Seas of Conflict are a hard-hitting heavy metal band from Hamilton. Their 2017 EP Vestige along with their recently released single Monachopsis have proven that they are an incredible act worth paying attention to. Terry from Muzic.net.nz spoke to Declan Storrie (guitar) about their music, the charts and much, much more.

We’re talking with Declan from Hamilton band Seas of Conflict. They have just released their latest single Monochopsis.

So, what does Monochopsis mean?

Monochopsis means the feeling of being out of place. It’s a pretty common feeling to feel that way at times.

Is that a common theme within the band and music even with in your name being Seas of Conflict?

Yeah definitely, it’s been a real natural progression like the name. We came up with it to sort of represent the world in conflict and such, but yeah our songs and the lyrics have come naturally but they are always about personal struggles. We try to make our lyrics personal and relatable to the listeners of any background.

So, would you say you see this as sharing your darkness to help others see the light?

Yeah definitely, we love being open and honest with our listeners and want our lyrics to come from our heart and we also write them in ways that others can relate. We are definitely keen to be a part of pushing awareness for personal struggle and that sort of thing. Not being a fake and opening up to your emotions and how you feel and that sort of thing, because we as artists, we are very in tune with our emotions and highly processed thought and that sort of thing.

We get messages often saying that this album has helped them through hard times in their lives and that’s what it’s all about at the end of the day. Making open and honest art that we can help people through dark times with. Wouldn’t have it any other way really. We started the band when we were 14 and 15 and we're 23 and 24 now so it’s definitely something that we grew up with and changed with, and you know it’s a part of who we are, and we represent that through our music.

You have just released the single, is this something towards an EP or an Album?

At this stage because this one was a collaborative effort with our previous guitarist Michael who was a big part of writing Vestige, our previous EP. This was the last song that he did with us and also our guitarist Kane who has just left and he did the recording on that, so at this stage it’s just a standalone. All 6 of us have all been such a big part of it, and it’s ending that chapter for us because we have got 2 more songs that have been written by our current line-up, that we have recorded and are putting towards a full length album.

How cool was it to see your single top of the home-grown charts?

Yeah, it was pretty surprising to see because we never expect anything like that so it’s always flattering, and we have been working with really awesome companies that have helped us branch out and get us involved with the media side of things.

How hard is it to make money and make music a career in New Zealand?

Yeah, big time. With everyone streaming off services like Spotify and I don’t know the correct amount, but the percent of pay is so low that I read somewhere that it take a million to 2 million plays a year to even make minimum wage. So, we make nothing really from our music apart from iTunes sales and things and that’s always nice but that’s a dollar or 2 so we're not too worried on the money side of things. We know the reality of it. Touring and merch is where we make money and stuff, so that’s what we’re pushing to do really - more tours and bigger tours and have merch on the go more often, that sort of thing. We all work half of us are tradies and Nic’s in Devilskin so that’s his job but the rest of us all have day jobs.

Does the success of bands like Devilskin and Alien Weaponry have any run of for bands like yourselves?

It’s a good thing for all artists as it makes people look at New Zealand and take them more seriously. It inspires us to see Devilskin and Alien Weaponry doing so well because it shows the love for heavy underground music is still there in the world.

What were your first recollections of music? What made you want to pick up an instrument and play?

My Dad and my uncle used to work together, and my uncle was a music fanatic and he used to play everything from Hip-Hop to Rap and Heavy Metal from Rock to Prog, so I just fell in love with Eminem and Dr Dre and Deftones and Tool and stuff. From probably about the age of 9 me and my Dad would listen all of that as well so definitely made me inspired about music and love it, but I wanted to rap first and then my grandmother she also inspired me she is as well a singer and an actress on stage and she’s in her 80’s and still performs in old people’s homes and that sort of thing. She gave me my first guitar because I wanted to learn the drums initially, but my dad wouldn’t let me learn the drums - he didn’t want to spend so much money on them, so my gran chucked me a guitar and I just fell in love with it at about 11.

Who would be one of your favourite Kiwi artists?

Jakob cause they are just unreal eh they just blow me away and their musicianship is just through the roof.

What’s your favourite venue to play in NZ?

It was Kings Arms but these days it's Galatos in Auckland or Valhalla in Wellington.

What does Heavy Metal mean to you?

It means honesty and freedom to me I believe you can be as honest as you want and as free as you want.

What words of advice would you give to young musicians?

Keep doing what you love and never give up and do what makes you happy. Don’t let people tell you otherwise because they are wrong.

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