After a recent vocal scare forced him to “re-build my voice”, Carbon Black singer Jonathan Hurley is relishing the prospect of gigging again.
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“I have been working hard over the past year to get my voice back, which has been exceptionally difficult,” he told the Mercury.
“I have had to forget ten years of bad habits and re-train my muscle memory, but now I am finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and cannot wait to perform live.”
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The Illawarra heavy metal band have a slew of new songs to perform too; their debut album End of This is due to be released on September 10.
The band, whose members currently reside in Jamberoo, Albion Park, Shellharbour and Oak Flats, formed in 2014.
The quartet had long planned to record and release an album, but had been thwarted by an inability to find a full-time drummer.
Last year, the group recruited bassist Rob Giles’ brother Steve to fill the role.
The band also decided to re-record some tracks from their previous EP for the new full-length.
Hurley said there isn’t really an over-arching story throughout the album, but there are consistent themes and messages within the songs.
“I try to write lyrics that have a personal meaning to me, but can also be interpreted by listeners to mean something personal to them.
“Their meaning could be completely different to mine, but it still means something to them.
“End of This is a look at the world and how it is changing through the eyes of a person who is getting older and doesn’t quite understand why the world is the way it is, or why people behave the way they do.
“It’s not talking about an ‘end’ as such, but change, change in the way humans behave towards each other, change in the way you as an individual behaves and thinks, and the necessary change in the bloated, corrupt and unfair systems that control most of the world’s population.”
Carbon Black will launch the album locally with a show at Dicey Riley’s, Wollongong on Saturday, September 15.
The quartet will also play shows in Brisbane, Sydney and Newcastle to promote the album.
“Not just in the Illawarra, but all over the world, metal is improving,” Hurley said
“The level of talent that is in the scene today is phenomenal. So many young bands are coming through and really putting work into their show.
“Influence is coming from all different places also, so many different sounds and styles. It’s really great to see.
“Bands these days really need to put something special together to stand out from the crowd.”
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