Welcome to In Conversation, a special interview column on the site where we sit down with artists and dive deep into everything music. This week, Harry sat down with Sentinels vocalist Josh Hardiman over Zoom to discuss the band’s new album, what it’s like being the new frontman, what he’s been listening to, and how the band has stayed busy over lockdown. Sentinels’s new album, Collapse By Design, is due for release on Friday, October 22nd, and you can find pre-orders here.
Harry: You’re a relatively new addition to the lineup. Were you aware of the band at all before you were contacted about fronting them?
Josh: I was aware of Sentinels. I had been introduced to their EP, Unsound Recollections, maybe a year previous to getting introduced to them. I think that I just stumbled upon it on Spotify. A little crazy story there; so, I posted them on my [Instagram] story and was just like ‘oh, this band’s crazy’, and then, this girl in Germany had messaged me like ‘yo, Sentinels is like so underrated, and like, they’re so good’, and then, lo and behold, here I am, “not” fronting Sentinels now.
Harry: You’re still underrated, but, you’ve got a full-length under your belt soon. I know the record was fully written, pretty much, if not completely, before you joined, so you probably didn’t have too much input, but was there a way that the lyrics resonated with you that influenced the way that you sung and expressed them?
Josh: Most certainly. Even to this day I’m still deepening my connection to those lyrics. I feel in some way that… now I haven’t said this on previous interviews, maybe because it hadn’t occurred to me at the time to say, but in some ways I really do feel like Dave has written a story that most anybody can find themselves in. I know that’s true for me. I keep finding analogies to my own life. In some songs I fear that I’ve yet to live through, that, you know, that are on the way. In a way that he’s prophesised my own life.
Even to this day I’m still deeping my connection to those lyrics. I feel in some way that…now I haven’t said this on previous interviews. Maybe because it hadn’t occurred to me at the time to say, but in some ways I really do feel like Dave has written a story that most anybody can find themselves in.
Harry: He does. He captures the emotions rather than the actual specific events he’s pulling from, I found. I imagine that you have a ton of your own ideas that you’d love to add to the future works, and this is a bit early on, but have you guys discussed where you go from here, and about maybe you contributing lyrics?
Josh: Oh, most certainly! Well, maybe it hasn’t been properly said, but yeah, I definitely intend to be involved in the lyric-writing process. I know that Dave had said something recently that he was writing too for LP2, so I’m only slightly worried that there’ll be a little bit of a clash there, but I think that Dave and I get along great. Actually, all of us get along great, so I don’t anticipate that there will be much, if any, friction, because all we really want at the end of the day is to write the best music possible, so as long as we can put our personalities aside and egos aside and just say ‘you know, okay, you’re right, this is better’, we’ll make something special.
Harry: Yeah, I suppose that’s just a part of the music industry in general. When you go to music producers and they say ‘this isn’t right’, etcetera, and you put your heart and soul into it and at the end of the day it’s, as you say, about making the best music possible, and I’m sure, you know, you guys will do that between you.
Josh: Oh yeah.
Harry: What is your dream tour lineup? The band you would love to open for?
Josh: Oof. Man. My dream lineup would probably be something crazy, just like, way too many bands; Loathe, ERRA, Vildhjarta, Humanity’s Last Breath.
Harry: Have you listened to the new Vildhjarta record?
Josh: Oh yeah, dude. I was on the stream. I listened to it, which, by the way, that mix is insane. The mix is incredible, but anyway, if you let me I’ll go on too long for that. Yeah, I think that Thy Art is Murder would be another crazy one to add, but I think I’ll wrap it up there.
Harry: Yeah, no, that’s a good selection of bands. And to be honest, even though you didn’t write too much of this record, I think it encapsulates the Sentinels sound quite well: you’ve got the chaos of Vildhjarta, the Thall is clear on “Albatross”, and…
Josh: Oh, Invent [Animate]. I got to throw Invent in there too.
Harry: I was literally just about to say, just throw in some of that Invent ambience and that is pretty much the record [Collapse by Design]. On the topic of other bands in the genre, you’ve just come off tour with Lorna [Shore], Enterprise Earth, and Crown Magnetar. How was it playing live with the band for the first time?
Josh: We had done two shows previous to that tour as a warmup, or just because, because we had the opportunity to, but we had played Hartford, Connecticut, and New Jersey, supporting Lorna Shore, and those were amazing. The tour following that, maybe a month after, was just as incredible, getting to do it every night. I had a lot of imposter syndrome and just anxiety and doubt and whatnot, but doing that tour really put all of that to rest for me. Very excited to keep doing it.
I had a lot of imposter syndrome and just anxiety and doubt and whatnot, but doing that tour really put all of that to rest for me. Very excited to keep doing it.
Harry: You’ve got an upcoming tour with Born of Osiris, Shadow of Intent, Signs of the Swarm. Firstly, I just want to say how jealous I am of that lineup, if I was anywhere in America I’d be going to that. How did that come out? How long were you sitting on the news with the whole COVID situation before it was announced?
Josh: We’ve been sitting on the record for at least a year and a half, I don’t know, close to two years, but the tours were fairly recent. I think that we knew about the Lorna tour roughly three months or so, maybe four months in advance, but the BoO [Born of Osiris] tour was very fast. I think it’s kinda not unprecedented, but out of the norm, for us to, for anybody, to get a tour offer and then just be like ‘alright, we’re going’. Usually, I think it’s a couple months in advance.
Harry: You get offered on that tour, you’re not saying no. That is ridiculous. Speaking of the record, as you just said, you’ve had it done for ages. What was the process of picking the singles? You’ve got all this new music ready, you know, and you have to put out little snapshots of it. [laughs] How did you decide?
Josh: Well, I don’t think that my opinion carried too much weight in that conversation, but I think that the band gave their opinion on what we would like to see, and then, Sharptone was involved in that conversation heavily, determining which songs should be more piloting, first impressions for the record. So it was a mutual decision between Sharptone and the band.
Harry: I assume that the label has a massive say in it, but the singles are probably the most abrasive of the songs [on the record], so I was just like ‘are the band spearheading this whole thing?’ Speaking of a song that wasn’t chosen, “Atlas” deviates sonically and tonally from the rest of the album—it’s very Invent, it’s very pretty—were you given any different direction on the track vocally?
Josh: Not necessarily. Really I wasn’t given too too much direction when I was in the studio. I think that they just had a lot of faith and trust in me. I think that, ‘cause I had pre-pro’d the entire album right up to the day that I was leaving, to go to Jersey, so I did a month’s straight of just studio work, and that was very rough to say the least. I think that them seeing what I was doing on the record in the pre-pro version, they were like ‘yo, we don’t have too much to guide you on here.’ Yeah, they were just like, you know, ‘you’re nailing the vision’. There were a few spots where Dave would kind of push me and say, ‘maybe instead of, you know, a high here, do like a lower here, just try it out’, and so there were a few of those. There was one section in particular on “Albatross” where I fought very hard to have those lows in that middle breakdown.
Harry: Oh yeah, I mean, that song is incredible, but that makes it for me.
Josh: Me too. I was like, ‘guys, I’m really not going to budge on this’. It’s screaming, literally, for lows here.
Harry: For sure. My first actual exposure to you wasn’t actually Sentinels. It was that Blueshift song, “Suadade”. I hadn’t heard of you before then, and it was just like, ‘who is this guy?’, then suddenly you get announced as the new Sentinels vocalist. I was sold. That was it: I didn’t need to hear the singles; I knew this guy was going to work.
Josh: Man, that’s so cool. Crazy enough, so Blueshift is from my home town. That’s how we got linked up, and yeah, it’s just a small world, man.
Harry: We are a small community, but that’s what I love about it. If you could cover one song, inside the genre or out, what would it be and why?
Josh: Man, I’m struggling. I’m struggling right now. As a band?
Harry: Band and personally. ‘Cause I know you started off doing covers, didn’t you?
Josh: That’s right, yeah. Man, there are a few Counterparts songs I would like to do, just ‘cause the emotion behind his voice is just insane, so definitely a Counterparts song. I’m going to stick with that, just because of the emotional, visceral sound he has.
Harry: I would love to hear you take on some Counterparts songs. His vocals are amazing, and same with yours; you both convey the emotion so well. Speaking of which, when you’re doing vocals live—obviously Metalcore’s an energetic genre, and Sentinels especially so—do you choreograph any of the performance beforehand?
Josh: I have my own choreographed moves for specific sections. The whole set isn’t choreographed, for certain breakdowns or certain sections, I’ll position myself strategically, and I think that through repetition of playing these live shows, I think Chris, in particular, Chris and Danny have picked up on some of those sections and then have kind of followed suit a little bit, like with “I disconnect” in “Inertia”, we all do a very synchronised headbang, and it very much looks choreographed, but it was not. It was not intentional, and I think that that was just an organic thing that evolved out of just us playing together and seeing that through playback and being like ‘yo, that looks sick, we should keep doing that.’
Harry: I was just curious, because sometimes from a spectator’s perspective it seems instinctive, but when you’re doing it every night for however long it must just become natural, I suppose. What’s the most trouble you’ve got into on tour? I know you haven’t been touring all that long, but I’m sure there are some stories.
Josh: [Laughs] So, this first tour with Lorna was my first tour ever, so that was absolutely legendary. I do not get… I’m a pretty laid back guy, I’m low-key. Believe it or not, being the frontman you might expect that I might be the centre of attention, seeking attention all the time, but very much I’m a background character. I very much just become invisible the moment that I get off stage, so I didn’t really get into a lot of trouble. Actually, I don’t get into any trouble. I don’t think that I’ve… I’ve tried very hard to keep the boat steady. I don’t rock the boat at all. Now, we do have a member that likes to get into some trouble, and I won’t mention anything about that, but you know, I’m just saying that to say that it’s not always butterflies and rainbows. Sometimes you get someone who gets into trouble.
Harry: Even if you’re a private person, you probably have stuff outside of music and the limelight, and with COVID, obviously you’ve had a lot of downtime. What are your main hobbies?
Josh: Man, this is where I get outed as a fuckin’ boring person. If I’m going to be completely real and honest with you, I struggle. I have and still struggle with a lot of emotional and mental problems, so like, I struggle with anxiety and depression, so, to be honest, I don’t really do much, man. [Laughs] I just struggle. I play video games; I play this game called Civ 6 a lot. Other than that, I’ll read. I read, I play videogames, and I exercise. I exercise pretty regularly.
I play video games; I play this game called Civ 6 a lot. Other than that, I’ll read. I read, I play video games, and I exercise. I exercise pretty regularly.
Harry: This isn’t really too relevant to the music, but what do you read?
Josh: Reading was a hobby that I picked up not out of necessity, but because I needed a hobby. I needed something to fill my time with, because I’m unemployed right now and I just have a lot of time and think too much. So I just started picking up books. I think I started with Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins, and then I read a few self-help books. I read this book called The Body Keeps The Score [Bessel van der Kolk] about trauma and whatnot. That was life-changing. I recommend that to anybody who’s suffering from trauma. I’m currently reading What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami. I started reading it before tour, and then I stopped reading it when I was on tour, because there was too much shit to do.
Harry: I’ll add that to the list. A lot of what you read seems to be about the self and healthy living. I suppose that’s probably why you react to Dave’s lyrics so well: they’re very focused on emotions and dealing with things. As a fan-turned-frontman of Sentinels, what is your favourite song the band has ever done, and which is the most fun to play live?
Josh: Ooooh. Originally my answer would’ve been “Comfort” [In Familiar Pain], but I think that my favourite has evolved into “Atlas”. So my favourite song on the record [Collapse by Design] is “Atlas”. And my favourite song to play live is probably “Tyrant”.
Harry: “Tyrant” is a good one. Will “Atlas” be on the setlist? If you can’t say, you can’t say, but…
Josh: It will not unfortunately be on the setlist for the BoO tour. I really, really wish it was, but unfortunately not.
Harry: Is that because you don’t plan on playing it live, or is it just one of those things where you don’t practice and it’s been pushed down the line?
Josh: Oh, we’re gonna be playing it live eventually. For sure.
Harry: Amazing. Speaking of new music this year, what are your top 3 releases? I was going to ask for 1, but, you know, there’s so much good music this year.
Josh: Oh man, I’m going to say Vildhjarta, and then Knocked Loose just put out an insane piece. Man, what else came out this year? Maybe Spiritbox.
Harry: Very good choices. What was your introduction to heavy music?
Josh: Okay, so my first introduction to heavier music was: I was riding in my step-dad’s truck and I think System Of A Down came on the radio, and I remember hating it. I remember thinking ‘why does anybody like this?’ And then, maybe a year later, something just clicked. ‘I get it now. This makes sense and it’s really good.’ That was kind of like the beginning. You could maybe even go one step previous to that: I was in elementary school and I got introduced to Limp Bizkit, and that just fucking… I grabbed that. I loved it. After System Of A Down I just continued that train. I got sucked into YouTube breakdown videos, and I just couldn’t stop. I got hungry for breakdowns. ‘What’s the next heaviest breakdown?’ And then I got drawn to the vocals; I was like, man, ‘what makes this so good?’ The vocals were so sick. What made it take off was I went to my first show. MyChildren MyBride was headlining, and I was in the front row, and Matty came out and started owning the stage and running the crowd. Something just clicked, man. ‘This is what I’m going to do with my life.’ I was fifteen years old, and from that moment on I just put everything I had into that. It finally started happening, just way later than I wanted it to.
Harry: I don’t think people realise just how much emotion and thought goes into heavy music. Like, you could easily listen to the Sentinels record and treat it as just heavy music, just playing seemingly-random notes on the guitar. The lyrics are something you can overlook quite easily.
Josh: They really are, you don’t realise how much those ancillary components really contribute to the final product and the greater experience. What I mean by that is the visuals, or lyrics, or ambience, things that seem very small, but you take them away and it makes a very big difference.
Harry: I agree. What is Counterparts without their emotion? They’re still good lyrics on paper, but if you’re not putting the passionate behind it you’re missing what makes it.
Josh: Exactly. What is Invent Animate without their ambience? My tastes have evolved over time: now I listen to a lot of jazz, jazz-fusion, prog jazz. I’m really drawn to odd metre, polyrhythms, stuff like that. I think that’s what I love so much about Sentinels: it’s just wild. It feels like fate.
Exactly. What is Invent without their ambience? My tastes have evolved over time: now I listen to a lot of jazz, jazz-fusion, prog jazz. I’m really drawn to odd metre, polyrhythms, stuff like that. I think that’s what I love so much about Sentinels: it’s just wild. It feels like fate.
Harry: How were you contacted? ‘Cause obviously you weren’t in a band before. Was it from the [YouTube] videos?
Josh: So, no, the videos more or less served as a portfolio, but really it was word of mouth. I became friends with JT [Cavey] from ERRA through the internet and YouTube, and he ended up moving just a few hours away from me, so we ended up hanging out every once in a while. We became friends through music and our shared love for vocals. Then, I had worked with one of Sentinels’ friends, who’s a producer, named Aaron Chaparian (Prod. Worm Shepherd and DeadVectors). I had worked with Aaron a few times, and he was aware of me and what I was capable of, and so, Sentinels was in the studio recording Collapse by Design. Their vocalist quit pretty much when it was his turn to start doing stuff [tracking vocals], so they were scrambling. They started hitting up everyone they knew, and Aaron, separately, had thrown my name out to them, and JT had done the same. I’m sure they were vetting other names as well, but my name was out there, and they pursued that interest. I auditioned, and a week later they offered me the spot.
Harry: I can’t imagine anyone else really featuring on this [record]. I think this album is really going to put you guys on the map. Sentinels have always been teasing this Metalcore side, progressing from Deathcore, and I think you guys nailed the blend on this one.
Josh: I agree that it wasn’t their final form. And, to be fair, I don’t think this our final form. I’m hopeful that the next record will be even better.
Harry: As much as I like you guys’ Tony Danza [Tapdance Extravaganza] side, that ambience on that last track [“Atlas”] is ridiculous. Just become Invent.
Josh: Dude, honestly, I really hope that we can write more in that direction, of like “Atlas”. I feel like that fits my style the best. I think they complement each other very well. Just the writing in that song is perfect. I can’t wait for people to hear that song. We have a lot of credit to give to Randy [LeBoeuf], our producer, for a lot, man. Dude just really took it to the next level for us. He worked with Invent before, and he’s just like an ambience god, just on another level. Very lucky to have worked with him, and, God, I hope we get to go back to him, but we’ll see.
Many thanks to Josh Hardiman for sitting down for a chat with us, and make sure to check out our full review of Collapse By Design! For all things Sentinels, metalcore, and music in general, keep it locked on Boolin Tunes.