As I dodged the rain and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations, a little used venue was about to host a cool gig line up. Tufnell Park Dome is a good venue, a very wide stage but not very deep, but a disappointing bar selection did not deter my determination to join in the day’s festivities, and also the reason why I did this interview in two stages. One of my main reasons for attending this event was to see the openers, Amulet. This band really impressed me since I was handed their ‘Cut the Crap’ demo in October last year. This would have been the first time I have seen them, the show was pretty magical, the enthusiasm, the sound was pretty special, and more pleasing was the crowds love for this band by nearly venturing to the front of the stage. So, after the band had laid waste to the stage, and really solidified my support for them, Ave Noctum spoke to ‘Dave Sherwood On Drums’ (D.S.O.D.) – as you can imagine from his stage name, Dave is the drummer, who shares his thoughts to our inquisition…

AN: Your first demo, ‘Cut the Crap’ seems to have been well received, I for one am happy that a band from London like yourselves play a style of metal I hold very dear, why now (why not of course!!!), what is the band history?

DSOD: Thanks. We play the music we all enjoy listening to the most. The idea of AMULET started in 2010 but we first practised in early 2011 with just me (D.S.O.D), Heathen Steven (Guitars) and Bill Dozer (Bass). I’d known Heathen Steven for a while through the ‘scene’ and it just so happened we were both looking at starting a NWOBHM-esque band at the same time. I was introduced to Bill Dozer after that, I think he’d only been playing bass a few weeks. We hung out and got wasted for a few months then decided to hit up the rehearsal rooms. It’s just by chance that there are new bands who are more notably inspired by Heavy Rock and Metal from the 70’s and early 80’s now as there were say, 5 years ago. There isn’t so much of it in theUKstill but it’s gonna happen; people are really starting to dig heavy music at its purest.

AN: ‘Cut the Crap’ – the tape – sold out rather quickly, there is a 7 inch version of the demo coming in June (this month) on Mordgrimm Records, how did that come about?

DSOD: We always knew the 7” was going to be on the cards, we thought if people buy the tapes there are gonna hopefully be more people who want to buy the vinyl – it’s more accessible and cooler! Mordgrimm originally contacted us to buy a few of the tapes in bulk and they sold well on their website. Neil [Mordgrimm] then offered to put out a 7”, it seemed like a fair deal and he’s a really cool guy. Genuine music fan!

AN: Lyrically, many people site references, the usual one is Lovecraft, but in Amulet’s case, are there any books, stories that really inspire your lyrics?

DSOD: Black magic, wizardry, evil, paranoia and Lucifer seem to cover the majority of our demo. However the last song we created for it, ‘The Hangman’, is about an ancestor of mine called William Calcraft who was the last ever public executioner inEnglandand was notorious for short-drop hangings and making a mockery of the accused by jumping on their shoulders and dangling on their legs to ensure death. The lyrical content in the new songs is quite varied so we don’t have one specific theme. One thing that is for sure is we all love the 60’s and 70’s biker films.

AN: Three shows under your belt, a debut in Lancaster, and a Londonshow with Cauchemar and now one with Manilla Road, how did it feel to take Amulet to the stage?

DSOD: Man, it’s so fucking nerve wracking. Our first show was a part of the ‘Heavy Easter’ line-up which originally was meant to have SOLSTICE headlining. However, they had to catch a plane or something and so they ended up taking our spot and playing first, which meant we had to follow them… shitting our pants is an understatement but it worked out fine and we went down well! Tonight’s show withManilla Roadis by far the best out of the 3 shows we have played. We just need to write some more songs now.

AN: Did you bring in Daragh “The Marksman”Markhamon Lead Guitar to improve your live sound or did you just feel you need to add another guitarist to Amulet’s arsenal?

DSOD: We had two stand-in guitarists before Daragh joined, however ‘Tone Deth’ is the player who featured on ‘Cut the Crap’, he’s a brilliant guitarist but time and commitments to other things meant he couldn’t join on a full-time basis. We were after someone who we could get on well and hang out with more than anything, Daragh was the only person we asked to try out and inevitably he got it. He is certainly a big addition to the live sound.

AN: How did you feel being a part of this bill tonight (Manilla Road….) and do these bands have any influence on the Amulet sound?

DSOD: We were all in ore when we heard we’d be opening up a show for MANILLA ROAD- they are certainly a huge influence on AMULET. We all couldn’t wait to see them, it’s was gonna be a blast tonight!!! (AN: And it was!), Fuck the Queen (AN: The gig was over the Diamond Jubilee weekend). WYTCH HAZEL are good friends of ours too so after this its gonna be straight back into party mode with them as they have just come off stage. Come join us.

AN: You debuted new songs tonight? I was impressed with your live sound and performance, you all seen happy to play on stage.

DSOD: Thanks for the kind words. Yeah we played two new songs tonight, ‘Evil Cathedral’ and ‘Trip Forever’. We don’t  have much of a complicated live sound really, fuck pedals and lots of distortion, if you’ve got natural heavy tunes it’s still gonna sound heavy. Heathen Steven often says “less is more”.

AN: I noticed you have a nice link on Strappados’ Metal blog….discuss the blog and its benefits to classic metal fans….some people detest downloading, in this blogs case, it is all HTF out of print stuff, and essential for inspiration!

DSOD:  Strappado’s Metal blog is brilliant. It’s well run, well connected and is certainly a key in supporting obscure and underground Rock and Metal from the late 60’s up until now! I don’t agree with downloading when something is available to buy, however if its something that is out of print and costs a ridiculous amount of money then why should they fucking buy it? Leave that to the collectors. We really appreciate the support from the guys at Strappado. I’m sure we’ve had a lot of downloads.

AN: Finally, summarise/describe AMULET to the uninitiated…..

DSOD: Heavy smashers!

AMULET are certainly a band to watch out for in the future with their heavy metal mysticism, AMULET are a classic entertaining metal band. Watch this space…

http://www.facebook.com/amuletmetal

Interviewed by Paul Maddison