HEAVY LIES THE CROWN
Dan Kavanagh of UK' s GODSIZED
Interview by Tony Sison
Formed in 2008, the four piece hard rock band known as Godsized have their sights on to becoming the next British hard rock band to make an impact on a global scale. Inspired by a wide range of influences such as classic rock giants Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, ZZ Top, along with more contemporary acts such as Down, Alter Bridge, and Clutch, the eleven tracks on the band's latest release, Heavy Lies The Crown feature a power pack of heavy, groove-laden riffs blended with big choruses, dueling guitar solos, and soaring melodic vocals.
The band is comprised of Glen Korner (vocals and guitars), Chris Charles (guitars), Gavin Kerrigan (bass), and Dan Kavanagh (drums) - Godsized is a gang of hard working musicians who love being in a band.
Godsized drummer Dan Kavanagh shares his thoughts on 'Heavy Lies The Crown' and what the band's plans are for world domination...
'Heavy Lies The Crown' is a MONSTER of a release. Are you satisfied with how the new album turned out? How would you describe the overall vibe of the album?
Dan Kavanagh: Thanks! We are very proud of it. With recording, what you think you're going to make and what you end up with are sometimes two different things. But this really turned out exactly as we hoped and frankly that's down to the producer, Chris Coulter, who did an unbelievable job. He understood the band, our goals and also how to maximize what we did to really capture our sound - that guys knows how to make a record. It's rocking, melodic and groovy. It's loud, full of energy and represents us perfectly.
The album has 11 slamming tracks, how songs did you actually write for, 'Heavy Lies The Crown'? How long did it take to record?
Dan Kavanagh: There was only one song that you could say was complete and it just didn't feel the way the others did, so we dropped it. It was more, "this track needs more time" and we didn't wanna fuck it up! Felt like we were cramming it in to the album, you know? We all write separately, but writing as a band seems to take priority which is really cool, so I had 4 or 5 songs that never even came in to the picture and I'm sure the others do too. There's probably a double album on our respective phones! A couple were written almost entirely by someone on their own, some were jammed out by the four of us - just about every combination of writers has worked on the album. It took 11 days to record, about the same again to mix.
Are there any plans of a tour of America? Who would like to tour with?
Dan Kavanagh: Well, in truth that's not something the four of us will have much of a say in, you'd need that rubber stamped by the label and agents. Of course the four of us would love to - personally I dream of America often and always hoped I'd end up there one day, you guys have it all. It'll all come down to the demand, it ain't easy sending a band out on the road, but hopefully if the record's well received we'll make it over. Who with? Wow - there are so many. Metallica, Alice In Chains, Clutch, Alter Bridge, Slash, BLS....any of those would be the greatest thing to ever happen! Imagine opening for a band like that in America! That's the dream, right there.
For someone who is new to Godsized, how would you describe your band? Who are your musical influences?
Dan Kavanagh: Well, see above for influences. Collectively it's all the obvious ones, Led Zep, Sabbath, all the Seattle bands and lots of metal. We all have our own things, Glen's a huge fan of Miles Kennedy and his projects along with Pearl Jam and ZZ Top. Chris loves his metal, loves Sabbath and Dio. Gav has to be the biggest Thin Lizzy fan I've ever met, he can tell you anything about that band, he's pretty much an encyclopedia of rock! He got me into Walking Papers recently, we're always playing them! Rad band. As a drummer it was Metallica that made me pick up sticks. I think QOTSA are the most dangerous band around these days, and lately I've become obsessed with Karnivool. They're on a different level. I think all of those bands rock, but they all have great melodies and catchy hooks. I think that's what we do.
What were some of the memorable moments, good or bad, in then making of, 'Heavy Lies The Crown'?
Dan Kavanagh: It was a strangely easy experience making the record. I mean, nothing went wrong! The overall memory is a really chilled out vibe, everyone having a good time. I tracked all the drums in 1 day, Gav did the same on bass and I think the other two did all the guitars in a couple, including solos, which is ridiculous when you hear the guitar work on the record - Chris and Glen have both done some amazing work on this album and I hope they get the recognition I think they deserve. And listen to Gav's bass on "Never A Better Time" or "Stone Cold Blow To The Head" when the band drops out, it sounds like Duff! We all totally stepped up which is real cool and I'm proud of those three dudes. I hear about the big guns doing two or three tracks a day like it's some big thing and think "what are they doing all day? It's 10 minutes of music!".
Complete this sentence: "You should check out Godsized because......"
Dan Kavanagh: ...You've read this far, you may as well see why this guy won't shut up! Nah seriously, I think you can probably work out what to expect musically from the previous questions. We're just four hard working guys from England who love being in a band and it would be a dream come true to bring it to the USA. It's amazing to us that we've got a record out over there, and to have support from you guys means the world to us.
For more info on GODSIZED, please visit:
http://godsized.co.uk/
or
https://m.facebook.com/Godsizedband?_rdr
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