Wallowing's Tom and Ruari go one on one with the GRIM-1 in this interview:
HELL-O folks What was the creative process like, both for the comic book and its source material?
Tom: It was a lot of fun to write PLANET LOSS as a record and then revisit it in an entirely new format. When writing the music for the album we had to think about how we could effectively represent different scenarios, scenes and locations with sound that reinforced the lyrics/story. It was a similar process in creating the comic I feel, as we had the story/text good to go in the form of the lyrics - so it was a case of then reinforcing the content we already had with imagery. I can't speak for Luke (Oram, who created the art for the comic and the records cover art), but I feel a lot of the music was fairly translatable tonally. For example, at one point early on we incorporate a really slow and down-tuned chug to represent the mindlessly exhausted march of the workers into the capitol sector, and another part later on where the protagonist is particularly pissed off - and we represent that through faster, grindier and generally more abrasively angry riffing. I feel parts like this were pretty transferrable as the imagery was already there, it was just about putting it down in a different medium. It was really fun going back and forth with Luke, drafting and storyboarding here and there and generally transferring the world we created from our minds onto paper.
How did you manage to compose one long ass song in "Planet Loss?"
Rauiri: Tom had done most of the heavy lifting before most of us got involved; it was more about piecing together all the different parts and feeling out the changes and jamming. It was very fun and came together incredibly quickly for me but I guess I half knew most of the riffs after listening to Tom practice, writing and he'd occasionally show me some demos.
Tom: Frustration was a big factor for sure. I had played in bands before Wallowing and had amazing experiences in all the projects I was involved with but one word that came up a lot was "no" and that frustrated me. Music has always been a very personal and expressive thing for me and whilst I fully understand that when playing in bands there has to be a lot of compromise, I think having to water down ideas or having ideas flat up rejected for whatever reason took its toll on me. When I found myself for the first time without any band or musical project back around 2015, once I was over the initial "I have no band" blues, I had this epiphany that no one can say no anymore and let out all the frustration in the drafts for one stupidly long, noisy as hell track, because no one could tell me not to. No one in Wallowing is a no person - if someone has an idea we give it a shot no matter how ridiculous. It's great to be writing with people/really good friends who are on the same page, as it makes tackling ridiculous ideas such as a Sci-fi concept albums about bee-keeping overall clad rebel warriors fighting space lizards a lot easier.
Tom - The comic book was released earlier in the year alongside a limited edition version of the album (which included a bonus live track) and was available through ourselves, Surviving Sounds (record label), Trepanation Recordings and Luke Oram. We were pretty lucky in that we managed to shift them real quick and are just about to go to print on a second edition of the book with all new cover art. Surviving Sounds and Trepanation Records may have a couple of the originals knocking around so you may be able to get lucky a pick up one of the last first editions via their stores but if not, you can contact us directly or watch our socials for news on when the new books will become available on our bandcamp.
Who are your heavy metal heroes?
Rauiri: Modest Mussorgsky for composing "Night on Bald Mountain." The amount of times I listened to that whilst watching the giant scary Chernabog section in Fantasia as a child definitely influenced my love for big ominous riffs and dark spooky motifs. Obviously Iommi gets a mention; I always liked Sabbath having found them in my dad's vinyl collection but I found a solo album he did with loads of big names in metal and it opened the floodgates for me (Iommi, released 2000). I started listening to way more Sabbath and some of the bands he collaborated with, it really showed me the rabbit hole and I liked heavy riffs so... But the real hero is my mate Josh. We practically grew up together as our parents were friends. He played bass in some local metal groups like SYP which Tom went on to manage in a later incarnation. I remember being round his house when a Usa Big Muff arrived. He plugged in and played some low tuned sludge and I immediately felt the need to play loud music and probably wouldn't be writing this now if I hadn't experienced it.
Tom: RUSH. I mean I could talk about a load of people or bands here but without 2112 or Hemispheres I honestly don't think Wallowing would exist so I have a lot to thank them for. They really pushed the boundaries in regards to immersive story telling within music and I personally don't think anyone can come close to what they manage to pull off over their career. Not to mention their general subject matter is right up my street.
I saw a lot of nods to everything from Star Wars to Dune in your comic. What comic book and graphic novels hold a special place in your heart? Books? TV shows? Videogames?
Rauiri: We're all huge nerds in some aspect or another so it's all influenced us and fed into our creative process. I'll let Tom have a nerd out because I'd doubtlessly say the same things.
Tom: To me, both the album and the comic (but the comic more blatantly) wear their influences on their sleeve. Musically we threw in nods to the likes of RUSH and Camel (although they're likely hard to pick out over the layers of harsh noise, shrieks and feedback) and with the comic we were able to play with visuals to give that nostalgia boost. Luke Oram is great for that retrofuture vibe as an avid fan of 2000AD, Moebius and Dune, all of which influenced the art style of Planet Loss. I think the Star Wars influence comes through more in the comic also as it's the listener/readers first real opportunity to dig into the lyrics of the record and the meat of the story. Another huge influence on the story as a whole would be The City, a graphic novel by James Herbert which features some truly stunning art by Ian Miller. Its about this lone wanderer who traverses this apocalyptic wasteland to hunt for his family in a city overrun by mutated rat people and it's gnarly as hell.
In terms of Film and TV, it goes without saying that The Thing and ALIEN are up there. As far as retro Sci-Fi/Horror goes I don't think you can get any better.
This is a wierd one but Jeff Waynes War of The Worlds Musical album used to terrify me as a child more than anything (I think its hard to come across a piece of music as descriptive/immersive as that record and it fully sucked me in, despite its cheesiness) and so that album has always stuck with me and I always come back to it.
What are you currently listening to at the moment?
Rauiri: A lot of Svffer's first two releases Empathist and Lies We Live they've been a huge influence on the bass parts and bits I've written for the upcoming split. Great band, great records. I hope they've survived COVID. I'd love to catch them again. Otherwise Bongripper, Bismuth, Bongzilla, Methdrinker, Hidden Mothers and Janis Ian according to my YouTube history which sounds about right. I'm usually either playing something along these lines or delta blues really.
Tom: Being honest, being so busy making plans for the split record, I have been stuck in this loop of listening to the bands we are working with for the last few months - which, to be honest, has been amazing. The US side of the split is REALLY strong and I have found myself going back and fourth between the bands' back catalogues and the new bounces they send over of the split material because I love it all so much. Aside from that I have been relistening to classic RUSH records and trying to unlock their secrets for album number 2 (2112, Hemispheres, Fly by Night, Carress of Steel).
What do you think is the perfect riff?
Rauiri: How long is a piece of string? It really depends on the context and your mood. I love so many different riffs for so many different reasons at any given time; it's hard to pick any as an example but I think we're all searching for our own perfect riff in some way or another, be it as a musician or listener. For me personally I'm pretty happy if someone really connects with what I'm doing, although I am just trying to find a riff so big seismologists will be freaking the fuck out.
Tom: I think you have to feel it inside. Like a rad as hell riff makes your insides go all weird you know? Like you have to physically feel that pull from the draggy riff, or the drop as that gnarly chug comes in. Its the unknown ingredient that causes that uncontrollable stank face/bass face/riff face/whatever.
Perfection is of course subjective but I think most people can agree that bands such as Sabbath and Sleep got the formula pretty right. For me, a couple of smaller (now disbanded) UK bands had the formula down also. The Plight were one (check out the record 'Winds of Osiris'), and a band called Black Art have one riff that I still to this day reckon is one of the best riffs off all time (blast the track "C'est LaVey.")
What is one album that holds a special place in your heart, and why?
Rauiri: Camel's The Snow Goose. It's my favourite album of all time and I've listened to it countless times. It definitely influenced the prog aspect of Wobbling; like Rush's 2112 (also near and dear to us) it's one long unbroken track based on chapters in a book. It's super special to me as it's my dad's favourite band too. We got to see them at the Royal Albert Hall and it was the best show I've ever been to hands down.
Tom: There's a small band from Wales, UK called 'HAAST' (previously Haast's Eagled) who released a record in 2016 called II: For Mankind and it honestly shits all over most successful doom/sludge bands. The theme and tone of the record is fully realised and whilst I don't believe it's a concept record, it feels like one as this theme/tone flows seamlessly throughout the whole album. Each track is unique in its own way and further adds to the set vibe, and in terms if musicianship you honestly cant fault it (incorporating piano and other orchestral elements). It also walks this weird line where doom/sludge teeters on the edge of grunge in the best way. I would like to think that if us lot weren't so obsessed with feedback and noise we could pull off something as intricate and beautiful as that record.
What's on the horizon that you're excited about?
Rauiri: Just the prospect of playing shows again and seeing live music mainly. We've had our first show back since the pandemic and it was so nice just to catch bands, hang and riff out. The split is starting to take shape now. I'm really looking forward to seeing that come out. It's gonna be bonkers. We've started brainstorming for the second full release too which is gonna be fun to write. We've always got something on the burner which is great we've got a few other bits and bobs but gotta save some surprises
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