We’ve covered the Welsh bands in some detail over the past few months so it would seem a bit ridiculous to ask Fallen Temples the routine questions. Here’s what Joe Lewis had to say as we moved straight onto THAT final at Fuel.
Paul: We interviewed you prior to the final. How were the nerves on the night?
Joe: We were a bit nervous, but we’d done a lot of prep work in practices, so we were feeling confident that we were going to perform to the best of our abilities. Seeing a great supportive crowd in front of us helped to take the edge off our nerves and boost our confidence. Seeing fans wearing our t-shirts in the front row is always a great feeling!
Paul: You’d grabbed a couple of other gigs before the final. Did you feel sharp?
Joe: It always helps to feel gig ready. We’d done a headline show at Kingsfest in Llanidloes not too long before which was an hour and twenty-minute set. We knew if we could do a high intensity long set, we could dial up the energy to overdrive for the final.
Paul: You changed the set about a bit for the final. You also got fabulous support. What was the plan with the set (was there a plan!?)?
Joe: We wanted to make sure we didn’t just do the same set for each round so we tried to vary it up each time. For the final we went for the bangers. In practice we try out a few different songs and set structures but that was the one that felt the most energetic. If it gets our heart rates racing, then hopefully it’ll do the same to the audience.
Paul: It was a long evening, but it was great fun. Were you able to enjoy it?
Joe: Being on later in the evening meant we had to live with the nerves a bit longer, but it was great to watch the other bands and see the high quality of talent on show in South Wales. Once we played, we were able to relax and have a couple of beers. We finished feeling that we put on the best performance we could.
Paul: What about when you were announced as special guests? What were the emotions like?
Joe: Before the announcement we already felt honoured to get into the final and were chuffed to have earned new fans along the way. When Rob announced us as the runners up, we were ecstatic. It’s been quite a few years since me and Vaughany got into the final back with Tidal so we had a great sense of achievement to get through to Bloodstock. It felt like all our years of hard work is paying off.
Paul: Did Rob Bannister give you any advice?
Joe: Rob’s a great guy and just told us to make the most of the opportunity. There's so much media covering the event we need to take every chance we get given to get in front of new people, both in the build-up and at the festival itself. For an up and coming band this is exactly what we need to turn a few heads, so we're very grateful.
Paul: You are in good company with Chaos Trigger, Malum Sky, Agrona and of course those scamps in Democratus. Have you had any words of advice from those excellent chaps about your 30 minutes?
Joe: Yeah, the main advice has been to keep up our high energy set and to spread the word to make sure plenty of people know we’re there. We’ve managed to get ourselves onto the Bloodstock 2019 playlist on Spotify which is giving us extra listens already!
Paul: You are on Sunday which sounds like a score. Happy with the slot?
Joe: We’re really happy with the slot as it feels they’ve matched us with the classic old school bands. We try to mix the old school metal with groovy hard rock so hopefully we can bring in the punters who span the spectrum of metal and rock.
Paul: Moving on to the festival itself, what can we expect from you?
Joe: We’re currently practising our arses off to make sure we’re as tight as possible. Our plan is to push the energy to the max and really put on the best show we can. The extra details really go a long way so that's exactly what going to do.
Paul: Which bands are you looking forward to seeing there?
Joe: There are some great bands across the weekend, we’ve been listening to the likes of Anthrax, Soulfly, Cradle of Filth and Soilwork since we were teenagers. We’re not sure if we can make the whole weekend yet but we’ll definitely be checking out some of the great bands on the Sunday like Wheel, Boss Keloid, Soilwork, Dee Snider, Queensryche and Scorpions.
Paul: I think some of you have been to Bloodstock before. What would you describe as the three best things about the festival?
Joe: There’s a great atmosphere, everyone is there to enjoy themselves, and there’s always a great variety of the best Metal bands around.
Paul: And after Bloodstock? I’ve got Newbridge Memo in the diary and you’ve got that huge Skindred gig as well. What are the other plans for the band post August?
Joe: We’ve got a few gigs in the pipeline at the moment but the next big one after Bloodstock is StormBreakers at Dreadnought Rock Bathgate which will be our first gig in Scotland!
Many thanks to Joe and Fallen Temples for getting involved. I can’t wait to see them rip that stage and if you have any taste then you’ll be there too.
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