Staring Into The Abyss With BEN PARKER And ALIZON TAHO From CALVA LOUISE

Interview by Kris Peters
Coming together from opposing corners of the planet, Calva Louise are a band who not only benefit from the wisdom of a diverse cultural well to draw from, but also from a musical vision and delivery that far transcends most music in the modern world.
To categorise their music would be doing an injustice to the rich sonic palate offered up from the talented trio, but if push came to shove, you would be safe to say theirs is a musical blending of metal, punk and electronics. But the depth of their music goes much deeper than that.
Painting an almost cinematic dimension through eclectic and boisterous bodies of sound, Calva Louise have thrown pretty much every rule book out the window, instead following their own path and vision to create a dynamic and powerful sound that is truly something fresh and unique on the shrinking landscape.
After two early albums - Rhinoceros and Euphoric - it was the 2023 release of the mixtape Over The Threshold that broke Calva Louise through the barriers and into the ears of a hungry public tired of the same formulaic music. Such was its impact, Over The Threshold reached the ears of Pendulum's Gareth McGrillen, who messaged the band on Instagram, leading to him coming on board to record Calava Louise's new album Edge Of The Abyss, which is due for release on July 11.
HEAVY caught up with drummer Ben Parker and bass/vocals Alizon Taho to find out more about the new album and Calva Louise's musical journey.
"I guess it's a continuous evolution," Parker replied when we asked him to tell us about Edge Of The Abyss musically. "Our sound has been like that from the start, and this is closer to what I think we've always wanted to do. And every release we've done throughout the band's timeline has increasingly got closer to that. It's almost like a bit of a nonstop vision, and it evolves as it goes. Obviously, this album is still very much in the heavy vein - much like the last release, like probably even a little bit more so, I would say."
In the full interview, Ben and Alizon explained the DIY production process of the album, where each member recorded their parts remotely, culminating in collaboration with co-producer Mazar in Italy and Gareth McGrillen from Pendulum for additional production. They ran through the interesting concept for the album and how it follows their previous bodies of work.
Talk turned to their eclectic sound and the difficulties of blending genres together in the creative process, opening track Tunnel Vision and why it was chosen to introduce Edge Of The Abyss, working with McGrillen and what he brought to the overall sound and feel of the album and more.


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