After a hiatus, Yorkshire based Power Metallers SELLSWORD are back, and they make their debut show with their new vocalist at the mighty Power Metal Quest Fest. Rock Out Stand Out’s Lotty Whittingham sent some questions to them, bassist Tom Keeley and guitarist Henry Mahy answered the call. They speak about their upcoming appearance, mental health and who would headline their dream festival.
Power Metal Quest Fest is finally happening after two years, how exciting is that?
Tom: Pretty exciting! Having no gigs at all for two years has been pretty tough on everyone, bands, venues, organisers and fans, so to have something like this running again is fantastic! Especially having an excellent event recognising the great power metal bands out there.
Henry: It’s great for the festival to be back, it’s extremely cool to have an event dedicated to power metal in the UK.
What bands on the line up are you looking forward to checking out?
Tom: I’ve managed to check out Battle Born, Fellowship and Symphonity, they all sound great! I’m sure everyone will bring their A game, so I’ll try catch everyone!
Henry: All of them! I’ve seen Fellowship and Battle Born before, and they were great so I’m
looking forward to seeing them again, and I’m excited to discover the others as well.
For those attending Power Metal Quest Fest for the first time, what can we expect?
Tom: A really awesome day of epic Metal!
Henry: It should be a good time. Grab a beer and listen to some epic melodic tales of heroism and such!
This will be your first performance with your new vocalist, tell us a bit more about that.
Tom: Nathan [Harrison] has fitted into the band like a well fitted gauntlet. Stuart [Perry], our original singer was forced from the stage due to personal reasons and we wish him all the best. We searched for many years for someone to fill his boots and were extremely lucky to have found Nathan. He has a tremendous voice, and I can’t wait for everyone to hear his singing with Sellsword!
Henry: We’d been advertising for over two years since the departure of our previous singer
Stu [Perry], so we weren’t sure when we’d be able to get back out there. Eventually Nathan sent us his audition and we were very impressed so invited him to a rehearsal, and he really smashed it so the decision was made that day that he was the guy. It’s all been a very smooth process ever since so we’re feeling pretty confident and excited to do our first show with him at the helm!
Will you have your trebuchet in hand for the show?
Tom: Unfortunately, not, the trebuchet was not ours to begin with, but maybe we’ll have our own in the future.
Henry: Unfortunately, not! Maybe the trebuchet or some other siege weaponry might make an appearance in the future.
At Rock Out Stand Out, our mission is to spread the word about mental health awareness. What d do you think we can do more of so people feel more comfortable reaching out?
Tom: Letting people know that there are those out there who will listen. Just being able to talk about what’s going on in our heads helps greatly. Sometimes you just need to vent.
Henry: Maybe it will take more people opening up about their experiences to help reduce social stigma about such things.
What do you like to do to unwind? I can imagine catapulting things off the trebuchet can be a great release.
Tom: Of course, nothing beats laying siege to a walled city to truly relax, but when that’s not available I enjoy watching a good film, watching wrestling, hitting the gym and a decent ale now and again.
Henry: I think most of the band are into our games to some extent, as for myself I’m a keen runner, and I also enjoy just chilling at home listening to music or watching movies and internet videos.
Which bands would headline your dream festival?
Tom: Wow, well that’s a real difficult one to answer, there’s so many amazing bands out there, whether it’s purely the music or the stage show. I’d probably say Rammstein one day, Blind Guardian the next. Best of both worlds.
Henry: If it was a 3-day festival I’d say Symphony X, Moonsorrow and Wintersun.
What time period in history would you travel back to?
Tom: That’s a tough one. Pretty much every time period before now is pretty awful to live in unless you are rich. If it was a flying visit, then maybe the Dark Ages or late medieval.
Henry: I think a glimpse into Paleolithic Europe would be pretty fascinating. As long as I could get out of there!
Do you have a message for fans and anyone going to Power Metal Quest Fest?
Tom: Can’t wait to see everyone! Get ready for an almighty siege! HUZZAH!
Henry: To our fans, a big thanks for sticking with us and supporting us through the last couple of years, hopefully it’ll be a glorious return! And to anyone who is seeing us for the first time: we hope you like it, and if you do, we will have CDs and T-shirts with us, and you can find us on the usual social media pages etc. Cheers, and Huzzah!
Thank you Tom and Henry for answering the call of Rock Out Stand Out and best of luck with the upcoming seige.
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