Finding Beauty In Ugliness With MATT WILCOCK From WEREWOLVES

When Australian extreme metal outfit Werewolves proclaimed to the world that they intended to release 10 albums in 10 years, the collective sighs of here we go again hung loudly in the air. Bands have promised such things or similar immeasurable times in the past, with few managing to reach the lofty heights for which they had set themselves. Not to mention the discontent from fans who then started to doubt the honesty or integrity of anything that came out of their mouths from that moment forth.
But with a pedigree of members from well-respected Australian bands such as Psycroptic, The Berzerker, and The Antichrist Imperium, more than a few people backed Werewolves in.
That promise was made six years ago now, and lo and behold Werewolves have just released album number six, The Ugliest Of All. Described as a "devastating album with little let up or mercy", The Ugliest Of All is pure, face-melting extreme metal of the highest calibre, proving that even just over halfway through their quest, Werewolves are yet to start scraping the bottom of the creativity well.
With the recent listen to the album still infecting our ears, HEAVY sat down to chat with guitarist Matt Wilcock to find out more. We start by asking how the early reception for the album has been.
"It's been good," he enthused. "It's album six. We've been around for six years or seven years, and we're up to album six. And to be honest, it's funny because for us, it's just another album, but we're happy with it and people seem to dig it. We're always excited to release another ridiculously brutal and stupid album."
With such a regular release cycle, we wonder aloud if Matt even gives thought to what people think of their albums and if negative feedback could ever derail the process.
"Oh, there'll be another one," he grinned defiantly. "I mean, it's a bit of both. We do it because we love it, and it's kind of cool to see what people think. But if no one likes this one, then fuck them. We're going to do another one next year. And it's going to be even worse (laughs)."
In the full interview, Matt provided an overview of The Ugliest Of All, highlighting its relentless intensity and the absence of slow songs, with the first half featuring catchier tracks and the second half increasing in aggression. He noted the band's growth in songwriting and the fact that their music is made for themselves first and foremost.
We discussed the now compulsory dis song on each album, along with the cover art by Mitchell Nolte, which reflects the album's themes. We spoke about the back and forth when creating artwork for each album cover and how they develop from a simple sketch to a graphic piece. The 10 albums in 10 years promise came up, with HEAVY asking if it was becoming difficult to come up with quality material given the short amount of time between albums, as did their run of shows early next year with Abbath Doom Occulta and more.


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