Here we go again… Last year we covered every band on the Hobgoblin New Blood and Jagermeister stages in the run-up to Bloodstock 2015. This year, we’re going one better and aim to have interviews from all the bands on those two stages as well as all of those on the SOPHIE stage prior to the event kicking off on August 11th. That’s almost 100 interviews to get online for you lucky people over the course of the next couple of weeks. I bloody love this job, but you lot owe me a beer at Catton Hall, right?
Thanks to all the bands who’ve taken the time to respond!
Pteroglyph – Hobgoblin New Blood stage, Sunday
Main man Jimmy MacGregor answers the questions for us
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
Sunny Leeds up int narth.
How did you meet?
It’s been a long process of picking up people along the way. The band is almost an entirely different line up as it was once started.
Basically a case of me seeing in other bands and trying to blag them into playing for me with the false hopes and promises of a free meal.
How long have you been playing together as a band?
This incarnation has been playing live together for less than a year but Pteroglyph has been going since 2012 as a kind of solo project brought to life!
Where does the name of the band come from?
- A mythical artifact believed to have been bestowed upon humanity by the gods.
- A misread Wikipedia article title that sounded cooler than the original word.
One of these is true!
What are your influences – individually or as a band?
Probably the biggest influence on Pteroglyph is Devin Townsend and his pursuit of dramatic aural landscapes, also Meshuggah and Gojira are strong influences for being the grand masters of modern progressive and technical metal.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
All music is written and by myself so it is a pure vision of one person but brought to life by an incredibly talented bunch of musicians who do my bidding. The idea is to avoid sounding like everyone else but at the same time not, not trying to sound like everyone else if that makes any sense?? Heavy guitars, a lot of riffs, obscene amounts of double kick, ridiculous screamed vocals and also some nice pleasant-ish sung vocals. Expansive yet powerfully crushing!
All of our previous releases are available for free on bandcamp. Check ’em out.
What’s your live show like – why should the baying hordes troop over to the stage you’re playing on to watch you?
Energy, aggression, lots of rock 101 stage moves, thrown guitars, occasional scissor kicks and text book water spraying… and that just the guitarist! LOTS of headbanging but not taken too seriously, a positive vibe that’ll make you want to party harder!
When/how did you find out you’d been selected to play at Bloodstock?
Finally managed to win a slot through Metal to the Masses in Yorkshire! An awesome competition and a lot of fun, made new friends and partied very hard before and after!
What sort of setlist can we expect?
We’ve actually been playing a similar setlist at every show recently mainly due to the fact it’s engaging from the get go, basically full attack mode from the start and no messing in between.
Precise, consistent and relentless but also a lot of fun!
Which main stage band do you most hope you’re not clashing with so you can see them play?
We’re playing the Sunday so hopefully not Heart Of a Coward as they’ll be awesome to see on the main stage! Also Anthrax because it’s important that I go and lose my shit to them at that point!
What are you working on at the moment?
Recently finished the debut Pteroglyph album, 9 tracks and 45 minutes long, currently sat on it until it’s ready for release a bit later this year. We’re filming music videos to accompany the release in the next couple of weeks and I cannot wait to unleash it all! It’s the biggest thing we’ve done to date so it’s very exciting!
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done on tour?
Probably the less said the better! Drunken casino adventures, a lot of Buckfast and standing on a bar at 5am singing Manowar with the other touring band… that was just day two of the tour!
What advice would you give to a young band just starting out today?
If you truly enjoy it and it makes you happy never give up. The rewards that come from hard work and practice are priceless. It’ll change your perception on life and yourself.
Also be prepared to spend a lot of time sucking – being shit is important. There isn’t a single band out there that has been perfect from the start. Everyone sucks at some point and it’s important to recognise that and build upon it.
The biggest and most important point that will make you or break you as a band is to be grateful and appreciative of everyone and anyone that you work with or come into with as a band. People don’t arseholes and people definitely do not help arseholes.
If you could be part of any 3-band line-up who else would you have on the bill? One band above you and one below – a chance to plug a smaller, unsigned act!
I’d go more underground bands all the way! Having 3 super famous bands is too easy!
Headline would be MetaStasis because they’re heavy as balls and incredibly awesome! They’re playing the Friday on The Sophie Stage this year and below us would have to be our buddies in Pulverise who are playing the Jagermeister stage this year and got through the same final as us in the Metal to the Masses competition!
What stage / time are you playing at Bloodstock (if you have your slot yet!)
No idea! I know it’s Sunday and it will be at some point before SLAAAAAYEERRRRRR!!!!
