Interview by Kris Peters
Despite the plethora of modern advances when it comes to recording music, there is still no hiding when it comes to taking the show on the road. Reputations are made and lost when a band hits the stage, with no technical wizardry or smokescreens able to elevate a below-par performance. Canadian technical death metal outfit Archspire are one band who have nothing to fear in that department. They are heralded with having “a supremely tight live performance, where impressive speeds come grinding to a halt, and in even less time twist and contort into complex passages rife with beautiful harmonies, juxtaposed against insidious melodies.” Even SOUNDS impressive, right? Australian fans soon get the chance to judge for themselves when Archspire hit this country for a run of shows starting in Brisbane on October 11. Supported by Ingested and Werewolves, this promises to be a brutal offering of all things metal where all cards are on the table and folding is not an option. HEAVY spoke with guitarist Dean Lamb ahead of the tour. “The tour is under a month away, and we are very, very excited,” he beamed. “We haven’t packed yet, but what we did recently was we just got back from a tour in Europe, so we were there doing festivals. At this point, at the time of this recording, I think we’ve been home for three weeks nearly, and we leave soon to go to Japan and Australia immediately afterwards. And the craziest thing is that our vocalist is also getting married in Australia at the end of the tour, so we have a nutso trip coming up. (laughs) The last time we were in Australia was 2018 supporting Psycroptic, who are our bros, we absolutely love those dudes. It’s really cool that we get to go back and headline. It’s pretty amazing. Coming from a band who… we play such a niche style of music and to be able to go halfway across the world and actually headline shows somewhere and have people care in any way… it makes us very, very excited. And Australian fans are some of the best we’ve ever met.” In the full interview, Dean talks more about what to expect from the shows, what has changed with the band since their last visit in 2018, playing live while having to deliver their brand of technical death metal, having Ingested and Werewolves as touring partners, the musical climate that gave birth to Archspire, their early vision and how it has changed since, new music and more.