Band of the Week: The Amity Affliction

The fast-rising post-hardcore crew are about to land on these shores, and here's why you should be excited

Posted Monday, 29 November 2010 in

Young, snotty and full of bile, The Amity Affliction are a few days away from hitting the UK with Asking Alexandria and Miss May I. The Brisbane natives are no doubt going to treat this jaunt as an initial fact-finding mission so they can return at a later date and comprehensively kick all your arses with extreme prejudice, so might as well just let them, right?

Right.

With that in mind, they're our Band Of The Week because, quite frankly, they're the only band we're going to be listening to this week. Only fair, right? Check out 'I Hate Hartley' and 'Anchors' below, and be sure to let us know what you think. Moreover, here's an interview with keyboardist Trad Nathan.

Introduce yourselves: who's in the band and what do you do?
"Ahren Stringer - Bass and Hot Vox
Joel Birch - Angry guy
Trad Nathan - Keyboards
Troy Brady and Clint Ellis - Guitar
Ryan Burt - Drums."
The Amity Affliction - 'I Hate Hartley' by RockSoundMagazine
When was your first gig and what was it like?
"The biggest party foul of a venue, I had just joined the band and it was a small venue in Brisbane. I knew hardly and songs and the band was trying to make me learn a Limp Bizkit cover for the intro. Less than stoked I played the intro, headbutted the keyboard, reaslised I was too wasted, fell over, woke up in the morning with a black eye. FUCK YOU JESUS!"

Name three albums that made you want to be in a band...
"Fugazi - 'Repeater'
Refused - 'The Shape Of Punk To Come'
Shellac - '1000 Hurts'"

What was it like growing up in Australia? Do you visit home much?
"For convicts we have probs got a better deal than you guys. My French teacher told me once, 'You are just a colonial!" I told her 'Eat shit and live!'"

When was the point you realised being in a band wasn't just something fun to do but a viable way to spend your life?
"That's crazy, I have never had this realisation. Sure getting drunk for free and seeing the world certainly sucks the D. But seriously, when you were 12 there must have been a time you thought about another human taking a shit? Denial is the first step."

How do you want people to feel during an Amity Affliction show?
"Fucked and cool."

What's the biggest argument you've had as a band?
"We had to cancel a Canadian tour with Misery Signals because recording our album didn't finish in time. That caused a lot of fights and drama when we were in New Jersey but it turns out it was for the best."
The Amity Affliction - 'Anchors' by RockSoundMagazine