SHATTERPOINT
Shatterpoint
It’s both a great day and a sad day for Shatterpoint. Great because they’ve been doing what they love: performing their brand of blues heavy, heavy metal to a big crowd; sad because bass player Sandy Wardrop is leaving. Today. In fact, he’s just gigged his last gig, moshed his last mosh, head banged his last head bang.
But it’s not the end of Shatterpoint. Oh no.
Their set at the University of Kent’s Keynestock music festival went down a storm. “We were a bit worried about it at first,” says lead singer Ed Stone. “There’s that stereotypical animosity between indie and heavy metal fans. And we were the only act of our type up there.”
The surprise that non-metal fans love their stuff never ceases to amaze them, it seems. “The best thing is when we’ve been in this tiny little pub with one old man in the corner who’s said: ‘You know, that’s not bad, that.’”
As if on cue, another student, seemingly unknown to Shatterpoint, appears and interrupts us to say how much he loved the set. He wasn’t your usual metal fan either. It’s a sequence that repeats itself over the course of the interview.
Shatterpoint started with Ed Stone and Mark Graham (guitar) doing Rage Against The Machine covers. They were soon followed by Sandy on bass and Tom Harrison on drums. “He’s our Ringo Starr,” says Stone of Harrison. “Only, imagine twenty Ringo Starrs in the room.”
Each member brings something different to the band: Tom likes his metal core, Mark likes the old metal classics of Pantera, Iron Maiden and Metallica, Ed finds inspiration in The Doors while Sandy professes a love of the blues – and even a spot of Nat King Cole. Not that you’ll find much of his influence in Shatterpoint’s roaring rock.
The mix of influences means there will always be a big blues theme to their music. “We always open up with a bluesy song,” Stone explains. It’s a way of reconciling themselves with people who might not usually listen to their style of music.
During their set at Keynestock, Stone introduced one song with the minimalist: “This is another song. It’s by us. We don’t do covers.” It’s a theme he returns to during the interview. “We could easily do covers. You know: “Sweet Child of Mine” or something. But we don’t want to be that band – the covers band. We’d rather get them with our own music.” And it works.
As with many bands, of whatever genre, much of the song writing is a result of personal experiences. Ed Stone explains that “Train Wreck”, one of their most popular songs (currently available for free download on their Facebook page) is a classic example of this. “It’s all about when you take things too far and you have to come to terms with it,” he explains. “And the crowd seem to love it. They love a bit of torment.”
And their plans for the future. Well, they’ve got an album coming out next month: “Memoirs of a Maker”. It just needs packaging and pressing. “Even though Sandy’s leaving, he’ll still be there on the album. It’s his album as much as everyone else’s,” says Mark Graham.
There’s no animosity here. Sandy Wardrop’s a busy man, president of the university’s drama group and heavily involved in acting which he wants to pursue. “Something had to go,” he says, regretfully. And his band mates are wishing him well.
So, what’s next for Shatterpoint? Well, there’s an album to promote for starters and that means “gig, gig, gig,” which they say almost as one. There’s no new bass player on the horizon just yet, but that’s hardly going to stop these monsters of rock.
Find out more about Shatterpoint on their Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/Shatterpoint
Shatterpoint