Interviews: Tiberius

On this new occasion, we had the opportunity to interview the Progressive Metal band Tiberius from the UK. Check out the interview and follow the band on their FACEBOOK PAGE.

1. Where did you get the idea for the band name, you planned it or did it just come out like that?

Grant: We spent a long time thinking about band names, and I think at times we psyched ourselves out with a lot of options worrying that they would come across as too pretentious. As a band, we don’t take ourselves too seriously, so it was crucial to us that we had a name that reflected that fact. Somewhat ironically, we opted for the name Tiberius precisely because of its ostentatiousness, but the reality behind the name is that I had a cat called Tiberius, aka Tibby, who had sadly passed away. We like that people will often ask us whether we’re named after the Roman Emperor or the Starfleet Enterprise commander, and we get to say ‘neither, we’re named after a cat’.

2. Why did you want to play this genre? 

Grant: I don’t know that it was so much of a choice - once you’ve caught the bug for more intricate music, it’s hard to step away from it. We’re always interested in pushing boundaries and seeing what we can get away with in terms of songwriting. Can we add an X instrument without ruining the essence of the song? What perhaps unorthodox elements can we bring in to enhance what is otherwise a standard metal song? Answering these kinds of questions pushed me towards prog as a genre, with a general love for big thrashy guitars putting things within the metal context.

Chris: I think because the band was started by Jahan and me, it was always going to have a big guitar focus. We’re probably both a bit torn between our desire to write intricate guitar lines and our desire to just play big meaty metal riffs - I feel like the riff has sort of died in modern metal and I’m sad. So hopefully where we end up is somewhere in the middle, where there are lots of fun guitar leads but still plenty of big riffs to nod your head to.

3. Did you know each other before the band was formed?

Grant: Yes, some more than others. I knew Chris the longest, from high school, and then we subsequently met Jahan and Ryan around the same time while I was at college studying music. Jahan and Chris started the band out of a desire to improve their guitar playing, and I eventually got roped in. We got a couple guys in on drums and bass and the first iteration was formed. It was only after they both left that we got Ryan on board and then we were introduced to Nick through a friend and the rest is history.

4. Each band member's favourite band?

Grant: I really don’t want to say an old-school band for this because they get enough press. So I’ll say that one of my favourite newer-gen bands is Protest the Hero.

Chris: God this is so hard because it changes so often, and it’s hard to have one ‘favourite’ given that genres are so different. I don’t want to give a cop-out answer, so I’ll say my favourite in terms of being the biggest overall inspiration (musically, live energy, experimenting with sound, even writing music essentially for the film) is The Who.

Nick: I’m going to cop out of this one and say if you asked me tomorrow I’d give you a different answer than today but right now, at this very moment, I’m going to have to go with System of a Down. Old school icons. Such a great discography. What’s not to love. 

5. Who or what inspires you to write songs?

Grant: Almost all of our songs are socio-political in nature, so it’s usually something I’ve read on the news or just generally an issue that I’m interested in that supplies the inspiration for the lyrics. More generally, I like using music as a platform to say how I feel - I’ve never been someone who is interested in posting my thoughts and feelings on social media, and perhaps it’s because I’ve always felt like I had this, more appropriate, outlet instead.

Chris: Musically I tend to write with a story or a theme in mind before Grant gets writing the lyrics (and the subject of the song usually changes). I tend to write about people or events that I find interesting and approach it a bit like scoring a film.

6. Where was your last gig?

Grant: The last gig we played was at Hordes X Fest in Dundee in September. It was our first time playing that city, and the gig came about at the last minute, relatively speaking, for us. We had sort of made the decision to stop gigs after summer and focus on the album, but the opportunity presented itself and we couldn’t resist.

7. Where would you like to play?

Grant: We’d love to play more of Europe. We had our first taste in 2023, and we can’t wait to get back in front of more European crowds. I would personally like to play in France and see some more of the Netherlands and Germany.

Chris: The Netherlands has been very kind to us, we’ve just announced our performance at Progpower Europe in October next year and that was largely due to a campaign from the Netherlands so we love them for that. Germany for sure for me as well, I love playing in Germany.

Nick: Realistically, if we can get around more of Europe in the next couple of years that would be great! I’d love to play in the States sometime and it’d be cool to check Australia and New Zealand off the bucket list too.

8. Who would you like to support?

Grant: We’ve been very lucky to support some of our favourite bands already. I would love to support TesseracT and Protest the Hero though, as those would be some bucket list entries ticked off. The correct answer is Maiden though - then we’d get to play in front of 10k plus people!

Chris: Killswitch Engage, as a treat to my 14-year-old self.

9. Who not?

Grant: Any bands with regressive attitudes to social or political issues.

Chris: Codespeaker - they’re a post-metal band from Scotland that just released their second album and their riffs are far too strong for us to contend with.

10. Have any of you ever suffered from stage fright? Any tips for beginners on how to beat that?

Grant: I can’t say that I have, although I do experience nervousness before shows. The best thing you can do is get into a routine and stick with it - creating a pattern of normality, it can help you compartmentalise the craziness that’s going on around you.

Chris: I certainly used to. I worried too much about getting every aspect of the show ‘perfect’. Then I learned to enjoy the chaos. I think you just have to focus on having a good time, and then everyone else in the room will enjoy it too. If you’re up there playing music with your friends that you hopefully love, then the crowd can sense it and come along for the ride and have a blast. Nobody is (or should be) at a show to judge people, we’re all just a bunch of meat trying not to think too much about dying.

11. What bands have inspired you the most?

Grant: Bands that recognise the distinction between recorded performances and live shows, and put on a phenomenal event. If a band pulls out all the stops for their live performance, it always motivates me to work on my craft and try to emulate that feeling in my own ‘Tiberius’ way.

Chris: I agree, musically I take inspiration from all over the place - I think Fellsilent’s ‘The Hidden Words’ album was a big inspiration for me as far as writing goes, I love their rhythmic guitar stuff. But as far as a live performance I love the big stage productions of Iron Maiden and the like, and am also hugely inspired by some of the bands I saw in tiny sweaty venues in Edinburgh in my youth - the biggest among those probably being Enter Shikari around the time before their first album dropped - their live energy was insane and definitely something that stuck with me.

Nick: I’m actually quite a big fan of smaller more intimate performances where you can see a band up close. I saw Amigo The Devil in Glasgow earlier this year and the performances always blow me away. You can see how much the whole band enjoy what they do, everyone always gives 110% and the crowd go nuts for it. Whenever I see shows like that I’m always pumped and ready to try and emulate those vibes when we play.

12. What's the weirdest thing a fan has ever asked you for?

Chris: We played at a power metal festival in England (should out Power Metal Quest Fest) a few years ago, I had a great time, and someone in a full suit of armour asked us to put a Tiberius sticker on his armour. So he fights for us now.

13. What do you think of your fans?

Grant: They’re some of the most loyal people I’ve ever met - they travel so far to see us, and they’re always so supportive of us. It’s really humbling. I didn’t think I would be someone to end up saying ‘I do it for the fans’, but ours really do make it easy!

14. What do you think of our site?

Chris: I love anyone sharing their passion and giving a voice to all the amazing bands out there. It’s great discovering new bands, especially when it’s shared with you by someone that’s super into the band and gets really excited about it. Sites like Breathing the Core are great for discovering new music, especially love your curated playlists!

15. Something to add?

Chris: Be cool, be inclusive in your music, and stop voting for geriatric racists. 

Nick: But don’t forget to get real weird with it. Respectfully.