Doomed Confessionary: Izaac, Kelvin, James & Daniel (The Zealous Chieftains)
Photo by Conor Gault
The Zealous Chieftains is a four-piece high energy heavy rock and roll band from Fraserburgh, Scotland.
They just released their debut EP »Cosmic 12 Gauge« on August 15th, 2024. Available now on all major streaming platforms!
The Zealous Chieftains are James Watt (drums, vocals), Kelvin Sutherland (guitar), Izaac Morrison (bass, vocals) and Daniel Mullen (guitar).
Can you say a few words about your band?
Raw, loud and zealous!
What was the biggest challenge for the band?
working round family and work commitments, being situated farther away from the major cities in the country, fitting everyone’s work schedules for the band.
What can you be most proud of so far?
The speed and growth we have achieved in a short time, the momentum we are carrying and the tunes we have come out with we are very proud of, speed and sound baby.
What was your biggest regret?
Not starting this band early enough! But it did happen at the right moment at the right time.
What was the best concert/tour so far and why?
MSR festival (Morning Star Records) was the biggest gig to date.
Honorable mention is our first Balaclava gig, the crowd was electric. Could think of a better first gig than in our local!
Another honorable mention was our first City/Aberdeen gig due to the crowd that appeared for us only being a band for round about a month at the time.
What was the biggest surprise on the music scene for you?
Daniel & Kelvin are newer to the band scene, there is sometimes lack of community spirit with some bands. Izaac & James says after playing in bands for a few years there’s not much surprises.
What is currently in your heavy musical rotation?
We’re doing a weekly Playlist series called chief picks, which you can find on our socials or Spotify.
Izaac: I’ve been listening to a lot of Orange Goblin.
Kelvin: Graveyard.
James: Opeth.
Daniel: Grand Magus.
Photo by Scott Fraser
What was the best advice you’ve ever been given as a musician?
Kelvin’s a lefty so 3 gigs in Daniel and Kelvin swapped sides so Izaac doesn’t get whacked in the face haha.
Daniel’s was to roll back the volume knob when playing live to rid the feedback.
James: Writing a song is like a farting if u try to force it it’s probably going to be shit.
Izaac: Any advice my dad’s given me over the years and also to play with a pick.
What are your guilty pleasures?
Izaac: Elton John.
Kelvin: Hall & Oates.
James: Taylor Swift (James is a swifty).
Daniel: Tenacious D cover of Britney Spears.
Can you say something more about current music scene in Fraserburgh / Scotland?
For being such a small town there’s a really high concentration of good musicians and bands, and the community is great and supportive, loads of good bands coming out of the small rural area of Aberdeenshire, especially all the bands involved with Morning Star Records (our kind of local community musicians/bands & artists).
Where can we see you live this year (concerts/tours)?
We’re on tour September / October! With our good pals in Goodhuman.
• 28th Sept – Beat Generator, Dundee, Scotland – Hordes X Festival
• 29th Sept – The Source, Carlisle, England – Support from TBK
• 30th Sept – ‘Secret Gig’, Glasgow, Scotland – Stone Dead Studios
• 1st Oct – Trillians, Newcastle, England – Support from Boycott The Baptist
• 2nd Oct – Broadcast, Glasgow, Scotland – Support from Fatal Collision
• 3rd Oct – Bannermans, Edinburgh, Scotland – Support from earthcaster
• 4th Oct – Krakatoa, Aberdeen, Scotland – Support from earthcaster & Atomic Mother
What are your plans for the future as a band?
Get our debut album out , to get it written and produced by next year, and have an even bigger tour!
How can people best support your band?
Come to gigs, buy merch, listen to tunes and spread the word.
Do you have any message for your listeners?
Cheers for the support so far and we look forward to doing even more in the future.
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well