Craig caught up with Symphony Cult backstage during their support slot on the Fozzy tour to talk about their journey so far, supporting well known bands, future singles and much more.

So guys, we’re now on the sixth night of the Fozzy tour
(Jack) Yeah

What was the first night like?
(John) It was good,yeah
(Jack) Can’t remember how many people were there, about 2000 I think.
(John) We were pretty well received, we got a good reception

That’s great. Was that your first show as a four piece?
(John) No, we’ve been gigging for a little while as a four piece.
(Charlotte) Yeah, from about a month before
(John) There were a few warmups
Byron, so you’re the new guy?
(Byron) Yeah
How new?
(John) From about late August<
(Byron) It’s been longer than that though <laughs> I’m just the bass player
(John) He’ll do <laughs>
Was it a band choice to change from a five to a four piece?
(John) Our guitarist left for personal reasons which was completely understandable. We decided, because we have quite a good connection, we should try to find that again. We saw that would be difficult but it opened an opportunity for us to get a new sound, a new scope on things.

How different is your sound now?
(Charlotte) It is quite different, but in a good way. It’s more solid, less bitty. Before we had two guitars but it’s more simplified now which is good and it’s working for us.
So everything we’ve heard from you before, everything we hear on your album, sound different now?
(Charlotte) Not that different . . .
(John) Not massively, no
(Charlotte) You’ll easily know what it is.
(John) It’s just a bit more punchy, a bit more ballsy.

What are the origins of the band?
(Charlotte) It just all sort of fell into place. We were all mutual friends.
Were you in other bands before?
(Charlotte) Um, no.
(John) Me and Charlotte went to a performing arts school in London. I met her there. We did different college projects so I kinda knew then what she could do vocally. When I was then looking to start a band we started working together, writing together. Jack was looking for a band at the same time. We had a mutual friend who introduced us. It just clicked.
(Jack) We just started jamming to see what came out of it. Everything went really well. It just went from there.
(John) It just went into overdrive. Right into the deep end.

Do you all bring different influences to the band?
(Charlotte) All very different.
Which is a good thing?
(Charlotte) Yeah
(John) It’s not all rock influences either, there’s all sorts of stuff in there. Traditionally, Charlotte’s a jazz and classical singer which brings a new dimension, a fantastic element to what we’re doing. I’m more old school like Thin Lizzy. 70’s and 80’s stuff.. The others can tell you what they like <laughs>
(Byron) A bit of everything
(Charlotte) Good answer
<everyone laughs>
(Jack) I’m actually more into the newer stuff. I like bands like Sevendust. They’re not that new but in comparison with John’s influences they are. Also a band called Carnival from Australia. Those are the two main ones for me.

Do you all write the songs together?
(Charlotte) Yeah we do.
What about the lyrics?
(Charlotte) I normally do them myself. If someone else comes up with something that works then of course, we’ll use that. But for the most part, I write them myself.
(John) The thing is if you’re singing it, you have to believe what you’re saying.

You had quite a good year last year,. Touring with Sevendust among others.
(Jack) A really good year. As I said, they’re one of my favourite bands so that was a big one for me. It was cool..

This time last year you were on the road with INME.
(John) Yeah, that’s right. Was it Breed last year too?
(Jack) Yeah, Breed too. We started out in November with them.
Straight after INME?
(Jack) Yeah a couple of weeks after.

You’ve been quite lucky with all the tours you’ve been getting.
(Charlotte) Yeah we had a pretty big roll of luck last year.

What was your very first tour?
(Jack) The very first one was in 2008 with Kittie. That was cool. We weren’t really sure what to expect because they are a hell of a lot heavier than us but we went down really well. We didn’t even have an album out so it was really lucky to get on that tour.
(John) Yeah we were pleasantly surprised to get offered it.

How long did it take to get the album out?
(John) We were writing from the start.
(Charlotte) Yeah we’ve always written bits and pieces. Because we were always gigging from the start we had to take writing breaks. We’d take a full weekend where we’d go and write. Then we’d be gigging for the next couple of weeks. Overall probably just short of a year.
(John) We recorded it in Germany, we were there for just over a month.
(Jack) It was relatively quick compared to other bands who sit in the studio for months hammering it out. We already had the stuff written.
Are you all happy with the album, happy how it turned out?
(Charlotte) Yeah, definitely. We wanted it to be pretty raw. We wanted it to convey a reasonably true perspective of how we are live. We think we got that sound. I know it’s a bit different now but I think we achieved what we wanted to with the album.
What are your favourite tracks from it?
(Charlotte) Until Tomorrow is the main one.
(John) Even playing it live . . . I just love it.
That’s the first song you’ve done a video for?
(John) Yeah first video, it’s being released online in about a month.
It’s been played on Scuzz, will we be seeing it on there again?
(John) Hopefully, we’ll see once the single comes out.

You’ve had some pretty good reviews from Kerrang and Metal Hammer
(Jack) Yeah, we were really pleased with them.

Who decided that Until Tomorrow was the one you would release first from the album?
(John) It was a collective decision. It was the one we thought would catch everyone’s attention better.

Ok guys, thanks for chatting with me today and we at Alternative Vision with you all the luck in the future.

Interview by Craig Young