Interview by Kris Peters
With a cross pollination of varying metal genres including sludge, death, gloom, black metal and hardcore, UK heavy outfit Conjurer are one of the few modern metal bands to walk that balancing tightrope of styles without imposing too much in any direction.
Their willingness to experiment and push themselves outside of their usual comfort zones has seen the band traverse new sonic landscapes with each album, the most recent of which, 2022's Pathos, seeing the band expose their music to a wider global audience and open the musical minds of a whole new legion of fans.
After visiting Tasmania as part of Dark Mofo that same year - and absolutely slaying it from all reports - Conjurer return to this side of the world for their debut tour of mainland Australia when they start a run of shows with Lo! and Botch in Brisbane from May 15.
HEAVY sat down recently with singer/guitarist Brady Deeprose to find out more.
"We are coming on tour in Australia - which sounds insane to say out loud - (and) we're playing three headline shows and a couple of shows supporting Botch," Deeprose enthused.
We ask if he is already packed and ready to go, still one month out from the tour.
"I moved house three days ago, so I'm not even unpacked at this point," he laughed. "Last time we were in Australia we were down for Dark Mofo in Tasmania and I spent four out of the five days sick as a dog in bed, so I'm ready to get back out and actually experience some of the country. It's one of those bucket list tours that you see bands go to Australia, and it never feels like it's going to be you. We're just so thankful to have the opportunity and to be getting back out there."
We point out that it is a brutal run of five shows in five days and ask if he ever gets the feeling someone in their booking team doesn't like them.
"It's all of them, for sure," he laughed. "We're playing nine shows in ten days and then flying directly to Australia off the back of that, so we're like… I was saying to the guys I'm obviously really excited about this, but it's going to the most brutal month of touring we've ever done. We're gonna be absolutely shagged by the time we get there (laughs). We're so lucky to be able to do this. You get up, drink a couple of Red Bulls, and you make it happen. The shows are gonna be amazing."
In the full interview, Brady talks more about the tour and what to expect, visiting a country on tour for the first time and how he prepares, Conjurer's influences and where they come from, knowing how much of each genre to mix through new music and how to tell if they go too far, their status as a 'non-specific' metal band in terms of genre, new music and more.