nicolas cage fighter hysteria
Feb
07
1.19pm

NICOLAS CAGE FIGHTER // The Best Name In The Game


Heavy music is no stranger to bands with wild names, though Nicolas Cage Fighter certainly stand out as one of the greats in that department.

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A name you’re not likely to forget, the Ballarat Hardcore act have been referred to as ‘Australia’s best-named heavy band’, a title that vocalist Nicholas Moriarty will happily cop.


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“To be honest with you man, the name was actually around from prior to when I was actually in the band. The guys came up with the name, well, back when they formed around 2008, 2009. I think it was just a little bit of a piss take name to be completely honest with you. There’s not really too much to it, but it’s a title that we’ll happily take, man. We’re constantly getting complimented on the name and, yeah, we’ll happily take it,” says Moriarty.

Just to clarify to readers: yes, that’s right, Nicholas being the vocalist in a band called ‘Nicolas Cage Fighter’ is purely a coincidence–or perhaps fate.

“I get asked probably every other conversation about the band, whether or not the name is because of me being in the band. So, it’s always fun explaining that, yeah, it’s not actually the reason for it, but it’s good conversational point I guess … it’s just meant to be (laughs). Destiny.”

While their name does a good job of grabbing listener’s attention, their music is sure enough to keep you listening. Fresh off the release of their latest EP Cast You Out, Nicolas Cage Fighter mean business. Not only does this new EP pack a punch in its brutal, metal-infused hardcore sound, but the lyrics within it have a more poignant story to tell.

I think that once somebody actually listens to our music and they hear what it is we’re writing about; they basically see that we’re not here to fuck about.
[ Nicholas Moriarty ]

“We wanted to tackle this kind of as a concept EP. I know it’s a little bit cliché, but it was something that we really felt that we could express and create pretty passionately. We basically wanted to tell a tale of the struggles of living with mental health issues, day to day, you know. Again, may sound a little bit cliché, but it’s very personal to us, and, at least from my point of view, personally while crafting the lyrics for it, wanted to deliver it sort of explicitly from my point of view, but in a way that I felt anybody could interpret it and appreciate it as well.

“So, basically, the tale is sort of like, living with the problems that you have day to day and those problems physically manifesting and really getting in your way of life, and your attempts to overcome them and to cast out the demons that are inside you. You know, you literally cast you out, and then the sort of spiral that can re-occur, over and over, when those issues just get the better of you, and the ongoing struggle that you have as you try and better yourself and make something out of–shit, really.”

With such a dark and personal message behind the music, it’s hard not to ask the question: does the band’s comedic name take away from the message they’re trying to spread? Or does the music speak for itself?

“I think the music will definitely speak for itself, a hundred percent. It’s actually something that I’ve thought about, sort of chatting to the guys, whether or not we do an update or a refresh, but I think it’s also such a talking point that it generates so much interest about the band.

“I think that once somebody actually listens to our music and they hear what it is we’re writing about; they basically see that we’re not here to fuck about. I think that will sort of overcome it. So, I mean, it’s definitely working for us, so it’s definitely going to remain for the time being, that’s for sure.”

If anything, Moriarty believes that the band’s eye-catching name has a benefit when it comes to unpacking the deeper meaning behind their songs.

“It definitely reels people in, you know, definitely generates some interest when people say, ‘That’s a weird ass name, I want to hear what they’re about’. Probably expect something that’s going to be a piss take, but you know, if it gets people in, it gets people listening and if people like it, that’s what counts.”


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Not every heavy band feels as compelled to speak a greater truth in their lyrics, with plenty a great band content with just mindless heavy music without the personal connection beneath it. For Moriarty and the band, however, as good as mindless heavy is–mindful heavy has a better ring to it.

“Don’t get me wrong, I am all for, like, I’ll put it to you this way; I’m a fan of NAILS. Like I love just mosh, angry, and don’t get me wrong, I even love stuff that’s more–and we all do–love stuff that’s more extreme and obscene and there isn’t really much meaning behind it, but I think it’s really powerful when there’s a band that, not only do you, you know, you fuck with their music, but you really resonate with what the message is that’s actually being presented to you.

“I mean, I know that for myself personally, and I know as well a lot of the other guys in the band as well, music can really get you through some shit, and learning that there are other people out there who are going through the same things that you are, and they give you a medium that you can relate to them across, you know, I think that’s great.”

Despite their resurgence in the last couple of years bringing them to the front of the local scene, Nicolas Cage Fighter have actually been around for a while. Having debuted with their 2013 EP 3350, the band broke up for a while before reforming and bringing Moriarty into the fold. With the exception of a couple of 2020 singles, Cast You Out marks a new sonic chapter in the band’s sounds–one that will surely translate to some later tunes.

“[Cast You Out] is sort of like the pre-emptive turning point in terms of the styles that we’re writing … The earlier EP [3350] was a little bit more, you know, early, modern, metalcore/hardcore I suppose, and that was kind of the style that they had back then. We went into the start of our brand-new writing wanting to do something that was just sort of fusing new metal and hardcore–well, like traditional metal–and some newer hardcore elements as well, and just throwing in as many different influences as we can.


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“I think [Cast You Out] as a whole is a really good showcase of the general style that we’re after. I can definitely tell you now, we’ve already started writing some new stuff and there’s definitely a lot of similarities, but we’re definitely, every single thing that we’re writing is getting more mature, more refined and more polished.”

If you’ve liked Cast You Out so far, then it should be a relief that new Nicolas Cage Fighter tunes aren’t far away; but does this mean the boys have a full-length LP on the horizon?

“Look, it’s in the works. I can’t really give you an exact timeline because we’ve actually got a fair few things in the motions at the moment, which I won’t really hint too much at, but yeah. I’ll say, we’ve got (laughs) ‘we got big things coming’, as cliché as it sounds. The writing’s definitely well and truly underway and it won’t be long until we got more music out, I’ll say that much.”

Until then, the boys have their hearts set on playing these new Cast You Out tracks to as many fans as possible–now that gigs are finally becoming a reality once again.

“Man, we just want to play gigs. We’re going to wait until the EP’s out, like properly out and released, before we do commit to playing any shows. We’ve had a lot of offers to play around, until obviously COVID sort of got in the way of all that, lockdowns and border restrictions and whatnot, but yeah man, once the EP’s out and once we’ve got things teed up, there’s not going to be any opportunities we’re missing, that’s for sure.

“We’re going to be playing shows left right and centre. We were only able to do the one in September 2019, once the guys all reformed and I joined them, so the more opportunities we get to get up on stage, man, we’re going to take them.”

2021 is set to be Nicolas Cage Fighter’s year. A brand new mosh-worthy EP out and a band ready to tear up the stage with their new tracks, we can only hope the wait for even more new music isn’t long.

Until then, Moriarty just hopes fans enjoy Cast You Out and can take something away from this new chapter in Nicolas Cage Fighter’s music.

“I just hope they love the music man. I just hope they fuck with what we’re writing. I hope they appreciate the message that we’ve got written across, and I hope they come to a show and fucking get up in our faces and cause some chaos.”

Nicolas Cage Fighter’s new EP Cast You Out is available now.



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