INTRODUCING: Billy Boy In Poison

Billy Boy In Poison isn’t your average band name. But then, the Danish collective aren’t your average band either. Taking their name from cult classic A Clockwork Orange, their blend of deathcore-meets-metalcore is at once familiar but still finds a way to help them stand apart from their peers… “if they can remember how to pronounce it!” they laugh when we sit down to ask about it.

“When we made the band, we had to come up with a name and… we were 20 years old, seen A Clockwork Orange a bunch of times and just thought that it would be cool to have like, a sort of reference from the movie,” they explain. It being a favourite movie of at least two members though, doesn’t actually mean any of their music is themed around the movie; “a lot of the songs are about mental illnesses, the environment… whatever. And… our single Supremacy is about black inequality in the world, but mostly in the United States,” is the forthright answer. But, they wouldn’t call themselves necessarily a political band outright, wary of the trap it often lands you in. They separate themselves from bands like Rage Against The Machine or Rise Against who embrace the political, instead preferring to let their music do the talking, while being unafraid to tackle the same subjects without labelling themselves. “We don’t do right wing stuff! We have our values straight, and we are good guys,” is their remarkably straightforward answer. “A guy [wrote to us on] Instagram asking, are you guys racists? Because I just don’t want to get involved in your music, if you’re racists,” they begin and it’s clear that they’re unwavering in their convictions despite rejecting the label of ‘political’; “If someone is… [a] neo-nazi, I don’t want him to listen to my music!”

That music, as mentioned, is a hybrid of deathcore, metalcore, flourishes of death metal and arguably more; with their third album Umbra, the band say they took more of a song-focused direction this time. “We have a bit more structure in the songwriting; more like a verse, chorus, midsection, whatever breakdown whereas the old [music] we’re just like, we have a bunch of cool riffs, then we put them in a bag and shake it”, to hear them describing the change in songwriting process. They’ve eschewed over-complexity in favour of catchier songs, insofar as deathcore can be. “The old stuff was more like, Gojira-inspired,” they begin, “more like, trying to create an atmosphere of some sort. And the new stuff is more trying to get people out of their seats, get into the mosh pit and just go crazy!” 

They’re also unafraid to experiment with guest features, something that arguably has gathered steam in the metal world of late. For instance, ‘White Hills’ features a guest spot from fellow countrymen Cabal; it’s something they’re appreciative of, but not something that they go out of their way to do. Lifting the curtain a little on some of the options available, they explain, “there’s like, this site you can hire almost anyone you want. We didn’t use that… but a lot of bands use that platform to hire singers to get exposure. It’s a great way for smaller bands to get some attention and get some airtime, to be featured on some playlists on Spotify”. As made clear though, it’s not a route they’ve taken, instead preferring to grind it out and it’s a method that’s borne fruit. They’ve shared stages with the likes of Gojira and were scheduled to tour with both Unto Others and Gatecreeper, all on very different ends of the metal spectrum, showing they’re more than on board with playing more mixed bills themselves. 

But if there’s one thing that’s clear, even when asked what they would most love to do if money or logistics were no option, is that they still remain grounded and keep their sights on goals that will one day surely be achievable for them. “We would love to tour the States!” they exclaim; “[we] would like a big stage set up… screens and visuals working with the music and everything… so that would be amazing!” With the hard work they’ve put in over the years, as well as the focus on catchier, but no less brutal, songwriting, surely the tour at least can’t be too far away.