Crannk Interviews Parallax -

Hailing from the UK is Parallax a metal band who has two strong principles when it comes to songwriting, melody, and groove. From this foundation, they combine crushing guitar riffs, ripping solos and powerful drumming to bring forth a fresh sound, sure to please all types of metal fans. Backed up by incredible live performances. Recently they released their debut self-titled EP which has a really cool sound to it with shades of Killswitch, Trivium and other bands of that genre while combining these influences and making something that is completely their own. Recently Jai caught up with Simon bass player for Parallax to find out some more about this exciting new up and coming band.

Hey there Jai That Aussie Metal Guy with Crannk here, cheers for taking some time to go through some questions and giving our readers a chance to know some more about Parallax.
Q: First off can you tell us who Parallax are?
We’re a metal band from around the Cambridge area. We have Nathan Holt on vocals, John Isaac on guitar, Chris Andrew on Guitar, Darren Holt on Drums and Simon Edwards (that’s me!) on bass.
Q:And how would you describe your sound?
We’re all about big riffs, fast guitar solos and sing along choruses.
Q:How did Parallax form?
Originally there were two bands, ScarCity and AR. We played a bunch of gigs together over the years and got to know each other well. After both those bands came to an end, Nathan and Darren from ScarCity started jamming with Chris and after searching to complete the line up, Simon & John from AR came in. It all kinda just happened naturally and without the direct intention of merging the two bands or anything like that.

Q; Let’s talk about instruments when and how did you first get into playing bass?
After getting into metal from listening to Iron Maiden and being inspired by Steve Harris, I started playing around 13. It seemed like the best way to get into a band was not to play guitar as there were already far too many players around already! However, over the years I’ve become really comfortable and happy as a bass player.
Q; What was your first bass?
A black and white Fender Squire P bass. I did upgrade it some with select by EMG pickups, but it was a pretty poor bass.
Q: And what instruments are you using now?
My main bass is an Epiphone Thunderbird Pro 4 in a natural finish. The through-neck and active pickups give an awesome tone, that cuts through the mix whilst also holding down plenty of low end. It sounds so good through my Ampeg SVT-Pro which I put into an Ampeg classic 1×15 & 2×10 cabs. Couldn’t ask for more right now!
Q;Who are some of the people or bands you feel have helped inspire and influence you thus far?
We’re for fans of bands such as Killswitch Engage, Trivium, Pantera, Lamb of God, Bullet for my Valentine etc…
Q; The debut self-titled EP is a great debut can I ask how you approached the songwriting and song composition?
Thanks! Every track we write we try to keep two strong principles in mind, melody and groove.

Q; Can you tell us a little about the recording and production process?
It was complete self-produced and recorded in different locations over a couple of months. We tried to keep it sounding as real and natural as possible, but on less than a shoe string of a budget!
Q; Can we walk through the tracks and you tell me about the track and what they mean for you starting
The first 3 tracks on the record (Everything, End, Hero) all deal with the theme of relationships and natural ebb and flow of what people go through. The last track “Hold On”, is a self-explanatory title. It’s all about no matter what is going on and getting you down, you always need to hold on. There is always another way to get past what’s happening in your life. Just keep going and find the right people to help you get there.
Q; Besides yourselves, the UK has some amazing underground artists that don’t get the recognition they deserve who else should we be checking out from your side of the world?
The difficulty is that there are a lot of bands out there now and it’s very easy to record and release songs onto major platforms like Spotify. You can instantly get your music out to the entire world, regardless if it’s any good or not! There is a lot of talent in the scene though, such as The Grey, Fear Bound, Stormbringer and Broken Empire.
Q:2019 has been a massive year for great metal just wondering if you’d like to pick your top 3 favourite metal releases for the year?
For me personally, it’ll be Killswitch Engage (Atonement), Dream Theater (Distance Over Time) and our self titled record of course! =D (had to say it!)
Parallax on behalf of Crannk and myself thank you so much for taking some time to go through these it really is appreciated. Massive Horns Raised and all the best for the rest of the year and hope 2020 is a great year for Y’all. \m/ Cheers Jai Anderson & Crannk