Melodic Death metal – that’s something the Scandanavians have pretty much got licked, right? Some South Africans living in London disagree. Thrash Hits cornered Neverborne guitarist, Stuart Manicom, and began the interrogation.

From: London, UK, via Johannesburg, South Africa
Sounds like: Soilwork, American Head Charge, In Flames
Website: www.MySpace.com/OfficialNeverborne

How did you meet?
Apart from our drummer, Dave [Andrews] (who we found on MySpace and who flew through the audition process), we’re all from a rather small suburb in Johannesburg where we had crossed paths growing up and even landed up playing in the same bands together. We lost contact for a few years, and it wasn’t until summer 2006 when the four of us bumped into each other at the Download Festival, however rather stupidly we didn’t even exchange numbers at that point. Another year past until we finally got together and I put forward the idea of starting a new band.

What made you want to start a band?
Sharne [Manicom, bass] and I were keen to start a studio project, with the aim to record a few tracks. At that point we weren’t really planning to start a proper band as such. It just all seemed to slip into place once we had set out to find Jacques [Fourie, guitars] and Warren [McManus, vocals], which proved to be rather easy thanks again to Myspace. We found Dave about 6 months later.

What was it like growing up in South Africa?
Great, actually! Growing up in the 80s in South Africa was relatively safe and care free. Things back home have changed a lot over the past 15 years. It’s a great place for tourism but not for bands! There are some really talented musos and some killer bands there that just never get the recognition, backing, or the break they deserve. Think about it…how many internationally recognised South African bands do you know?

What are your musical influences?
It varies widely throughout the band from classic goth acts such as Fields of the Nephilim, to extreme melodic death like Dark Tranquillity or Mors Principium Est and harder industrial bands like American Head Charge. Our sound spans across various genres of metal and rock and we try to blend what we feel are the best elements.

With which band would your dream support slot be?
There are so many and it would differ depending who in the band you asked but collectively I’d say supporting In Flames wouldn’t be too bad, eh?

What bands do you consider as part of your scene or as your peers?
Difficult, we are fairly new to the scene in the UK but have already met some cool dudes from killer bands. But I think we are doing something different especially in the UK where melodic death isn’t so commonplace within the metal scene. We’d consider bands like Glass Artery and Pure Negative our peers.

What’s the best and funniest shows you’ve played?
The headline show we played at The Peel in Kingston recently was awesome. We had a great crowd, the atmosphere was electric and we had some people in the crowd spilling blood for the cause! On that subject, our funniest gig must have been in Alton for Battle for Bloodstock where Warren spontaneously bled from his nose and eyes and had to be taken to A&E. Doubt he thinks it was funny though…

What have you got planned for the future?
Well we self released our debut EP, In Absence Of Fear, in December and so far the response has been incredible. Credit should go to Karl Groom who produced the record – he’s worked with some big names and captured the sound we were looking for. As for the future, we’re busy writing our full-length follow-up, which is unfolding at a steady pace. Again we’ll be recording with Karl at Thin Ice Studios and mastering work will be done by Goran Finnberg in Sweden (Dark Tranquillity, Opeth, In Flames). The tracks so far are a little more concise, direct and bursting with energy. If all goes according to plan, we hope to have the album ready for release early next year.

What other new band should everyone find out about?
Cipher System! Unsigned band from Sweden, a great inspiration to us and probably one of the most underrated bands around.

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Neverborne’s debut EP, In Absence Of Fear, is available now – to find out how to get a copy, go check their official MySpace page.