Interview by Kris Peters
Twenty years in any position is worthy of long service reward, but when you manage to do that in the cut-throat and often thankless place called the music industry, then long service leave just doesn't cut the mustard.
It is an industry that taxes the majority and rewards the few, but it is also one of the few things in the world that could loosely come under the term job that by and large brings satisfaction, relief, and extreme pleasure to all of those fortunate enough to embrace it.
Sydney hard rock/metal outfit Temtris have recently earned their place in the 20 years and counting music club and are celebrating by doing the one thing they do best.
Releasing music and touring. But that's two things, I hear you scream.
Not when you are in a working band, my friends. Writing, recording and touring go hand in hand. You can't succeed in one without embracing the other, which is one of the major reasons why Temtris have emerged triumphant from the minefield that engulfed the world just a few short years ago. Not only have they come out the other side still as a band with an itch to scratch, but Temtris have come out with renewed zest and vigour, taking their music to an international audience while still satisfying those closer to home.
And what's the best way to celebrate such milestones with the people who helped perpetuate your longevity?
By releasing a Best Of album that captures your band and music every step of the way, from your tentative first steps to your current day sprint. Because at the end of the day music is as much about your fans as it is yourself, otherwise you would be left singing into the empty shampoo bottle in the shower while mentally standing in front of an adoring crowd.
On June 28 this year, Temtris unveil their gift to the fans in the form of Rewinding Time, a comprehensive recounting of the band's music from debut album Threshold in 2003 up to last year's dynamic Khaos Divine. It is a compilation of musical highlights as originally recorded that not only highlights the growth and strengths of Temtris, but also their frailties and humanity.
Guitarist Fox and vocalist Genevieve joined HEAVY to chat more about the album and the band's upcoming European return.
One of the questions we ask them is how the experience of putting together a Best Of album felt.
"Over a 20-year career, it was interesting going back to the early stuff and re-listening to things," Fox replied. "You have that feel of gee, it was a bit rough back then (laughs). You can hear the improvement over the years, as you would hope, as both the technology and our own skills in production has improved. You'd go back and listen to the early songs, and it was still difficult thinking which songs we would include. You think things like the production may not be the most amazing compared to modern standards, but the music itself still stands up quite well."
Larger bands like Slipknot, Metallica etc would find assembling a Best Of album an easy task. Just start at the pile of number ones and work your way backwards. But for bands not on the same platform it would be more of a personal experience, listening to their old music and recalling which ones resonated with not only themselves, but with their fans and audiences over the years. We ask the band if that's how they came up with the chosen few, or if there was a more delicate method.
"I literally went online and asked the fans what they wanted," Genevieve answered. "I had some interesting responses. It was hard for us… we put The Lies Become The Truth off the last album, even though it wasn't a major single with a major film clip, just because that song, literally every time we play live, goes off. It was like, this is one of the most loved tracks off that album, so we put it on. That's how we did that with a lot of the tracks we chose."
"There's definitely an element of connection to it," Fox continued. "All the songs that are on this best of compilation we've had a strong connection with live. They are songs the fans have responded to and requested again and again and again and still come to shows now and say when are you putting this song back in the set? That speaks to us and builds our connection with those particular songs as well. All of the songs that have gone onto the album have that connection. There's songs where we feel we have connected very strongly with the fanbase through this music and this song."
In the full interview, we ask Fox and Genevieve how connected they still felt as they were going through the older tracks, how they could hear their own musical progression from the early songs to more recent, the album artwork and how it reflects 20 years of Temtris, releasing Rewinding Time in physical form and the importance of maintaining actual CD's as opposed to going full digital, the new line of merch to coincide with Rewinding Time, last year's European tour and how overseas fans related to their music, their upcoming return visit throughout Europe, future plans and more.
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