Sometimes a band seemingly appears from nowhere, fully formed and creates a buzz early in their career. With the UK’s HERIOT, that buzz has already become more like an intense thunder, gaining the attention of the likes of Kerrang!, Revolver magazine, BBC Radio 1 and Lamb Of God‘s Mark Morton.
In late 2020, HERIOT debuted the track, “Cleansed Existence,” their first new release since 2016 and the first with guitarist Debbie Gough in the mix. “Back in the day, we were into lots of sludgy, doomy stuff that had lots of hardcore elements” vocalist/bassist Jake Packer explains when I ask about their sound, “So we ended up playing a lot of hardcore shows but didn’t really fit in those bills. We definitely weren’t straight hardcore and then, as the band progressed, we obviously have those influences still but with Deb joining there’s a lot more blackened elements, black metal bits, and I think now we’re pushing more on the noise, industrial side of things.”
With three tracks released with the new line-up, all with renowned producer George Lever (Sleep Token, Loathe, Holding Absence), the band recently joined the roster of Church Road Records alongside the likes of Svalbard, Palm Reader, Cruelty and Slow Crush. Their latest release, Dispirit, again features stunning visuals from Harry Steel who they say is “like an extra member of the band.”
Rock Sound described their music as “one of the most violent and volatile statements of intent you’re going to hear this year”
We caught up with HERIOT to find out more about this new chapter for the band, how adding a second guitarist has helped them experiment more and what records they’ve listened to more than any other. You can watch the full interview below:
Heriot are:
Jake Packer – Vocals/Bass
Debbie Gough – Vocals/Guitar
Erhan Alman – Guitar
Julian Gage – Drums
