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NEVER A HERO: "Bleed Between The Lies"

NEVER A HERO -  Indeed, they came from out of nowhere (Sudbury/Suffolk, actually) and straight to your screen, the best contemporary British Metal act you've never seen? (or heard of for that matter). Never A Hero - always a bridesmaid? Ehem. nevermind. It's not like they are completely unheard of either since our masked heroes has enjoyed success on Kerrang! Scuzz TV, and more than 1 million plays at myspace. And, yes, masked as in dodgy ornate steel masks to keep their sad little faces hidden. Bleed Between The Lies is the metal album ala Bullet For My Valentine, Papa Roach, Linkin Park, but with a twist since there's the hint of UK and progressive metal.. Find out more about the album, here's the masked man behind the moniker of:  PHRIXUS...

How has the reaction to your latest CD been?

It's been really cool and better than we could have ever hoped for, we've had so many good reviews and good feedback, actually it is pretty humbling. There had been so much time put in to it and so much effort getting things how we wanted them to sound, that we didn't know if what we were doing was going to be well received. But it has now had some things said about it that we could have only dreamed of (or written ourselves - Ha). So thanks everyone!.

How long did this CD take to make from start to finish, recording-wise?

Recording wise, it took longer than we wanted it to take, but less time than we wanted. It took about 10 days to get everything down. Then it took about 15 days in a different studio to re-record some parts and mix and master it. But the whole process started in May 2012 and we had the finished physical CD's in November - Definitely worth taking the extra time though instead of rushing it out and looking back thinking, shit, I wish we had / hadn't done this and that.

What kind of 'sound', production wise, did you have in the back of your mind, prior to recording

We wanted the songs to sound massive and epic. There are talented people in the band and we wanted them all to shine on the album. I (Phrixus) personally wanted a mix of muse's sound, a very defined and clear sounding whilst sounding fucking epic and for the more electronic songs I wanted it to sound like skrillex, punchy and fat, proper in your face KABOOM shit.

What kind of input did the producer have during the process?

We worked with two producers. Rupert Matthews and Sheena Sear. They both had some beautiful inputs into the album. Little touches here and there of bits that they felt worked or didn't. So we thank them for caring and speaking their minds. Both producers definitely helped craft the album with different effects and how the songs took shape. It's good having an extra set of ears because they hear things that sometimes we might not so they definitely helped round off the sound we got.

And are you pleased with the final outcome? (sound - production wise)

I think for most of the songs we tried to make as epic as possible, they took a while to write because we just kept adding little sounds here and there which is why the album sounds full as hell.

Did the producer (or you) use any (weird) experimental miking and/or  recording techniques?

There were things like, getting the singer drunk so he would relax, and wearing crowns and swinging swords while singing group vocals so we would feel more royal. Ha. I wonder whether listeners can tell we were sword fighting or naked while doing our takes?!?.

Please inform us about your favourite songs off the album

We all have different fav songs. I (Phrixus) love Roses, Screams, Hollow and Dreamcatcher. Love big chorus's that get people involved...

Any overall theme of mood that you're trying to capture while writing songs?

We try to capture a clear image and the truth of what we're writing about. Hard to write about false things that we haven't experienced or feel. So we pretty much pour out our souls into the songs and give them everything when we perform and record.

Are there any 'crazy' behind the scenes anecdotes from these sessions that you can share with us?

Haha, too many to say... We had many drinks and a fart league.....and made good use of the last few channels on sky (aherrrm).

Did the record company interfere with anything on your "sound" and songs?

Nah, they had heard some of the demos that we had done and were happy with them so we went ahead and bashed out the lot.

Do you get any stick from British media for being too America friendly?

I don't think we do, whenever we get reviewed they always say "British rock band" and so on, we do get compared to the likes of Papa Roach and Linkin Park which are American but I don't think we've ever been classed as American rock.

How would you describe the new CD to any potential new fan?

It's loud, beautiful in places, and will often twist you to a new place. So for new fans - take a listen if you want to find something that does not fit in to a stereo typical box.

I know this may sound like a truly lame question, but why the masks?

Two of us are currently in the witness protection program, one of us is really shy, one is a former Thai lady boy trying to make a new life for himself and the other is truly fucking ugly - so masks seemed a no brainer.

Who are your influences and heroes? (music-wise)

We all have a huge range from Biffy Clyro to Counting Crows and Breaking Benjamin to Celine Dion. One member even loves Bananarama. As a drummer Daisy's main influence is Travis Barker,but we love him despite that.

If there's anything you'd like to add, say, please do:

Thanks to all the fans, family and friends - this album is for you all and by the way, Where do we pick up the coke and ho's we were promised by our manager in return for doing this interview with the mighty Rock United.
PHRIXUS / Never A Hero

Interview by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
Photos from the band's websites  http://www.neverahero.net 
http://www.facebook.com/neverahero/ 
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