21st CENTURY TRAGEDY

PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRENDON
WEBSITE: www.myspace.com/xxitragedy
COUNTRY: South Africa STYLE: Metal

FROM THE OUTSIDE THINGS SEEM TO HAVE BEEN A BIT QUIT ON THE RECORDING FRONT FROM YOU GUYS; ARE YOU FOCUSING MORE ON MAKING A NAME FOR YOURSELVES AS A LIVE BAND AT THIS STAGE?

TIAGO: Well actually we’ve been taking time off the live scene to focus on the whole recording the album thing.

ARNO: After a long year of trying to slog a name out for ourselves in the live seen we decided to take a “break” from the live thing for a while. I say “break” because we didn’t take it easy at all. We’ve been busy recording our debut album entitled Broken by Design, at Burning Tone Studios. Look out for that one in May sometime....punt punt. We also did a song for the upcoming Hammer the Masses 2 compilation which should be out in April.

MUSICIANS NEVER REALLY STOP WRITING NEW MATERIAL, HAVE YOU GUYS BEEN WORKING ON ANYTHING NEW THAT YOU’RE EXITED ABOUT?

TIAGO: The new material that we’ve been working on is much smoother and still slamming, but it’s only in the early stages so you’re just gonna have to wait and see.

ARNO: Yeah we’ve been messing around with new material which is sounding very tasty. We just need to finish up recording the album so we can concentrate on taking the song writing to the next level.

WHAT HAVE YOU GUYS BEEN LISTENING TO LATELY FOR INSPIRATION, AND WHAT ARE YOUR TOP FIVE METAL ALBUMS EVER?

ARNO: To tell the truth we don’t just draw our song writing inspiration from metal, it goes from The Faceless to Joy Division and everything in between. It depends on the mood. As for top metal albums, in no particular order:

BRENDON
Rust in Peace – Megadeth
Antichrist Superstar – Marilyn Manson
As the palaces burn – Lamb of God
The Downward Spiral – Nine Inch Nails
The Price of Existence – All Shall Perish

MURPH
Seventh Son of a seventh son – Iron Maiden
Reign in Blood - Slayer
Cowboys from hell - Pantera
Above the weeping world - Isomnium
Cruelty and the Beast - Cradle of Filth

TIAGO
Redeemer - Norma Jean
Tides - Oceania
As the palaces burn – Lamb of God
Miasma – The Black Dahlia Murder
Undoing Ruin - Darkest Hour

ARNO
Far Beyond Driven – Pantera
Sacrament – Lamb of God
Rust in peace – Megadeth
Seasons in the abyss – Slayer
Imprint – Vision of Disorder

WEZ
Nocturnal – Black Dahlia Murder
Sacrament – Lamb of God
Vulgar display of power – Pantera
Undoing ruin – Darkest hour
Seventh son of a seventh son – Iron Maiden

HOW HAS THE MUSIC YOU HAVE BEEN LISTENING TO INFLUENCED YOU IF YOU HAD TO COMPARE THE BAND’S SOUND AT THE BEGINNING TO HOW 21st CENTURY TRAGEDY SOUNDS NOW?

ARNO: The sound of the band has basically become more refined. I can say that personally I’ve begun broadening my horizons by not just limiting myself to metal guitar anymore and I think it’s going to open up the door for some interesting riffing and some killer new songs. But fear not, the Tragedy is still deeply rooted in delivering the crunching ass riffs and the cream in your pants melodies. It’s just gonna be closer to what we initially wanted to do when we wrote our first material only, with more song writing experience behind us I think we’re gonna end up with even more crunchy cream.

TALKING ABOUT SOUND, WHAT EQUIPMENT ARE YOU GUYS USING AT THE MOMENT?

TIAGO: I usually use a guitar and Brendon usually uses a mic and shit, um...we use beer and weed and speakers and stuff.

ARNO: Mostly beer and weed.

AS A LIVE BAND YOU MUST HAVE SOME ADVISE TO OUR READERS ABOUT MAKING YOUR EQUIPMENT LAST AND MAKING IT GO THE EXTRA MILE ON AND OF STAGE?

TIAGO: It’s cool, I think everyone already knows how to do that.

ARNO: First you drink the beer then smoke the weed, then when you’re nice and hammered you make your way to the stage, try not to fall and deliver the crunching rot.

HAVING PLAYED LIVE FOR A WHILE NOW, WHAT HAS BEEN THE BEST SHOW FOR THE BAND SO FAR AND BEST VENUE TO DATE AS WELL?

ARNO: The best shows for me last year were the last five before we took this song writing timeout. We had basically just came out of one of our most shite gigs ever....and I mean EVER, and after that shite gig the remaining five were just fuckin’ awesome. Things just started getting nice and loose on stage and the attitude just got an extra set of balls. I’m really fuckin’ amped on 2009.

TIAGO: That last gig at ROAR was fuckin’ crazy. People getting fucked up, especially Jacques, we love you dude!

POINTLESS QUESTION: DO YOU THINK IT WOULD BE POSSIBLE TO COLLAPSE ONE OF THOSE PLASTIC TUNNELS/PLAY AREAS THAT FILL UP HALF THE CAR PARK AT FAST FOOD STORES IF YOU HAD A BIG ENOUGH AMP?

ARNO: Dude if you find that amp, let me know.

TIAGO: Actually get me the one that blows the whole fuckin’ place down.

IS 21ST CENTURY TRAGEDY STILL BASED IN PAARL…IF SO, ISN’T IT ANNOYING TO MAKE THE TRIP TO THE CITY FOR EVERY SHOW, OR HAVE YOU GUYS BEEN LUCKY TO HAVE YOUR SHOWS SPACED OUT OVER TIME SO THAT PETROL MONEY NEVER BECOMES AN ISSUE?

TIAGO: Not really, half of us are in Cape Town and the rest are in Paarl and our jam room is in Paarl, so we’re pretty to use to it. It’s either driving through to Paarl to jam or driving through to Cape Town for gigs....and occasionally Jozi streets.

ARNO: When is petrol money cool anyway!? Like he said, we’re use to it.

WHAT ARE THE PLUSSES AND MINUSES TO BEING AN INDEPENDENT METAL BAND IN SOUTH AFRICA?

ARNO: The pro’s are you get to do whatever you want artistically. If you aren’t doing exactly what you want musically you only have yourself to blame. The downside...no one gives a fuck.

TIAGO: There’s a lot of support between most of the bands but some bands in the same predicament not really trying to help anyone besides themselves, dog eat dog, its just fuckin’ bullshit.

SOMEONE ONCE SAID THAT HARD TIMES MAKE FOR THE BEST SONGS; DO YOU THINK THAT IS TRUE IN ANY WAY?

TIAGO: It’s all about the mud. Harsh times cause a lot of mud to build up. If the person gathering up all this mud knows how to channel that shit into song writing, ear pussies start bleeding.

ARNO: Totally true, I think its somewhere in the middle when the music starts happening. It’s like when you have the rot times, then come the good times and somewhere in between is the grime where the crunching rot resides.

ANY LAST COMMENTS/ADVISE OR PEOPLE YOU WOULD LIKE TO THANK?

ARNO: Dude wussup with all the “advice”? I’m not fuckin’ Jesus.

TIAGO: Do drugs; have unprotected sex, shoot heroin and fuck your life. If you can’t deal with it... kill yourself.