Leadrobot. An intriguing named band who hail from Leeds. I managed to Interview Richee Mathwin from the band to find out some more about this shudderingly good outfit.
Paul: Let’s start with a brief history of the band; how did you form, how long have you been around etc?
Richee: The band formed about 4 years ago in Leeds. Masterminded by our guitarist Paul. The idea and concept had been around for a little longer than that though. The band had a couple of lineup changes since the beginning but is now a solid, noisy unit.
Paul: Let’s start with a brief history of the band; how did you form, how long have you been around etc?
Richee: The band formed about 4 years ago in Leeds. Masterminded by our guitarist Paul. The idea and concept had been around for a little longer than that though. The band had a couple of lineup changes since the beginning but is now a solid, noisy unit.
Paul: Who is the current line up?
Richee: Myself, Richee Mathwin – Vocals and samples, Paul Thornton – Guitars, Austy – Bass, Matt Talbot – Drums.
Paul: Describe the band’s sound and influences
Richee: Ministry meets White Zombie smashed together with Strapping Young Lad and a sprinkling of Vision of Disorder. It's a very savage riff-based music with harsh industrial overtones.
Paul: Prior to Bloodstock, what are some of the highlights for the band so far?
Richee: We've played some amazing gigs with some incredible bands. Playing with The Crown at Wrathfest was probably one of the standout gigs so far.
Paul: Let’s move on to Bloodstock and your road to the festival. Please tell us about your journey.
Richee: We entered the M2TM competition in Selby in both 2015 and 2017. Both times reaching the final. After that we decided to concentrate on new material which has resulted in our first full length album 'Scream White Noise' which will be available in August. We didn't play M2TM this year but were personally invited to play which was really nice.
Paul: The band didn’t actually play the M2TM final this year but had played in other years. Tell us about the build up to your finals and how you handled it
Richee: As we mentioned in the last question, we were invited to play this year and didn't take part in the competition due to album commitments. I can say from previous years though that you can’t let the nerves and stress get to you leading up to the final. It's easy to become burned out when only focusing on one thing. Especially something as big as the M2TM finals!
Paul: You were invited to play on the New Blood Stage. What were the emotions like and when did you find out you’d got the invitation?
Richee: It was really nice to be personally invited to play. It felt like all the hard work was paying off and it was a huge honour to be asked. It was hard not to tell anybody before Bloodstock officially announced it though.
Paul: So, moving on to the festival itself, what can we expect from you?
Ritchee: A pretty crackers 30 minutes. It's very relentless. We've been described as 'controlled chaos' in the past and I can see why. It's fast, it's heavy and very loud.
Paul: Which bands are you looking forward to seeing there?
Richee: Absolutely loads! Dimmu Borgir, Rotting Christ, Aborted, Anthrax, Dee Snyder, All Hail the Yeti, Boss Keloid, Ten Ton Slug and of course, the mighty Wildhearts.
Paul: Have you been to Bloodstock before?
Ritchee: Between all the band members we've been every year since 2009 plus a few odd years prior to that.
Paul: If yes, describe the three best things about the festival.
Ritchee: A great atmosphere, a nice variety of acts and they always seem to be improving. If I could pick a fourth thing though, it would of course be bin jousting!
Paul: And finally, tell us a guilty pleasure about each member of the band!
Ritchee: Far too many to list. We're not as metal as we pretend to be. Here's a few...
Matt – Cold hot dogs from the can.
Paul - Chas and Dave, cheese and ham on crumpets.
Austy – Manfred Mann with mozzarella sticks.
Richee: Myself, Richee Mathwin – Vocals and samples, Paul Thornton – Guitars, Austy – Bass, Matt Talbot – Drums.
Paul: Describe the band’s sound and influences
Richee: Ministry meets White Zombie smashed together with Strapping Young Lad and a sprinkling of Vision of Disorder. It's a very savage riff-based music with harsh industrial overtones.
Paul: Prior to Bloodstock, what are some of the highlights for the band so far?
Richee: We've played some amazing gigs with some incredible bands. Playing with The Crown at Wrathfest was probably one of the standout gigs so far.
Paul: Let’s move on to Bloodstock and your road to the festival. Please tell us about your journey.
Richee: We entered the M2TM competition in Selby in both 2015 and 2017. Both times reaching the final. After that we decided to concentrate on new material which has resulted in our first full length album 'Scream White Noise' which will be available in August. We didn't play M2TM this year but were personally invited to play which was really nice.
Paul: The band didn’t actually play the M2TM final this year but had played in other years. Tell us about the build up to your finals and how you handled it
Richee: As we mentioned in the last question, we were invited to play this year and didn't take part in the competition due to album commitments. I can say from previous years though that you can’t let the nerves and stress get to you leading up to the final. It's easy to become burned out when only focusing on one thing. Especially something as big as the M2TM finals!
Paul: You were invited to play on the New Blood Stage. What were the emotions like and when did you find out you’d got the invitation?
Richee: It was really nice to be personally invited to play. It felt like all the hard work was paying off and it was a huge honour to be asked. It was hard not to tell anybody before Bloodstock officially announced it though.
Paul: So, moving on to the festival itself, what can we expect from you?
Ritchee: A pretty crackers 30 minutes. It's very relentless. We've been described as 'controlled chaos' in the past and I can see why. It's fast, it's heavy and very loud.
Paul: Which bands are you looking forward to seeing there?
Richee: Absolutely loads! Dimmu Borgir, Rotting Christ, Aborted, Anthrax, Dee Snyder, All Hail the Yeti, Boss Keloid, Ten Ton Slug and of course, the mighty Wildhearts.
Paul: Have you been to Bloodstock before?
Ritchee: Between all the band members we've been every year since 2009 plus a few odd years prior to that.
Paul: If yes, describe the three best things about the festival.
Ritchee: A great atmosphere, a nice variety of acts and they always seem to be improving. If I could pick a fourth thing though, it would of course be bin jousting!
Paul: And finally, tell us a guilty pleasure about each member of the band!
Ritchee: Far too many to list. We're not as metal as we pretend to be. Here's a few...
Matt – Cold hot dogs from the can.
Paul - Chas and Dave, cheese and ham on crumpets.
Austy – Manfred Mann with mozzarella sticks.
Richee – The first Junior Senior album. Pure pop perfection!
As disgraceful as this behaviour is, Leadrobot can certainly bring the noise. My thanks to Richee and be sure to check the Yorkshiremen out on the New Blood Stage on Sunday 11th August.
As disgraceful as this behaviour is, Leadrobot can certainly bring the noise. My thanks to Richee and be sure to check the Yorkshiremen out on the New Blood Stage on Sunday 11th August.