Doing Time With Five StarPrison Cell

Fri 26th Aug, 2005 in Features

What is there to say about Five Star Prison Cell’s brand of manic, in-your-face music that debut album The Complete First Season hasn’t already demonstrated? Here is a band that has released one of the most crazy-as-fuck, yet undeniably entertaining, albums that the Australian metal/hardcore scene has seen in a while, yet their live shows are notoriously, well, fun and exuberant. This penchant for releasing brutal music yet having a kick-arse time with it is perhaps the band’s biggest drawcard, as it indicates an accessibility and willingness to share the mayhem – but in the most enjoyable of ways, of course.

Since their inception in January 2004, when bassist Cameron Macdonald (Extra Virgin) was introduced to Adam Glynn (ex Bacterium and Frankenbok) through a mutual friend, Five Star Prison Cell’s rise has been quite a rapid one. Together with guitarist Marek Holain and drummer Marc Whitworth (Tension), in the last year and a half they’ve been busy playing many shows in their native Melbourne as well as interstate, releasing a highly-acclaimed album and securing a devout and steadily-growing fan base around the country. And this is only the beginning, as Cameron tells me:

“We’re heading to Hobart pretty soon and hopefully Adelaide again. There has been such a great response from every city we’ve been to (especially Sydney) and it’s humbling to think that fellow bands and fans alike dig our shitty little band. I don’t know about the other guys, but so far this has been the best year of my life, and the following we have gained makes doing all this worthwhile”.

The public reaction to the debut album has been a huge factor in the band’s willingness to extend their performances beyond the east coast.

“Most of the reviews are great and we have been selling a healthy amount of discs, so I think the reaction has been good. Even if it wasn’t, we are extremely proud of the CD with everything from production to the artwork, but the fact [that] people seem to like it has made it that much better.”

One question that has to be asked is whether it is difficult to deliver the brutality and changeability of the tracks in a live setting. This is, after all, an album that changes from breakneck drumming and hair-raising roars to chugging guitars and high-pitched, garbled snarls in the blink of an eye.

“I think the songs are more intense live. It takes some work getting the songs tight and sounding good, but I think it is fair to say we deliver the intensity and nuttiness live. It’s also fun to jump around and go crazy, which adds to the live show, of course. Especially if the audience is into it and jumping around with us.”

The confronting, almost schizophrenic style of The Complete First Season is quite flabbergasting, particularly as it exudes a ferocity that is as intimidating as it is remarkable. I ask Cameron what the drive is behind fusing together so many styles and sounds, not only within the one album, but within individual tracks.

“I guess the drive behind the music we play is first and foremost writing the music we would want to hear, but also to be playing something different and refreshing. Coming from different backgrounds and liking the music we like ensures that when we come together to write, the best elements and ideas from our experiences and musical backgrounds are reflected in the songs we write. We hope, anyway…”

Heavyweight metal producer DW Norton worked with the band for this album, and ensured that the quartet was able to hone in on and perfect their brutal sound.

“DW Norton has been great. With The Complete First Season we went into the studio intending to do the EP (we went with dw as Adam had worked with him in all of his previous bands), but after a day and a half of tracking he offered us a contract and the opportunity to record a full album. He pulls a fat sound and in my opinion he is the best metal producer in the country. He is also a great guy and really supportive and it is great being a part of his label.”

You would be mistaken, however, if you thought it was all about frenetic, vicious tunes with Five Star Prison Cell. There is an undercurrent of a dry, dark sense of humour that permeates the tracks and lends the album an eccentric edge.

“We definitely don’t take ourselves too seriously, but at the same time there is a conscious effort not to come across as cheesy. We all have a pretty dry and subtle sense of humour, especially Adam, and it does come across in our lyrics and the chop and change of our songs, but at the same time we enjoy being dark and brutal as well.”

Finally, what does the future hold for the band?

“Well, we never expected to get this far, so we are stoked. What’s next is plenty more interstate touring. As I mentioned before, we have Hobart and Adelaide in the works and Perth in January. We are also writing a new album at the moment and hope to head into the studio [in] January/February to record that. After the second album is out (and no, it won’t be called The Complete Second Season) we will do a clip and concentrate our efforts on overseas and see how we go with that. Otherwise, we’re just having a blast doing what we are doing.”

And you can guarantee the fans are having a blast experiencing it.  

If you’re in Sydney you can catch Five Star Prison Cell this weekend at the amazing Metal In The Veins Festival to be held Friday 26th at the Excelsior Hotel and Saturday 27th at the Transit Lounge at Metro Theatre. Every payer will receive a FREE compilation CD on the night containing two tracks from each of the bands on the two bills. Other bands appearing at the festival are Tocata, The Crisis Therapy, theblackartsmovement, This World, Astin on Friday and One Shot Kill, Five Star Prison Cell, Tension, Victim In Blood, The Hollow Cell, Dawn Of Destruction and The Kost on Saturday. 

Otherwise stay tuned to FasterLouder.com.au for further news on the band.