Amid the swarm of alternative Australian talent floating around, it can be hard for a band to ‘make it’ and stand out. Since forming in 2007, metalcore/melodic hardcore band Buried In Verona have managed to dominate not only the local market, but triumph on the world stage as well.
With various line-up changes along the way, the Sydney-siders have developed their sound over several studio albums. Their latest release Notorious debuted at #20 on the ARIA charts and resulted in a nomination at the 2012 ARIA awards.
Buried in Verona have just re-released the album through UNFD records with a DVD and several bonus tracks. The band debuted their brand new track “I Am Hate” on Triple J’s The Racket, which led to a social networking frenzy as the song was given a huge response.
Vocalist Brett Anderson provides some context for the new track: “We recorded it a couple of weeks before we went to America and Europe [earlier this year], so it is the most recently recorded material we’ve done aside from some demos.”
The song suggests that on some level the band are ‘embracing the hate’. “I think we cop more [hate] than other bands, but then again it could just be because we take the brunt of it ourselves as members of the band” admits Anderson.
“I think we cop more [hate] than other bands, but then again it could just be because we take the brunt of it ourselves.”Nonetheless, the ‘Notorious BIV’ are receiving an immense amount of love as well. Plus they’re giving it back to the fans with the re-release. “There are two B-side tracks as well which were recorded with our latest album, but we thought that it didn’t quite fit what we were going for on Notorious,” says Anderson.
The band are proud to finally get these songs out on the repackage, which also contains more goodies. “Basically the DVD is a peek into our lives from the stage of demoing Notorious through to recording and touring as well as some overseas footage”
It’s essentially a summary of what the metallers have been up to for the past year or so. “There is also material of us just hanging out … I wish we got more [live footage], but the stuff we did get was awesome,” reflects Anderson.
“Nate [Martin; ex-guitarist] is actually a cinematographer, so it was very handy to have him on tour to get the nice shots and angles. He was a great asset to what finally amounted to a DVD.”
In promotion of the Notorious DVD/re-release, Buried In Verona are playing a monster Australian bill in late June with Perth’s Saviour and the soon to retire House Vs. Hurricane – all of who are supporting metalcore giants I Killed The Prom Queen on the East Coast Rampage tour.
“We’re all pretty pumped for the tour and have been in the rehearsal room trying to get tight for it,” affirms Anderson.
The vocalist is also excited about the band’s most recent addition. “We’ve got our new drummer Conor [Ward; ex-Resist The Thought] now, so it is nice to have someone solid in there.”
Buried In Verona have certainly been busy since they released their third studio record, and a lot of their time has been spent on tour with big names like Chelsea Grin, Emmure and Attila.
“We are probably in the mid to late stages of putting the new record together so it’s coming along nicely.”
“That was awesome, definitely one of the best experiences our band has ever had so far,” says Anderson of the musical camaraderie. “It was just nice to know that bands of that calibre are really genuine. It was awesome playing with those bands and we made a lot of new friends.”
With Attila scheduled to play in August and some other international friends coming down under, it’s a shame Buried In Verona can’t jump on to strengthen the line-ups. “Unfortunately we are back overseas when they get here,” he explains.
Anderson admits they were talking about such opportunities while on tour, “but the bands are always on opposite ends of the world.”
Besides a couple of club shows, the New South Wales band have not headlined an Australian tour since their Notorious CD launch last year. That said, it seems something could be in the works. “There is a little bit of talk of an Artery [artist roster] tour or even a United [UNFD label] tour, which could be awesome to do.”
Aside from touring, touring and more touring, Buried In Verona have been writing their next full-length. “We are probably in the mid to late stages of putting the new record together so it’s coming along nicely.”
Anderson is excitably anticipating the production stages ahead in the US, which will be a change from the mixing of Notorious in Sweden.
“We decided on America thinking it might be uncomfortable and spark something different,” he suggests, “but we should be announcing the details once they are locked in.”
Before album number four arrives, Buried In Verona will of course be crushing stages on the east coast. “We will bringing a longer set than what we have been able to play lately,” enthuses Anderson, “as well as some old stuff, new stuff and some brand new stuff too – so it should be a blast!”
Buried In Verona wrap up their East Coast Rampage tour tonight at Brisbane’s The Zoo.
Notorious: Reloaded which will include the original album, B-Sides, and a brand new DVD is available for pre-order via UNFD.
