Rising To The Masses: Biomechanimal

---

Before the first riffs echo through the fields of Catton Park, we are diving head first into the pulse-pounding world of the New Blood Stage at Bloodstock 2024. So grab your backstage pass, tune your senses, and join us as we explore the stories, inspirations, and the relentless drive of the bands who are rising to the masses! Introducing Biomechanimal…

How would you describe your band to someone who’s never heard you?

Genre hopping electronic metal.

Tell us about your band’s origin story. How did you all come together?

Biomechanimal started as an industrial electro project some time ago, and gradually morphed into the more electronic metal beast it is today, settling on the incredible members that have now been a part of the band for many years.

What song would you recommend for someone’s first listen of your band?

Describe your songwriting process. How do you create your music?

Depends on the song. Matt will often write a series of ‘sketches’; loops, riffs, cool sound design experiments. It’s then decided if any of these are worth taking forward. If the track requires it, Sarunas will lay down guitars, Kekko drum lines, and as a group we will refine the song in rehearsal until it’s ready to go. Then in post production, Matt and Keith will work together to bring the track to the level it needs to be. It’s a long process, but worth it.

How do you handle creative disagreements within the band?

Constant refinement. There’s no such thing as a bad idea. Either it’ll get saved for something else, or we’ll improve on an idea that’s working. Don’t shit on each other’s work, don’t be a cunt. Be chill, be positive, make cool shit, keep it drama free.

What are your musical influences?

In Flames, Dimmu Borgir, Modestep, The Browning, Skinny Puppy, Psyclon 9, Celldwellar, The Algorithm, Igorrr.

What’s the story behind your band name?

So Biomechanimal was the name I (Matt) used to DJ under. I used to DJ back in Southampton, as my way of getting into clubs while I was under 18. When I started writing my own tracks, the name struck. I love dark science fiction media, and it was a good fit. When we started as an electronic band, we never thought there would ever be an issue, as obviously there was a band called Biomechanical, although I believe they weren’t active even then.

What’s your guilty pleasure music outside of metal?

There are no guilty pleasures. Just enjoy things, and let people enjoy things. Probably Yu Gi Oh, though. Although even that’s popping off now with Noah Lyles at the Olympics. Maybe collecting obscure keyboards, then.

Tell us about your most memorable live performance or tour experience.

We have an event we like to refer to as Resident Turku. While on tour in Finland, we decided to try and have a quiet night on the second to last day of the tour, as we had the final night of the tour in Helsinki. We called it at 2AM, locked up, and went to bed. At 4AM, suddenly the door is being forced open. Luckily, Kekko had put the chain on it, but all these hands were pushing around the door, proper horror stuff. Was fucking hilarious in hindsight.

What’s the most challenging aspect of being a metal band in today’s music industry?

You have to keep a lot of plates spinning. Maintain a regular job, write new music, promote, social media, scout new shows and opportunities, rehearse, keep track of merch and finances; fuel this constant growth, or you drop off. This isn’t unique to metal; it’s everywhere in this industry. It’s hard even just maintaining, but you have to strive for constant growth. It’s mad.

Any advice for other aspiring metal musicians?

Practice, and learn to do things yourself. Learn how to get your gear set up and torn down quickly, make friends with other artists and people in your local scene. Make yourself easy to work with. These are all things that will pay off down the road. Don’t expect people to create opportunities for you.

What’s next after Bloodstock for the band?

We have a big show at Scala in London for Club Antichrist in September, then off to Germany with our good friends Zardonic, Mechanical Vein and Teknovore. At some point album 2 will get finished, as it’s mostly done, and then, yeah, start booking 25. So if you want Bio at your thing, hit us up!

How do you choose album artwork or visuals for your releases?

Depends on the release. We’ve got an artist who does a lot of our work, often inspired by some vague nerd reference that’s given the Biomechanimal spin, or we’ll use a public domain art piece. Ideally we’d use all originals though, and do for big releases.

What’s the most unexpected inspiration for one of your songs?

Age of the Abyss has a lot of Dark Souls DNA, Deskereator has some warhammer stuff in it, Mouths samples Christopher Lee. Honestly, I like using the vehicle of fiction to talk about personal battles that I, and we all, face.

What’s the best gig you’ve attended as a fan and why?

God, too many to count. In recent memory, Apashe in London with the full orchestra absolutely popped off. I used to play in orchestras, so this mixing of bass music and classical was everything I wanted.

Have you faced any challenges as an unsigned band? How do you overcome them?

Being taken seriously financially by UK promoters. Not an issue we’ve had overseas, and sometimes for a good opportunity, yeah, you can suck it up, because it’s worth it. But yeah, pay your artists.

How do you stay motivated during creative slumps?

At this point, it’s not just about motivation. Even if you’re not feeling creatively inspired, when you do the band’s programming and production, there are always jobs you need to do that don’t require inspiration. And that’s okay, it’s not all about creating the best riff or biggest lead line. Sometimes it’s about getting the sub bass perfect, working on the backing track elements, whatever. If you’re always waiting for the right moment, you’re just going to waste time.

Biomechanimal are set to play The Hopical Storm New Blood Stage On Saturday 10th August 2024.