Earlier on in the year The Great Mackintosh got in touch with Dave Kenyon, drummer for the Mighty UK based Death/Thrash machine All Consumed about a possible interview. Things being as they have this year, things got a little out of whack, but in the end it all kinda worked out, and the rest of the band decided to join in on the fun as well. So here at long last is a pretty cool bunch of blokes talking about all cool kinds of things. Names will be dropped, maybe even reputations ruined, but hey, that’s what makes it well worth a read!
Hi there to all! Thanks very much for the opportunity to share the good word about the band! So, let’s get the initial bullshite out of the way, where do you hail from if I may ask?
Dave: Leyland.
Darren: Leyland.
Mike: Wigan.
Gally: Preston.
Have you always lived in the area or perhaps grew up somewhere else?
Dave: From Lancaster originally. Been in Leyland 10yrs.
Gally: Originally from Leeds (dirty Yorkshireman).
Thanks for that, and onward we go. What was the pivotal moment in your life when you discovered a love for Metal, was it influences around you? Maybe a parental thing? Did you grow up listening to other kinds of music and just think “Nah, there has to be something better?”
Dave: I saw Def Leppard on a tv show in about 1986. From that I discovered Kerrang magazine and found out about other bands. For me music had to have guitars in it so I was always drawn to Rock & Metal.
Darren: From age 13. My dad always listened to Rock, I often went to sleep listening to Whitesnake.
Mike: From my dad. When I was 10 I remember hearing him play “Master of Puppets.”
Gally: I heard “First Time” (Robin Beck) on a tv advert, then Queen came on with “I want it all” and I realised that Rock was better.
(From left to right – Darren Mcgillivray – Guitars, backup vocals, Dave Kenyon – Drums, Richard Galbraith – Bass, Michael Skeech – Vocals.)
What where the first ever band or bands you joined back in the day? And how did it go?
Dave: First band was in high school. We mostly played Green Day and Therapy? covers. We were not good!
Darren: Godsake. Generic Metal. No good.
Mike: Just started college and joined a Pop-Punk band called It’s in our blood. Terrible.
Gally: First band was a Doom band called Funeral. Each note lasted about 5 minutes. If you hit a wrong note you had to learn to live with it.
Who first came up with the idea to form All Consumed, and how did you all meet! Oh, and who came up with the name of course!
Darren, Joe & Rob knew each other from previous bands. It was at a BBQ that Darren and Joe decided to form a band. Dave joined a few months later when they advertised for a drummer. Its not exactly clear who came up with the name but it was agreed by Joe, Darren and Rob very early on.
I think I first heard of you guys after discovering Blasphemer, (late to the party I know), and then the mighty Pemphigoid, and I think it may well have been Matthew Davidson (Repulsive Vision) that pointed me in your direction. So, apart from me being a name dropping wanker, what the fuck is the go over there in that area? Did a leak of radiation suddenly turn everyone into the sickest Metal dudes ever? Do tell!
Genuinely don’t know. But it’s a good thing, especially at the moment. I think people are benefitting from the number of great up & coming bands as there are loads of new releases about. With all the gigs being cancelled bands are writing and recording instead.
Following on with the above, maybe it was Richard from the ‘Goid that gave me the shove in the right direction, I don’t bloody remember it was a while ago ha-ha. You guys seem to get along well, Ash ended singing for you at a gig one night am I right? How did that come about?
We’d already done some gigs with Pemphigoid and we got on really well. We had some gigs booked but Mike (Skeech) had only just joined us so we asked Ash if he could stand in at the Nottingham gig where Pemphigoid were also playing. And of course he nailed it. We also had Rik from Austerymn stand in at a gig in Manchester (supporting Fleshcrawl). He did the first half of the set then he introduced Mike who debuted and finished the set. Great night.
For all intents and purposes it seems unlike most bands where the drummer combusts on stage or has some sort of bizarre gardening accident, you lot have that problem with Vocalists. Care to explain why they keep going missing?
As a semi-professional band it’s easy for life to get in the way and it was just for personal reasons that Rob and Mike (Tingle) left. That and the venues just couldn’t provide their ridiculous rider requests. Rob had a thing for smooth Peanut Butter milkshakes and Mike Tingle couldn’t poo if the dressing room wasn’t painted purple!
Haha! Influences, back to that, once you discovered Metal, who were the bands? Did you start off with traditional stuff like Maiden and Priest or just know straight away that Death Metal and a bit of Thrash was your proverbial cup o’ tea.
Dave: Sepultura for me. All about Igors drums.
Darren: Sepultura & Metallica.
Mike: Iron Maiden and Death from a bass playing point of view. Vocal wise, probably Amon Amarth & Cannibal Corpse.
Gally: Sepultura & Deicide.
This one for Dave, have you always just been a drummer or did you ever harbour ambitions to be a bit more popular like the singer (highly unrecommended in your band, you may meet a swift demise), or maybe you fancied playing the six string? Any other instruments you dabble with?
I started on guitar and that was my instrument until about 10 years ago. I’d always wanted to play drums so just bought a kit and started learning. I can’t read music so I’m not sure I could learn another instrument! I did sing in said high school band but best not to talk about that.
Who writes the lyrics for the band, and arranges the music. Is it a group effort? Does one person come up with the main idea on a tune or a concept and then you all flesh it out so to speak?
Lyrics are the job of the vocalist. In the past Darren or Joe would come up with riff ideas and it would grow from that. Now we all have input to the music and it works really well.
You guys couldn’t get anywhere near your studio/practice space for a fair while during this Covid crisis, which appears to be getting worse. How did that affect you all, and what will you do if the shit hits the fan again? Obviously live gigs are out, and that’s gotta hurt big time.
All the gigs since March got cancelled. Not rehearsing together was a pain but there’s nothing we could do about it. We managed to get a good few rehearsals in before Lockdown II started.
To continue, how much stuff did you all get written during this time. You started a Kickstarter to get the new one recorded, How successful for those that don’t know was it?
Obviously the writing stopped during the lockdown but it picked up again pretty quickly when it lifted. The Kickstarter was a success. We hit our target and that means we can record album three in March as planned (thanks again to all those who put money in).
Kickstarter and the like have often been viewed as a dirty word around the musical scene with many a larger band that I care not to mention setting a few up over the years. I understand the necessity of why bands like yourself would do one, certainly now more than ever, but where you at all concerned that people may have seen it as just another bunch of dudes wanting an easy way to fund an album?
Not at all and honestly it was the only way we could afford to go back into the studio. With all our gigs being cancelled we had no income as 99% of our cash comes from gig fees and merch sales at gigs.
What can the fans expect from the new release? Has Covid changed your sound at all? Will Darren make you all sound more like Bon Jovi? No, in all seriousness, have you kept the same direction as the outstanding “Birth Of Ruin” or are we all in for a surprise.
Dave: It’s a bit more of a mixed bag, it might surprise a few people. But we like it. Darren worked really hard to learn how to play flute for one track..
Darren: A bit of a surprise. Don’t want to give too much away.
Gally: It has a different character to “Birth of Ruin” but without having lost its roots.
Flute hey? Not sure whether to congratulate him or be concerned! What does the drummer in an awesome UK Metal band do with himself in his spare time. Hunting? Fishing? Long walks in the Bolton Wood Nature Reserve perhaps to refresh the soul? (Yeah, I googled that.. Ha-ha!)
Mountain biking, traditional archery, riding motorbikes. Basically I like shooting things and going fast (not at the same time).
Speed and projectile weapons, there’s an album in that for sure! Most drummers are highly prolific, the ratio of drummers to other band members means that you guys often have to do twenty eight gigs in a single day from what I hear. Down here in Australia I think we have about five or so that are in every band I can name. Are you currently drumming for any other bands or do you prefer to stick with the one and just be content that they are happy for you to sit in the background and bang sticks on stuff.
I’m in a rock covers band too. We do the usual AC/DC, Maiden, Priest kind of stuff. It’s a lot of fun. Not sure about joining any more though. Two is enough for now. Although me and Darren have a post All Consumed retirement plan band called Thunder Clap. Mostly Whitesnake/Extreme/Scorpions covers performed to middle-aged divorced women in bars in Benidorm. It’s gonna be massive..
Digital versus Physical, Cassette, Vinyl or CD, which do you prefer, and how much of a collection do you have if we may ask.
Dave: I buy CD’s of bands I want to support. Occasionally the odd vinyl. I’m not much of a collector though. I use Spotify a lot instead.
Darren: I sold all my vinyl to pay for my wedding!
Gally: I’ve lost eight collections as I’ve moved house that much. Purely digital now.
Mike: I like digital for the convenience but I have a growing vinyl collection.
*Gally said “why do people get vinyl, isn’t just like a CD but more inconvenient?”
Mike replied “they’re like cd’s but the pictures are bigger”
I think it’s about time a lot of you bands that I have mentioned find a bloody decent promoter and get your arses down here for a tour when all is right with the world again don’t you? I know a lot of Aussie’s that are pretty fucking keen on the current bunch you have over there right now! Blood Oath, Ashen Crown, all of the above mentioned previously, what a tour that would be!
There is a lot of great bands around at the moment. It would be good to get a few on tour.
Who would you say are your current favourite bands in the UK, and anywhere else, I’m always keen to discover more great music. I find a lot of people aren’t, they are happy to stick with what they loved back when they were younger, and I think that must have an impact on more recent bands because people just refuse to open their eyes (ears) and give some of the newer stuff a go. Any thoughts?
Dave: From the North West there’s Bloodmores, Shrike and Daybreaker. All great bands. Really enjoying Darkened too. From Germany check out Sabiendas.
Darren: I change my mind every week so I don’t know!
Mike: Konvent. Doomy Goth band from Denmark. (Dave likes these also).
Gally: I’ve just discovered Rivers of Nihil.
Here’s a hard one. Benediction, Napalm Death, Paradise Lost, My Dying Bride, Bolt Thrower and Carcass, all classic bands from the UK scene. Why do you think these bands have such staying power, is it because people are just comfortable with what they know perhaps? Pick your favourite, or suggest a band you think is even better than these mentioned!
Dave: I think these bands have the advantage of being around before the internet and social media. Back then you HAD to go to a gig to see a band and I think that probably had more of an effect on the fans which is why they’ve lasted so long. That and they all write great albums! Between Bolt Thrower & Paradise Lost for me.
Darren: Paradise Lost are just sell-outs. They do what’s popular at the time. But the others stuck to their roots. This is a hard question. Pass, I don’t know.
Mike: They are all the originators of their scene which is why they remained favourites.
If you had to pick one of your own releases, which would be your favourite and why?
Dave: “No World Order” because it was the first album I recorded as a drummer. For me it’s a milestone achievement.
Darren: It’s like being asked to choose your favourite child! I can’t answer.
Gally – *I think he was on the toilet at this point so no answer given.
Mike: “Birth of Ruin” (but as a listener as I wasn’t in the band yet).
So, all things considered, when are you hoping to get the new one out. Does it have a working title that you could share with us?
We’re hoping to release album three in Spring 2021 and depending on C19 we’ll follow that up with a tour. The new album will be called “Rise of the Godless.” I can also tell you that some of the working titles for tracks include “Jigsaw,” “Dr. Who,” “Darren’s Helmet” and “Buttered Skips” (all of those will be changed, hopefully).
Anything I’ve missed guys? I must give a huge shoutout to Ash from the ‘Goid for helping to get the ball rolling on this one, he seems to think you are a great bunch of dudes, and who am I to disagree! Many thanks for your time, and I certainly cannot wait for the new stuff to come out!
Cheers Andy, hope we answered as much as we could. Great questions \m/ Also, Ash is correct, we are indeed great dudes. I suppose those lads in Pemphigoid are ok too. In small doses. *Bill actually gave us a small dose on the last tour. We’re still scratching now..
And there you have it, what was originally stated to be an interview with Dave only turned out to be bloody awesome with all involved, and I cannot thank them enough. Funny bunch of blokes, that make some absolutely A grade music, so be sure to check all of the links below, and await the arrival of “Rise of the Godless,” because you can bet your arse it is going to be some killer stuff!
https://www.facebook.com/AllConsumed
https://allconsumed.bandcamp.com/
https://allconsumed.bandcamp.com/album/birth-of-ruin
https://allconsumed.bandcamp.com/album/stain-of-humanity
The Metal Wanderlust 
Really enjoyed the great interview and the photographs.
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Thanks Mum!
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