Reigniting The Flame: Severance Is Due With AARON BILBIJA From DAYSEND

Interview by Kris Peters
Arriving just after the turn of the century, Australian metal
legends DAYSEND were born into a healthy national metal scene that
included bands like Blood Duster, Abramelin, Frankenbok and
Dreamkillers, some of which are still going strong today. It was a
golden era for Australian metal, made that much better by DAYSEND,
who built a formidable reputation in the global metal scene,
touring extensively across Australia and internationally and
sharing the stage with some of the biggest names in metal,
including Slipknot, Trivium, Arch Enemy, In Flames, and Machine
Head.
Their 2003 debut album, Severance, was met with widespread critical
acclaim and was voted Best Australian Metal Album in a 2003 Triple
J listeners’ poll. The album’s blend of melodic aggression and
technical prowess cemented its status as one of the most
influential Australian metal releases of the era.
DAYSEND disbanded in 2011 and have lain dormant ever since - until
now.
Listed as one of the bands Necrosonic Festival has Resurrected From
The Dead - alongside Massic, Beanflipper, Brace and Idle Ruin -
DAYSEND have come from the abyss to revisit their debut album with
a select number of shows before planning to fade back into the
darkness.
But before that could happen, HEAVY caught up with Aaron Bilbija
(guitar) to talk about Necrosonic and the rebirth of DAYSEND. One
of the topics for discussion was the importance of festivals such
as Necrosonic to the Australian metal scene.
"Hugely, hugely important," he replied without hesitation. "They're
doing it… they've got the passion for it, you know what I mean?
They're not doing it for the bucks. They've got the passion for it,
and they love what they're doing, and it's great that they are
supporting guys like us. Yeah, it's excellent."
We ask about the early stages of the band and where DAYSEND fit in
initially.
"We all came from other bands at the time, just local bands in the
Sydney scene," Aaron recalled. "And we used to play the hotels a
lot, a bunch of all ages shows, things like that. There were loads
and loads of bands, and there was gigs on pretty much every
weekend. I remember going as a 16-year-old with the fake ID and
trying to get into as many gigs as I could (laughs)."
In the full interview, Aaron further discussed his role as
guitarist in Daysend, which is performing a select number of shows,
including an upcoming appearance at Necrosonic Festival in
Brisbane. He provided background on the band's formation in Sydney
during the early 2000s and explained their unique musical style
that set them apart from other local bands. 
The conversation covered their current tour plans, including
performances across multiple cities to celebrate their debut album,
Severance, and why it connected with so many people. We discuss
revisiting that old material and whether it still feels fresh and
more.

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