METH LEPPARD, the Australian grindcore duo, has surely made their mark on the scene with their ferocious sound and humorous approach. Ahead of their European tour this July, we discuss their upcoming album, artwork, and festival experiences.
Hey guys, what’s going on down under?
Ryan: Thank you for the interview. We just finished recording our second LP and it’s about to send off to be mixed at the overlook studio in Sweden, by William from Gadget. We can’t wait to hear what it sounds like.
METH LEPPARD has become a recognized name in the grindcore scene. How did you come up with the concept for the band, and what does the name mean to you?
Ryan: Back in 2015, I was out having some beers and by chance, I met Kieran the drummer. We had a chat about music and we decided to organise a jam to see how it goes. I had a couple of riffs lying around that would later become corporate crust fund on the demo tape. The jam clicked so well we decided to book a studio in a few months to record. In that recording session, we recorded all the music for our first demo tape and a split with BRUCEXCAMPBELL. That’s how it all started. The band name doesn’t really have any concept to us other than it’s
something silly and funny.
If you had to describe METH LEPPARD’s sound to someone who’s never heard grindcore, how would you sum it up in one sentence? I’m sure there are some funny stories about the name, especially when you tell someone you play in METH LEPPARD, and they mishear it as DEF LEPPARD.
Ryan: To describe METH LEPPARD, its basically old school grind core mixed with TERRORIZER, NAPALM DEATH, REPULSION, some flat out grindy blasty parts and some break down bits. The name METH LEPPARD is just a joke, it’s a piss take on Def Leppard. Some people take it seriously, which we would find funny, but in context, it’s basically just a joke name.
Rumor has it that you’re working on new material. Can you share some details about the direction you’re taking and whether the new material will differ from the previous ones?
Ryan: The new METH LEPPARD LP contains 10 new tracks and its still flat-out old-school grind, but it’s a little bit different. There’s some Death metal hooks in there with some fast double kick. It’s catchier, but generally flat out, so hopefully people like it.
Your last release was a split with Swedish band AXIS OF DESPAIR. Are you planning to release the new material in a similar format, or will it be a standalone full-length release? After 10 years, you only have one let’s-call-it official full-length.
Ryan: In the early days, we just focused on doing splits, because we thought it was the quickest way to get the releases out there and to get some variety with different bands from around the world. When we decided to do the Woke LP, it was a challenge, but it was a cool and we enjoyed it. In the future, we will probably do more splits, see what happens.
As a duo, how do you divide creative and technical responsibilities? Does being a duo make things easier when it comes to songwriting and conceptualizing tracks?
Ryan: In regards to song writing, I do all that at home, I demo all the tracks, and send them to the Kieran to listened to. If he has new ideas to change drum parts, different fills and rolls, stuff like that, we add them.
You’re announced as one of the bands for OEF 2025. If I’m not mistaken, the last time you played there was in 2018? Are there plans for a European tour with dates around OEF?
Ryan: We are happy to play Obscene Extreme Festival again, it’s been ages so we’re looking forward to that, catching up with old friends, new ones. Yeah, happy faces, grindcore fans. It’s gunna be fun. After that, we do 2 weeks of shows around Europe, Austria, Germany, Italy, France and Belgium.
Grindcore has a rich history of themes ranging from social commentary to humour. What inspires your lyrics?
Ryan: I think in METH LEPPARD’s case; we don’t take the lyrics too seriously. All the song names and lyrics are sort of jokes and stuff like that. Silly song named, silly lyrics but serious music.
Lately, there’s been a lot of discussion about AI-generated artwork in band designs, and some bands are fine with using it. How important is album cover art for your band, and would you consider using AI-generated art as a cover for one of your albums? Who was responsible for the old ones?
Ryan: I think AI generated album covers could be positive or negative, but we feel that it’s important to support and help people in the scene. Natural artistic talent always wins over some machines and has more merit. It means a lot to some of these artists who do artwork for these bands.
Have social media and music platforms contributed to greater visibility for you on the international grindcore scene? Do you find yourselves using them actively to promote the band?
Ryan: Unfortunately, social media is important for every band it’s just the way that the technology is now in this reality. To get any form of notoriety, you have to use social media to get your platform out there. We don’t go over the top with promotion, but we’ll put the music out there. If people want it, they can buy it, so that’s our attitude towards it. We just try to focus on doing the best music we can.
Looking back, can you tell me the moment you consider the most special or important for METH LEPPARD as a band?
Ryan: Looking back earlier on some special moments, playing Maryland Deathfest was awesome and a lot of fun, plus we got to see INSECT WARFARE and SIEGE at the same fest. Another highlight was playing Ear Slaughter Fest and Obscene Extreme in 2018. The first METH LEPPARD LP was a highlight, that was a huge achievement to get that one done, i was quite proud of that .
Australia (and let’s not forget New Zealand) has been producing more and more new names in extreme music lately. Are there any bands you’d recommend that we might not have heard of, and do you follow the local scene at all? Also, what’s playing in your headphones these days?
Ryan: My favourite band in Australia is called BLIGHT WORMS, from Canberra. They’re awesome. Sort of old school grind, a bit of death metal quite good. The same bands everyone knows: INTERNAL ROT and EXTORTION, it’s about it.
If you could invite any famous person to be the third member of your band for one day, who would you pick and why?
Ryan: If I could choose anyone to be the third member of METH LEPPARD, I would choose Will Ferrell to play the triangle. I think that would fit perfectly with the blast beats.
Top 3 Australian beers?
Ryan: When I drank beer, my favourite beers were:
Cooper’s Pale Ale
Melbourne Bitter
Cooper’s Stout
They were my favourite beers at the time.
Anything for the end – appropriate or not, whatever you feel like!
Ryan: Thank you for the interview. I appreciate it and I’ll see you in Germany, Thank you very much.
Follow METH LEPPARD:
Bandcamp: https://methleppard666.bandcamp.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/methleppardgrindcore
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/methleppard666
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7ANNuh0xfVXDusefk24HlJ
