Interviews

Get To Know Battlesnake

Walladmin

Heavy Metal Wordsmith

Jun 12, 2023

7 min read

Okay, so there’s a band you might like to get to know. Imagine the lovechild of Queen, Tenacious D, Judas Priest and Gwar. Got that? Meet Battlesnake. Twelve months ago they were playing at a small, sweaty dive bar in Sydney on a Sunday night. Nine months ago they received the call that every child who has ever picked up a guitar has fantasised about and were asked if they wanted to open for KISS. Then, six months later they were touring Australia with The Smashing Pumpkins, Jane’s Addiction, and Amyl & The Sniffers!

Who knows where this band will be in another 12 months. So, we grabbed a hold of guitarist Paul Mason for a little ‘get to know you’.

From supporting Kiss to accompanying The Smashing Pumpkins on their The World Is A Vampire tour in April, your career has boomed over the last year. Is there a specific memory from any of these shows that you will treasure forever?

I’m going to generalise and say that rubbing of the proverbial shoulders with people like Billy Corgan, Gene Simmons and Josh Klinghoffer. Billy was so nice when we met him, said he loved our show and what we were doing. Gene struck up a conversation with Elliott our bassist, about his fender as he came off stage after their soundcheck. I got to have a chat with Josh about Jeff Beck which is a memory I will hold very dear as Jeff had recently passed.

For the new fans who saw you live, and for others just discovering you, how would you describe your band and sound?

A noxious synthesis of gasoline and amphetamine... Think if Queen, King Gizz and AC/DC birthed a serpent in the depths of the underworld. That’s us!

Supporting The Smashing Pumpkins is a bucket list tick for sure, if anything were possible, what else would you like to achieve one day?

A headline stadium tour! Madison Square Gardens, Wembley, we’re shooting for the stars! And then the interplanetary tour, why not!

Your new self-titled album Battlesnake is out now, can you tell us about the inspirations behind the tracks?

Our main thematic influences stem from fantasy literature, we are all huge fans of the greats Tolkien, Frank Herbert, etc. This informs the world building and imagery of the album.

A lot of what we write also stems from the influences and musical tastes of each member. We write in a very collaborative way and everyone gets a chance to put forward ideas. So it becomes this soup of different styles that's all under the umbrella that is the Battlesnake mythos. A lot of my personal inspiration comes from the other members' ideas, if they’ve come up with something it often spurs me to want to complement their idea in the next section of a song or on a different track. There are a few examples of that across the album.

When people see you live next time, what should they expect?

A party. Fun is the name of the game for us! Battlesnake shows offer a distinctive and unique kind of fun. We let loose on stage like wild animals, and the audience are encouraged to do the same. Safely and respectfully of course!

Interview by Ebony Story @ebonyrose.s

Battlesnake's self-titled album is out now! Grab your copy here.