Harnessing The Rage With TOM KENNEDY From BARE BONES

Interview by Kris Peters
Sydney hard rock/metal outfit Bare Bones are the gift that keep on
giving musically.
Over more than a decade in the Australian music scene, the band
have never shied away from their beliefs, maintaining a DIY
approach to life and music that has seen them win the respect of
their peers as well as the adulation of a quickly growing fan base
that pretty much doubles every time Bare Bones play at a music
festival or to people that might not have heard of them
before.
Ferociously uncompromising on stage, Bare Bones have carried that
intent into the studio with their latest EP, Ceremonial Rage (out
now). Proudly - and rightfully - anointed as the band's heaviest,
most aggressive slab of music to date, the five-track Ceremonial
Rage sees Bare Bones more embracing their earlier and heavier
musical influences, experimenting with the past just enough to put
a fresh, exciting spin on their future.
HEAVY caught up with vocalist Tom Kennedy this morning to chat
about the EP and Bare Bones' special EP launch at Chuck Trailers in
Sydney tonight. Naturally, we lead with the assessment that this is
the heaviest material yet released by the band.
"100%, yeah," Kennedy replied without hesitation. "I think it's
kind of a natural progression from where we've been going. Our
music seems to get heavier each time. We put out our first
full-length album, Bad Habits, and then when we went and did our
second full-length, Rival Minds, people were like, this is
definitely heavier and darker. And then it's just kind of been
going more and more that way ever since. So kind of a natural
progression. This is where we've ended up."
Which leads to us asking Kennedy if the heavier direction was
something they spoke about as a band during the creative
process.
"You know what man, we've been around for like 12-13 years at this
point and this EP is the first time we've ever had that
conversation," he replied. "It's always kind of been like this
unconscious vibe thing going into writing. It's just like, well,
let's just do what we always do and get together and come up with
some riffs and stuff. But this time before we started, we had that
chat like, what direction do we want to take this? And for us, it's
getting back to the stuff that we grew up on. Being in a band with
unique, distinct personalities, you all have pretty different
tastes when it comes to music and art and all that kind of stuff.
But I guess the one thing that we've always loved and agreed on is
bands like Slipknot, Korn and Limp Bizkit. And so we just kind of
thought, let's lean into that. Let's try and give a modern take on
that kind of thing and put our spin on it."
In the full interview, we explored the creative journey behind each
track, with Tom explaining that Cobra Clutch evolved from an
industrial metal demo to a dynamic song featuring rapping, with
Vertebreaker showcasing a catchy chorus and heavy breakdown.
The rapid writing process for Tiger Driver was influenced by
hip-hop, while Burning Hammer addresses serious global issues. Tom
expressed satisfaction with the EP's direction and the
reinvigoration of their passion for music, hinting at future
explorations. He also provided an overview of the Chuck Trailers
venue in Sydney, emphasizing the importance of free entry for fans
to their EP launch on March 20 and the addition of several bands to
the opening gig line up, reflecting on the community aspect of live
music and the band's commitment to staying active in the
scene.


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