Heavy metal is more than just music. For some, it is a fully fledged lifestyle, woven into their DNA. This is something Employed To Serve embodies. After rising from road warrior martyrs paying their dues to staking their claim as arena-ready contenders following a huge tour with Gojira, they’re here to take pride of place on the heavy metal world stage with their new album ‘Fallen Star’.
Vocalist Justine Jones and guitarist /co-vocalist Sammy Urwin first met in their teens, starting the band with the intention of standing shoulder to shoulder with the local scene bands they admired. Now, after evolving from the feral mathcore chaos of their early EPs to detonating a full-throttle career high with 2021 album ‘Conquering’, they’re clearly lifers; make that lifers with a mission…
“We want to fly the flag for heavy metal and the traditions that it holds,” offers Sammy, acknowledging his life-long love of Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Metallica, iconic artists he now finds more inspiring than ever. “But at the same time we want to play our part in taking things forward.
“We’re both super nerdy about music; however, if you just want to turn up and enjoy the show, that’s good too. The question is: does the music do something for you? If so, awesome!”
“When I was younger, I hated that you had to be either a metalcore fan or an emo metal fan,” adds Justine. “There was such a big divide, whereas now it feels a lot more unified.”
The gospel that Employed To Serve are preaching is Heavy Metal Unity. In any group where passions run high there are inevitably factions: questions of authenticity, sonic purism and true kvlt gatekeepers sometimes lend this outsider art an oddly conservative air. But with streaming breaking down barriers and genres blending more potently than ever, they believe it’s time for a new era of inclusivity and open-mindedness. After all, whatever bands people are into, they’re still part of the same metal community.
CABAL is a highly acclaimed Danish extreme metal/deathcore band hailing from Copenhagen. Founded in 2015, the group is known for its viscerally heavy, doom-laden sound that blends crushing death metal, metallic hardcore, and dark electronic elements. The group consists of Andreas Bjulver (vocals), Chris Kreutzfeldt (guitar), Christian Hammer (guitar), Dennis Hursid, and Mikkel Hvam (bass)
