Nathaniel Smith – LUNE 'The Mend Of Heart Ache'

“The Man You Are Is The Man I’ll Never Be.”“I Will Never Be My Father’s Son.”The first statement is a melodically sung proclamation by Nathaniel Smith, vocalist for Melbourne’s ascending metalcore outfit Lune in their new single ‘Progeny’. Acting as a harmonious interlude, the intensity of these 10 words is magnified further via the atmospheric musical hush that surrounds the announcement.The second declaration occurs during another intermission of the song to a degree. Although, this oath is performed over a building flourish of electronica which Nathaniel escalates his vocal delivery from a thundering spoken word to a superhuman shriek. The revelation is repeated in a fury of growls and screeches that arouse the death-operatic range of The Black Dahlia Murder’s Trevor Strnad (Rest in Power). There is pain in these words, but there is also affirmation.“I'm happy to talk about it briefly.” Nat Smith expresses after a thought-out pause. “My family is very complicated for us. Obviously, I had a falling out with some family members. Honestly, I personally struggle with my mental health quite a lot; and I'm sort of, constantly trying to work on that. I guess part of my concern has always been, well, I just have this vehement wish to not take on any of the negative qualities of family members; I had this fear that it was hereditary. And that cycle of whether it be abuse, or whether it be avoidant behaviour, or whether it be narcissism, or narcissistic behaviour, that cycle ends with me. Any sort of cyclical behaviour or family curse ends with me. I STOP that behaviour. And you've got to be the change you want to see in the world and in your own life.”

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The messages of the lyrical excerpts utilised in this introduction become more evident with Nat’s elaboration. However, it then plagued this writer to ask Mr. Smith what these compelling statements meant for him personally. In both the disciplines of being an artist, but more importantly, a vulnerable human.“It's just about being better and knowing that these things hurt me so much and hurt our family so much, and that it was so wrong, that I didn't want any part in it. So, my direction now is that I will not be that person, I will not be this legacy that has been laid out of neglect and abuse and self-soothing with alcohol and other substances. That's not going to be me.” Nathaniel illustrates with conviction until he is breathless, then collects himself and continues – “You've got to be present for yourself as much as you are for others. So, it's just holding yourself accountable and holding yourself to a standard because you've felt and experienced what that is so that you don't want to put that onto others at all.”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXEvKMMqgtcReleasing this pent-up emotional baggage through your own mental health and family history by using your artistic expression must have had immeasurable therapeutic benefits though?“I think it's no secret to anyone that has read the lyrics, or listened to our band for an extended period of time knows that I wear my heart on my sleeve a bit. When I write these lyrics, it is coming from a place of catharsis for me.” He describes with a reflective outlook as if discovering another new part to his character, then resumes with elevated passion - “Normally as a person, I'm very quiet. I'm not a confrontational person at all. I don't really have much aggression in me. So, this music thing is a massive outlet for me. It is the opportunity where I quite literally raise my voice.”The voice amplification has been heard and by not only the masses (Lune has obtained a colossal 1 Million streams since their inception), but also the right people. The quartet recently signed with the remarkable ResistRecords for the release of their sophomore EP The Change Around Us & The Change In You (out now) which for Nat, his brother Krys Smith on guitar, Harrison Mills on drums and David Freeland on bass, was the childhood aspirations becoming reality.“Graham's (Nixon, Resist Records) has been amazing to deal with. I think all of us, and particularly from our generation, we’re the kids that watched the Parkway Drive documentary, and we're all like: ‘Man, one day, I want to be on the same label as Parkway’, or to just work with this guy who has a reputation, you know? His reputation precedes him. It still feels surreal; I'm still getting used to it. But it's awesome to work with him and it's a great insight as well as a big learning experience. That's for sure.”Most impressively for the four-piece is their approach to the genre known as “metalcore”. To become the band that makes the heaviest waves in a literal ocean of similar acts worldwide is an enormous achievement. As famed actor Michael Kelly once said: “Power draws you in; it's something we can gravitate toward”.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-SUAadV2hQEssentially this is what Lune is, powerful. This article has discussed Nathaniel’s lyrical output and its vast significance which has generated its own gravitational pull. However, there is so much more incorporated. The quartet musically involve a variance of sounds to enhance their formula. The modern metalcore deliverance of acts like label mates Polaris are notable, but the four-piece look outward and even to the history of the genre to enhance their profile. The earlier experimentation of The Devil Wears Prada shines through, the rawness of Poison The Well 20 years ago pulls at the heartstrings, the urgency of emotional hardcore act Touché Amoré boosts sing-along incentives and then Lune is even able to mix in aspects of death metal and even nu metal to truly change the tides.“For me, a lot of early metalcore, I love all that! The Devil Wears Prada for me is a big one. I remember hearing Plagues and With Roots Above And Branches Below - it took me down a whole different trajectory. But also, I really love emo or post-hardcore bands, acts like Touché Amoré and La Dispute. I love that sort of emotive delivery. Brendan Murphy from Counterparts also really nails it for me.”What about the nu-metal element? The song ‘Memory Replays’ certainly involves some excellently evil tones of that era?“The creepy voice thing? I don't know. It just felt right. When I listened to the song, I wasn't really thinking about it.” Nathaniel ponders for a moment, then excitedly returns to the question – “But yeah, if you want to really sort of go referential, I guess if you want to talk about that sort of sound, you could talk about bands like Mudvayne which my brother and I love! But this is hard for me because I recently have a new favourite nu-metal band and that is Deftones.”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTZdQM7EYH0As for favourites, Lune and Nathaniel Smith were beyond fortunate to have vocalist Garrett Russell from California’s progressive metalcore outfit Silent Planet feature on the second track of the EP ‘Left Behind’. A truly out of this world opportunity, how did this whole project take off?“I was working for Mixdown magazine, and I filmed an interview with Silent Planet in 2018 when they were on tour with Make Them Suffer. I was introduced to Garrett (Russell, vocalist) and he came up to me, but he was mute as he was on vocal rest. He noticed my hand was in a cast and was kind of like miming and asking what happened. I've never met another person like that, he just cares about people. He's just an extremely empathetic person. And then you go and see them play, and you watch him go up on stage and talk about people who have gone to war and how that guilt has affected them, or anything else that has impacted him or the world. He lives and breathes it and for me, that was kind of the moment where I knew what I wanted to do.” Nat reveals with a loving realisation and then clarifies – “This is about expression but also saying what you believe in. So, if there was any band that I really took inspiration from overall, it is Silent Planet. It is Garrett.”Did you admit this to Mr. Russell when you approached him about the guest vocal feature?“Anyways, some years later we ran into Silent Planet and Garrett recognised me after a show they played, firstly as the vocalist for Lune and then as the guy from Mixdown mag, and he gave me a flower kind of randomly (laughs). But somehow during this second interaction, I managed to blurt out: ‘The only reason I do what I do now is because of when I saw you play last time’.” Mr Smith admits somewhat sheepishly before excitedly telling the next chapter - “Then I described how we had a part in this song and that I could only hear his voice on it, by the way, we wrote this song in 2019, and amazingly he said: ‘Of course I will do it, I would be honoured’. When I heard it and what he had done, I had tears roll down my cheeks and it was a full circle moment for me.”Fun fact: ‘Tout Comprendre’ is French for “Understand Everything”. What a world we live in.Interview by WillOakeshott@TeenWolfWill

Stream The Change Around Us & The Change In You here

Lune – The Change Around Us & The Change In You tracklisting:

1. Progeny2. Letting Go3. Left Behind4. Winter Sun5. Memory Replays6. Healers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPG8OKsc5I8