It’s been 11 years since the original Zombie EP, what made you decide on creating a sequel after this long period of time?
Mike: “We wanted to do something for the ten year [anniversary of Zombie], we wanted to do a 7” of two new songs just to reflect on and commemorate the original but when the pandemic extended we thought it was only natural to extend the songs. We’re home, it felt natural for us and it’s exciting and fun to write zombie songs for us, so it went from two to five songs. No issues.”
In a way we’ve all lived through a mini apocalypse of sorts, did the pandemic have any impact on your creative choices for the EP?
Mike: “Lyrically it definitely played in, it was just too automatic not to use some of what’s happening with COVID, at the same time I really want to underline and be intentional about ten years from now if folks like Zombie II like the first one to not look back and think of COVID. There is obviously a lot to learn from COVID but at the same time I think it would be great for us all not to think about it and get over this thing. I hope it’s not reflected as the ‘COVID Zombie EP’ but just ZII. Lyrically I did weigh in to some of the world’s current state of affairs.”
When you listen to the EP you get a really vivd sense of despair and hopelessness, how did you channel these emotions when outlining the concept and writing the lyrics?
Mike: “I mean, when the first Zombie EP came out, as far as after With Roots Above [And Branches Below], I think even all that time ago with With Roots Above was much more, I don’t like the words optimism or pessimism, but there’s definitely like a ‘stand up and fight’ kinda quality to the old Prada songs but we are definitely more tuned to hopeless rather than hopeful. That’s just natural as a means of catharsis as to how our songs come about. Even though you know, this is a kind of fictitious world we’re in as far as the zombie situation, it is very much up our lane to weigh into hopelessness instead of the ‘fight back’ type thing that the first EP carried.”
Do you reckon some of that has come with age as well? As I’ve got older I’ve mellowed out but I’ve also go this real cynicism with the world.
Mike: “You don’t want to become all too jaded, I wouldn’t say it’s inevitable but at the same time your perception of things change and how you see the world. It can be just as much using that for good and being a healthy person but yeah we don’t really fight it when it comes to writing songs that don’t leave room for hope.”
Zombie II feels less frantic yet more technically brutal than Zombie, was this a conscious decision to fit it in with the more sombre hopelessness within the concept or did it occur naturally?
Mike: “I think it’s just the means of production, we’ve rerecorded our first three records and the original Zombie EP with Joey Sturgis and his means of producing bands is very different from where we’re at now, and especially with Jonathan [Gering] who produces the band. He’s a huge, huge integral part to not just the songwriting but the production, really I think that is all entirely to his credit as to how the songs are produced. There’s a different kind of technical sense versus Chris [Rubey] who really wrote all of the original Zombie EP. I think he just had free rein to do everything he wanted and wasn’t so much produced compared to where we’re at now.”
Jess And The Ancient Ones began their story in 2010 and have been busy creating a psychedelic whirlwind of occult rock tunes ever since with vocal powerhouse Jess belting soulfully throughout the whole journey. In the wake of their new album Vertigo we had the pleasure of asking guitarist and songwriter Thomas Corpse a few questions on touring, songwriting, influences and more.
Who would you say are your main vocal influences?
“If I remember correctly Jess has said that she loves the ones like Danzig, Chris Cornell, and Joni Mitchell for example. I’d say that they are not her influences though, but rather voices she enjoys listening to. Singing itself has been an influence for her since her childhood.”
Who are some of your favourite newer bands on the scene right now?
“Well I don’t keep that much eye on the scene, just listen to whatever pops my way. The latest newer artist I have enjoyed is perhaps Boy Harsher. I think their song “Westerners” was a banger! Blood Sport sounded pretty cool also. It was a new band from Finland. Heavy speed metal with an old school attitude.”
Are there any older bands you think don’t get enough recognition?
“Oh man, the list would be endless! There are so many great obscure and unknown artists to the masses that totally deliver the goods and more. But maybe it’s better this way… we don’t get overfed by them through radio and media. Manilla Road is a good example, or Babylon Whores. Both great bands, but unknown to the greater masses.”
When we chatted with the band recently, they expressed their surprise at the extent to which it took off – a whopping 60k plays in the first day (the count now stands at 1.3 million!). When they originally wrote the song – ‘Barricades’ – they planned for it to be a “quick in and out one minute banger. We hoped it would do well on social media but as far as the numbers…we had NO expectations…it was definitely surreal.” Since the band’s fan demographic had always been the slightly older end of pop punk, it hadn’t occurred to them to put the video on TikTok. “We had it on Instagram, we had it on Facebook, but the TikTok was a sort of…last minute thing.” It was almost a throwaway thought suggested by their guitarist Brompton “on a whim” but the video – which brought up the issues of racism, prejudice and stereotyping that had been faced by the all-BIPOC band in a predominantly white pop punk world – seemed to really resonate with the young TikTok audience. “I think people were stoked that we essentially said what they were feeling. As a group, we kind of felt alone in [these issues] but seeing the response and people were really relating so much to the message…made us feel like there were more people out there that felt the same as us and we did the same thing for them, which was really nice to see.”
Anyone who’s aware of Tate will immediately think of her grunge band Hands Off Gretel and her striking punk demeanour. Now, all perceptions of genre and style have been changed thanks to the birth of Delilah Bon, but the attitude still remains. Discussing Delilah Bon’s conception and her self-produced debut album under this moniker, she laughs, saying “I don’t think it was a natural progression! It was so random – like an alien spaceship landed and I just got in it.” She continues, “A few years ago, if I’d seen the name Delilah Bon on all these t-shirts, all these CDs, I would have no idea who that is.” That’s because Delilah is such a major stride away from what anyone would have predicted from the 24-year-old from Barnsley, South Yorkshire.
The 12-track album is fuelled with feminist fury, which doesn’t come as a surprise at all, but the way its expressed is so off kilter, it’s compelling from start to finish. Delilah is a rapper and clean vocalist, channelling 00s hip hop with 90s nu metal in a fusion P!nk would be proud of. Speaking of this progression, she says “During lockdown, everyone started to look inwards at themselves. Questioning ‘what am I doing with my life? How am I challenging myself? How can I grow in certain areas?’ And this was my growing period.”
Ironically claiming to have reverted back into her 10-year-old self during this growth, noughties popstars, contemporary hip hop rappers and femme punks prevail in Delilah Bon’s influences. Iconic names like Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears and Gwen Stefani have been combined with new names like Princess Nokia and Rico Nasty, as well as Courtney Love and Bikini Kill. “It’s usually just women. Women in pop. Women in metal. Women in punk. All mixed together.” She states enthusiastically, her adoration for female empowerment just as clear here as it is through the record.
