The Spotlight: BOA New Blood Interview With Scars Of Remembrance (Paul H)

Winners of the North Wales M2TM were Scars of Remembrance. Guitarist Dan was able to field the questions on behalf of the band and started with the history of the band.

Dan: We started in about 2012. A few of us had been in other bands and we had taken a break from it all. We got the itch to start something up, and after a few failed attempts we started Scars... It was nothing serious, just an excuse to get out of the house and write some songs, do some gigs and have a laugh. Took us a few years to get any traction ...and a few different line-ups, but it's brought us where we are today! ...on the eve of playing something as great as Bloodstock!

Paul: Introduce us to the current line-up

Dan: We've got Mike on vocals, Ben on drums, Karl bringing the low end and Mark and myself (Dan) on guitars.

Paul: What do the band sound like and who are the main influences?

Dan: We just play what comes out, really. I'd say we wanted to capture that 'metalcore' vibe with the down picked riffs, heavy and melodic, clean and dirty vocal as its covers all bases. There are hints of bands like Killswitch Engage and Lamb of God in there, but there’s a lot of different styles that get thrown into the mix. Karl is massively into Tool, I'm a big GN'R fan, we each bring a bit of something different.

Paul: Prior to Bloodstock, what are some of the highlights for the band so far?

Dan: We've played a few great gigs in the last 12 months. Supporting bands that I grew up listening to like (Hed)pe or bands that are hitting their stride right now like Sumo Cyco is always a great thing for any band.

Paul: Let’s move on to Bloodstock and your road to the festival. Please tell us about your journey?

Dan: We got asked to do the first round of M2TM North Wales. It’s not something we'd usually do. We've never been a band who bring the big crowds or know the right people, so we've always shied away from them. But this time, it was "let’s just do it for the gig then". We were shocked to get through round one. The semi-final was the same, we didn’t think we had a chance. There were some top bands on that line-up, but again we went through. It was here we started thinking "Can we do this??" I'd say the best thing has been the feedback from people. When people come over and tell you how good they think you are, it’s a great feeling.

Paul: Tell us about the build up to your final and how you handled it

Dan: Haha! We never thought we'd actually win, so we just went along to play and put on a good show!

Paul: What about when you were announced as winners? What were the emotions like?

Dan: A lot of jumping around like fools! Completely shocked and overwhelmed when our name was called!! We'd had a couple of beers too, so we were slightly tipsy!

Paul: So, moving on to the festival itself, what can we expect from you?

Dan: Nerves. We'll be terrified! Haha!. We'll get up there and blitz through our set and keep the energy going for half an hour. Expect Karl to bounce around the stage like an animal and Mike to be as near to the crowd as he can get! Hopefully everyone will enjoy it. I know we will!

Paul: Which bands are you looking forward to seeing there?

Dan: Definitely Parkway Drive, we're big fans of theirs. Anthrax, Thy Art Is Murder, Cancer Bats, Soulfly......

Paul: Have you been to Bloodstock before?

Dan: Mike has, but for the rest of us, nope! This is our first time as guests too, so it's going to be a weekend of firsts for us!

Paul: And finally, tell us a guilty pleasure about each member of the band!

Dan: Karl loves George Michael's song 'Outside', Ben enjoys a dark chocolate hob nob... the sicko!! [maybe the answer to the Incursion drum crisis? – Paul], Mark f**king loves Charlie Simpson of Busted fame!! and I’m a bit of a Lego nerd!

Thanks to Dan for his time. So, another band well worth checking out at Bloodstock. Scars play on the New Blood Stage on Saturday 10th August. They should be well worth a watch so get there and support our brothers from the North.