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Interview with
THE GLOOM IN THE CORNER

(25th September 2022)

Interview by Dave Bruce

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How did the band come together? Is there someone who is a “driving force”, or do you all make decisions together?
When it comes to the ‘bigger’ decisions or discussions in the band, we all come together for that. Within the band though, we each have individual roles to distribute the work load; Matt [guitar] handles most of the management stuff, Paul [bass] handles touring and gear logistics, Nic [drums] handles merch distribution, and I (Mikey) run all the socials and do majority of the writing in the band.

How would you describe your sound? Why do you think people resonate with your music?
Theatrical Metalcore or ‘Cinema-core’ have been the most common ones I’ve seen. My favourite one was “Imagine Dragons on bath salts”. Aside from the story/concept aspect that people gravitate towards, we also make our lyrics [somewhat] relatable to the real world, and it’s in those moments that it can resonate with people.

Which artist’s music and/or performance, past or present, inspires you today?
Ennio Morricone and My Chemical Romance are the main two. For me, from a performance standpoint, Greg Puciato is still up there. You watch videos of old The Dillinger Escape Plan performances and thinking about the physical stamina you’d need for one of those shows makes my brain hurt (especially as a vocalist).

Your new Album is about to be released/! Describe its origin and evolution.  
Exciting! Albeit terrifying. A lot of it I began writing 4-5 years ago, as this was meant to be a direct follow up to our first record [Fear Me]. But as we began to grow as a band we realised we needed some more time in between to really get this album where it needs to be, so over the course of the next 5 years, while writing the other releases we’ve had, I began writing for this! The more final versions of songs before the album was tracked were completed towards the end of 2020, but some songs on there are older than even Gloom itself! From there, due to COVID lockdowns and restrictions, we tracked the record ourselves at my house, with our friend and mentor Steven Cannatelli doing the vocal production. Everything was finalised and wrapped up at the start of 2022.

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Any tours or events coming up soon? What are you looking forward to, and what can the fans expect?
We’re getting into planning our 2023 touring schedule, for the rest of the year we’re taking it slow and seeing how it goes.

How has COVID affected you to date? What have you introduced to balance the losses from missed events?
Thankfully most of us could work during COVID, Matt and I both worked in bottle-o’s and Paul works as an airforce mechanic. As a homebody, I played games or got stuck into writing for most of the lockdown, so while there were definitely moments of defeat, I was okay with most of lockdown.

If you could perform with any music artist, Alive or Dead, who would you choose? And why? 
I’d have to say My Chem, as they’re one of our biggest inspirations musically as a band. As for a dead artist; Beethoven. I wouldn’t necessarily want to perform with him, I’d just like to show him what the music of the 2000’s is, and how much his music has influenced the world today. And to maybe introduce him to hearing aids.

Do you have any long-term aspirations as a music artist? 
Get Slipknot to open for us.

What is the best thing about performing to a live audience? What’s been the career highlight so far?
It’s definitely the reaction from the crowd. We love seeing people go off and know our music at shows, it feels very rewarding and that a lot of hard work has paid off.

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Finally, a few questions for some quick answers –
FAVOURITE:

Album –
Mikey: City of Evil by Avenged Sevenfold
Nic: Trinity, by The Gloom In The Corner
Paul: Butterfly Blue by Mallrat
Matt: The Youth To Become by Stories

Artist –
Mikey: My Chemical Romance
Nic: Picasso
Paul: The Acacia Strain
Matt: Thrice

Movie –
Mikey: too hard. My favourites this year have been ‘Nope’, ‘Everything, Everywhere, All At Once’, and ‘Morbius’
Nic: Shrek 1, 2 and 4 (not 3)
Paul: Martyrs
Matt: There Will Be Blood

Place to visit –
Mikey: Paul Musolino’s house
Nic: Paul Musolino’s house (I’ve never been)
Paul: Nic Haberle’s House
Matt: Mornington Peninsula Hot Springs

Venue to play –
Mikey: 170 Russell
Nic: 170 Russell
Paul: 170 Russell
Matt: 170 Russell

Food –
Mikey: Mum’s Spaghetti
Nic: 7-11 Vegan Sausage Roll
Paul: Fettuccine Carbonara
Matt: Birria Quesataco

Drink –
Mikey: Coffee, Cappuccino 1 Sugar please
Nic: V Energy Drink
Paul: Mexican Coca Cola
Matt: Greek Coffee

Person in History –
Mikey: Simo Häyhä, The White Death
Nic: Harold Holt
Paul: Adam Sandler
Matt: Donald Glover

Tattoo – (If you don’t have one, what would you get?)
Mikey: Norman, my dragon head
Nic: Paul has a cowboy riding a crocodile on his leg, I think that’s pretty funny
Paul: I have a cowboy riding a crocodile on my leg, I think that’s pretty funny.
Matt: I like Tim Henson’s neck tattoo

THE GLOOM IN THE CORNER are:

Mikey Arthur – Vocals  |  Matt Stevens – Guitar
Paul Musolino – Bass | Nic Haberle – Drums

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TRINITY 
Track Listing:

01.  From Heaven To Hell
02.  Obliteration Imminent
03.  Ronin
04.  Black Rot
05.  New Order
06.  Clutch
07.  Pandora’s Box
08.  Behemoth
09.  Gravity
10. Red Clouds
11. Nor Hell A Fury
12. Gatekeeper
13. Hail To The King

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Follow GLOOM IN THE CORNER

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BIO (June 2022)

As three souls plunge down from the heavens, death and destruction can be felt hanging in the air like a foul stench. Red clouds swirl around a black sun that never sets and an erratic clock ticks off-tempo, moving faster and slower before rewinding and starting anew. 

“Let me paint you a picture…” vocalist Mikey Arthur sings, welcoming listeners with a dramatic opening scene. It takes a skillful guide to navigate the darkest depths of hell. And, as The Gloom In The Corner depict in their second full-length album Trinity, death is merely the beginning of the series of chilling adventures 

Purposefully aligning their song count with unlucky number thirteen – a reoccurring symbol in the ever-unfolding Gloom Cinematic Universe or GCU – it comes as little surprise to longtime fans that each of the Australian quartet’s enticing tracks intertwine to form an interlocking tale; this time centered around the appropriately labeled unholy trinity.

Comprised of previously deceased characters Rachel Barker, Ethan Hardy, and Clara Carne, the group’s bloody battle is woven throughout the album as the anti-heroes determinedly claw their way back to Earth from the Rabbit Hole dimension, slashing, shooting, and extinguishing anyone who dares to oppose their quest. Yet, for the Girl of Glass, Ronin, and Queen of Misanthropy, there is clearly more to the story than what can be contained within a single package.  

Projecting a wide and complex web of lore, plot twists, and tongue and cheek humor, frontman Mikey Arthur, guitarist Matt Stevens, bassist Paul Musolino, and drummer Nic Haberle, have been producing highly detailed concept releases since their formation. And, consistently filling in more missing pieces of the puzzle with every body of work, the band equate each new record to a fresh season of The Umbrella Academy dropping on the streaming service of your choice. Because, just as a great TV series captivates viewers with its music and storytelling, the quartet’s work provides a complete experience designed to allow fans to check in with their favorite characters, all the while enjoying a cinematic new soundtrack. 

For those just joining the GCU, as well as those looking for a quick refresh, 2016 debut album Fear Me introduced listeners to main protagonists Julian “Jay” Hardy, a Section 13 agent consumed by anger over his girlfriend Rachel’s death, and Jay’s gloom (later known as Sherlock Adaliah Bones), a demonic entity who at times takes over Jay’s body as a host vessel. 2017 EP Homecoming tells the tale of Jay’s brother Ethan, a war veteran suffering from PTSD, who upon discovering his brother’s struggle, kills himself as part of a Dante-style rescue mission to bring Rachel back to life. In 2019 EP Flesh and Bones, we’re introduced to Clara Carne, a past witness to one of Jay and Sherlock’s crimes, who instead of taking revenge, began a twisted love story with Sherlock, only to be murdered by his forced hand. And 2020’s Ultima Pluvia EP where we finally learn of Sherlock’s past as an ancient warlord under the tyrannical King Baphicho, and see Sherlock and Jay’s deaths ushered in by Section 13 opponent and New Order leader Elias DeGraver and his gloom Atticus Encey.       

After 2016’s Fear Me, the band admit that their original intention was to jump straight into the events of Trinity before pivoting to create Homecoming, Flesh and Bones, and Ultima Pluvia. However, upon reflection, primary storywriter Mikey Arthur believes that pushing the timeline back actually provided greater opportunity for the group to properly flesh out the songs and plotlines for their sophomore studio record. 

Indeed, while Trinity re-introduces the three central “heroes” of this new arc, it’s important to understand that while familiar, the characters are not carbon copies of who they were earlier in the story. And neither is the band who brought them to life. 

Having a base version of the Unholy Trinity arc written out approximately three to four years ago, The Gloom In The Corner began recording their second album at Arthur’s home in Melbourne in February 2021 and wrapped up the final touches in January 2022. By sidestepping any time or financial pressures that come with booking sessions at an outside studio and allowing themselves more time to sit with the story, the band tested out a new approach. Finding that they thrive when given a relaxed environment conducive to unleashing their full creative potential, the frontman laughed as he recalled a standout memory from the unique recording process: I spent around 150 hours doing vocals with our vocal producer and “band coach” Steve Cannatelli. We both lost our minds during that time. I don’t think either of us have recovered! Near the end, it got to a point where Steve developed ‘music schizophrenia’ and he started hearing melodies or harmonies in the background of the vocals that weren’t actually there. He’d never had that happen before, so he was freaking out! I’ve told a few people this and they said they’ve experienced that as well. It actually really helps with writing. 

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Fully embracing the weird and whacky has never been a struggle for The Gloom In The Corner. Rather, it’s together with this attitude that the group come away with special moments such as the fascinating old and new dynamic between neighboring tracks “Red Clouds” – a song whose initial version predates the formation of The Gloom In The Corner as an official band – and “Gravity” in which a demo intended for future material was adjusted to fit the sonic drop.  

Mirroring this evolution in the band’s musical approach, a sense of growth can also be seen projected in the characters and story that the quartet chronicle across the thirteen tracks. 

Aided by a mysterious narrator whose identity is kept secret until the record’s conclusion, the album follows Rachel, Ethan, and Clara as they fall into the Rabbit Hole and fight to collect three mythical objects (the Hand of the King, Pandora’s Box, and the Heart of the Ruler) in order to open a portal between dimensions and reunite with the loved ones they left behind. The three are provided with a stern warning not to kill the current ruler of Earth using the mythical sword once they return. But, upon hearing of Jay’s death at the hand of current leader DeGraver, the gang “kickstart the apocalypse” while lusting for revenge. 

“Trinity, at its core, is a love story,” Arthur explains the dark motivations of the trio. “But it’s also about how terrible love can be. Sometimes, the things that we do for love, really should not be done.”

Along this twisting journey, listeners witness Rachel, Ethan, and Clara progress over the course of the record, with the lyrics providing a telling tale into their dark development. The lines “I was so caught up in saving everyone else. I never thought to save myself… All that’s left of me; unrelenting violence” (Ronin) sees Ethan somewhat lock away his PTSD to become the feared Ronin with an astute awareness of his anger and murderous actions. 

One also witnesses Clara shed her Flesh and Bones appearance as the helpless “deer in the crosshairs” and reemerge as a violent and boisterously confident warrior demanding everyone “get on your knees for the Queen of Misanthropy” (Black Rot). 

Likewise, we see Rachel, an originally timid character representing real life struggles such as metal illness, anxiety, and depression, morph from a supposed “goody-two-shoes” to the rage-filled Dark Angel in “Nor Hell A Fury” in which she proclaims “he should have told you to run from me…I’m done playing the Angel.”  

Classifying their individual sound as an intricate form of “cinema or theater-core” due to the depth and breadth of their musical approach, features, samples, symphonic elements, and conceptual nature, The Gloom In The Corner continue to prove that they’re more than just a simple concept band. 

In fact, similar to character theme music in movies and video games, the group seamlessly play off their diverse sonic story in a variety of ways. Continuing to breathe new life into older staples from their catalog, the quartet reworked their infamous “Oxymøron” breakdown from Fear Me into an impactful moment in Trinity’s “Nor Hell A Fury” and sprinkled audio easter eggs of this sort all throughout their new music for fans to discover.

Listeners are also brought further into the world of the GCU with the help of what The Gloom In The Corner call their “casting process.” Like picking actors for a musical, the band meticulously selected eleven different vocal features and several additional voice actors to bring the album and characters to life. Described as a 50/50 split between notable talents such as Ryo Kinoshita (Crystal Lake), Joe Badolato (Fit For An Autopsy), and Lauren Babic (Red Handed Denial), as well as talented friends and family like Elijah Witt (Cane Hill) and Mikey’s sister Amelia Duffield, each featured artist brought their own touch and realistic spark to the characters they portrayed.      “I want to make it really clear who these people are,” guitarist Matt Stevens noted as he addressed the personalities and profiles of the fictional cast. “I want to make it really easy to latch onto the characters, who they are, and literally have people identify parts of themselves when looking at them. I remember as a kid watching Harry Potter, I would think about what house I wanted to be a part of. I think it’s a great way of bringing people in.”

For in the end, as much as Trinity and it’s cast live within the confines of their own supernatural worlds, themes such as falling out of love (Gatekeeper), battling depression (Obliteration Imminent), and standing behind women’s empowerment (Nor Hell A Fury), are ones that many can relate to or understand. And, while most individuals may avoid drowning their woes by way of transforming into full-on egotistical murderers like the Queen and King of Misanthropy and the gang, The Gloom In The Corner have illustrated that time and time again, life’s a little more fun when you can crack a smile. Taking a page from the trinity’s playbook: try to avoid the end of the world. But if you can’t…at least spend it with a killer soundtrack.

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AMNPLIFY – DB