Band name:
The Spectre Beneath
Number of members:
4
L.L – Vocals
Pete Worrall – Guitar/Bass/Backing Vocals
Consta Taylor – Drums
Katy Lennon –Additional Vocals
Hometown:
Runcorn, UK
Year formed:
2018
Genre(s):
Power/Prog Metal
Latest release:
The Devil’s Whisper
Influences:
Megadeth, Savatage, Queensryche
How did the band come together?
We began as a spark of an idea in 2018. Pete Worrall, guitarist for thrashers, Plague and the Decay, and his long-time collaborator, Katy Lennon, got together and wrote several songs which were more melodic than Pete’s current band. Because they liked the result, they decided to channel the music into a brand-new project, The Spectre Beneath. Pete dragged across the drummer from Plague and the Decay and then found L.L from an online demo. Metal wasn’t her first genre, so we were amazed she said yes. She had the perfect voice for Pete and Katy’s vision, so, after recording a couple of demos, we decided to make an album which was our debut, The Downfall of Judith King back in 2019.
What is your proudest moment to date?
The feedback we received for our debut is definitely up there because we did the best we could with the resources we had and had no expectations, but I think it was using the pandemic and lockdown to write and record the follow up album which then got picked up by WormHoleDeath Records. It was an affirmation we were doing something right. We weren’t looking to get signed, it just sort of happened. A guy who runs a French radio station sent me an email suggesting I email his friend who has a record company. It was as simple as that. It just goes to show, you never know who’s listening.
What are the biggest challenges of being in an independent band?
Getting the music out there and heard. Trying to get people to listen to your tunes seems an impossible task sometimes. Even with a couple of P.R companies pushing you, it’s very difficult. There are so many creative people all vying for the same thing, mind you, it was just as difficult before the invention of the internet. Back then, you had to wave demo tapes in front of people’s faces. In a sense it’s easier with the internet but there does seem a barrier you have to break through to find your audience.
What are your views on the impact of streaming on bands?
We love physical media so our opinion on streaming is not a good one. It’s a necessary evil as it’s not going to go away. It’s like giving your new album away for free because the monetary return is pitiful and that doesn’t even cover the cost of paying for it to be hosted so it can appear on all the streaming platforms. It’s just another expense. The only positive impact on bands is the accessibility of streaming means it’s available to anyone in world which increases the reach of your music.
What’s next for the band?
It’s taken a while to get The Devil’s Whisper together, so, in the meantime, we’ve been writing and planning the next two album. At this moment, we have more music to record, so, another album this time next year, hopefully, if nothing else goes wrong.
Six of the best
Iron Maiden – Metal – England -Somewhere in Time
Collectively our favourite Iron Maiden album. The production is great, the performances are superb, but it’s the song writing which is top drawer. The songs are as long as they need to be allowing them to add extra ideas and not strangle the songs to fit into a less than 4 minute format.
Queensryche – Metal – USA – Operation Mindcrime
Thematically, Operation Mindcrime is a huge influence on us. Our ideas of stories covering multiple songs stems directly from this album.
Savatage – Metal – USA – Gutter Ballet
Criss Oliva and his riffs, they weren’t your standard NWOBHM or American metal riffs. Couple that with Jon’s powerhouse voice and dramatic, dark songwriting and you have a blueprint for The Spectre Beneath. We could’ve easily chosen Hall of the Mountain King, but we think Gutter Ballet is the initial seed for The Spectre Beneath.
Scar Symmetry – Melodic Death Metal – Sweden – Pitch Black Progress
This is more Pete’s choice as he loves his thrash and death metal. Megadeth is huge influence on him especially from a riff writing perspective but the whole melodic death metal genre hit home with him and he cites Pitch Black Progress as a perfect example of the genre, and it sounds great too.
Devin Townsend – Prog Metal – Canada – Ocean Machine/Biomech
Still Devin’s best album in our opinion, however, there are many of his albums challenging for this accolade. The songs are fantastic, the atmosphere is unmatched and it’s just progressive enough without going too far and alienating the average listener.
Helion Prime – Power Metal – USA – Helion Prime
Power metal without being weighed down by the genre’s cheesier tropes. In our opinion, Helion Prime’s debut is one of the best albums of the last ten years. The songs are well realised and so damn catchy.
Thank you for taking the time to share your favourite bands with SonicAbuse
