MoM: Tell us a bit about your band - what you’re called, where you’re from, what style you play, and what you’ve done.
Jonny: We are Existentialist, from Colchester Essex. We are a blackened death metal outfit, combining orchestral ambience with high intensity riffs, blasts and crushing breakdowns. 2020 saw the release of our debut album Prophet of Ignorance which was well received. Following on from this we have played shows up and down the country alongside the likes of Paleface, Bound in fear, Godeater and Osiah. We are set to go out on tour with our good friends in Beyond Extinction in July and August and then it's on to Bloodstock!
MoM: How has the last year been for you as a band?
Phill: The last year has been amazing for us. We played our first show last July and from there it’s just got better and better. We’ve been gigging wherever we can, met a tonne of great people and shared stages with some ridiculously good bands. The response we have received at shows, and online, has been overwhelming. We are truly gratefully for the love and support we have received throughout our maiden year.
MoM: As a band, what experiences have you had with M2TM and Bloodstock?
Sam: For most of us, we have had a long time out of playing live shows. For myself personally, I was not in a gigging band since 2011 before joining Existentialist – so my experience of M2TM has been as an audience member for too many years. It been incredible to be part of this year’s competition and for our first go at it, we are so stoked with the reception we have received. Really big bit of appreciation here – Ian and Helen who run M2TM Essex are fantastic people and hosts.
We were made to feel so welcome, and the support and kind words we have received from them has been unreal – I recommend any aspiring metal band in Essex to take part next year – you will not regret it! Since we set out on our first gig in July 2021 and met our now great friends in Beyond Extinction – Bloodstock has been the goal for us. It’s an insane festival, and to be part of it is unbelievable.
MoM: What was your initial reaction to hearing your band’s name get announced as the winners?
Jonny: Hearing our name announced as the winners definitely took me by surprise, playing at Bloodstock has been a lifelong dream. After having some technical issues during set up we were all feeling a little uneasy but we did we what we always do, stepped up, banged heads and played out the set.
MoM: How are you feeling about playing the New Blood? Are you confident you can own a stage like that?
Phill: Completely over the moon. It is literally a dream come true for all of us. I’m confident we will. We go out with the same mentality every single show we play, pack our performance with energy and play as if it is our last. We’re chomping at the bit to hit that stage and get the crowd moving.
MoM: What do you think was the deciding factor that set you apart from the other competitors in the final?
Olly: Because everything went wrong? We had tech issues just before our set started, so the audience couldn't hear our backing tracks (and less importantly my kick triggers) which we use for the set intro/outro, but also orchestration throughout our set (since we're not Bon Jovi and can't pay a symphony orchestra with choir to tour with us). So instead of pulling out or making a huge fuss, we just played without it. I knew I could rely on the rest of the band to still play like it was our last show, so we just did it.
MoM: What was your initial reaction to hearing your band’s name get announced as the winners?
Jonny: Hearing our name announced as the winners definitely took me by surprise, playing at Bloodstock has been a lifelong dream. After having some technical issues during set up we were all feeling a little uneasy but we did we what we always do, stepped up, banged heads and played out the set.
MoM: How are you feeling about playing the New Blood? Are you confident you can own a stage like that?
Phill: Completely over the moon. It is literally a dream come true for all of us. I’m confident we will. We go out with the same mentality every single show we play, pack our performance with energy and play as if it is our last. We’re chomping at the bit to hit that stage and get the crowd moving.
MoM: What do you think was the deciding factor that set you apart from the other competitors in the final?
Olly: Because everything went wrong? We had tech issues just before our set started, so the audience couldn't hear our backing tracks (and less importantly my kick triggers) which we use for the set intro/outro, but also orchestration throughout our set (since we're not Bon Jovi and can't pay a symphony orchestra with choir to tour with us). So instead of pulling out or making a huge fuss, we just played without it. I knew I could rely on the rest of the band to still play like it was our last show, so we just did it.
Everyone was tight, performed as well as normal, and after some on-the-fly drum fills to bridge gaps or extra dissonant guitar noises, we were able to pull it off. One of the things we've always strived for as a band is to be as easy to work with, yet professional as possible (we recently discovered - punctuality gets you far). So being able to just deal with problems and not get flustered is something we all do pretty well...plus we use click-tracks and practice the shit out of our sets. That always helps.
MoM: Metal To The Masses places a lot of emphasis on the role of the underground in the UK heavy scene - how important has the local Essex scene been for you as a band?
Patty: The Essex metal scene means the world to us. It’s where it all started from the writing of all the POI tracks, our first rehearsals as a full lineup all the way up to live debut at the Lamb & Lion in Westcliff, southend. That show was a critical point in our career and played a huge part in paving the way to where we’re at today. We’ll always rep our ends no matter where we’re at. Essex death metal will forever remain undefeated.
MoM: What part of playing Bloodstock are you most looking forward to?
Patty: The entire experience to be honest. For me personally, I’ve never been to Bloodstock so I’m just as stoked to go as I am to perform there. Feels surreal to be hitting up a Bloodstock festival stage this early in our career. It’s a great opportunity to play our music to a bigger crowd as well as chat to some of our idols and I’m excited to see what doors it will open up for us going forward.
MoM: What opportunities do you hope will come out of this for you?
Sam: First and foremost, the biggest opportunity will be performing at Bloodstock festival. It’s a dream which has become a reality! We cannot wait to be on that stage, and to see some bands we aspire to replicate, in terms of success. As mentioned earlier, we will be touring with our friends in Beyond Extinction this summer – we hope that we are able to push on from this and Bloodstock for more tours next year to coincide with the launch of our second album later this year
MoM: Finally, what’s next for you as a band between now and Bloodstock?
Olly: Most importantly is our summer tour coming up with last years M2TM Essex winners, Beyond Extinction. This is huge for us as its our first proper tour and we'll be doing it with a band who we've become really close mates with over the last year. Aside from that, we just finished recording our second album which we'll be getting ready to start sharing a few demos within the industry. There's a lot of admin that goes into releasing an album which people don't realise, so we'll be dealing with that too. I think we'll be sorting out some of the material from the as-yet-untitled "Album 2" to play at a few of our summer shows. So come see us if you want a sneak peak !!!
MoM: Metal To The Masses places a lot of emphasis on the role of the underground in the UK heavy scene - how important has the local Essex scene been for you as a band?
Patty: The Essex metal scene means the world to us. It’s where it all started from the writing of all the POI tracks, our first rehearsals as a full lineup all the way up to live debut at the Lamb & Lion in Westcliff, southend. That show was a critical point in our career and played a huge part in paving the way to where we’re at today. We’ll always rep our ends no matter where we’re at. Essex death metal will forever remain undefeated.
MoM: What part of playing Bloodstock are you most looking forward to?
Patty: The entire experience to be honest. For me personally, I’ve never been to Bloodstock so I’m just as stoked to go as I am to perform there. Feels surreal to be hitting up a Bloodstock festival stage this early in our career. It’s a great opportunity to play our music to a bigger crowd as well as chat to some of our idols and I’m excited to see what doors it will open up for us going forward.
MoM: What opportunities do you hope will come out of this for you?
Sam: First and foremost, the biggest opportunity will be performing at Bloodstock festival. It’s a dream which has become a reality! We cannot wait to be on that stage, and to see some bands we aspire to replicate, in terms of success. As mentioned earlier, we will be touring with our friends in Beyond Extinction this summer – we hope that we are able to push on from this and Bloodstock for more tours next year to coincide with the launch of our second album later this year
MoM: Finally, what’s next for you as a band between now and Bloodstock?
Olly: Most importantly is our summer tour coming up with last years M2TM Essex winners, Beyond Extinction. This is huge for us as its our first proper tour and we'll be doing it with a band who we've become really close mates with over the last year. Aside from that, we just finished recording our second album which we'll be getting ready to start sharing a few demos within the industry. There's a lot of admin that goes into releasing an album which people don't realise, so we'll be dealing with that too. I think we'll be sorting out some of the material from the as-yet-untitled "Album 2" to play at a few of our summer shows. So come see us if you want a sneak peak !!!
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