With My Dying Bride on a break, this was the perfect time for Aaron Stainthorpe to embark on a new musical project. We spoke about the genesis of High Parasite and recording of their debut album Forever We Burn, the challenge of establishing a new group, touring, his poetry and other topics.
Chad Bowar: High Parasite has been active behind the scenes for a few years now. How did the whole thing come together?
Aaron Stainthorpe: I’ve known Danny Tombs forever. He was part of our crew in My Dying Bride, and he’s Gregor McIntosh’s guitar tech. I just got a random email from him one day saying, Aaron, I’ve written a song but I can’t do death metal vocals. Could you do them for me? So I sang the death metal vocals and it went really well and I thought the music was very good. And then another couple of songs came through and I sang on those. And then he said, I’m going to form a band. And I said, okay, knock yourself out.
And then I went along to help them record the demo tape. And that’s when I met these band members who I’d never met before. Very nice people. And then we got signed to a record label, which was amazing. It was only during the recording of the album and people were saying, well, are you in the band or just a guest? And I sort of said, no, you tell me. And I just sort of became a band member. So, they didn’t ask me to join and I didn’t ask to join. I just evolved into one of the singers. And here I am.
Had Tombs been in bands before?
He was in a band called Hellbound Hearts, and they were pretty good. I designed one of their album covers. It might have been their only album. It was pretty good rock and roll. But this is darker stuff than Hellbound Hearts. I always knew he was a songwriter, but I think he’s really found his niche now. And he’s wonderful. In fact, we’ve just seen a review of the album. And the review ended with, “stratospheric songwriting.” So I sent a message to him immediately that would have made his whole month.
Do you like the fact that the High Parasite songs are short, focused, accessible and hooky? That’s a bit of a change of pace for you from My Dying Bride.
It’s a big change of pace. I absolutely adore doing the things I do with My Dying Bride. We craft long, complicated, very well thought out pieces of music. And I absolutely adore it. But with High Parasite, it’s just shout, shout, shout, yeah, yeah, yeah. And it’s a real release of energy. It’s something new and exciting for me and I’m loving it. It’s an effervescent feeling because, of course, everyone else in the band is younger than me as well. And there’s an energy they give off, which you can see in the music. And we had rehearsals last night and it was it went really well. And it’s just a really good vibe. And I feel re-energized, I feel 10 years younger.
So are you jumping around on stage, moving around more than you did before?
Well, this is the key. The first gig is coming up on Saturday, the 28th of September. I’m terrified because I’ve no idea what to do on stage because as a member of My Dying Bride, over the years I honed my skills to be able to do what I do on stage. I can’t do that with High Parasite. The music’s too adrenaline fueled and I’m not doing all the singing. Tombs is doing some of the singing. So there’ll be moments where a song will start for 30 seconds, then Tombs will be singing and I’m going to be standing around not knowing what to do. So I’m going to have to learn to dance or something. I’m going to have to do something. I can’t just stand there like an idiot. I’m going to have to do something while I’m not singing. So it’s a bit of a baptism coming up.
Maybe a tambourine?
Now, we have spoken about that. Some people think that’s not a bad idea because we did hear it on a Mastodon album and we thought, hey, you know what, that kind of works. And then when I mentioned it to someone else they said, I hate the idea. Do not do it. So I don’t know what I’m going to do.
How was the experience of working with Greg Mackintosh as the album’s producer?
It’s great. I’ve known Greg since before Paradise Lost. We get on very well. He’s very well mannered, a very intelligent man. And this is the first time I’ve actually worked with him and he was brilliant. He sat there and you could see him analyzing every single note on every guitar, bass, how the drums were hit. He brought all the keyboard samples with him as well, which I think is evident.
People who know his other project Host will be familiar with some of the things that Greg does. And of course, he played guitar on the album as well. So, Paradise Lost fans are going to love that, which is great. But he’s a well-mannered, well-spoken gentleman. And he knows his music extraordinarily well. And he picked up on a few things, improved a few things. But the songs were written before we went to the studio. So it’s not like he chopped and changed everything, but he worked hard on it.
I can’t sit in the studio like some people do where they listen to the same song a hundred times. For me, that would ruin the song because you’ve taken it apart bit by bit, analyzed all these bits and then put it back together. And I can’t do that. For me, songs should be fun and enjoyable, not analyzed to death. So I could never work in a studio.
Does that mean you didn’t do all that many takes with your vocals when recording?
Yeah, that’s true. It’s easy with death metal vocals. I seem to have a fairly decent gift of still being able to do it at 56 years old, which is great. And it’s always a one take because I’m just able to do that. The clear vocals are trickier because I’m not the greatest singer in the world, but I managed. But I don’t hang around studios. I go in, I do what I need to do, and then I’m out of there because I don’t like the way they analyze every single thing. It really messes with my head. And I go back towards the end when the final mix is taking place and have a coffee and a chat with everybody. But I really try not to hang around studios that much.
You filmed a couple of videos for the album. Is that something you enjoy or is it a necessary evil for promoting something?
It’s a necessary evil. I’ve done loads with My Dying Bride, and they don’t get any easier. You’ve got to be somewhere at a certain time and then you wait for five hours till something happens. And then you try and look menacing. And it’s always a little bit embarrassing because, of course, you’re miming as well. And when you’re miming, you sort of you’re singing along with the song, which is on playback somewhere, but you’re not really singing properly.
If you’re shouting in the song, when you’re shouting in the video, you’re not really shouting, you’re miming. And the energy is not quite there. Because when I shout on stage, all these veins start pulsing in my head and my neck and when you’re miming a video, you’re just not doing that. It doesn’t quite come. And the last video we did, there was tourists walking by taking photographs. They’re not easy things to do, but they are a necessary evil.
Having been in a high profile band for so many years, are you looking forward to the challenge of establishing a new fan base and building up a new band from ground level once again?
Yeah, I think it’s going to be exciting. I think My Dying Bride is 34 years this year. So it’s been a long time since I started in a new band. And it is very exciting, seeing the reviews. I didn’t become jaded with My Dying Bride, but over the years, you stop reading the album reviews, because if they’re too positive, I didn’t want to become a big-headed rock star. And if they weren’t that positive, it’s quite personal. It’s like an attack on me personally. And I just don’t like it. So I skipped reading My Dying Bride reviews ages ago.
But with High Parasite being brand new, we’re keen to read all the reviews immediately, because we want to know what think. And so far, it’s been very positive. And as I said, it’s a very exciting journey that I’ve started on again. I’m not looking forward to going on tour in the back of a van. My Dying Bride, we’re lucky enough to have tour buses and nice hotels, which is wonderful. But High Parasite is in the back of a van again and I’m not looking forward to that. But that’s where you begin.
Were there any opportunities over the years to be part of another band or do a side project?
No, I never even considered it. I’ve had offers to do guest vocal appearances from a number of bands. And if the music suited me and suited my style, and the band weren’t Nazis, then I would generally say yeah, okay, I can do some vocals for one or two songs. But it was always just guest appearances. That was it, because My Dying Bride was everything. But when you look at how My Dying Bride’s work is spread out, there’s sometimes three or four years between albums. And when we play live, it’s often less than 20 shows a year. So bearing that in mind, I can be in 10 more bands, and it wouldn’t affect My Dying Bride. So there’s plenty of room for this.
Do you think that once your hiatus with My Dying Bride ends, that your experience with High Parasite might energize you or give you a different feeling that will benefit My Dying Bride?
That’s a good question. I won’t know that until I get there. I don’t think so, because I’m not a musician. I wait for the music to arrive to my house. And when My Dying Bride’s music arrives, the emotions are very different. I hone my senses into My Dying Bride’s music. And when High Parasite music arrives, it’s completely different. So I don’t think I’ll learn anything off either band. Neither band will lend themselves to the other in any way, I don’t think. They’re two different entities. They belong in the same metal world, but they’ll never cross over. My Dying Bride is too somber, too melancholic. And it’s a serious kind of a thing, whereas High Parasite is much more fun. We’re just writing short, catchy songs for the radio and for people to sing along to in their car and in the shower. And that’s what we want to do. We’re not reinventing the wheel. We’re just writing fun songs.
What do you like to do on an average day when you’re not in the studio or on tour?
I do still write my poetry, which up until very recently, just sat in a drawer doing nothing. And then I got invited to a record store on Record Store Day, Dark Earth Records, and they invited me to read my poems. And I’ve never shown anyone my work. I was petrified reading out these words, because poems can be quite personal. And I plucked up the courage and I did it, and it was very successful, so much so that I’m now doing a poetry reading in a cathedral in Belgium on the 25th of January, accompanied by Mark Geeks on piano. He’s in the band Arð and the wonderful Joe Quayle, who plays the electric cello, they’ll be there with me. It’s a very artistic evening. So I write poems when I’m not writing music. I love to go out for walks. I read constantly. And sometimes I sometimes I try and sleep.
What’s the best thing you’ve read recently?
Oh, that’s another good question. I’ve just finished reading Ghost Mountain by Ronan Hession, an Irish author. That’s great. It’s very witty, quite mysterious. And in fact, he did a book launch here in Halifax and I went along and said hello and got my book signed. I like meeting authors. There’s such a wonderful bookshop in Halifax where they do their very best to get as many authors in as possible. So you can sit there, they will read from that book, they’ll chat about it, you can get your photograph and get a signature. And it’s great. I love meeting authors.
Do you mostly read fiction?
I’ve read some good biographies. I do quite like a biography. But yeah, I think mostly fiction. And I think subconsciously, I must be looking for an idea for one of my next songs. And you obviously can’t steal something from a book. But sometimes when you read something, it will just plant a little seed in the back of your mind and when you next put pen to paper, that might help you start the process without ripping off the original author.
Could you see yourself publishing a book of poetry at some point?
We’re talking about it now, funnily enough, with a record label, but not even my own record label either. A German record label called Prophecy Records. Part of the deal, they would quite like it if the book came with a CD with me reading some of the poems to music so that they can then release the book and promote it with a single, which is an odd, weird clash of things. But I thought that’s quite an interesting idea, and if it helps me get my poetry published, let’s go for it.
With the state of the music industry, many bands have delved into other ventures like alcohol and coffee and things like that. Is that something My Dying Bride have done?
There’s a My Dying Bride beer called Songless Bird, which is only available in Belgium. You could buy it online from their shop, but a law just two weeks ago has been passed in Belgium where, this is ridiculous, they’re no longer allowed to sell outside Belgium unless the guy who’s selling it pays tax in the country that’s buying it. So if you wanted to buy a case of Songless Bird, the guy in Belgium selling it would have to pay American tax. It’s crippled his business. So he says once this batch of beers is done, he’s just not going to bother doing any more, which is a great shame, really. We did another beer with another company that went a bit pear-shaped towards the end. But brilliantly, High Parasite are doing a spicy chili sauce because one of the songs is “Forever We Burn.” So we’re going to do a hot spicy sauce called Forever We Burn.
And you could sell that at the merch table at the shows, too?
I think we can try and get away with that, yes. Because, of course, you can’t sell your own alcohol at gigs.
In Europe, do the venues take a cut on your merch?
Yes. We’ve just found out we’re doing three shows in the Netherlands and all three venues have said we won’t charge anything. You sell everything and the money is all yours, which is fantastic, but quite unusual. Unfortunately, here in the UK, it’s become a horrible commonplace now where the venue will charge you at least 25 percent, which is a lot of money considering they’re doing nothing. So I don’t understand that. And I think if more bands were to stand up and say that’s wrong, then you won’t eradicate it, but you can pull that percentage down because 25 percent is utterly ridiculous. It’s robbery.
Is there anything else you’d like to mention?
The album’s out soon and we’re going to tour. We’re not going to sit at home. It’s not a project where you just release it and then forget about it and go back and do what you used to do. We’re hoping to get to the States. Ideally, because we get on so well with Paradise Lost, we’d love to come support Paradise Lost during a U.S. tour. It would be absolutely brilliant. But we’ll work on that and see what’s what. But expect to see High Parasite live all over the world.
(interview published September 25, 2024)
Watch High Parasite – “Wasn’t Human” Video
