INTO THE UNKNOWN – interview

Introduce your band, and describe your latest release:

We are Into The Unknown and we are made up of me (James, rhythm guitarist), Ryan (Lead guitarist), Natalie (Singer), Rupert (Bassist and recording engineer), Richard (Drummer) and Paul (Keyboards). We’re a bit of a mix and also spread out over the south of England

And our latest release is called ‘The Other Side Of The Wall, Pt 2’ which is a covers album. The first covers album we did was actually called ‘The Other Side Of The Wall’, so the name is just a continuation of this. We do have a re-recording of our original track ‘Monsters’ but otherwise it’s all covers.

What’s the hardest part about being a band in this day and age?

It seems like things for bands are getting harder really, and making a decent living is becoming more difficult. Obviously with Covid that put a stop to touring for a while, but as things have settled down and touring is happening again we see venues taking a cut of merch sales, never mind that bands are no longer making money from selling music in physical copies.

For us specifically as well a few of us have families so juggling the band and those commitments can be a challenge.

When did you realise that your project had the potential to be much more than just a fun idea?

Well that would be when Rupert and Ryan and Lucie (Original singer) decided to start bringing more people in and not have it as just a 3 piece group. I was brought in after the first 3 albums, but really I think the first few covers that the guys did where they thought ‘Hey we got something here’ which is what prompted those first few albums to be recorded. Wanting to take the songs on the road is where the full band comes in.

Tell us about your latest release, why should we check it out?

We started it as a fun little project for ourselves but it has come out really well, we leaned even harder into the orchestral aspect of the band for this and have put our own spin on the songs we recorded. They are not just cope paste versions, and we also haven’t just wanted to do all big hits, we all just picked some personal favourite songs of ours to play. I think listeners will enjoy how we’ve done songs.

How does a song typically come together for you?

It’s a jumble of ideas, but it starts out with one of us recording an idea and the rest of the group coming in and layering their own ideas over the top. For me that means writing a cool riff and going into the studio to record it. I have an idea of where I want the song to go at that point, but a few weeks or months later I’ll come back into the studio when everyone else has written their parts and it will be totally different from what I envisioned. However it always comes out awesome, especially when the mixing is all done.

For this band you just have to be OK with your original idea being morphed into something else. I of course am cool with this.

How would you describe your sound to an unfamiliar reader?

Orchestral rock for sure, that’s the simplest way to describe it. Although each of us all listen to quite different music and well all bring that to the song writing process, so I do think we have our own sound now. Difficult to put it exactly into words, so you’d just have to listen and make your own mind up.

What do you want listeners to take away from listening to your band?

Hopefully just feeling inspired to write their own music, and to make their own sound based on just their own ear rather than striving to be a people pleaser. That or just wanting to come see us live some time!

Where would you really like to tour that you haven’t done so yet, and why?

I know Rupert is gonna say Sweden and I really wouldn’t argue with that. Aside from that Japan would be incredible, but on a more realistic level doing some of my favourite venues around the UK would be pretty sweet.

How would you say that the sound of your band has progressed over the years?

It has definitely gotten more orchestral. A few of us are really into orchestral metal anyway so it has just creeped more into our sound and is working out well to our ears. We were still writing music with keyboards before but I think you could still categorise the sound as hard rock. Now the sting sections play an even bigger part and we are definitely some kind of orchestral rock.

How excited are you for 2025, and what can fans expect from you?

Extremely! We have a number of original songs ready for a new album, which I am hoping will come out next year. We will see what the timeframes are but its definitely an evolution from our previous original album. Also hoping to do some shows off the back of it!