Interview by Kris Peters
You just have to read the description of Coffin Carousel's music in their press release to know their world is bound to be completely different to any other you would have likely stumbled upon in the past.
"Coffin Carousel is your haunted chainsaw ride to an uncompromised dark metal horror textured musical experience."
See? Now tell me you aren't even a little intrigued?
With opening spots with bands such as the Misfits and Wednesday 13 already adorning the resume of Coffin Carousel it is perhaps surprising that this band have yet to make a national splash, but if self-belief, talent and dedication are parameters of any measure of success then that recognition isn't too far away.
Originally started in 2012 as a side project for David Howell (Howsie), Coffin Carousel quickly took on a life of its own and morphed into a full band some three years later, much to the ghoulish delight of a niche group of music lovers who thrive in the macabre.
The band will release their fourth, self-titled album appropriately on Friday, October 13, as well as premiering their new track War Of Roses via HEAVY that same day.
HEAVY entered the vividly surreal musical realm of Coffin Carousel earlier this week when we sat down with Howsie for a chat about the new album and more.
"I'm feeling excited," he smiled when asked about the album release. "Every album I have released has been on Friday 13th. I'm most excited for this album because the band has taken a massive leap. I guess the sound originally started in the horror/punk realm with a bit of sludge metal, but it really digs into the metal spectrum for this album. The sound has progressed. It's gone more elite. I pushed my vocals on this one. I have previously done all the melodic Misfits kind of choruses. I've still got melody on this album, but my vocals are more harsh and aggressive. Over the last couple of years I've learned a few tricks delivering that metal growl, but I have put my flavour to it. I'm really excited for people to hear it."
In the full interview, Howsie talks more about the album and what to expect, his deliberate efforts to distance the music from that on the previous albums, how much thought goes into the musical direction of each album and how much is dictated by the music, why he felt this was the right album to lend the band name to, the new single War Of Roses and what it's about, the devilishly wicked music video that comes with it, touring plans and more.