Aussie Spotlight: Aveira Skies

10 April 2014 | 12:43 pm | Staff Writer
Originally Appeared In

Killyourstereo.com continues its Aussie Spotlight feature where we aim to highlight some of the best up and coming local Australian acts, bringing domestic talent to the public eye. Kicking off the April section in full swing is metalcore up-comers, Aveira Skies. The boys from Perth have already been making waves in the scene both locally and globally having already toured over in Europe, an achievement many local bands only dream of achieving. The absolutely crushing sound that is expressed on their upcoming debut, 'The Rise of a New Breed' is sure to be a head-turner in the months to come. "It's been a long, long, long time coming," vocalist Haydn Wood tells us about the release of 'The Rise of New Breed', out this Friday.  

Killyourstereo.com continues its Aussie Spotlight feature where we aim to highlight some of the best up and coming local Australian acts, bringing domestic talent to the public eye.

Kicking off the April section in full swing is metalcore up-comers, Aveira Skies. The boys from Perth have already been making waves in the scene both locally and globally having already toured over in Europe, an achievement many local bands only dream of achieving. The absolutely crushing sound that is expressed on their upcoming debut, 'The Rise of a New Breed' is sure to be a head-turner in the months to come.

"It's been a long, long, long time coming," vocalist Haydn Wood tells us about the release of 'The Rise of New Breed', out this Friday.

"We knew we were doing this [the album] for about a year and a half now. We booked the studio time in England a year in advanced, only going their last October. It's so good to finally have it all done and have it coming out!"

Don't miss a beat with our FREE daily newsletter

'The Rise of a New Breed' was engineered and produced by the studio duo of Ben Humphries and James Bilinge at Outhouse Studios in Reading, UK. Mastered by John Mitchell in the same location, the idea that Aveira Skies went across half the world to record their debut album may seem a big stretch and a little drastic for some, but Wood assures us it was worth it.

"It was all a really great experience. James works at the studio with Ben and John and we had Ben as out producer and tracking engineer but we didn't get to see John a lot, who mastered the record, as he was busy with other mixing and mastering." Wood explains.

"It [Outhouse Studios, UK] is so different to anywhere we've recorded before in Perth," the vocalist and lyricist says describing the environment of Reading.

"It's so relaxed yet so on-the-ball and professional all the time. The production trio knew exactly what they were doing and obviously from all the other work they've fine with artists they've learnt even more. I guess that's why they keep getting the work!"

The prospect of an Australian local band recording their debut LP on the other side of the planet may not register fully with some people. For the band's family and friends though, that seems to be an apt description.

"They thought we crazy with the idea of it!" Wood laughs in reflection. But as he explains, the motivation and purpose behind the idea became clear and the opinions of others weren't going to faze them.

"It's clear from some of our songs that we're not a band that's going to sit around and wait for things to happen, we're going to go out and do it. And the whole experience has done a lot for us I think, it's really expanded us."

"But there was definitely a reaction in people when they heard we going over to England that in the back of their minds it was, 'Yeah, let's see if that happens.' And obviously when it did happen and it went smoothly for us, they were a bit blown away. It was a foreign idea for us and them!" Wood tells us.

'The Rise of a New Breed' is not only as strong in its history and its sound, but in its concept as well. The name may sound cheesy but in the context of its subject matter, it makes perfect sense. In this modern day and age, the idea of having a nine-to-five job, living in the suburbs and having two kids is becoming quite foreign. These 'desk-jobs' that many have nowadays seem uninspiring and dull,  being shunned and pushed away to make way for a generation of people who want to create and inspire. They want to change the world and follow theory passions.

That is exactly what 'The Rise of a New Breed' is about.

"I think the centrefold piece in the booklet really gives it away. There are all these people walking out their door, living in identical houses all heading to work then on the other side of the road it's mirrored. It's the circle of their day. The lyrics on the centrefold are, "Lost in a world of our own, we thought we knew the way home." And their little world is just their basic day and they'll never get out of it because their lost in it," Wood expands.

The message can easily be said to be one that not only critiques the social-norm but one that is of a self-empowering motif. The concept accentuates the fact that Aveira Skies are standing firm in their footing, not going to easily let their success come to an end.

"It's also saying in a way that, we're [Aveira Skies] not going to do what you think we should be doing. We're going to do what we believe in and what we want to achieve in this life."

Nowadays, there is an abundance of bands popping up all over the place. They frequently play concerts at their local youth-centres and halls and are all in good connection with one-another. The sad but true fact is the majority of people making and joining bands are in it for the wrong reasons. They see only monetary and popularity gain through making music and playing shows as oppose to making music for the passion and love if it.

Which is what makes 'The Rise of a New Breed' an ambiguous concept. Whereas its focus can be said to be on the ideology of breaking free from the monotony of social-norm, it can also be said to be a critique on the local and national music scene itself. It infers that slowly but surely, the music scene is being trimmed of those who are in it for the wrong reasons and being replaced with the bands who simply want to fuel their love of the art; being driven to run the hard-roads to success and not skip out on the steps in-between.

"There are some people out there who are more than happy to suck a dick for a show," the musician laughs.

"Aveira Skies has never been that sort of band, we don't just get chummy people for shows. We don't suck up to people so we can get shows. We let our music speak and our business side of it speak too. Just let it run its course and get our music noticed as oppose to using friendships to get shows and things like that."

As the conversation winds down, Wood tells us about the end of the band's trek across Europe. It had been a long and full-on journey for the band, having played fierce and frequently, and always on the go. So after it all came to a close, it was at the airport, Wood realised just what they had accomplished.

"We arrived there sixteen hours early as we were taken their right after our last show. And the thing about that wait was that it allowed us to look back. We had only had half-a-day off throughout the whole tour so we didn't have time to think or take in what we were doing. So during that sixteen hour late, everything sunk in. That's gotta be my favourite memory with the band as it was one where I could finally see just what we had done. We didn't even realise we were in England to that point! It just made us realise how far we'd come."

'The Rise of a New Breed' is out on Friday.