Melbourne's RUST PROOF like their riffs hard and heavy and their new album "Civil Treason" will impress all who hear it. We caught up with guitarist Chris "Choppaz" Brayshaw for a chat.
Rust Proof was formed out of the ashes of Tenth Dan was it not? How did it all come together?
I’m the only member that came from Tenth Dan the other guys come from a band called Spear Tackle. Both bands were out of action for about 3 years before we decided to start Rust Proof. It was the brain child of Chugga (vocals) and Penski (Drums). They hit me up a few times when we were all on the piss, but I wasn’t overly keen to begin with due to having not played a guitar for 10 years and owning no gear. Plus I know how much bullshit you have to go through to get one up and running and being the way I am, I’m usually the one that is silly enough to take charge of the behind the scenes stuff. In the end I thought fuck it and here we are ha ha ha.
Where does Rust Proof fit into things in terms of the Melbourne hardcore scene?
Where do we fit ha! More the over age drinking scene. We play a lot with bands like Crowned Kings, Southpaw, Cold Ground, and Ganbaru, Join the Amish, etc. We have been lucky enough lately to be getting some shows from Life Lair Regret records with the AA crowd and we just recently played with Cancer Bats, so starting to branch out a bit which is good.
How would you describe the sound of Rust Proof to someone that has never heard you before?
90’s-2000’s metal core in the vein of 100 Demons, Merauder, Hatebreed
What sort of bands are musically influencing Rust Proof?
Everyone and everything Pantera, Lamb of God, Madball, Mindsnare, Merauder, 100 Demons, Parkway Drive, Sick of it All, Hatebreed the list goes on, we listen to them all.
What would be a dream lineup of bands to play with past and present?
Me personally from the Australian scene
Past – Not For you
Within Blood
Grim Reality
Fallout
Present – Mindsnare
Parkway drive
Psycroptic
What's changed for the band from the release of the first self titled 7" and your upcoming full length “Civil Treason”?
Practice ha ha and the fact that we pushed really hard to make that 7’ as fast as possible to get us up and running. The new record we had time and our playing abilities got back to where they should be. Plus we also moved away a little from punk rock and headed more towards metal. It was done on purpose, we had been playing punk rock/hardcore style in other bands for years so we tried to push our ability a little and see what could happen without being restricted. We’re not worried about the classification anymore, I used to militant on that shit, had to be this, had to be that when I was 18 haha, now I don’t give a shit, just play music.
Where was "Civil Treason" recorded and how long did the process take?
We did the drums with Jason Fuller at Goat sound and guitars vocals bass etc with Sam Johnson at Holes and Corners. Sam mixed it and Dave Burne from Iridium audio mastered it. All Melbourne guys and all did a great job.
All up once songs were written the process start to finish took 3-4 months but actual recording time I think was 8-9 days.
Got a favorite song on the record? Why that one?
Savage and Sage. It’s metal as and goes for like 4-5mins, I’ve never done that before. Coming from the Arthouse punk rock/grind/hardcore scene to me shit should never go that long, but it's good we got everything in it that needed to be there and that’s why I like it.
Is recording still a learning process for the band? Pick up any valuable lessons this time around?
Yes & Yes it's brutal, I’m not sure if I like it anymore or not
Haha we applied to much pressure to ourselves instead of just playing. I think be prepared but don’t over think things.
You've recently stepped aside from Old School Cartel to start your own label 1054. Why the decision to do so?
I was in a bad place with OSC. I had a lot of personal problems that left me with anger issues, substance issues, just fucking heaps of issues. It was a completely wrong time and I just had to walk away from it. As for 1054, I was never ever going to get involved ever again as a label, but when you sit and think about it who else is going to help us. I merely start these things out of having to, because we never get help from anyone else. We needed a spot for all the bands that we are connected with to have a home and after talking to a few people we decided to do it.
The label has also released records for Southpaw and Crowned Kings. What was the appeal to those bands and is there a certain style you are drawn to?
Their our boys what better way to kick your label off than with your best mates in the scene. Um yeah you could say we have a style, but that is only because we just started and haven’t had enough time to get the releases up. We are open to anyone or anything, as long as they are willing to have a go themselves, we will gladly help them out. Get your band up and running then look for a label, is my advice.
You seem to have established a lot of contacts and partnerships with European labels and websites? How did this all come about?
My partner in crime, Peter Worrell. The man that is a complete lunatic, but loves this shit more than anyone I have ever met. He is the European master. The idea is we trade our stuff for theirs and that gets our stuff around the globe.
Any plans to hit the road soon to promote "Civil Treason"?
Over the next 3 months we will work our way around.
How can people get in touch or keep up with the band?
1054records.com
1054.bigcartel.com
Facebook.com/rustproof
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The album will be in Resist and distros around the world.
Itunes, bandcamps all those spots.