Our regular run-down of as many of the Bloodstock bands as we can get to talk to us! The Grey play the SOPHIE stage on the Saturday…
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
So… We say we’re from Cambridge but none of us actually are these days. Charlie and Stevo live about 30 minutes outside Cambridge and Andy lives in Coventry
How long have you been playing together as a band?
Around 8 years now, Andy ed us on bass just as the pandemic was coming to an end. We played our first show with him the weekend restrictions were lifted.
Where does the name of the band come from?
If you want the pretentious answer, I could say it represents the juxtaposition between the light and dark parts of our sound which we try to portray with the use melody, dynamics and crushing riffs. In reality we didn’t want anything too convoluted and Charlie’s daughter suggested The Great. We’re not that egocentric so flipped it to the Grey.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
I’m going to tie this one in with the next question so bare with me. The easiest way to describe us is by saying we’re a post metal band but I think stopping there doesn’t do us justice. What makes us unique is the way in which we write the songs predominantly for the live experience but in a way that we can put down onto record to accurately portray this. In a world of tightly defined genres and labels we try and write songs that we would want to see live, pulling from a wider range of influences which in itself leads to a different sound. I can honestly put my hand on my heart and say I don’t think we really sound like anyone. It’s a cliché but we do what we do because we love it
What’s your live show like? Why are people going to watch you instead of another band?
We do what we do for the live experience and as such launch ourselves into playing live 100%, for a bunch of old c*nts we know how to throw down and while we take the music we make very seriously we’re all here to have fun. You’re going to see riffs mixed with groove mixed with a smattering of “je ne sais quoi”
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Have you played Bloodstock before? If so, when?
This is the first time The Grey has played here and we can’t wait!
How/when did you find out that you’d be playing the SOPHIE stage?
A cooler story would be to tell you how we got booked full stop. Andy saw one of the festival organisers in a supermarket and having known him from playing the festival with another band handed him our album Dead Fire. The next day we received the offer to play!
What sort of setlist can we expect?
A musical journey through time and space!
Which other band do you most hope you’re not clashing with so you can see them play?
Overall, it’s a great lineup and we won’t be missing Meshuggah, Crowbar, Zeal And Ardor and Sepultura but we’re also going to be checking out some of the awesome UK talent from the likes of Bossk, Tuskar and Urne no name just a few.
What are you working on at the moment?
We are in the mixing stage of our new album which will be released shortly.
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
The gnarliest thing I’ve ever seen was a guy get drop kicked in the chest (accidentally) at a hardcore show and barf up blood.
What drink do you throw back to get yourself fired up before going on stage?
This has changed over the years. We started of gunning cans of energy drink before we went on stage, we then went through a stage of smashing tequila and currently its sambuca. We are however all advocates of drinking responsibly…
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