IN DECEPTION // Something Different This Way Comes

In Deception vocalist Andrew Burnham excuses himself from the rehearsal studio, breaking away from hard working ruckus for quieter climes so he can talk about, well, the hard working ruckus.

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At Hydra Rehearsal Studios, many of the awesome tracks we hear on the Melbourne band’s debut EP Lore were jammed for the first time–it’s here In Deception gave birth to greatness. “We’ve been coming to the same rehearsal space for a few years,” says Burnham, “It’s where a lot of songs came together, where the early writing stages took place. The whole EP pretty much came into fruition.”

And what an EP. The first listen might go a little over the head, but on the second spin, Lore reveals itself to be a blow-away release, and despite the fact that In Deception call themselves a post-hardcore/metalcore outfit, there’s so much more at work than any pigeonholing could contain. At the idea of In Deception not realising their potential, Burnham is flummoxed. “We never really pursued a particular sound,” he says, “We’ll honestly just be jamming away, for example, Jordan [Ley], our drummer, will lay down a beat, one of the axemen will play something on top of that … Most of the time it ends up sounding like a massive mess but sometimes something will click and it all comes together. That’s our writing process.

“We don’t have a definitive sound, a set genre, [there’s] a lot of contrast between songs as well, I think that’s how it all comes together.”

We figured that being under the post-hardcore banner is where we sat–I guess it’s the type of music we listen to, where our influences came from, we’re those kind of bands. I guess we thought it was cool, but then it morphed into something more.
[ Andrew Burnham ]

For a group like In Deception their music is kind of like getting a tattoo. You might think you’re getting a tattoo because you like the design and then it’s not until further down the line, you realise there was some sort of subliminal meaning or intent to getting said design. When Burnham remarks he’s never had someone describe the band’s music in such a way as this, it’s perhaps because as outsiders we hear Lore in a way that perhaps he can’t, or hasn’t yet. In Deception will have many interpretations of this EP but ultimately, this isn’t a specified sound. You’ll hear punk, you’ll hear nu-metal, even the ravages of emo. “I know exactly where you’re coming from,” says Burnham.

“We figured that being under the post-hardcore banner is where we sat–I guess it’s the type of music we listen to, where our influences came from, we’re those kind of bands. I guess we thought it was cool, but then it morphed into something more.”

In Deception have given themselves a good springboard into the scene and what’s more, the diversity and apparent wit of the band make you want to probe them for more–just take a look at their track names. Burnham laughs, In Deception’s inside joke is revealed. “Whenever one of the boys gets an idea in their heads and they want to send a draft–because we send literally at times, hundreds of drafts a month of guitar tracks, drum tracks–eventually we’ll run out of names for the files.

“GG and OP for example, they were just the draft names and they just stuck with us!”

And there we have it, an origin story that is as different as the music and as silly as the band. Different is definitely good. Ten years down the line when the band look back, they’ll laugh at their own awesome, silly story. “Yeah, we already do that!” Burnham laughs.

Already carving out their legacy, In Deception were out on a massive round of support shows in Melbourne last year, playing with the likes of Deez Nuts and Dream On Dreamer. The shows with these bands were an education for In Deception not just in giving them a better idea of the direction they want to take but in how to be a band, how to perform. “We were definitely thrown in the deep end in terms of the shows we played,” says Burnham, “And we intend to keep playing with bigger better bands to bigger, better crowds. Bigger better venues!

“It’s amazing to be next to some of Melbourne’s best and hopefully, we keep going onwards and upwards!”

Purchase In Deception’s debut EP Lore here.