Since Thrash Hits last caught up with The Casino Brawl, they’ve toured their tits off, put out an album, and even found time for a haircut. We can’t even find the time to get down the gym. We sent Angie Louder to uncover their secret.

Anyone in a band can yell or scream, that’s easy, but to do a proper growling metal scream followed by an old school raspy hardcore yell is damn impressive. To be able to master those two beasts, then flip into a dulcet toned singing voice within the same song is an art form. That’s exactly what those North Eastern boys in The Casino Brawl do: they pummel you with metalcore riffs right to the gates of hell, and then sweetly sing a song of resurrection in your ear.

The Casino Brawl’s debut full-length, Shades; Directions, comes on the heels of sold-out shows and an acclaimed EP. If you like melodic hardcore in the vein of The Hurt Process or Alexisonfire, then these boys provide a shining example of how it should be done. And since they ended 2008 opening up for The Ghost of a Thousand and Rolo Tomassi on a Thrash Hits-sponsored tour, we figured it hightime we caught up with singer Jonny Ferguson to see how 2009 has been for the boys.

You guys formed in 2006, but most of you were in bands together since you were young. Are there any things that you are still learning about each other or about the business of music even now?
“Oh definitely. I think with this business, you always learn things. It’s constantly changing and you have to adapt and learn just to keep up with it all. In terms of ourselves, personally I think the same applies. We’re all growing older and are into different things, so we indeed have to learn to be appreciative of what another person in the band is doing or where they’re coming from.”

In At The Deep End Records launched the careers of bands like Gallows and Architects. Do you feel pressure to go in a similar path or do you want to forge a new direction completely?
“Well I think having a melodic and ultimately more accessible side to us doesn’t necessarily mean we’re going to use that to ‘win more votes’ so to speak. I know it’s important in a way to pick your target audience. Gallows‘ music for example may not appeal to the people that would appreciate the singing parts on our record. I suppose we do have the option with our second record to lean towards pleasing a more mainstream audience.

“We could however go the other way and write something that will only really be enjoyed by ‘metal’ fans. I don’t think we’re going to make that decision to be honest. We want to make our music honest and from the heart. We want to contribute something significant. Whatever direction that pulls us in, well we’ll just wait to find out.”

Watch the video to ‘The Cause and Definite Effect’ by The Casino Brawl

I know you’re only really beginning to take-off as a band, but have there been any stand-out amazing moments yet?
“To be honest, it’s just been the little things. My girlfriend went into a record store to get a copy for her mum and there were already two kids in front of her in the queue who were about to buy it. That was quite humbling. There was also a quiet moment we shared when we were in Italy and [the band] were sunbathing on a boat in the middle of Lake Como, and we just looked at each other with a tacit understanding of how lucky were to be able to be doing that at our age.”

On your YouTube channel that you document a lot of the time you guys are together. Do you feel like there’s a line between your fans and your personal life or do you want to just let everything be out in the open?
“There’s a happy medium I’d say. Obviously we keep ourselves to ourselves when necessary, but as a band we feel it’s very important to connect with people that like your music. We don’t really refer to them as fans at shows; more as friends. If it wasn’t for them then we wouldn’t be able to do what we do. It’s essential to have a close relationship with them.”

So is there anything we’d be surprised to learn about you?
“A lot of people assume that I live the ‘rock and roll’ lifestyle when actually I’m quite the opposite. I’m a Christian and spend a lot of time when I’m at home involved with my Church and that carries over onto touring. I’d rather sit and read some scripture than do shots off a teenage girl’s stomach any day – ha!”

What’s the most mental thing to happen on tour so far?
“We’re pretty tame to be fair, haha. Probably something like James our drummer waking up before 3:00 pm…that is insane. That and there is a lot of pretty unnecessary, public nakedness but I won’t go into detail…

“Jamie [Common, bass] knocked me clean out with his bass halfway through a show in Manchester once. Had a lovely gash in my head from that. Also I ended up with half a broken pint glass in my elbow about a year ago and spent the rest of the night in hospital….it was my birthday too!”

I’m not going to ask you to go through the meaning behind every song on the record, so we’ll go with just one. ‘The Cause And The Definite Effect’ is your first single and video, what do those lyrics mean?
“That song is, I suppose, the most ‘to the point’ lyrically I think. I wrote that specifically about a friend of mine that was going through a tough time with drinking. Going out every night and drinking to excess…”

You seem to be very upfront about your beliefs, but because you’re in the minority do you feel a lot of pressure in terms of the debaucherous behaviour typically expected from musicians?
“Well first off, Christianity is about believing and spreading the word of Jesus Christ. Therefore not disclosing that part of my life would just be wrong. If people aren’t into it, that’s totally cool and if it makes them not want to buy a record then that’s fine also. I think that the whole ‘debaucherous behaviour’ element is certainly something that is tagged with a musician’s lifestyle but i don’t think it’s expected. The guys in my band aren’t Christians but they are perfect gentlemen. I’m not saying I don’t see some pretty messed up stuff out on the road…but we’re all friends, so there’s no pressure to join in.”

Lastly, what’s coming up for you guys that we should look out for?
“We were supposed to head out on tour with The Haunted, but they had to pull out to go and support Slayer (fair enough). We’re playing the Hellfire II Festival in Birmingham, and we’ll be heading up some other shows in November/December time too. We have a couple of acoustic sessions coming up too, one on the London Eye and another for The Crypt Sessions. Lastly, we’ll be heading out on a big UK/European tour over Janurary and February. Good times.

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Shades; Directions is out now on In At The Deep End Records. The band are playing select UK shows before the end of year – check out their official MySpace page for details.