Werewolves' Sam Bean: "We Might Amp Things Up To Three Albums a Year"...

Aussie extremists Werewolves have quickly built a formidable name for themselves in the Stygian depths of the death metal scene; Despite their caveman outlook and cro-magnon sonic approach to life they are also routinely eminently entertaining interviewees, so of course it was a pleasure to chew the fat with singing bassist Sam Bean on the occasion of the release of the band’s new album, their fifth in as many years since formation…

You famously announced early on in the band’s career that you’d release ten albums in ten years – You’re now halfway through the project. Is that target looking like an impossible dream or still an eminently achievable ambition? “We’re going to do it even if it kills us and absolutely everyone else. We’re at the halfway mark but this year has been the hard year, what with self-releasing and personal lives being pure mayhem. Recording is the easy bit. Album five was always going to be the hump to get over. We’ll squeeze the last five out no worries at all. We just need some electricity and for none of us to die”.

You are all in a variety of other bands as well as Werewolves; Just how difficult is it to write enough material to keep up with the self-imposed demand? “It’s easy for me cause Matt (Wilcock, guitars) writes it all! He seems to do it no worries, he’s very disciplined and his life has minimal distractions compared to me and Dave (Haley, drums). I guess writing the lyrics is the main
part of my workload, and I’ve got things set up these days so I can get the job done even if inspiration isn’t floating out of the heavens and dissolving into my coffee. If there ever comes a day that Matt goes off the rails, THAT’S when things will get difficult”.

The band is putting this new album out independently – does that add to the stress or do you feel more comfortable, now, being in charge of everything? “I don’t want to sound all sensible and balanced, but it’s a bit of both? It has definitely been stressful, no doubt about it, but hopefully it’s a one-off. Dave has sorted out the global distro and I’ve sorted out the PR and communications side, Matt’s been pitching in…we’re kind of lucky in that no-one in the band gets fully left on their own to sort shit out. It’ll look like business as usual to all the punters, which is the idea. And even though our deal with (former label) Prosthetic Records was great, we stand to do well if we keep flogging the same number of albums. Like, not caviar and Bentleys and shit, but all the costs of death metalling will be sorted. We’ve also got the freedom to release when and where we want now, so we might amp things up to three albums a year”.

I don’t doubt you could do it! Now, I’m going to ask you to cast your mind back… “We want to be the band where if your mum and dad catch you listening to us, they know they’ve failed as parents” was a key takeaway from our first interview with you around the time of What a Time To Be Alive‘s release. How do you think you’ve gone with that particular war aim over the last three years? “Well, my youngest stepdaughter has taken to wearing my Werewolves t-shirts, particularly the one with the dude on all fours eating babies. It could mean that I’m a rubbish parent. But then again, I come across all these other Muppets and their pale weakling zombified offspring who are glued to devices and can’t hold a conversation with an actual human being and think well, we’re not doing too bad. I think we tripled down on our parent-unfriendliness with the shirt we did for the last album, which had text on the back: ‘that’s what you get for listening to shit music, you shit music-liking shit-cunt.’ People were sending us pics of them wearing that for Oz Music t-shirt day. Anyone who loses their job or gets suspended from school for wearing that gets a free sticker. I like to think we’re equal-opportunity everyone-unfriendly these days, not just parents”.

Around the time of From The Cave to the Grave you were musing on the nature of change and progression – Your music is nothing if not uncompromising in its immovability. Do you foresee a time, ever when a little change or progression might edge their way into the picture? “Nah, we’ve got the right amount of change happening each album I reckon. A touch of refinement, a smidgeon of vocal experimentation, that’s all it needs. If you do a one eighty and decide to do something totally different, then you need to start a new band. Which of course we did with Faustian, the black metal band we did an album for last year. Go get it all out of your system and then get back to the core. Carcass should never have release Swansong, that should have been released under the Firebird or Black Star names or whatever their rock bands were called. If I’m being unserious, then fuck you for suggesting change. If I’m being serious, then ‘refinement’ describes
our approach more accurately”.

What tracks on the new album stand out for you as ‘quintessential’ Werewolves? “The title track Die For Us is the best thing any of you will hear in your worthless lives. If you want to know whether to buy this album – or even sit down and listen to it in its glorious entirety – then just listen to this track. It will have you rolling on the ground wetting yourself with laughter before straight-up smashing your bedroom to bits, and you’ll have the joy of knowing you have another half hour of similar shit left. And if it doesn’t do either of those things to you, then turn it off, and forget about us. Go drink your lactose-free milk and pee sitting down. When I think about it, I’m pretty happy with Under A Urinal Moon as well. It’s such a serious song for such a ridiculous song title. We’ve managed to do a standout slow song on each of the last three albums, I like that we managed to continue the tradition. And I guess I love My Hate Is Strong as well for how heavy it is, plus Rok (Sadistik Exekution)’s vocals. I still can’t believe we got vocals from him for a track. That’s it, we’ve reached the peak. Time to chuck it all in and go fishing”.

Given your writing commitments with Werewolves and your other bands and the annoying fact that real life has an awful habit of intruding on things, is there much chance that we’ll see you out on the road in support of the new record? “We’ve got two shows booked but they’re support spots in Melbourne on consecutive nights. September 13th playing with Colossus, and September 14th at Hell On The Bay! We don’t have any other shows booked this year. We were wanting to get the first half of the year out of the way which has been frenetic not just for us, but for the live scene…like seriously, there has been another international act touring every week. Why try and clash with that? Also, we had a big year last year with a couple of national tours and now Matt and Dave are paying attention to their other bands for a bit. More shows will happen, don’t worry. Fuck knows when though”.

Aussie extreme metal seems to be in rude health as a scene at the minute – to what would you attribute this happy state of affairs? “I find the scene tends to be pretty awesome when day-to-day life sucks balls. The thrash scene went nuts in the eighties during the US recession there. Then when there was the global recession in the early nineties, death metal burst forward and Australia had a bit of a golden age as well. Then everything has been more or less comfy since which is why I hate everything that came after the nineties scene. Comfortable safe metal made by pricks with all their teeth who want to show off what great musicians they are. Things are back to being day-to-day shit in Australia again…inflation going nuts, unaffordable housing, every politician compromised, just every single thing getting worse by the day. So I figure there’s real stuff to get real mad about again, which makes for real good music. There’s a million holes in this theory of mine, but I don’t give a fuck”.

Anything else you’d like to tell our readers about the new record? “Die For Us is out on Bandcamp on the 12th July, and then all other streaming services on the 19th. Physicals as well. We’re particularly proud about our run of cassettes this time around, it’s so old-school and primal. Next album will probably come with a free gramophone, and the one after that you’ll have to steal a wall-mounted magnetic tape reader from a museum to listen to. I’m still jealous that Blood Duster thought of smashing their masters. Anyway, buy our shit”.

Good luck with the album!