Would you rather be reincarnated as an alligator or a meerkat?
Jess, email
“An alligator, definitely. They’ve been around forever, haven’t they? They’re pretty hardy. It kind of makes me feel like it’s a parallel to my career. And I do love alligators and crocodiles. I once fed the largest alligator in Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary on the Gold Coast in Australia. He was called Boss Hogg, and he was an absolute monster.”
Over the years you’ve refused to do VIP meet and greets. How easy/viable is it being in a band nowadays where that method of financing touring and generally staying alive is ruled out?
Ben Wilmott, Facebook
“We’ve never known it, so we’ve had to make it viable. My take on it is it’s viable to be in a band and not do VIP meet and greets. Post-Covid, do I have that amount of sharpness as I did before? Probably not. To each their own; crack on and do what you want to do, but I do still think it is exploiting fans. It’s monetising something that I don’t think you can quantify.”
If [Bury Tomorrow bassist and Dani’s brother] Dav ever quit the band, would you carry on without him?
Kath Li, email
“That’s a hard question. It depends on the circumstances. If it was his decision to leave, because he’d had enough or whatever, I genuinely think he would want me to stay in the band. If there was some kind of disgruntlement or argument, and I can’t even foresee that being a thing, it’d probably be a different conversation.”
Who in the band has the worst or most embarrassing tattoo, and who has the most impressive one?
SmileyKunt, Instagram
“Dav has the weirdest tattoos. He’s got ‘Owls rock!’ for some random reason on his leg. He doesn’t really like owls, so that’s an option! Jacko [Adam Jackson, drums] probablyhas the cleanest tattoos because he started really late. He didn’t get one until he was 29 or 30. He’s got two really clean sleeves that are blackand grey with Grecian statues. If I could go back, I’d love to redo all of my arms and do them in a different way. My entire shin and most of my arm was done in someone’s bedroom.”
What’s the craziest show you’ve ever played?
AaronDeeMusic, Twitter/X
“Eastern European shows are always a bit unhinged. You don’t know what’s going to go off. We played a 150-cap venue in Poland, and there were like 200 people there. People were smashing through windows.”
If you were gonna take us sightseeing in Southampton, where would we go?
Will Badger, email
“Everyone that comes down this way has to go to New Forest National Park, outside of Southampton. I grew up next to the New Forest, there’s wild ponies and boars. It’s a magic place, really. We’re very, very lucky to have it.”
What was it like wearing a wig to guest with Electric Callboy earlier this year [on the song Hypa Hypa during Electric Callboy’s US tour]?
Laura Quinton, email
“You know, we had no right to be that high up on a bill in America. We’d wanted to tour together for years. They paid us a really good fee to get us out there, which is just a sign of how nice they are. We asked if we could wear the wigs; they had spare wigs of course. They’re German and they’re superefficient, so they had multiple choices. I was nervous, I didn’t want to mess it up for them, but we had a great time.”
Hammer: Would you ever do a collab song with them?
“Yeah, of course. We’ve talked about it, but they’re on another trajectory. They’re doing collab songs with Babymetal, so I think collab songs with us is probably on the lower end of their priority list at the moment.”
Hammer: What would it sound like?
“Super-poppy, but awesome. Kevin’s [Ratajczak, Electric Callboy vocalist] a good screamer. Nico’s [Sallach, Electric Callboy clean vocalist] got an amazing singing voice, no doubt about it. But I don’t think people give Kevin the credit he quite deserves. I had him in my ears. He’s very, very loud. He’s a lot louder than I am at screaming.”
Where’s the coolest place you’ve ridden your Harley?
Sophie Jessica, email
“I did the Distinguished Gentlemen’s Ride in London. It was with 800 other riders, and it was a proper spectacle going through London with all Triumphs, Harleys and BMWs.”
What do you hope to achieve with your next album?
Harry Paulett, Facebook
“We want to really push ourselves, to be a bit different and bit shocking. Villain Arc was the first of that, after releasing Abandon Us, which was pretty much a deathcore song. But people seem to really like it. It’s gone down really well.”
Hammer: Are you making a proper deathcore album?
“We’re not really. It’s just pushing the boundaries of what we do. We have to honour the fact that people love melody and also, we do. Tom[Prendergast, keyboards/vocals] is an incredibly good singer, an incredibly good writer. We have got to utilise that to its absolute potential. So, there’ll be songs on there where it’ll be predominantly singing and there will be songs on there that are predominantly screaming, because it’s all about how that moves and ebbs and flows, and is it right for the song.”
How do you keep on top of your mental health?
Shawn Pierce, Facebook
“For me, it’s recognising it’s a lifelong condition that I have. I have to make sure that I understand myself, my trigger points, and my ups and downs. Mindfulness really helps. Weirdly being OK with the speck of dust that we are in this universe. For some people, that can be incredibly scary. But for me, it’s incredibly freeing. My issues and worries, my ongoing, cyclical OCD, intrusive thoughts, my low mood: it’s insignificant in the grand scheme of things. In 150 years’ time, is any of that going to matter? I’m not saying I don’t have low moments. But our existence on this planet is a blip in time. I make it sound a lot easier than it is. I do still struggle a lot, but that’s what helps me keep my brain in that mode.”
Your peers like Architects and Parkway Drive have, to some degree, softened their sound to make the jump to larger venues and arenas. How much heaviness would you be willing to sacrifice to do the same?
David Jones, email
“We probably wouldn’t, to be honest. I don’t think there’s a need to do it. Look at a band like Lorna Shore, who are selling out 10,000-cap venues. They’re monstrous. And they’re absolutely, insanely big. Will Ramos is a superstar, the best vocalist on the planet. We’re content with getting bigger and doing what we do. It’s a few months to go [until our UK tour] and we’ve sold out Manchester Academy already. We’re close to selling out [the Roundhouse in] London. That’s the most tickets we’ll have ever done in London.”
What do aliens look like?
Scott Muller, email
“I do think it’s funny, the arrogance of humans that believe every organism out there would represent us; carbonbased, biped, two eyes at the front. What if we got it wrong about ghosts? What if poltergeists are just space beings and all of these weird things that happen are actually because we can’t fathom it, and we can’t see them because they live in another plane?”
What’s your cute dog like?
Andrew Talbot, email
“She’s a Romanian rescue called Ina. She’s the best. She’s got her issues, but wehave had dog psychologists and trainers to help her be the best she can be. She’s a pain in my ass, but she loves us, and we love her. She doesn’t really like other dogs and she doesn’t really like people. She’s like me, to be honest with you.”
Villain Arc is out now. Bury Tomorrow tour the UK from November 22.
