This interview with vocalist Ian and guitarist Mike was conducted in February 2000.

How long have you been together, and where are you all from originally?

Mike: We're all from Pontypridd originally, although I now live in Cardiff. We've all been friends for years, and we got together late summer in 1997. I originally joined playing bass to help them out because they threw their old bassist out. I did that for a year and then we met Stu, he jammed with the rest of the band a couple of times on bass while I was on holiday, then when I came back we tried having two guitars and the whole sound was just 10 times better. We've had different DJs. Steppy did the scratches on the demo and he fitted in really well. Describe the music you play.
Ian: I would probably describe it as melodic metal. Intelligent, melodic, alternative, metal, scatty, eclectic music. It varies between hard knock guitar riffs to smooth ambient moments, mixing the aggression and dynamics of a band like Refused with the melody of Mansun or the Police.
Mike: The music is a bit schizophrenic, bit of a Jekyll and Hyde. It's really nice at one moment but then breaks down and goes off on pretty brutal tangents.

Why has your sound has changed so much so many times? How did you finally get to the point you're at now musically?

Mike: I think it's a natural progression. We've all grown up a lot musically since the first demo, and the music comes from all our musical influences which range from death and thrash metal to Eighties pop to punk/hardcore to the Nu metal around today.
Ian: When we started we didn't really think about our direction, we just played. Combining elements of things we liked, some of it was cool but not all of it. It never felt right, so we just kept on shuffling it around until we were happy. We took a year out which helped a lot, I graduated and some of the guys wanted to travel. When we got back together we had a much clearer view of what we wanted and it just happened.

Your sound seems to have got ultra-professional overnight.

Ian: It wasn't really an overnight thing. I mean, we've been improving since we started and it gets to the point where all the practice pays off.
Mike: We've spent the last few months stuck in the studio recording and practicing our asses off. We wanted to make sure that when we started playing again that we were going to be a force to be reckoned with. I hope that's the case.

What kind of audiences do you attract?

Mike: With our new stuff I'm not sure yet, we've only done a handful of shows but most people seem to be interested. I think our music can appeal to a wide range of audience. It has melody, aggression, attitude, intelligence. These qualities I think will appeal to most followers of alternative music, possibly even followers of mainstream music. Basically we want to keep it heavy but still melodic and accessible.

Lyrically Ian, what kind of stuff do you write about? Are you at all tempted to do political stuff?

Ian: I write about life as I see it, mostly how it affects me and what I feel. I know that sounds awfully clichéd, but I can't comment on how life affects anyone else, only how I feel about it. As for political stuff, there really is no point. What is there to say? Everyone knows politicians are corrupt and the government is screwed up, it would be just stating the obvious. People don't need another band telling them that - if they don't know it by now then they don't care. I don't understand all these punk bands and their peudo-intelligent political ramblings. It's like 'the government sucks, politicians lie, the homeless die' - we know, everybody knows, stop singing about it and do something!

How much do you get to play, both in Wales and outside it? And where's your favourite place to play and why?

Mike: We've only just started playing shows again after nearly a year-long absence, the show we did for Hustler in Clwb Ifor Bach in December was our first in Wales for about nine months. Cardiff is probably my favourite place to play because it's always good playing to familiar faces and friends. The shows can then have a kind of a party atmosphere with loads of friends coming out. The atmosphere in Clwb Ifor in February was amazing too - loads of familiar faces. But it's always good to see new faces and push your music across to new ears. The amount we get for playing totally varies. We've been paid £20 to play in London which doesn't even cover the cost of hiring a van, but it doesn't matter to us, we play for love of playing, not to make money. In Cardiff we generally get covered pretty well, but it doesn't cost us to play so that money can then go straight back into the band.
Ian: 90% of the shows we've played, we have done for free. We travel to London to play to five people and get nothing, but that's what it's all about. When you're unknown you have to do it - it doesn't bother me.

Who are your influences and favourite bands?

Mike: My own personal favourite bands are extremely diverse. I grew up on thrash and death metal and stuff like Faith No More. My all time favourite bands are Anthrax, Faith No More, Slayer, and Suicidal Tendencies. But I also love Eighties shit like Duran Duran as well as a load of punk and hardcore stuff like Refused, Madball, Pennywise and tons of others. Everything from Straight Edge stuff to today's metallic hardcore. I also love the Nu metal stuff at the moment like Incubus and Orgy. So as you can see our tastes are diverse which probably helps us get a unique sound.
Ian: My influences mainly come from Nineties alternative stuff and Eighties pop. I don't really have a favourite band. I grew up on things like EMF, Jesus Jones, Faith No More and obviously metal, punk and hardcore. I know it's a cliché but I do like everything.

Who would you most like to tour with and why?

Mike: The 15-year-old kid in me is saying Slayer! I would just love to tour with people that have the same personalities as us - like-minded people to have a laugh with and fuck around with. That's what it's all about. I'd hate to go on tour with assholes.
Ian: I honestly wouldn't care who we toured with as long as they were cool. I don't have any long-running desire to tour with a certain band. Most famous bands are probably wankers anyway!

What do you think of the Cardiff punk and hardcore scene right now? Who are your favourite local bands?

Ian: The Cardiff scene is quite cool. It's got loads of amazing bands and it's growing all the time.
Mike: I think the scene around here is picking up, we seem to have a lot of great bands around here at the moment. Not just Cardiff but all of South Wales. There seems to be a lot of enthusiasm at the moment and the shows are getting good turnouts. My favourite upcoming local bands are Douglas, Taint, Project Pigeon, Mongrel, Tripcage and of course the infamous Public Disturbance.
Ian: Yeah, and there are probably loads more forming as we speak. The one problem with the local scene is that it can be a bit cliquey. It seems like if you don't play punk, ska or hardcore then you're not considered cool. There seem to be people in the scene who profess to be supporting the underground but who are more judgemental and image conscious than anyone else.

Would you move out of Cardiff/Wales if you thought it would benefit the band?

Ian: Yes, definitely. We plan on moving anyway, maybe even out of the country.
Mike: My aim is to move out of South Wales to benefit the band.

What sort of ethics as individuals and as a band do you employ?

Mike: Major labels don’t really bother me. As long as the band go into the deal knowing what to expect and make sure they don't get fucked over then it's fine. You would always get better attention from an Indie though. On a personal front, Lee and I are both vegetarian and I do believe in animal rights. I'm Straight Edge and so is Ian - I'm not even sure if I'm comfortable with that tag.
Ian: I think drinking sucks, smoking sucks and drugs suck but all this Straight Edge thing is a load of shit. It's such a fashion statement thing half the time, it's like wearing a Gucci catsuit to a club or something! I haven't drunk alcohol since I was 14 years old, I don't do drugs and I've never smoked, but do I scrawl Xs on my hands and start preaching and judging? No. I don't need to tell anyone if I'm Straight Edge or not - well, apart from you! These kids with Xs on their hands don't get it. I'm like 'who cares if you're Straight Edge? I don't, because next year you'll be into something else.' True, Straight Edge is a personal thing. Most hardcore kids are the biggest fashion victims this side of Moschino.
Mike: None of this is an issue to us as a band. There are enough bands out there preaching to people - the last thing we need is another one. That's one thing I'm not fond of - bands preaching.
Ian: There are no real causes that we stand for other than believing in yourself.

Have you managed to get much publicity so far?

Mike: We've had some publicity in the metal press. We were given 10 out of 10 in the demo review section of Metal Hammer and we got asked to do a Kerrang-sponsored night in the Camden Barfly which was cool.
Ian: Also, we were given five out of five in a live review in Kerrang and they featured us in their 'Hot New Bands' section. Since we started we've had little bits of interest, labels asking for our tapes and stuff, be we used to say 'Yeah okay, we'll get one off to you' and not bother. Because we had other things going on we didn't really follow anything up. It wasn't because we didn't want to, just because we were very apathetic and blasé - or lazy as some would call it!
Mike: We're starting to get more coverage now just with little fanzine interviews and stuff.

In a year's time, where do you see yourself as a band?

Ian: Hopefully a lot closer to where we want to be.
Mike: Hopefully with a CD out, getting some good publicity and perhaps playing with some of the bigger touring American bands. We just want to get our stuff heard by as many people as possible and play our asses off all over the world. To me our style of music comes down to playing live and if we can tour and do that full-time it would be a dream come true.