guys looked normal when they asked us back for a party, but it wasn’t a party. It was fucking scary! Ha ha ha!”

LIVES LIVED IS OUT NOW VIA GHOST MUSIC/ARTERY/o:p

Dom Lawson began his inauspicious career as a music journalist in 1999. He wrote for Kerrang! for seven years, before moving to Metal Hammer and Prog Magazine in 2007. His primary interests are heavy metal, progressive rock, coffee, snooker and despair. He is politically homeless and has an excellent beard.