Getting to Know Survivalist (Interview – Written)

Survivalist are preparing to release their new album, ‘A Place for Those Who Suffer, Alone,’ later this year. They have now released the single, ‘Deathbed’, which features guest artist Alex Koelher of Chelsea Grin fame. In this interview, we get to know them a little better.

1. Hello! Thank you for taking the time to chat to us. First things first, tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got started.

Hey guys! We are Survivalist, a four piece metal act from Belfast. The band was founded in 2019 by Gavin Sharp (Vocals) and joined by Nick Butcher (Guitar), Rhys Fraser (Drums) and Lee Shaw (Bass).

We released our debut album “VII” in 2021 and a collection of singles following this. These gained high praise and acclaim. Most recently, we released a single “Greater Negative” which premiered on BBC 1 Introducing Rock.

Currently, we are preparing to release our second full length album and we are starting with our newest single “Deathbed” ft. Alex Koehler on June 27th.

Over the last few years, we’ve been lucky to play alongside some of the best bands in the metal scene such as Chelsea Grin, Suffocation, Kublai Khan, Atreyu, Party Cannon, Polaris and more. With our upcoming release, we have set our sights high starting with our upcoming tour in October with Thy Art Is Murder and Heriot.

2. Someone comes to you and asks you to sum up what kind of music you play – what do you tell them?

Survivalist has crafted a unique sound, blending melodic elements with devastating riffs and climatic breakdowns known as Groovecore. We would say this sits somewhere between Deathcore, Metalcore and Hardcore.

We have adapted and overcame many challenges, this has helped us craft and hone our sound. With this upcoming release, we believe we have taken all the aspects from prior releases, fine tuned the details and found ourselves on these upcoming songs.

3. What’s currently keeping you busy? A new album/EP/single release? A new video? Playing live, or planning ahead?

We have been using most of our free time smashing hours into the studio to create an album we are incredibly proud of. We are kicking off this album Cycle with ‘Deathbed’. A full music video for this song will be released on the same day and it will be the beginning of us exploring heavier lyrical themes, crushing riffs and showcasing more of our influences than ever before.

We have also announced a list of live performances we couldn’t be more excited for. Starting with a charity gig in July in support of United Against Racism Belfast, an intimate performance in HMV Belfast and a full England tour where we will headline 5 dates across the country.

Following this, we are taking on Ireland as full tour support with Thy Art Is Murder and Heriot. We can’t wait to boogie on more stages across the UK, Ireland and the rest of the world.

4. What is about this current period that is particularly exciting for you?

We haven’t released new music in 2 years so this finally feels like our hard work and dedication is coming to fruition. The last few years have been a tough period of time to push through for everyone but we truly believe we have created something incredibly special and unique. We couldn’t be more excited to show this to the world.

Tying this in with the incredible opportunities we are so grateful for leaves us counting our blessings. We are going to dig deeper and represent Ireland’s metal scene, we want to be the champions that our country deserves.

5. Tell me about the work that has gone into making it a reality and what it means to you.

We took the reins to write, rework and refine the album and make the process as creative and productive as possible.

Our journey is a testament to the power of music and the ability to channel personal struggles into artistic expression. We need to mention our passionate and dedicated fan base too. With them, we have been able to make a commitment to our evolving sound and create a true sense of community.

Our music is for everyone, for people who are struggling with the challenges every day life faces, Survivalist is a bastion of hope and a flickering light in the distance to bring people from all walks of life together.

6. Making music and being creative can be a very positive experience and can be very good for the mind. In what way has making music had a positive impact on your mental health?

Music has saved our lives. The community we have created has given us a great sense of belonging and a reason why we keep looking inward and creating these experiences with our friends and peers.

The best part of being in this band is being able to play in front of fans that we can honestly call our friends. To have a safe space to let out our emotions and share our energy with the crowd, it’s a great feeling to be a part of it and we’re very fortunate to have the support circle that we do.

We also have an incredibly loyal and Dedicated team from Josh at JSR our Producer, Gareth Doherty our Lead Photographer, Kyle Colby our Videographer, Wayne Donaldson – Photography & Videography & Grant Thorne our Artist. We have curated the countries finest and we couldn’t do any of this without these dudes.

7. It can also be incredibly challenging, more so in the modern times. What have been some challenging aspects of making music and how have you overcome them?

Some people may say that metal has become oversaturated. For us its about breaking the mold, trying to stay one step ahead and looking forward to new challenges. We believe in supporting each other and bringing up newer bands and providing opportunities where we can for people who are just starting off. Our sense of togetherness goes beyond this and to overcome this stigma and we have to support each other equally.

8. How do you handle the online aspects of being in a band? Having to put out content constantly, promoting across several different social media platforms, and having your success measured in likes and follows?

We’ve had a lot of fun with the online aspect, notably through TikTok and Instagram. We found our fans and newcomers respond well to funny, unserious content which keeps things engaging and unique. It’s been helpful to mix this in with our more serious posts and announcements to get everyone excited for new shows and songs to keep things fresh.

9. How do you make this part of things enjoyable, and fulfilling, for yourself?

We appreciate how lucky we are to have a fanbase craving new music so when creating new content or music, we know to have fun and enjoy the process too.

We all love music so it’s great to be a part of such a lively and growing space. The people we’ve met along the way and the lessons we have learnt is something we will always treasure.

10. Speaking directly to listeners – what would you ask they do to help support you?

Come to the shows! It is amazing to see everyone engaging with online posts, listening to music or buying merch but, we love having people at our shows the most. We want this community to get bigger and more inclusive. We hope to see everyone’s face who can make it out there.

Get the pits moving too, if you see a MF go do you help them back up, we’ve got your back if you have ours.

11. Outside of music, what do you like to do to relax?

We are all huge gamers, we often all get involved the new souls-like games such as Bloodborne & Elden Ring because we hate ourselves a bit, the newest horror games like resident evil and what new consoles may be released in the future. If you ever want to talk games or share some accomplishments, let us know!

We’re also great fans of some top sports across the world with Nick being a huge NHL fan and Gavin supporting the NFL. We often get all the guys and gals out together supporting our favourite teams.

12. Where can people find you?

We’re out there on all major social media platforms! You can find us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Bandcamp.

We also have our music available on all major streaming platforms such as YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music and so on.

We have a linktree website if you needed anymore info or if you want to get in touch via email too: https://linktr.ee/survivalist.gc.

We hope to see you all soon!