They’re back, baby! It has been more than 10 years since Postmortem Promises, a UK-based deathcore band, last graced the music scene and we are beyond thrilled to welcome them back! Back in the day when this company just started, we regularly found ourselves at PMP gigs, having a good time with the guys.
In this exclusive interview, we sit down with vocalist, Aaron Ketley to discuss their comeback, new music, and future plans. We delve into the band's creative process, explore the themes and influences that are shaping their new material, and get an inside look into the band's journey and what's next for them. Join us as we catch up with Postmortem Promises and discover what to expect from this iconic band after a decade-long hiatus.
Guys, thanks for taking the time! Let’s jump straight in and tackle the elephant in the room – I know for a fact that everyone is eager to know what was the main driving force behind getting Postmortem Promises up and running again after a 10-year hiatus.
Hello! To be honest, it never really felt like the right time, when we disbanded a million years ago, for everyone in the band, that was it, over, done. Since then, throughout the years we have received an abundance of messages from fans showing love and prompting us to get back together, which I do thank people for, but even still it wasn’t the right time, all our lives had changed so much and to be honest, no one was feeling it. Fast forward to Covid, which had a huge impact on everyone's lives and really made us think about the good and bad things in life that we missed, and music felt at the forefront of that, and I think it did for a lot of people in the metal scene as there has been a massive resurgence of bands getting back together and the deathcore scene his strong, so now felt like the right time.
Could you please introduce all original and new members that now form part of the band? Also, any current or previous projects they’ve been a part of.
So from the original lineup, there is me (Aaron Ketley) and Andy Mcalonan, funnily enough, it was us two who started the band up back in the 1800s or whenever it was we first started. New to join the band are Dan Cooke, Dom Zavodivski, and Will Cattanach. As for other projects, I did a short stint in Spoiler, and I'm currently doing two online projects DVRK and Weighed down. Will is currently in Spoiler, Dan used to play in Acrania and is currently also doing Human Error. Domenik used to be in Mothjaw, basically, all the new members are insanely talented and experienced.
From your perspective, how has the deathcore scene evolved since departing from the scene over a decade ago?
The scene has definitely evolved, a lot of the people in bands were kids back when we first started, but now (like us) a lot of people are proper adults, mature, and I think you can hear it in the music, structures are solid, production is amazing and musicians are at another level. We love the new era of deathcore, it was one of the driving forces behind us starting up again, so we are incorporating that into our sound, mixing the myspace deathcore era with the current.
Can fans expect a new album or EP in the near future?
As of now we are just gonna release singles for a bit while we get into the swing of things, we want to just enjoy being a band again and not dealing with the stress of deadlines and external pressures, keep it fun. We will do that for a while and then see how it goes, see if the demand is there, we are open to it.
Their new single 'Soil Tongue' featuring Mike Greenwood from AngelMaker drops on the 22nd of January. Make sure to check that out and our review of the track that will come out on release day.
Can you give us a glimpse into the lyrical and musical themes that will be explored in your upcoming material?
Musically we are trying to find a nice mix of old and new, taking what we loved about the old-school sound and mixing it with what we love about the new era, we are excited! Lyrically I like to keep it varied, being serious on one track and taking the p*** on the next, with themes such as toxic relationships, mental health, aliens, and black holes. I love space and sci-fi so I think there will be a lot of that influencing the lyrics. We also have one song that was written by my nephew, he was a kid when we first started PMP and now is a man who is a sick vocalist, it's crazy.
Are there any new influences/sounds that you guys will be exploring since the deathcore sound has changed so drastically over the last 10 years?
The sound has changed and we love it, I'd say some of the new influences for us saw Brand of Sacrifice, AngelMaker, Lorna Shore, Shadow of Intent, Grove street, and Varials and I know its not new but DESPISED ICON for life!
Name three bands that are no longer active that you guys would like to see back in the industry.
Ah well, I've got the say From the Carnival of Horrors! They were our homies back in the day and a bunch of legends. I'd also love to see the Planetary Duality era of The Faceless line up back, that album was incredible! Lastly, I'd say All Shall Perish, with Eddie, I like him in Suicide Silence but he was a badman in A.S.P! It's mad, I looked through my playlists for this question and so many bands are either reforming or still going, scene is back!
How has the writing process been going with all the new members? I can imagine it must’ve been quite a vibe to get back into a practice space for the original members that haven’t been jamming with a band for more than 10 years.
To be honest, it's been a breath of fresh air, we are all adults and have our s*** together, we were kids on our first run, and we handled the writing process as kids do, messy and hard work, it's so easy now, and it also helps that our guitarist Will does all the production and he's amazing! It's so nice to be involved in fresh writing with such a talented bunch of dudes, I am so excited about the new era of Postmortem Promises, I think people will really respond to it.
Any future plans for PMP that you guys can mention here?
We have a lot in the work that I can't say, but what I can say is that we will be releasing new music, new music videos, new collaborations, some shows, and what people have been asking for for years, MERCH!!!!
We hope everyone digs the new era of our band and a special thanks to Pins & Knuckles for the support!