As the darkest days of winter draw in, At War With The Sun, or ATTWTS, as they are known to those of us already hip to this impressive Worcestershire Stoner/Sludge outfit, are back and rolling forward onto the next stage of their evolution. I got together with protagonists Keeno, Jon and Karl to shed some light on just who is ATTWS.
So, I think the first question has to be the name, AWWTS, what’s the story with that?
Jon: We just thought it was a great, heavy band name which suits our music perfectly. The word “SUN” is deliberately ambiguous – it could be a metaphor for several different things. So it’s nice and cryptic, you see? Plus, we figured Earth are a really heavy band, and the sun is approximately 333,000 times heavier than the Earth – and we’re at war with it. That’s pretty cool!
Do you get asked about it a lot?
Keeno: Well, this is the first interview we’ve ever done as a band, so thanks! We’ve had some nice comments about the name so far, saying it’s a cool name and stuff like that, but you’re the first person to ask us about it directly.
What’s the back story of the band? Who’s in and how did you all come together?
Jon: Keeno (Drums) & Jon (Guitar, Vocals) started jamming together after the demise of their previous bands Acid Goat and Hammerborn. After that we started looking for somebody to pick up Bass. We found Karl through JoinMyBand.com. When we met up with him for the first time we found out he had previously played with our buddies in Broodmother, which is a nice touch. It was good to finally have a complete lineup because we had gone through a few different people without success.
For those not familiar with your music, what can we expect to hear when we press play for AWWTS?
Karl: Aggressive bleakness.
What’s happening with the band now?
Karl: At the time of writing we’re preparing to play our first post-lockdown gig at Drummonds for Uncover. After that we’re playing at The Gryphon in Bristol before Christmas. Then there’s one you won’t want to miss with Cathedral Promotions at Paradiddles in Worcester on January 14th.
What’s your recording output so far? Is recording in your plans?
Jon: Over the Christmas holidays we’re heading into the studio to (finally!) record our first official demo, so keep your eyes peeled for that release sometime in the new year. We’ve also got a couple of practice room recordings on YouTube which you can check out right now.
And where does AWWTS go from here?
Keeno: Probably to the pub.
At War With The Sun play Drummond’s, Worcester on Thursday 11th November with Grizzleroot and BroodMother.
By: J N Whelan