Glasgow metallers and five-piece band From Tyranny released their brand new single “Scorned” recently to great acclaim. I found the tune to be incredibly heavy and in the vein of Gojira, Slipknot and Revocation and not being a huge fan of this style myself, I was taken aback by the quality musicianship on show here. I, therefore, thought it would be a good time to catch up with the band and see what’s what.
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
Glasgow and the surrounding areas – we’re dotted all over converging in Glasgow. We have a few Paisley boys in the band so watch your socks.
How long have you been playing together as a band?
Nearly 3 years. With the current line-up we have been playing together for just shy of a year, but we’ve been playing for just under 3 years now as a band.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
What makes us unique is that we all work extremely hard in achieving the goals that we’ve set ourselves. There is tenacity behind what we do as a band and we don’t plan on letting anything or anyone stop us pushing forward. Our music we feel stands out from the crowd and we are always trying to push ourselves as musicians to write the best songs we can.
Recently you have released the single “Scorned”. How does it feel to get the new song out there for the masses to hear for the first time and how have the reviews been so far?
We are ecstatic to finally get the tune out with the current line-up. The wait between our previous release and “Scorned” felt like an eternity and we appreciate the response from everyone, its nice to know that people were waiting eagerly to hear the next step of From Tyranny.
Being active for a number of years now, how would you say the new album compares to that of your earlier material and do you think you have found the sound you strive for or will far from refuge continue to keep experimenting?
We feel the difference between “Scorned” and our previous material is night and day. The recording itself is way above in sound and quality to any of the releases we have done, so a big thank you to Steven Jones for capturing our sound. A change of has also given the track an extra punch that we feel was lacking, again we hope this resonates with our fans and appreciate their response.
Before this fucking virus, how often were the band able to get together and rehearse in the studio? Where do you get together and record?
Minimum once a week as a full band. We recently began renting our own practise space in Glasgow, so we usually try and get up as much as possible. Some more than others due to work commitments and the like.
How are the songs constructed in the studio? Are there the main songwriters of songs that take care of everything or are From Tyranny a band where all contribute to the songs?
Andrew, our guitarist, has been a machine in coming up with new material for the band. He has been bringing his riffs into the studio and from there the five of us have been crafting songs. We all chip in and give the material our own flare but Andrew’s sound has been a major driving force in the writing process for From Tyranny.
Is there a main lyricist within the band? What are the lyrics for “Scorned” based on?
Since bringing Stuart into the band he has taken over the writing of all the lyrics and vocals. Stuart manages to capture what From Tyranny stands for in what he does, he has 100% levelled up our songs. What he lacks in hair, he makes up in talent. The lyrics for “Scorned” were written after Stuart analysed the dictionary definition for the word “Scorned”. It reads, “A very strong feeling of no respect for someone or something you think is stupid or has no value”. From there the lyrics were written and can be perceived whatever way the listener wants.
Being a five-piece band and having different musical influences within the band, is there sometimes a lot of negotiating in the studio or do you feel you are writing the music you want to for the band?
There has definitely been a shift in the dynamics of the band due to what influences us as musicians. Different perceptions towards music/being in a band has changed the way in which we are going forward and writing music as a band.
How hard is it for a band like From Tyranny to survive in the current climate where bands have to tour non-stop and sell merchandise in order to bring money in?
It’s not extremely difficult for us at the current stage of From Tyranny. This is because we are relatively new and in the scene. We are yet to get out there to play as much as we would like. This will all change after the lockdown is finished, we plan to get out there as much as we possibly can. See you all ASAP.
Before the internet, magazines and fanzines were the places to find out about new bands and trends. Now publications are replaced with thousands of websites catering for all genres. Do you think that some of the ion has been lost or do you think that the internet has been a good thing for music and From Tyranny?
We think the internet has been very beneficial for bands of our level. The internet has given us a platform to stay in touch with our fans, release music and stay connected with everyone. In the same sense, you could argue that due to this ease of showcasing yourself online that the market is diluted.
Due to the virus situation, are you looking at new ways of getting your music out there?
We feel we have successfully released our own track during lock down given the current situation. There are things that we could have done better like play a release show for the track but all in all we are happy with how “Scorned” has been released. We would probably look to mirror the success of “Scorned” for future releases, with the addition of gigging, merch, etc.
Being from the Glasgow area, are there any other bands from your local scene that you would recommend and give a shout out?
We’d like to give a shout out to Take Today, Suffer Under Sorrow, Arc Arrival, Bearers and Perpetua. All five bands have been a great help to us over lockdown, we think you’re all legends.
A fun question to end this interview. If you were a DJ and were allowed to bring 5 CDs to the party, what would they be?
Our five CDs would be as follows:
Era – Bleed from Within
Infestissumam – Ghost
The Link – Gojira
Take to The Skies – Enter Shikari
and of course, the greatest CD of all time – NOW 31
Any last message for our readers here at Moshville Times?
We hope you’ll all give our new track Scorned a listen and enjoy it as much we enjoyed recording it. Keep your eyes peeled on our space as we hope to be seeing you all as soon as possible. Keep safe, peace out. From Tyranny.
Album photo courtesy of Jack Geddes
“Scorned” is out now
From Tyranny: facebook | bigcartel
