Sonic Explosions With DR. PARALLAX

Interview by Kris Peters
Instrumental Brisbane progressive metal band Dr. Parallax certainly
can't ever be accused of rushing things when it comes to releasing
music.
I remember seeing the band in Cairns more than 20 years ago, so
imagine my surprise when their debut EP Stick and String came
across my desk last week.
It is a release more than two decades in the making, and one which
Dr. Parallax feels best showcases their extremely eclectic and
ridiculously world-class tunes. With a blending of genres
punctuated by wildly fluctuating timing and tempo changes, Stick
and String features four full songs for your sonic palate plus a
wickedly devilish intro and outro that may or may not tie things in
together.
Sound confusing? Well it is, so HEAVY tracked down band members
Elliott, Rashid and John to attempt to make sense of things.
"So far it's been pretty positive," Rashid smiled when asked about
the early reception for the EP. "We've had some very nice things
said to us about it. Who knows, they all could be lying to us, but
I want to believe they are telling the truth (laughs)."
We ask the boys to talk through what to expect musically.
"Yeah, it's weird," Rashid shrugged. "We wanted it to be weird, and
it is."
"Not so much weird, I just think these songs were the ones we were
most familiar with," Elliott picked up. "They were the most solid
songs we had at the time, and it was time for us to finally record
something. It was good to get them down and properly recorded,
instead of doing mud tracks and things that we've done in the
past."
In the full interview we discuss why Dr. Parallax has stayed as an
instrumental band, how the tracks on Stick and String best showcase
their sound, the 'bookends' on the EP, how the band brings songs
together in the creative process, how they draw the line when it
comes to musical experimentation, coming up with song titles with
no lyrics to use as a guide, why it has taken so long to release a
body of work, upcoming shows and more.