Doomed Confessionary: Dom Bailey (Flamebearer)
London, UK based four-piece Flamebearer has just released their debut album »Brazen« on April 24th, 2024.
Doom-tinged heavy metal featuring members of 1968, Decomposed, Oak, Mourn, Blood Island Raiders and Brule! Formed late 2021, Flamebearer, fronted by former Oak vocalist Andrew Valiant, are inspired by classic 70s rock, 80s metal and more. Sabbath to Angel Witch to Trouble via Celtic Frost and The Cult. Doom tinged but energetic – big riffs and bigger choruses!
Flamebearer are Andrew Valiant on vocals, Alastair Riddell on guitar, Dom Bailey on bass and Thiago Pinho on drums.
Can you say a few words about your band?
Flamebearer basically are a heavy metal rock ‘n’ roll outfit. We’re hard hitting and love to entertain. The live aspect is extremely important to us as we love to see the crowd having a blast. It’s a pure release and very organic. I think it reflects our genuine interest in making a load of noise and letting off steam.
What was the biggest challenge for the band last year?
Recording or debut album »Brazen« was a challenge for us. It was the first time we had come together to record a full album so it was a big learning curve for us. I think part of it was because at that time we all had so much going on: health, work, family etc, and despite how we prepared, things can always change once you get into the studio. But I will say we learnt so many lessons that have prepared us for next time. We recorded with the wonderful Wayne Adams at Bear Bites Horse. He pushed us hard to get the best album out of us and we are very grateful for that. It was hard work but we’re really happy with what we achieved.
What can you be most proud of so far?
There’s a couple of things that will be announced later in the year that we have all in equal part contributed to, and that makes us very proud to see the band grow and that all the effort and risk is paying off. It’s a culmination of everyone’s efforts, but we have to keep it under wraps just a little longer.
What was your biggest regret?
Not really much other than maybe if we had recorded more songs for »Brazen« as that may have given us a bigger list to choose from but in general we are very happy with how things are panning out these days. It would have been nice to play more shows over last summer, but due to other things we had going on we couldn’t play as much as we wanted. We’re certainly going to try make up for that this year.
What was the best concert/tour so far and why?
We played the Black Heart in Camden last November supporting Tanith and it was crazy, so many people all having the best time, the crowd interaction and energy felt like we were in a stadium that night.
What was the biggest surprise on the music scene for you?
We’ve all be doing this quite some time now individually before we formed this band but the thing that still surprises me to this day is how down to earth and brilliant a lot of the people in the doom/stoner scene are. For instance, just how happy people are to help each other out with gear or getting each other gigs etc. It is a real community and one which really looks out for each other.
What is currently in your heavy musical rotation?
Early Moods, Margarita Witchcult and still and always to this day AC/DC and Kiss.
Can you say something more about the music scene in London?
We haven’t seen too much of the world but we still think we’re biased that London has the best scene in the world. So, so many bands and more and more venues popping up and once again the community around this all is so very genuine. You can always guarantee that you’ll see familiar faces from other bands on the scene when you play. Everyone is really supportive and genuinely excited to see each other play live.
Where can we see you live this year (concerts/tours)?
Our next show is in Bradford at the Ruination Festival at the Underground on May 11th, and in Chelmsford at Radio City Social on September 14th. We have something else really exciting lined up which we will be letting everyone know about really soon!
What are your plans for the future as a band?
We are writing again, something we do a lot of. We are writing new material for the second album. We are just getting out now around the country and not just the capital, so I should imagine next year we shall be getting around all over a lot more
How can people best support your band?
The usual socials, we have worked a lot at trying to understand that medium. Flamebearer feature on Facebook, Instagram, Spotify and to purchase music and merch Bandcamp (flamebearer.bandcamp.com). Also the name Flamebearer is really easy to find which is a plus!
Do you have any message for your listeners?
We are really proud to release this debut LP »Brazen« upon your ears. A lot of the people who already know us have been super supportive and encouraging and we are extremely grateful of this. As said earlier we have some really exciting news building up so can’t wait to pass that on soon too. Cheers and Horns.
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well