The hatred of mankind will send the children to their graves.
Dobbin briefly caught up with Death Goals for a chat on the afternoon before their set. Photo credit to Jonathan Dadds for ArcTanGent festival.
Dobbin: It’s been a big year for shows for you two. A headline tour, No Play in Liverpool, even more, and now ATG. So what have been your favourite moments from shows this year?
Harry: I enjoyed getting told, post our set at No Play, that security were insisting a “barrier had to be put up”. They didn’t though, which is good, fuck barriers. Having a tantrum and smashing my guitar in Birmingham, that was bad and good.
Grog: The London A Garden of Dead Flowers show was a highlight this year. Being able to do that in New Cross Inn was sick. Lots of homies, lots of friends.
Harry: And now playing ArcTanGent, which is silly. Grog was saying they’ve been coming for like, four or five times now. I’ve never been. And I bought a ticket for this year, then we got asked to play, which is sick.
Dobbin: Did you manage to sell…
Harry: No… I’ll invoice James later…
Dobbin: You just said you don’t like barriers, and yet, huge barrier at ATG… what’s the plan?
Harry: I’m going to assess the situation as we come to it. During Birds in Row, I was trying to gauge the gap, it’s quite sizeable. Big stage, big gap. We’ll make it work. If it means we’ll have to go really hard on stage, that’s fine. A few people have been stepping into the audience like Hidden Mothers, so it’s doable with a mic, maybe not with a guitar. Maybe I’ll get Luke from Pupil Slicer to learn guitar real quick…
Dobbin: When we last interviewed you we had a lovely gush about the ATG lineup, and that you’d have to conserve energy before your set. In particular, you would have to “behave during Converge” – did you?
Harry: No, in fact, I was acting very unwise. I was on the right hand side of the stage, and then they start playing “Heartless” and went, “Oh, for fuck’s sake”, and I ran in. I cross paths with the folks in Lure In, it was all arms and legs swinging… I got four or five songs in and went “I can’t do much more”. I was also in a hoodie, poorly planned for Converge.
Grog: I was stood on the mid left, and by that point I was just so tired, had a fair bit to drink… But it was great.
Harry: Converge are ridiculous, they always are. Can’t believe they’re that fucking good all the time.
Dobbin: Having been in band of different sizes, what do you think the benefits and drawbacks are being a two-piece?
Grog: Outside of doing Death Goals, we are very good friends. There is never any contention or anything like that. But if you have like five members in a band, and you have different ideas, or one person argues with another, it can ruin things.
Harry: Being a two piece makes doing shows easier, but also harder. If one can’t do it, you can’t do the show. I think three piece is the perfect number. Two limits you in creative ways, but that also opens doors, which I enjoy.
Grog: And also, I just think it looks sick. Drummer’s got to sing.
Harry: On the other end of the spectrum if you’ve got twelve motherfuckers on the stage, unless they’re all clearly doing something, get some of them off. If you’ve got a member who doesn’t play for a whole song, get them off stage.
Dobbin: You’re only allowed to say that this year because Godspeed You! Black Emperor aren’t here. Otherwise you’d be escorted out.
Dobbin: You can get rid of one piece of “bandmin” forever – what would you get rid of?
Harry: Social media. I don’t want to do it ever again. It doesn’t work anyway, cause Zuckerberg has got our balls in a vice. Fuck social media. I like doing the rest of it, I like organising tours, I like organising shows and practice and all that stuff.
Grog: Invoicing is annoying, I’d throw that in there.
Harry: Yeah, but I don’t do that, so it doesn’t matter.
Dobbin: All right, so Harry can do all the invoicing, and Grog can do all the social media.
Harry: Terrible decision, terrible, terrible decision!
Grog: Absolutely awful decision.
Dobbin: On Instagram, you once answered a ranking of your top Dillinger Escape Plan albums. You both put my favourite, Option Paralysis, on the bottom. Can you explain that please? You might not be saying it’s bad, but…
Harry: It’s the one I’ve listened to the least. I don’t think I’ve ever fully, properly listened to it. I couldn’t name a song from it.
Grog: When I’m thinking about listening to Dillinger, which albums do I listen to way more, right now? That’s always the last one, Dissociation.
Harry: When you’re competing with all the others, like Miss Machine… some thing has to be the “worst”… It’s like, everyone’s got that one sibling… I’m that sibling.
Death Goals went on to play a cracking set to a late and lively crowd. They have an upcoming London show at the Old Blue Last on the 18th October, with Knives (Bristol), Nailbreaker (Northampton), and incaseyouleave (London).