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Interview with
LUCAS BANIM
from
NTH RD

(29th October, 2024)

Interview with Dave Bruce

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Melbourne metalcore quartet NTH RD share moody and nostalgic new single Remember, opening up a new chapter for the band.

After navigating a major shift in their lineup, NTH RD welcome new vocalist Dan Charlton to the fold on Remember. For fans of Beartooth, Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows and Hands Like Houses, their latest single is a triumphant return to form, and is produced engineered, mixed and mastered by long time collaborator Christopher Vernon (Better Half, Bloom, Future Static).

Their first release in nearly a year, Remember came to fruition following a period of introspection, growth and change. The single explores the impermanence of self and the fallacy of legacy, delving into the fear of being forgotten and the need to be remembered. Lyrically the song questions whether we will be remembered or merely forgotten in time, mulling on the fragility of human memory and the seemingly transient nature of existence.

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“In shaping the release for this track, we sought to expand on the universe and themes that we’d established so far with NTH RD,” explains the band. “And in searching for the ‘next step’ for the band, we arrived at what we feel is the most authentic representation of ourselves and our vision to date.”

The music video, directed and produced by Jackson Bentley of Crow River Visuals (Windwaker, Make Them Suffer, Banks Arcade), features scenes that express different elements of existentialism. Fear and the feeling of the world closing in is presented with claustrophobic visuals contrasted against moody, introspective and mysterious moments to mirror the different layers of existentialism and reflection. Watch it here.

NTH RD is Dan Charlton (vocals), Lucas Banim (bass), Billy Balassis (guitar) and John Mihaloudakis (drums). From humble beginnings as mates who trace their roots back to jamming Metallica covers in their garage as kids, the quartet officially made their entrance into the Melbourne alternative music community as NTH RD in 2022.

Last year saw the release of their sophomore EP ‘Casualty’, which followed their debut EP ‘Panic’ in 2022. Both releases exhibited the band’s determination to explore difficult topics, gradually establishing a sound packed with anthemic arena-ready riffs, huge choruses, atmospheric soundscapes and dynamic, crushing breakdowns.

Despite only launching in 2022, the band have already racked up well over 300,000 Spotify streams and counting, have played alongside some of Australia’s finest up and coming alternative acts including Gravemind, Heartline, Tapestry, The Last Martyr, Future Static and more as well as supporting international rock heavyweights Against The Current (US) and Nothing More (US) at shows last year presented by Destroy All Lines.

NTH RD’s latest single Remember is available and streaming on all platforms now!

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How did the band come together? Where did it all begin?
John (drums), Billy (guitar), and I have been playing covers together since we were around 17 years old, so about 7 years now. We started as a high school band, playing parties and shows here and there. NTH RD as it is today didn’t really begin until we released our first official single, Wearing Thin, in 2022.

Briefly describe your journey to date.
Billy and I have been jamming and listening to music together since we met in high school as early as 2015. Billy introduced me to John in around 2017 and we were all stoked to finally have a group of mates who loved the same music and played complimentary instruments. We released a few demos during the high school years, but it wasn’t until COVID hit that we started taking things seriously. The monotony of lockdown motivated us to upskill, gather our resources and record our best songs. We met our producer CV in that process, and learnt so much about what goes into crafting a great song. We hit the ground running in 2022 after all the lockdowns had wrapped up – the last two years that followed have been all about learning, growing, and refining the band with every show and release. We’ve learnt a lot over these past few years; looking back at footage from 2022 feels like a lifetime ago!

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Which artist’s music and/or performance, past or present, inspires you today?
For our latest tracks, there’s a strong influence from Dayseeker, The Plot in Y ou and Thornhill. We have always been strongly inspired by the work ethic of Metallica and Parkway Drive, as they were the bands that got us excited about being in a band. I have always drawn personal inspiration from Alice in Chains and blink-182, and gravitated towards music with strong emotional depth, regardless of whether it’s “heavy” or soft, like Alice in Chains. I also love big choruses, which blink-182 have always nailed. As a band, we also draw influence from pop music; it tends to be concise and leaves you wanting more. We always want people leaving a NTH RD show with our songs stuck in their head!

How would you describe your sound? Why do you think fans resonate with your music?
I’d say it is an anthemic blend of moodiness, melody and nostalgia. Our fans appear to connect with the catchiness and emotional sincerity of the music – we make songs that speak to us, and when fans feel that same connection to our music, it’s an incredible feeling!

Your latest single ‘Remember’ has just been released! What’s it all about? Describe its origin and evolution.
Remember is about wanting to leave behind a legacy and be remembered. We wrote it towards the end of a 3-week studio session, building it from the ground up with CV (our producer). It was seamless to write as we just had to think of what direction we wanted to take the music in next! When it came time to release the song, we aimed to expand on the universe and themes that we’d established so far in the band. I feel like we arrived at the most authentic representation of ourselves and our vision to date.

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Is there an EP or Album on the drawing board?
Yep! Remember is the first of a string of new songs we’ll be releasing over the next few months. Can’t give too much away yet, but there’s plenty more to come very soon!

What tours and events are coming up? What are you looking forward to, and what can the fans expect?
We’re heading to Sydney to play with our mates in Revoid in late November – we’ve known them for a while and have all been bumping their new EP non-stop, so we are super excited to play a show with them! We’re also playing alongside Broken Earth and Ghost Complex, which will be awesome. We have another few big ones coming up at the end of the year, which we can’t announce yet, but one of them will be our most ambitious headliner yet!

If you could perform with any music artist, Alive or Dead, who would you choose? And why?
Most likely Metallica or Van Halen. The shows would just be on another level!

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What are your long-term aspirations as a music artist and how are you progressing towards them?
We want to be an internationally touring band. It’s super inspiring to see so many Aussie bands take that leap into international status. We’ve always focused on refining our sound and performance as much as possible, so when the opportunity arises, we’ll be ready to show the world what we’re made of!

With that in mind, what piece of advice would you give to an artist starting out?
Prepare to be in it for the long haul. Focus on upskilling and don’t be afraid to work with experts in the field. We noticed a significant jump in our songwriting after working with CV for the first time; from there on, we knew that there was a certain standard for each song to be held accountable at! Also, learn how to use social media ad campaigns. They are the best way to reach the audience you’re trying to tap into!

What is the best thing about performing to a live audience? What’s been the career highlight so far?
We’ve always endeavoured to put on the most entertaining and well rounded show possible, so the best part is watching the crowd really getting into the music, singing the lyrics back and dancing along with us! Our career highlight so far has to be the two support slots for Against The Current last year. Playing to massive rooms and seeing how our stage show translated to a bigger stage was really exciting! We also met Days Like These on that run and it felt like both bands were a great fit on a lineup together.

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Here are three general questions your fans will find interesting about you:

1. What is the craziest thing you’ve ever done? I play bass in a swing/jazz/funk band on the side for fun, and I’ve performed in Vietnam and China with them so far!

2. What is the one topic you can talk about for hours? Music!

3. What is the thing you like most about yourself? My determination and work ethic.

Finally, just a few questions for some quick answers –
FAVOURITE:
Album – That always changes, but for 2024, definitely Hyperviolence by Windwaker
Artist – blink-182 and Metallica
Movie – At the moment, The Wrestler
Place to visit – Italy
Venue to play – Croxton Bandroom
Food – Souvlaki
Drink – Choccy milk
Tattoo – Don’t have any yet, but I would probably start with something small on my legs.

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Follow NTH RD
Website – Instagram – Facebook – YouTube

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AMNPLIFY – DB