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Pestroy is one of the most well know and hardest rocking metal bands to have ever hit the South African music scene and 15 years later they are still rocking just as hard, if not harder. The band has just released their new album entitled The Speed of Dark which lined up perfectly with their 15 years of existence. We caught up with lead singer, Craig Hawkins, to discuss the new album and the past 15 years.
You have just launched you new album called “The Speed of Dark”. Tell us about the new album?
It’s a 2 part album with 6 tracks per part. The second part will include a remix and a few bonus interludes as well as tracks we have never even played live yet. Quite exciting!
How long have you been working on this album?
We have actually recorded the album 3 times over and ended up ditching the recordings. We have had many interruptions during the recording process including broken hands, band members leaving to go surf in Cape Town, moving studios, upgrading gear, changing tunings, etc. Trying to get the album completed while still running your day job and having a life, which all proved quite difficult. If Pestroy was a full time gig I reckon we would have had the album out a lot quicker. So ya, in total it’s taken 6 years since we dropped our last album “Enemy Within”.
Why has it taken over 6 years for a new album to be released?
We take pride in doing everything ourselves, recording, artwork, websites, video editing etc. If we don’t know how to do it, we learn. So basically the album was a labour of love & hate!
How does this album differ from your previous albums and what can fans expect from the new album?
The overall tone of the album is a lot heavier than before, showcasing a darker, tighter, more aggressive, intricate sound.
How did the name album name “The Speed of Dark” come about?
We were joking about how long the album has taken and Shane (Bass Player) mentioned that it’s like “The Speed of Dark”, so it just stuck.
What tracks took the longest to write and get perfect?
“A Favourite Hate” is a beast, from conception in the band room to jamming it in the studio, it’s a revisit to our rap-influenced roots, so to speak .
“A Life In Pieces” for me as the producer was quite tricky to get right, mix wise, as we have never actually played it live, so I needed to mould it in studio instead of through the usual band practice jams, which shape the sound in a different way.
“…we plan to hit a few strip clubs soon and braai some ribs. It’s the right thing to do, obviously”
What tracks do you think rock the hardest and are going to be fan favourites?
“The Flaw”, our first single, is quite a banger as well as “Buy His Love” and “Suitable Failure”. Laying down the hard shit all on the first part. On the second part we have “Hard Eddy” which I think has one of the phattest & heaviest choruses we’ve written to date.
The album release is an awesome way to celebrate the 15 years existence of Pestroy. Was that planned or did it just fall into place?
It all just fell in to place really, we decided to release all of our personal photos, video clips and concert recordings to fans on a Limited USB, as a thank you for supporting us for so long.
Give us a list of highlights Pestroy has experienced over the years?
1.Opening for Dieselboy, Bring Me The Horizon, In Flames, Metallica, Every Time I Die. We rate these as some of our top gigs.
2.Touring Europe and jamming with Pennywise in Berlin and spending time in Amsterdam sampling various goods was pretty up there too.
3.We’ve jammed live on various TV shows through the years which also is pretty fun.
4.But I’d say the biggest Highlight of 15 years is actually just meeting up every Monday & Wednesday night, hitting a blunt and making poes heavy tunes with our homies for fun and our own satisfaction.
You have opened for a number of international bands. Which were the stand out bands and why?
I’m a huge Dieselboy Fan, in fact I have probably listened to his mixes more than any other group since I first got into him back in 2001. So Dieselboy.
To date, which has been the best gig you have played?
Opening for Metallica was a very surreal, magical experience. Playing in front of 65 000 people in a huge stadium is something I could have only dreamed of. We played flawlessly, the monitoring on stage was superb and I really kinda just relaxed and let the inner demon take over for that one.
Will you be touring to launch the new album? If so where and when?
We will do a short national tour as we are all pretty busy with “life”. Probably JHB – PTA – POTCH – PMB – DBN.
What plans does Pestroy have for the rest of 2013?
2013 is nearly over, but we plan to hit a few strip clubs soon and braai some ribs. It’s the right thing to do, obviously.
Sum up the past 15 years?
Journey of epic proportions!
Any shot outs?
Nah. Everyone can go fuck themselves [laughs].
Some interesting Pestroy stats from the past 15 years:
6 x albums
9 x guitarists
7 x drummers
1 x European Tour
1000’s of gigs.
1 x broken floor polisher
1 x Town they’re banned from
2 x Clubs they’re banned from
1 x Detached retina
9 x Broken bones
4 x Cycles of dreadlocks
2 x The number of times the fucking cops have shut them down while playing
1 x Engagement
1 x marriage
65 000 x People – the biggest show they’ve played
4 x People – the smallest show they’ve played
11 x Enemies.
100’s of friends made
Countless memories have been made
Countless memories have been lost
Half their lives have been spent playing in Pestroy
Pestroy is best enjoyed LOUD – Listen to “The Flaw”, a single off the new album here.
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