Prepare to be slapped around the face with a slab of metal savagery from Fates Messenger, who’ve harnessed their metal and hardcore experience to craft a sound they describe as “thrashy groove fusion.”
The quartet of Tony Maddocks (vocals), Ron D (guitars), Will Romain (drums) and Paul Fletcher (bass) hail from across the southeast and southwest of the UK. They first started out when Tony and Will’s previous project Above All stalled and Will tapped up Ron, with whom he’d previously played in Romeo Must Die along with Paul.
On the sound that Fates Messenger has developed since, Tony told us: “We took all the best bits of the 90s/2000 era metal/hardcore and put a modern-day wrapper on it.”
Our first taste of this is two singles released at the start of this month, Scars and Bonechapel. Technically their debut release, Scars opens up with a doomy sound that continues under gruff vocals below exploding into lively guitars and driving drums. A vicious verse flows into an intensely gothic chorus, which drops into stabbing guitars and rolling drums alongside heavy vocals before flowing into another chorus. More rhythmic guitars come in as the vicious vocals continue, then the drums briefly drop out before setting up a powerful conclusion.
On the track, Tony told us: “We’re stoked to get the music out to the world. Scars is a hooky groove-laden bit of brutality that’ll make your neck snap. The lyrical theme to this song came to me while I was reading a heartbreaking story in the media about a teenager who had taken their life due to the ongoing bullying and abuse they had suffered online and physically within their social circles. A cruel and sad reflection on just how inhumane and vicious humans can be in this harsh new world we have created, where there’s no escape from this kind of mental and physical abuse and how the smallest comment can have a long-lasting effect on a person’s life whether it be face to face or online.”
Give Scars a listen here:
Released alongside that is the fantastic Bonechapel, which opens up with a darting guitar that continues into a cool driving riff. Vicious vocals take over and join in with a deliciously big thrashy riff. Chugging guitars kick in halfway through and continue under big gruff vocals, then a fast-paced riff develops into a wild combination of driving riff, pounding drums and intense vocals. And that drops into a deliciously dark and atmospheric outro. Check it out in the video here:
Those tracks give us a taster for the band’s upcoming debut EP, on which Tony tells us: “Collectively, there’s a mix of fast-paced thrashy tracks, big hooky choruses, slamming sections with a hardcore twist.”
The Fates Messenger sound has been influenced by the likes of Pantera, Machine Head, Vision of Disorder, Madball, Terror, Exodus and more. And on what inspires them to write music, Tony tells us: “Life, the impact of social media on people, how bullying has got worse over the years, religion, personal experiences etc…”
There’s plenty more to come from Fates Messenger, who self-record and produce to ensure they can release music just as quick as they write and record. With that in mind, they aim to keep releasing new music while getting gigs booked in.
And Tony adds: “We’ll keep writing and playing for the love of it. If people dig it, then show support, stream the songs, come to gigs and buy some merch, that’s all we can ask.”
You can follow Fates Messenger on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, and check out their music on Spotify, Bandcamp, Apple Music and YouTube.
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