Local metal group Evil Scarecrow talk puppets, props and crowd participation

How would you describe Evil Scarecrow for anyone who doesn't know the brand?

What are we?… We’re ridiculous, sort-of-comedy, very heavily prop-based, community dance combo with heavy metal vibes. ‘Existential crisis metal’ - that’s what I’m gonna call it! We used to call ourselves something like ‘theatrical black metal’ but that doesn't feel quite right. People should just come and see us and make up their own minds. Then send us a postcard saying what they think we are, and maybe we'll find out.

Can you introduce the band members and mention one thing each of them like or love?

I’m Dr. Hell, I do shouting and guitar. I also love gaming - especially Dungeons and Dragons. You can find some references to DnD in our songs. There’s an entire track just about it.

Which track?

Antartarctica. It's done with the voice of a Dungeon Master. Everything is ‘you do this, you do that, you’re clawing at your face,’ so it’s as if the DM is describing what’s going on with the player character, which is Brother Pain in the story.

Next up, Count Gravedigger. He is obsessed with the 80s. There is nothing he loves more than 80s references. It’s been really cool having him as a recent addition to the band. He joined us on the new album and he is such a talent. There are now even more 80s references, for people who like that.

Kraven Morrdeth plays bass. He does like cheese. He even does little cheese reviews on social media. He’s pretty good at that. We should probably bring that into the stage show. I think it’ll go down really well.

Ringmaster Monty Blitzfist, what does he like… [answer redacted!]

You've got so many props and puppets on stage; robots, giant chopsticks, inflatable unicorns - where does the love for puppets and costumes come from?

When I first started doing live music, the bands that I loved the most were those that just did everything. If a band just stood still and played one instrument each, I always admired the musicianship but I'd be like ‘why aren't you running around? Why haven't you at least got a hilarious hat on?’ So when I first started performing, I thought ‘I'm just going to throw everything at it.’ Which is probably to my detriment, because if I maybe just focus on being a good guitarist, I’d be a better guitarist! But instead it was like 'let’s throw everything at a show and give everybody something to do all the time, non-stop'. So it came from there. Our present guitarist joined the band originally to help us with our props and he really upped the game. They were very, very poor quality to begin with. Now they’re pretty good! Certainly better than my guitar playing.

That’s not true! So, what is in store for Evil Scarecrow in the near future?

We have finished our fifth album. It's done, it's ready, it's mastered. We're just now going into production for that and looking to try to find a release date. There's a new video we've been working on with an amazingly talented animator, who we've worked with before. It's very, very pink and cyan neon, which is an odd mix with our own sort of black metal look. It's for a song called Nuclear Fallout Machine Sentience. We’re excited to release that soon and we will be releasing more tracks and videos over the next year. Keep your eyes peeled because new stuff is coming.

I've got a silly question now.

Okay!

If you could keep any of the creatures from your songs (the krakhen, the crab, the slug from Antartarctica) as a pet, which one would you choose?

Laughs Not the krakhen! The hen is a menace. Constantly pecking me on stage. Our giant robot has a little alien called Roswell, who used to throw out Space Raiders into the crowd. So, you know, he’s a giver. I pick him.

Aw, I like him. What is the best crowd participation move to watch from on stage?

We've done so many mad, stupid things with the audience. We used to pull out something called 'the wind stick'. We pointed it at the crowd and when the stick pointed towards you, you had to put your arms in the air and make farting noises. That was just amazing; an entire crowd going *fart noise*. More often than not, though, the guys at the front will do something funny that makes us - the idiots on stage - come up with silly ideas. So the moves are really born from the most important part of our band, which is the people who come and see us play live.

You’re playing Beat the Streets this January, are you looking forward to it?

Yeah! We’re so excited. Last time, there was a young guy playing an acoustic guitar on before us, with loads of girls right at the front, all looking at him dewy-eyed. Then we marched on in all of our ridiculous get-up and they looked at us like ‘what is this mess?’. But we love festivals like Beat the Streets. Not just because of the good cause, which we are so behind, or because it’s at Rock City, which is the best venue in the country, or because it’s done with DHP, who are the best people to work with, but because we get an opportunity to play for people who’ve never seen us before. Winning over that kind of crowd is one of the best feelings in the world. We got such a great reaction last time, even from the dewy-eyed girls! They were crab dancing at the end. We’re so grateful to be asked back to that brilliant, brilliant event.

There you go. You must be doing something right! That's all the questions I've got - you answered some before I even asked them!

Well, I’m a pro. That’s how you can end it: I’m a pro, definitely not an idiot.

Catch Evil Scarecrow and many more acts at Beat The Streets, taking place on Sunday 26 January at Rock City, Rescue Rooms, The Bodega and Rough Trade.

@evilscarecrowuk