Bury The Hordes interview

 1. You formed only in 2024, yet already built a reputation through live shows rather than endless online promotion. Was that intentional from the beginning, or simply the natural way things unfolded?

A little secret is that we initially formed BTH in 2008-2009 but were very young and all out of college/uni and needed jobs so only played a few shows. Some of us were involved in some music projects but nothing serious. In  2024 we missed making music together so we reformed with 3 of the original members as the others had priorities and couldn't commit (Martin and Pat who we love dearly). We had some local people who remembered us from back in the early 2000s and still showed support when we reformed.  In terms of promotion a bit of both. We all come from the mindset that heavy music is meant to be experienced in a room with real people rather than through an algorithm online. We use social media like everyone else, but our focus was always on getting out and playing shows. The reputation we've built has come naturally from that and a massive shout out to any of our local followers and fellow musicians in the underground metal scene. We'd rather have fifty people leave a venue remembering the set than five thousand people scroll past a clip online.

2. Deathcore is one of the most overcrowded genres in metal right now. Every week there are new bands, new EPs, bigger breakdowns, cleaner production. What do you think makes Bury the Hordes worth digging through that pile for?

We're not trying to out-heavy everyone or write the most ridiculous breakdown possible. What matters to us is creating songs that balance aggression, atmosphere and emotion. The blackened and melodic elements are just as important as the heavy parts. If people come away remembering a riff, a melody or a feeling rather than just a breakdown, then we've done our job. Matt Gill always writes what comes naturally to him and usually the band goes with the mixture of melodic and heavy. 

3. You describe the sound as “melodic, blackened deathcore”, but that term gets thrown around constantly now. Let's be blunt: where does the blackened influence actually live in your music - in the riffs, the atmosphere, or just the aesthetic?

Mainly in the atmosphere, epic melodies and the way we approach tension. There are definitely black metal influences in some of the work and darker melodic passages, but it's more about the feeling than copying another genre directly. We all grew up listening to bands like Black Dahlia Murder with music that again isn't just heavy it has melody and narrative behind the songs. We wanted the songs to feel cold, oppressive and cinematic rather than just heavy for the sake of being heavy.

4. A lot of deathcore bands lean heavily on breakdowns as the main event. Listening to Revenant, was the priority writing memorable songs first, or constructing impact moments?

Songs first, always. A breakdown only works if the journey to get there means something. We wanted each track to have its own identity and flow naturally rather than feeling like a collection of disconnected heavy moments. The impact hits harder when the song earns it. It also adds variety in a live performance instead of breakdown after breakdown.

5. The title Revenant implies return, resurrection, unfinished business. Is there a conceptual thread running through the EP, or is it more a collection of individual wounds?

It's not a strict concept record, but there is a thread running through it. A lot of the material deals with things that refuse to stay buried—memories, regrets, trauma, loss and the parts of yourself you try to move beyond but somehow keep returning. We also at the time played a lot of ghost hunting games like Phasmophobia and one of the ghosts and the lore is a revenant, so that's where the title came from or had influence.

6. Your promo mentions fractured memories and torment. That's familiar territory in extreme metal. What personal or real-world experiences fed those themes rather than just genre convention?

The themes come from genuine experiences rather than trying to fit into a genre. Everyone in the band has dealt with periods of loss, uncertainty and personal struggles in different ways. The lyrics are less about telling a literal story and more about capturing those emotions honestly, there are some elements of the songs that are just elaborated for narrative reasons. That's what makes them resonate with us. Song ideas and lyrics come from these emotions, life experiences or even twisted nightmares we may have had.

7. The UK has always had strong death metal and grind traditions, but deathcore has had a strange place in that history. Do you feel connected to any specifically British lineage, or are your roots elsewhere?

There are definitely British influences in there, but our tastes are pretty broad. We've all grown up listening to everything from classic British extreme metal through to Scandinavian black metal and modern American deathcore. We're probably a product of all of those things rather than belonging to one particular lineage. Again it's hard to put a solid genre on Bury The Hordes as it is a mix of multiple things that we are influenced by.

8. Deathcore crowds can be chaotic, but also weirdly selective. What have you learned from the Southwest scene so far?

Authenticity matters, be yourself, mosh, dance, headbang it doesn't matter. People can tell when a band genuinely believes in what they're doing. The Southwest scene has been incredibly supportive, but you've still got to earn people's attention and put on a good show. Playing live consistently has taught us that energy and honesty go a lot further than trying to follow trends. We try to always put on a fun but energetic performance and enjoy watching people headbang at the front or back or get in the pit. The main thing is that people come out to our shows and hopefully nod their head on a few riffs.

9. A lot of “blackened” deathcore today sounds polished to the point of sterility. The aggression is there, but the danger often isn't. Do you worry modern production can kill the violence?

It can if you're not careful. Good production should enhance the energy, not remove humanity. We wanted Revenant to sound powerful and clear, but still feel alive. Some imperfections are part of what makes heavy music feel dangerous and real. When recording we always think about staying genuine and think about the live performance. We really try not to add too much or overproduce the EP so that people get what they hear when seeing us perform live.

10. With seven tracks on a debut EP, was there ever discussion of trimming it down, or did you want this first statement to feel complete rather than cautious?

There were discussions about it and I think Matt had enough ideas to write a 12 track, but in the end we felt it needed to focus on a few tracks rather than multiple. Tom and Sam are good for being down to earth and realistic, they always add some thought and reflection into Matt's writing. Matt will write technical guitars and even crazy drums when he has an idea, Tom on guitar and Sam on drums always then strip it back in a good way to make it less chaotic and realistic to play. Every track deserved its place at the time. Like any band you always look back and think of changes. As a self release we wanted people to get a full picture of what Bury the Hordes is about rather than a brief introduction. Seven tracks felt like the right balance.

11. What's harder to write for the band - a riff that crushes, or a melody that stays in someone's head after the song ends?

Definitely the melody. Heavy riffs come naturally when you're writing extreme music, but memorable melodies are much harder to get right. We try to add gripping epic but dark melodies in our songs such as Scarlet Rot, Crown of Torture, Visions, The Suffering and Silence on the Northern Front…. So basically all of them !  Finding something that sticks with people without losing the heavy intensity is always the bigger challenge while having some narrative hook lyrics to support it.

12. Vocally, deathcore has become increasingly athletic - tunnel throats, pig squeals, all the technical extremes. Luke, how do you approach vocals: as pure aggression, or as another storytelling tool?

Different sounds carry different emotions, and I try to use that range to serve the song rather than treating it as a showcase of techniques. I have my range and know my limits but do explore different techniques to try and improve. I grew up listening to bands like Suicide Silence and Black Dahlia Murder and was obsessed with powerful gravel like mid tones and black metal high screams so i think i stay true to this sound. It's been great to have Jared join us on bass as he definitely adds to the layered vocal to make the live performance more dynamic. I think new deathcore and vocal techniques are cool and sound great such as tunnel throat with disgusting guttural lows but it's not 100% for me and feel like it's very over used in modern deathcore, maybe I'm old school or getting old ! I do explore and watch how people do this to see if it adds anything for my vocal range. I like bands whose vocalist is different and distinctive with their own sound.

13. There's a lot of talk in modern heavy music about “atmosphere”, but often it's just synth padding over chugs. What does atmosphere mean to Bury the Hordes in practical terms?

For us it's about the space between the heavy moments. It's the melodies, the dynamics, the layering and the sense of tension within a song. The atmosphere should feel like part of the songwriting itself rather than something added on afterwards.

14. Name one record outside the obvious deathcore canon that directly shaped Revenant.

Hard to say as we all had our own individual influences mixed together, we tried to not specifically have an influence and the writing process usually starts with Matt's guitar ideas but to throw bands as influence in the mix you could say As Blood Runs Black, Through The Eyes Of The Dead, Acacia Strain, Suicide Silence and Black Dahlia Murder. Video games are also an influence for the band with zombie horde shooter  games like Left for Dead shaped our band name and games like Phasmophobia for Revenant and Elden Ring influence songs and lyrical themes such as Scarlet Rot.

15. Deathcore has gone through multiple cycles of being declared dead, then revived, then over-commercialised again. Do you think the genre still has room to evolve, or are bands now just refining established formulas?

There's always room to evolve. We've seen deathcore evolve massively from the early 2000s to now. The strongest bands are usually the ones willing to bring influences from outside the genre rather than simply making breakdowns heavier. Deathcore still has plenty of places it can go if people are willing to experiment. Deathcore always sits between death metal and hardcore.

16. Plymouth isn't exactly the centre of the metal world. Has being outside the major scene hubs helped shape your identity?

Absolutely. Being outside the major hubs forces you to focus on your own identity rather than constantly comparing yourself to what's happening around you. There's a strong DIY mentality here, and that's definitely influenced how we've approached the band. Plymouth currently has a good scene with the limitations on venues but were super grateful for all the venues, promoters and people who attend local underground metal events. It's definitely hard to branch out and get music heard from the South West.

17. The phrase “energetic live performances” gets used in almost every promo sheet. So let's put it differently - what happens at a Bury the Hordes show that wouldn't translate through headphones?

The connection between the band and the crowd. You can capture songs on a recording, but you can't fully capture the feeling of a room moving together when a song hits. That's the part that keeps us coming back to live music. We enjoy playing live and headbang and give it 100% on our live performances whether we're playing to 20 people or 200.

18. When people hear Revenant, what do you want them to leave with - devastation, catharsis, or the feeling that something unfinished is still following them?

Probably a mixture of all three. There's plenty of aggression and darkness in the EP, but ultimately we want people to connect with it on an own personal level. If someone finishes the record feeling like they've confronted something they couldn't quite put into words before, then that's the biggest success we could hope for. If people get any emotion or connection it's a win from us whether it's connecting with an emotional melody or the feeling of aggression and wanting to join a mosh pit at a show.

https://linktr.ee/burythehordes