At the beginning of the year it was Ballarat, nearing the end it will be Geelong. Her Highness and Resist Promotions present Blaze, a festival of metal delights that will take place at the Barwon Club on December 7, and heading the fest will be Melbourne thrash-metallers Desecrator.
We chat with Riley Strong, the band’s frontman and lead guitarist.
Welcome back to our pages! What has the last 12 months or so involved for the band?
Man, apart from a few killer shows with bands like Metal Church, Krisiun and currently touring with Soilwork we’ve been heads down finishing and tracking our next record which I can tell you has been the most intense process and hopefully result yet. Bigger songs have taken bigger visions and processes to bring to life.
You have a very solid line up, aside from a bloody lead guitarist! Why the difficulty holding one down? and whilst at it, introduce the latest victim to our readers.
Ha, yep we’ve been through a few but we upgraded the cage from chicken wire to solid steel and have learned a lot about nourishing a captive over the years so we’re confident we won’t need to find a fourth. Muggsy is the singer/songwriter of fellow Melbourne thrashers Harlott who have been longterm gigging partners of Desecrator so when it came to introducing him into our routine we were pretty confident the shoe would fit, plus he’s been an active part of writing our upcoming record so we couldn’t be happier with his inclusion.
Blaze number 2 for Desecrator, but this time in Geelong. What do you remember about the first one, and what are you looking forward to about the Geelong installation of Blaze?
Ballarat was a great day and night, that town has a rich history of extreme bands through the ’90s but has seemed to struggle in the last 10 years for local show attendance and venue support so to put in such a key showcase day and price to the local community that the numbers are there is a fantastic sign for the future. Desecrator has tried to keep Ballarat on our touring radar, same as Geelong so days like these are when we hope that hard work will pay off. Plus, where else in Victoria can you use the word ‘Bay Area thrash’ haha
You have played overseas a few times now, including with Airbourne in Europe. Instead of a highlight moment, what Country have you found the most enjoyable, and where are the Desecrator maniacs most abundant?
Spanish crowds always stick out in my mind for their participation, passion, and energy (must be the warm weather) but truthfully we’ve been fortunate enough to play in so many rad places now that there are many great highlight towns. Mexico, South America, and Russia all gave us experiences we will never forget, from packed basements to mega warehouses it’s become a lifetimes story.
Why didn’t you get the support slot for Metallica (even though it was cancelled)?
They allegedly still owe the Thin Lizzy guy for a guest live appearance according to him so they probably didn’t have the money free to book us…
What will 2020 bring for Desecrator?
A career-defining album, a bunch of touring, some job losses, frustrations and a bunch of heavy metal… so another year the same as the last ten all going to plan
When & Where: The Barwon Club, Geelong – December 7. Tickets via barwonclub.oztix.com.au
Written by Glenn Lynch
