You’re set to release your second album Death of the Party later this month. Are you looking forward to getting it out there?
We couldn’t be more excited. The album has been an amazing experience for all of us. We can’t wait for the fans to hear all the new songs and we’re buzzing to hear what they think. We have some incredible shows, festival appearances and tours on the horizon and playing these songs live has been our motivation for the past 6 months.
It’s refreshing to have such a great rock album to listen to, such as Death of the Party. Can you tell us about some of your influences in the album?
Thank you. We have a real mixed bag of influences in our band. I think we just went into the studio with the vision to make the best record we possibly could. We all agree on bands like Guns N’ Roses, Avenged Sevenfold and Def Leppard – but individually I think we’ve thrown in a bit of HIM, Stone Sour, Nirvana, Ghost, Bring Me TheHorizon, Type O Negative and a whole host of other bits and pieces.
Is there a specific track that stands out to you either personally or one that you think fans will click with the most?
I think lyrically the whole album is very relatable. I’ve never shied away from honest thoughts and feelings when writing music. I think for me Hellbound Heart is a top tier choice for me, as it deals with pushing on despite the haters, the naysayers and people who hold you back. I think, however, our second single ‘Static’ has already connected with fans due to its message of living life to the full and absolute banging riffs.
The album was recorded with Romesh Dodangoda. What was it like to work with such a great producer?
Romesh and his team were an absolute pleasure to work with. We not only bonded with him through music, the industry and our shared work ethic, but as a friend too. The man has an incredible ear for music, layers, harmonies and the final product. He took what we had, stayed loyal to our sound, but turned it up all the way to eleven.
You had your first show right before the Covid pandemic kick in but have since gone on to play at Bloodstock as well as supporting the likes of Wednesday 13 and WASP as well as a successful headline tour back in October. How has it been going from starting out to be halted by the pandemic to then going straight into shows like that?
We didn’t let the pandemic dampen our spirits or kill our momentum. We knew that South of Salem could be something special. I think in a lot of ways the lockdown helped us grow our fanbase online and pushed us to use different technology and social platforms. But on top of that it made us miss gigging, so when we were able to we’ve powered on, done as much as we could and never looked back.
What are your plans for 2024?
We have an acoustic tour, our album launch, UK tour with Kris Barras, festival appearances, some stuff I can’t talk about yet and some special plans in the pipeline. All in all I have no idea how we’re going to squeeze it all in, but you can expect a very big year for SOS.
We always end with some random questions. First up, if an alien was to come to earth and wanted to find out more about South of Salem’s sound, what one song would you tell them to listen to first?
It’s gotta be Cold Day In Hell. It embodies our 80s rock/metal influences with a modern production perfectly.
How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
I wood-n’t know.
And finally, you have 24 hours left on earth, how would you spend it?
With my wife and cats watching some terrible budget horror movie with big ol’ pizza, stuffed crust.
Thank you very much of the questions 🙂
JOEY – vocals for South of Salem