Simon Rushworth
Emo kids turned metal monsters INME will roar back onto the UK’s rock scene this summer with a brand new album and a full headline tour – guaranteed to turn a few heads and puzzle a few sceptics.
The band burst onto the scene in 2003 with Top 15 album Overgrown Eden but fourth long player Herald Moth represents a brave new era for the much maligned noiseniks.
And keen to prove as much, INME embark on a 17-date tour of Britain in September determined to regain their place at rock’s top table and realise their longstanding potential. “We wanted to create lots of technical layers with an edge all the way through to heavy, melodic tunes,” said lead vocalist and guitarist Dave McPherson. “With [previous album] Daydream Anonymous we established a more mature sound and pushed our abilities as musicians. Now we’ve really stepped that up. The new record is darker, more epic and grander than we’ve ever been.”
Lyrically the album deals with the great hardships McPherson has had to come to terms with and he added: “I’ve had a particularly tough couple of years. Not to say I feel sorry for myself but things haven’t been particularly easy.
“Part of that was I gave in too much, became too weak and let everything get on top of me. The main theme throughout Herald Moth is adversity really. It gave me a therapeutic outlet to spit out all the darker, negative things within me to become stronger at the end of it.”
INME originally formed as Drowned in 1996 but changed their name on signing with Music for Nations in 2001. After three singles, debut Overgrown Eden was released in January 2003 and entered the UK album charts at number 15.
During 2004 the band signed with V2. Their second album White Butterfly was released in June 2005 and featured the singles 7 Weeks, which reached 36 in the UK singles chart, and So You Know, which reached 33. In July 2006, bassist Joe Morgan quit the band and was replaced by McPherson’s brother Greg. And in 2007 they went on to agree a new deal with Graphite Records for the release of Daydream Anonymous – the band’s most critically acclaimed album to date.
In the Autumn of 2008, second guitarist Ben Konstantinovic joined and McPherson added: “We’d wanted a second guitarist for a long time. But the right guy never came along.”
Konstantinovic began playing on McPherson’s regular acoustic nights around the UK and it became clear he was more than the man for the job. “He completely blew everyone away,” admitted McPherson. “He has a maths degree and is a qualified pilot too!”
Heral Moth hits stores in August and you can catch the band at the following dates:
September
16 The Royal, Derby
17 Newcastle Academy 2, Newcastle
18 53 Degrees, Preston
19 The Cockpit, Leeds
21 ABC2, Glasgow
22 Manchester Academy 3, Manchester
23 Rescue Rooms, Nottingham
24 The Garage, London
25 Chinnerys, Southend
26 The Harlequin, Redhill*
27 Concorde 2, Brighton*
28 Oxford Academy 2, Oxford
30 Talking Heads, Southampton
October
1 Orange Box, Yeovil
2 TJ’s, Newport
3 Hobbits, Western
4 The Cavern, Exeter
*supporting We Are The Ocean