Fear Bound is a Dread Metal five-piece from Cambridgeshire. Another M2TM veteran outfit, the Hitchin winners had their say.
Paul: Let’s start with a brief history of the band?
Fear Bound: We originally formed in 2013, after Will Smythe and Jack Harris decided to put up some online ads to look for band members after many years of playing together and recording as a two piece. They found Anthony Woodley on vocals and Alex Wight on bass, and the band has been going strong ever since, with a few changes in line up and musical direction along the way.
Paul: Who is the current line up?
Fear Bound:Vocals/Bass Alex Wight, Guitar Will Smythe, Guitar Andy Coles, Keyboards Craig Burkitt, Drums Alex Townsend
Paul: Describe the band’s sound and influences
Fear Bound: We describe our sound as "Melodic Dread Metal" or "Melodread" but it might make more sense if we say we play Melodeath/Metalcore. As tends to be the case, we have a vast number of influences, but the most notable ones for us are Children of Bodom, Devin Townsend, In Flames & At the Gates.
Paul: Prior to Bloodstock, what are some of the highlights for the band so far?
Fear Bound: Highlight #1 for us would have to be the M2TM experience this year, which was phenominal. Having people in the crowd screaming for "more dread" left us in awe - without a doubt it was the most fun we've had as a band. Other hightlights would be sharing the stage with some incredible bands over the years. Since we started we've been lucky to play with the likes of Divine Chaos, Conjurer, Deified, Countless Skies, Raze the Void, Djinova and 13. Getting to see the vast talent on offer is really enriching and it's a great feeling witnessing others achieve greatness.
Paul: Let’s move on to Bloodstock and your road to the festival. Please tell us about your journey?
Fear Bound: This was actually the third time we've taken part in M2TM, once in Leicester and now twice in Hitchin. This year we spent the bulk of our time clumsily stumbling from one round to another, throwing accordions into our set at the last minute for a giggle, relentlessly talking about dread, and playing the most ridiculous intros for the crowd, who seemed to love it all.
Paul: Tell us about the build up to your final and how you handled it?
Fear Bound: To be honest we hadn't expected to get to the finals. Previously we'd never gotten beyond the quarters, so getting through to the semis themselves was a pretty huge achievement for us. It was around that point however that we started to panic. Our drummer was not going to be in the country for the final and our guitarist, Will, was getting married the day after the final. We got a fill in on drums in the form of Aaron from Akkadian (do yourselves a favour and check them out) and Will did an awful lot of apologising.
Paul: What about when you were announced as winners? What were the emotions like?
Fear Bound: It was pretty surreal when Simon read out our name. We'd been surprised enough to get to the finals, and given the other talent on stage that night we were expecting any of the other bands to be announced. After the initial shock passed, and we realised what'd happened, then it was pretty euphoric.
Paul: So, moving on to the festival itself, what can we expect from you?
Fear Bound: We tend to deliver 3 things in our shows – Generic metal, terrible introductions, and ample quantities of dread. For Bloodstock however we feel that this may not be enough and will be looking to up the ante. Perhaps more accordions? Or maybe new carefully selected outfits? We'll probably just cobble something awful together at the last minute and call it a good job.
Paul: Which bands are you looking forward to seeing there?
Fear Bound:As always, the Bloodstock team have put a fantastic line up together and there's a good number of bands we're looking forward to seeing. In particular, we'll be stopping by to see Children of Bodom, Countless Skies, and assuming we don't clash with them on the Sunday, Soilwork and Bloodred Hourglass
Paul: Have you been to Bloodstock before?
Fear Bound: We've been in attendance many times, some of our number were even coming to Bloodstock when it used to be an indoor event!
Paul: If yes, describe the three best things about the festival.
Fear Bound: Too many things to choose from... There are a lot of reasons to love Bloodstock but in particular we'd have to hail the New Blood Stage for being a platform for bands like us to partake in something that could otherwise be out of our reach. Next, the Bloodstock community is worthy of praise itself. The metal family is such a warm and welcoming one, which is just such an immense thing to be part of. Finally, the music. As mentioned, Bloodstock always puts on amazing line ups, and it's a great place to see acts that we all know and love, and then also discover a number of awesome bands that we may have never otherwise seen.
Paul: And finally, tell us a guilty pleasure about each member of the band!
Fear Bound: As a collective, we all enjoy Erasure's A Little Respect more than anyone really should do.
Thanks to the guys in Fear Bound for their time. If you fancy some ‘Dread’ over the weekend, check them out on Sunday 11th August in the New Blood Tent.
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