We recently had the chance to catch up with Bristol based electronic goth-punk group Ashestoangles. Currently supporting their newest release, Horror Cult, Ashestoangels are getting ready to play a live DVD show, and seem to have plenty in store for 2015! Check out our interview with frontman Crilly below, and be sure to pick up Horror Cult now! (You can also check out their newest video for “Heavy Words And Hollow Bones” after the interview.)
Interview by Dom Vigil
For anyone who hasn’t had the chance to listen to you guys, how would you describe Ashestoangels?
An electronic goth punk explosion, best enjoyed in a dark room and at high volume.
You guys put out your third album, Horror Cult back in October – how has the reception of it been now that you’ve had the chance to play it for a few months?
The reception has been excellent. Our fans are exceptional and always manage to somehow know the songs before we put them out but it feels great to take these songs and give them a proper thrashing. I love the way songs develop as you take them out on the road.
You guys also did an indiegogo campaign for this album – what was that experience like?
That was crazy. We are very lucky. From the day we launched it people were so supportive. It allowed us to make the album that we wanted too. Without the support of our fans I don’t really know what we would have done!
A lot of bands seem to be going with the crowd funding route to raise money for recording/touring/ect… lately. What was appealing about the fund raiser for you guys?
Honesty we were just looking for some help making this record. We never expected the campaign to do as well as it did. But the whole thing just seemed to take on a life of its own.
Was it nice to be able to work with William Control again for Horror Cult? Do you think you’ve learned anything from being able to work with him for your past couple of albums?
Working with William is awesome, we are good friends now so it’s cool having time together, we both have pretty crazy schedules so even though recording is hard work, spending a couple of weeks living in the countryside playing guitar is great. I’ve learned a lot from him in terms of how to write a song. I used to just wait until inspiration struck, which worked okay for me, but since working with him I find it a lot easier to just sit down and write a song, rather than waiting for a song to come to me.
Was there anything that you really wanted listeners to be able to take away from Horror Cult? Do you think it has reached fans in the way that you wanted/expected it to?
People seem to be really getting it. I mean, the album is dark, but there is a lot of hope in there. The people who get it really understand, which is great. I think it’s working. Plus we put it all over the Internet for free, we don’t really care about album sales, we just want people to hear it.
If there was anything that you’d like fans to be able to take away from your music or live shows, what would it be?
That live music is one of the greatest shared experiences you can have. I read a tweet that said “Ashestoangels have this thing where it doesn’t really matter where they are on the bill, they are the headliner” or something like that. That is as much down to our audience as it is to us. I want people to come see us play, make some new friends and go home and start a band that night.
If you or your music could change anything about the music scene, what would you want to change?
We’ve only ever had one support tour. Would really love that to change haha. Apart from that we are pretty happy doing what we are doing. Just building and building, seeing what we can make.
Now, I know you have a live DVD show coming up – where did the idea for this come from?
I just think they are fun. Plus it’s cool to get updated versions of your songs. We are playing a couple of really old tracks and I’m excited about getting new recorded versions of them. Also any show where you are filming people are extra crazy! We’ve had an amazing year, one last crazy show seems like a good way to celebrate it.
Do you guys have any big plans coming up for 2015 yet? Anything you can share?
Haha so many plans. Nothing I can share. But I suspect our passports will be picking up a few more stamps.
Thanks for taking the time to chat with us! Is there anything else you’d like to add?
I think that’s everything! Thank you, this is one of my favourite interviews!
Interested in learning more about Ashestoangels? Go follow them on facebook and twitter for more updates!