written by Marko Jakob
Pix666: Hello Terence. Thanks for your time. How are you doing these days, are you alive and well? How are the other guys of Suspyria?
Terence: I’m well, I think the rest of the guys are coping okay. Where we live (Melbourne, Australia) has constantly been in and out of lockdown over the past 2 years. It’s a lot to handle having our freedoms stripped away. But everything will get back to normal soon enough.
Pix666: Please introduce your band to the readers in a few short sentences. How did you meet and what was your inspiration to become a musician? What kind of music does Suspyria make?
Terence: Hi, I’m the lead vocalist and Rhythm guitarist of Suspyria. We are an Alternative Metal band based in Melbourne, Australia. The band started in 2018, with Our guitarist Mitchell and I jamming out at his townhouse in Port Melbourne. We then, over the course of that year wrote our debut Record “Regression”. During that time, we recruited our drummer (Beau Grech) and Bass player (Chris Viper).
My inspiration to becoming a musician started as a child growing up in a very musically oriented family. Both my parents play guitar, and most of my siblings learnt to play as well. Being a musician feels like in engraved into my bones at this stage in life.
Pix666: You’ve been on the road with Suspyria for about three years now. What have been the best experiences and milestones so far?
Terence: Hitting 250k streams on our first single “Old Habits Die Hard” was huge for us. Aside from that we played a cool show at Wrangler Studios in Melbourne and packed the joint out. It was so much fun. Lockdown ended up cutting short any more touring plans we had for the end of 2019/2020.
Pix666: Some weeks ago, your new single ‘The Damage’ was released. How were the fans’ reactions?
Terence: So far, the reactions have been amazing! We’ve hit 12,000 views on our Music video and 15,000 streams on Spotify. People have reached out and told us how much they’re enjoying the song, it’s awesome, and we appreciate every single person that has praised it.
Pix666: You’ve also released a new video clip. I’m a fan of statistics of all kinds. What about you? Do you know, for example, in which countries the people who listen to your music live?
Terence: The video clip looks INSANE, our videographer Ben from Thirdeyevisualsau (Instagram) did such a fantastic job. As for the stats, the top 3 countries listening right now are Australia, Norway and America. But the most interesting country that we are seeing streams coming from is Peru, like who is in Peru listening to us??? That is seriously cool.
Pix666: When you release a new single, usually an album isn’t far away. Is there anything in the works that you can already reveal?
Terence: There are some songs in the background right now. Let’s just say we have another one on the way soon, and this one is HUGE. Big bouncy fast paced riffs and a catchy chorus. It’s going to be fun, and we can’t wait to share it.
Pix666: Where do you get the ideas for your songs, which topics do you mainly deal with?
Terence: Each release I’ve been loosely basing around a topic, the first release “Regression” was mostly based around addiction and relapse. The next one coming up is based around loss. Specifically related to death and grief. Themes within the songs are loosely based around actual experiences band members have had, as well as experiences of friends.
Pix666: How do you generally create your songs? Is there a certain plan? Who in the band is responsible for what?
Terence: Usually, the songs start with a riff or idea that our lead guitarist Mitchell, or me write. And then if the idea is good enough, I take it home and grind it out into a full-length song. I do the bulk of the song writing and then the other guys add little textures and layers or help workshop parts if we think they can be improved. And that’s all just pre-production. Sometimes once we get into the studio, the music magic takes hold, and we change it up even more!
Pix666: Were you allowed to play concerts during the pandemic, or did they have to be postponed? Do you already have plans for concerts in 2021, or maybe next year? Do you plan to play live in Europe as well?
Terence: 2020 and 2021 has been a long drawn-out process where we had to take a break from gigging. The lockdowns that have been happening in Melbourne made the unable to even practice together let alone play shows. This made us reflect inward and decide to push for writing new material. Luckily in between lockdowns we’ve managed to squeeze in studio time with our producer Chris Vernon.
We’d love to eventually come to Europe. Once there is a big enough demand from the fans, it would be amazing to jump on a tour supporting some bigger bands. We honestly can’t wait to get back on stage and play some shows.
Pix666: We will share your music and hope that as many people as possible will become aware of you. Do you even send your merch to Europe and what cool stuff do you have in your shop?
Terence: We have international shipping for our merch! It’s on our website suspyria.com
So far, we only our single line of ‘Regression’ T-shirts, but we are looking at expanding with a couple new designs for some more shirts and some hoodies. They should be ready within the next couple months.
Pix666: social media and music streaming are both a blessing and a curse for bands. From your point of view, what are the advantages and disadvantages of this development for your band. How much do Suspyria use social media and where are you represented?
Terence: In this day and age, it feels impossible to be a band without having some form of social media presence. Most people use social media to stay up to date with their favourite bands and artists. So, it’s important for us to be able to market ourselves to the right people via social media. It’s great because we can connect with people all over the world. It can open a lot of avenues for alternate ways of promotion and marketing.
I think the disadvantage is the mental health. Social media as much as it can elevate and provide, it can honestly feel a little soul consuming. It makes you feel validated through trivial things like how many likes and shares you get. Which sucks because it’s a value that has no bearing on real life.
Pix666: As a musician, you certainly spend most of your time creating music – but what else do you do in your free time when you want to get your mind off things – are there any interesting hobbies that you pursue?
Terence: That’s true, music is my true passion, I spend most of my time trying to create music. Sometimes I just play to vent my emotions through music as well.
Aside from that I do enjoy video games, I really enjoy RPGs, (I’m currently playing Skyrim for the hundredth time). I also like keeping fit, I find it’s good for keeping my mind sharp and it’s honestly great for my mental health. Weight lifting and walking while listening to something heavy is my go to.
Pix666: Do you have any other news, that you would like to share with the fans?
Terence: Well, I’d like to say a big thank you to everyone who has supported us through our regression release and our latest single the damage. Watch our socials because we have lots of music coming out very soon. And might even have some new Merch dropping within the next couple months!!
Thank you so much for your time it has been lovely chatting with you.
Pix666: Thank you very much for the interesting answers – Good luck with your new songs and stay healthy!!!
https://www.facebook.com/suspyriaofficial
photos © by Rachel Aust
