UNSEEN HANDS AND STARK TERRORS – an interview with HARROWED
- Posted on 08-08-2024
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About a month ago I happily stumbled on a ferocious and relentlessly intense 2-track EP on Bandcamp appropriately titled Entropic, which blew me away and instantly turned into a bit of an addiction. Spawned by the hard-hitting trio from Kent known as Harrowed, this is one dark, reflective, and somewhat dystopian musical experience that you do not want to miss out on. We caught up with drummer Jason and guitarist/vocalist Seb to learn more about this most awe-inspiring of bands and the things that make them tick, creatively speaking. Read on and do not forget to check their Bandcamp profile out and support these talented chaps as their brand of black metal-esque hardcore metal punk is as original as it is fiercely passionate.
Greetings guys, how are we feeling today and what have you been up to today? For those out there who may be unfamiliar with the hard-hitting outfit that is Harrowed, could you perhaps guide us through the band’s history and touch on your excellent musical outputs along the way?
J: Hi! It’s a typical sunny/rainy day in the southeast of England! Harrowed started life when me (Jason – drums) and Seb’s (guitar/vocals) old band Santa Karla broke up around 2011. We formed the band with the other guitar player from Santa Karla, namely Ben, and eventually James Lang on bass. One of our first shows was supporting Baroness in Margate right before they had the bus accident. We then went into the Lightship 95 studio to record Into Inferno in the summer of 2011 and then finished it off at my studio to release in 2012.
A few line-up changes, a split with Art of Burning Water and another record (Chaotic Nonentity) and countless shows later we have a solid line-up with Steve Barry on bass and a new EP titled Entropic.
What was the initial motivation for getting together and spawning Harrowed, or the idea behind it all, if you will? Do the three of you reside in Kent and when/where did you guys come into contact? I take it that a shared passion for dark, unpolished, and deeply passionate music played a huge part in the three of you hooking up.
J: The initial idea was to scratch the itch we felt wasn’t being scratched in our previous bands, and we wanted to achieve something that followed the same aesthetic as bands like Cursed but with the intensity of bands like Trap Them.
We don’t all reside in the same region as each other, unfortunately; I live in Margate in the southeast corner of the UK and Seb and Steve live between Hastings and the Eastbourne area on the south coast. There is a good network of musicians that you come into contact with over the years going to and playing shows.
Harrowed seems to lean towards black metal, crust punk, hardcore, and arguably even sludge metal and yet I have trouble labelling your impactful compositions and pigeonholing the band, which is obviously a huge part of its charm. How did your unique musical identity come about, and did you conjure up that claustrophobic, punishing sound in an organic and almost effortless manner when you started playing together? Your song material sounds vibrant and anything but contrived. What exactly happens when the three of you crank up the volume in rehearsals and start jamming on a riff? Does it usually start with a riff and then you build on that and add more and more parts to it and then suddenly you find yourself with a face-melting new tune?
J: We’ve always written music taking from all of our collective influences and experiences, which is a lot. So, it all gets chucked into the melting pot, and we don’t adhere to the norm, I guess, and when we write we ask ourselves ‘would that be a Harrowed song?’ Songs usually go through quite a bit of tweaking before they are finished, although the new EP was the shortest we’ve ever taken from writing to releasing!
Tell me a bit about Harrowed’s shared influences and the things in life that inspire you to write lyrics and craft songs and so on? What things spark your imagination and feed into your creative work?
J: I think how dark the world is and how bleak things can seem are foundations of what Harrowed writes about, but also, we take from our influence of sci-fi and old folklore. The song ‘Nostromo’ from Into Inferno is about the fear and isolation on that ship from Aliens, and more recently ‘Cultus Maleficarum’ from the Entropic EP is based on the unsettling film The VVitch. This is our favourite source of inspiration.
As you know, I absolutely love Entropic, and it sounds so lively and perfectly unpolished that I get the impression that its two tracks were recorded with the whole band playing live together. They sound amazing! Do they give a fair representation of what Harrowed sounds like on stage in a live setting?
J: Thank you very much for saying that – it’s really appreciated. When we record, we always strive to capture the essence of what we sound like when we play live. I’m not a fan of hearing a band’s record and it sounds one way, then go see them live and they sound completely different, or they don’t sound as good as their record. So, with that in mind we record in a way that puts our sound and playing style at the forefront, and that’s how we sound when we play live!
Could you elaborate a bit on the lyrical aspects of ‘Cultus Maleficarum’ and the Entropic title track and their themes? To me they appear quite introspective while simultaneously looking at society and the world in a larger perspective. Existential dread, an unsettling sense of anxiety, and something akin to anguish course through my mind when I listen to them, and both songs almost howl out in pain, if that makes sense.
S: That makes perfect sense, and to be honest you’ve summarised it well already. I think it’s undeniable there’s a prevalent feeling of uncertainty and fear in society right now, like we’re on the precipice of a total collapse. It could be social, environmental or psychological, and this sense of despair (and sometimes rage) is reflected lyrically. Entropic is a pessimistic meditation on where we are, and where we’re going. There’s a mix of grounded reality and more nightmarish imagery, portraying fractured people in deteriorating circumstances. ‘Cultus Maleficarum’ is a slight deviation thematically, with the bulk of inspiration coming from the 2015 horror film The VVitch. It was a fun way to kind of pay tribute to one of my favourite movies, while doubling down on the themes of broken society (family) and existential terror.
What is next for you guys and what does 2024 hold for the group? Any gigs or tours planned?
J: We are going to be writing and recording for a new LP and playing a lot of shows. There is a load planned!
Thanks once again for your time – much appreciated.
J: Thank you!