GRAVE PLACES // Hot Flash Bummer

Less than a month after the release of their debut single, Hysteria sat down with Dylan from Brisbane metalcore outfit Grave Places to discuss mental health, Troy Brady, and their plan to make 2018 their year.

Grave Places released their debut single XXXX Bummer on 28th January which premiered on Depth Mag. While the title of the track suggests it would be a lighthearted indulgence, the song is anything but; from the video down to the beer in the title, everything about this track seems to have come from the heart. The result is a raw cocktail of emotions and talent.

The idea for the song stemmed from anxiety and uncertainty about the future, Dylan says. “The song was written when we were on school leave … for me, I sort of just realised, I had a lot of, a load of anxiety, and that sort of stuff as a result of school ending and trying to figure out what to do with my life”. He goes on to justify how even the choice of beverage in the song title was a deliberate and personal choice, explaining “…I actually had that beer. I realised, in the shower, that I’d been drinking in the shower. I was kind of like, ‘Well, maybe, that’s a bit of a problem.’

The point I was trying to make, was that [in] the end people only get you out when you’re pretty much drowning.
[DYLAN]

“The video obviously ties in to that concept … we wanted it to be a reflection of mental illness and make people think about that sort of thing, and so, we decided, we were going to have one person that is, I guess, drowning in a bathtub”. Dylan says the metaphor is all part of a discussion around mental health. “Jesson’s paralysed in the video, and can’t get out [of the bathtub] … Some sort of see him there, and are trying to get him out, but they have no idea how. The point I was trying to make, was that [in] the end people only get you out when you’re pretty much drowning”, a sentiment he believes is shared by those dealing with the effects of mental illness.

To deliver such an impressive and emotional debut single, the band enlisted the help of Troy Brady, a former member of Queensland heavy-weights The Amity Affliction and a man who brings a lot of knowledge and experience to the table. After bonding over ‘emo bangers’ like Armour for Sleep and developing a solid mateship, the men set about writing and producing what is now Grave Places debut single. “I hit him up to do Grave Places’s stuff. He was like, ‘Yeah, let’s do it,’ and so, we went in, and then, just, it was great. We just clicked. Then, he’d add little bits here and there, and it’d make it sound ten times better.” And it looks like it won’t be the end of the pairing either, with Dylan hinting at some more singles to come with Troy’s touches on them.

Once more singles hit our airwaves, Grave Places have plans to hit the road soon after. “We’ll probably see if we can get some shows happening, but we’ve got a bunch of material waiting around [and] we’ve got songs that were written years ago, that we’re still kind of psyched on.”

If their debut single–alongside the tick of approval from Troy Brady–is anything to go by, the future could hold big things for the Brisbane band.