Sparky talked to Rob, James and Tim from Sydney’s digital death metal trio, Shatterface about their upcoming release “Anodize”, digital death metal and more…
Metal-Roos: Gday how are you?
Rob, James and Tim: Fantastic Mate. Great.
Metal-Roos: What is a Shatterface and how does it represent your music?
James: Shatterface is our band. A musical entity that has been developed by the three of us. It represents more than just music to us, it represents a sonic sound experience, attitudes, history, future, and change, in both our musical lives and advancement.
Rob: Well I wanted to say it was a cool mug slugging robot or something but James let the cat out of the bag on that already, but he did tell it as it is. Shatterface is a story told even before the words and lyrics kick in. Some of it is fact, some of it is fiction and we like to mix the two to leave the listener wondering just how much of that was real.
Metal-Roos: What is digital death metal?
James: Digital death metal” isn’t a term that’s widely recognized in the mainstream music industry, so its definition might not be… hehe… Anodized (standardized). However, based on the individual components of the “our” term, “digital death metal” refers to a fusion of a genre that combines elements of death metal—a subgenre of heavy metal music known for its heavy distortion, aggressive drumming, and growled vocals—with digital or electronic music production techniques. The music is created using instruments and band input, and then from that point, we will use things such as guitar amp simulators, programmed drums, and digital audio workstations. Most bands gloss over the digital presence in their music, we however are embracing it. The term is, “digital”, and as such it is also thematic, relating to lyrical content that deals with technology, cybernetics, artificial intelligence, the digital future of the sole, and futuristic concepts.
Metal-Roos: Congrats on Anodize. Is the idea of merging hard industrial with death metal influences?
James: The goal was to make something that has the ability to step out of the box. Industrial’s cold, dystopian atmosphere could mix with death metal’s dark and often brutal thematic elements, potentially creating a soundscape that feels both machine-like and viscerally human. The visual aspect will be a theatrical blend of industrial’s often futuristic, cyberpunk aesthetics with the more gothic or horror-inspired visuals of death metal. The goal was to keep making this EP super simple. We put our focused minds together and worked on this one very efficiently. All three of us are goal-orientated minds, we had a vision, we shot for it, and we got it.
Metal-Roos: It also has a large tecno edge underneath it ?
James: Going back to themes, such a blend could explore the intersection of technology and human demise, cybernetic augmentations, the future of warfare, or dystopian realities, combining the often sociopolitical critique of industrial music with the existential and morbid themes of death metal.
Metal-Roos: The desire to create something different not only in Sydney but worldwide?
Rob:Well we work by a full and complete understanding that “Our home town is not our target audience” and that is not to say that we don’t want to rock Sydney, because of course we do, but honestly to call ourselves a “Local Band” we already put a label on our work that limits our fan base and limits how far it will be heard. Immediately with the help of Metal Roos already we have pushed into Euro Markets into multiple countries publications and honestly, we love when we look at our Spotify streams or our FB followers and see that more than 50% of our audience are not anywhere even in Australia. With the Digital part of our genre the beautiful thing of embracing that is the whole world is open for us to explore immediately.
Metal-Roos: It is entirely the band’s creation including production and artwork?
Rob: In short, yes. The production or music, content, and artwork are created in house, by our hands, and by technology we have sought, bought and built. We wanted to have control over our creative work and really put out a product that was so entirely unrestrained as our own. There will always be some mystery in the production methods of course, it would be like a cook giving away their recipes, but in saying, Yes, they are OUR recipes and we have saved them as templates to keep loading new tracks and new songs into and keep the creative road-train that is Shatterface able to effectively produce content at a rate that will satisfy both us, and our fans, while keeping the elements that make it was it is prominent and true for our future releases.
Metal-Roos: It also reflects the good, bad and ugly of your own personal lives?
Rob: Yeah that really starts to come across fairly strong if you really look into the lyrics. Every song has a double meaning. Some people are going to take it at one level and hear some form of Mad Max or Terminator style Apocalypse, and that is cool, that is exactly the packing we wrapped the deeper meanings in. And others who maybe know us or maybe have similar experiences as us are going to hear key words or triggers and in that relation will realise there is another level. We all have good, bad and ugly in our lives, some of us are just better storytellers.
Metal-Roos: Is this where ‘’Devoid of Life’’ comes from?
Rob: Devoid of Life is the perfect example of this actually. The song while on the surface depicts a mechanical genocide of the human race, is actually about helpesness, anxiety, panic attacks. The “machines” are a direct metaphor for the intrusive thoughts that destroy our confidence and hold us back. I personally have my struggles with this where even when I know I have something all sorted out, all planned, done it a hundred times before. My brain just on repeat screams “You will fail. You will fail. You can’t do this” and this is why there is “No escape, no place to hide ….”
Metal-Roos: Is “Eternal Nothing“ the void and prison of the mind?
Rob: It is more than that, The Eternal Nothing is a self imposed prison of the mind deliberately created out of a need for penitence or self-punishment and is a rite of passage of sorts. It explores a scenario where ones mind was unable to let go of any mistakes or misdoings of the individual’s life and perhaps for retribution, or maybe just pure masochism built its own torture device, inescapable as it is its own guard, its own jury, and its own executioner.
Metal-Roos: The importance of bucking the system and having your own free thought and expressions?
Tim: Well without free thoughts and expression we would have finally become the machines that ware depicted in Anodize. Bucking the system? Well there is times for that, and there are times to pick your battles too, if only people really knew some of the power they actually have is all I’ll say. The individual is what makes us who we are not the corporation or the factory blue print, its what makes us human, in all its flawed and ugly glory.
Metal-Roos: Your next release? Possibly an album? Have you already started on it?
Tim: When we made Anodize, we were not short of material. And even what didn’t go on the EP was not cut due to quality concerns or a lack of any substance. We loaded these tracks in and all unanimously felt as it was, it was already a complete package and didn’t need more. Technically that means yes, we have started on a next release and there is material and a theme planned for it. Once the Exhilarating ride of Anodize finally dies down then we will absolutely be looking at completing another product for release.
Metal-Roos: Final thoughts?
Tim: We’d just like to say thank you for taking the time to listen to us and get some really deep stuff out in this context and also of course we’d like to thank Black Roo’s / Metal Roo’s for supporting us so far, they have been an amazing medium to work with so far and Shatterface couldn’t be happier with the results we’ve gotten already from them.
