INTRODUCING: Headless Kross

Band name - Headless Kross

Location - Glasgow, Scotland

Genre - Psychedelic doom

Links - https://headlesskross.bandcamp.com/    ||   https://www.facebook.com/headlesskross/

Tell us a bit about your band - how long have you been going, why you do what you do, what you want to achieve.

We have been playing together since 2011, drawn by a mutual desire to play heavy doom. We have released 2 albums (Bear in 2011, and Volumes in 2015) 2 splits (one with Belfast's War Iron and one with Lazarus Blackstar) and an EP (Demises in 2012), and have played across the UK and Ireland.

We don't have a set 'manifesto' in terms of the sound, but it is good to try and show that things can be heavy and intense without being violent and aggressive, or spacey and abstract without being pretentious and self indulgent.

You have a new release coming out soon - without giving too much away tell us what listeners can expect from it.

The new album, Projections 1, sees us moving in a slightly more extreme direction - the heavy bits are heavier, the spacey bits are spacey-er, the lyrics are more abstract and the repetitive bits are more hypnotic. We jammed a lot before this album, so some songs have a more organic feel, while others have been refined over the last couple of years. 

Plans for the next 12 months?

Projections 1 is the first of 3 albums we are releasingroughly 6 months apart. The second and third will follow on from the themes of the new album, forming a trilogy of sorts. We are also looking to keep playing live as much as we can, and are particularly keen to head down to England a bit more, after a couple of successful excursions recently.

How does the band prepare for a gig?

We practice regularly, so are always ready to go. A few beers beforehand never goes amiss, and a couple of minutes in plank position to warm up. We find ourselves in a lot of smaller DIY type venues, so in many cases the pre-gig ritual is standing awkwardly by the stage, or rifling through bags trying to find a speaker cable.

Name 3 bands you would love to tour with, and why?

Slomatics - We have played together many times, and always have a good laugh with the lads. Great band - crushingly heavy.

Melvins - It would mean we would get to watch them every night (and on this fantasy tour they would be playing a different set every night.

I notice that the question does not have any time restrictions, so for the third, Space Ritual era Hawkwind. This does not require any explanation. Anyone who does not understand why should not be reading this interview.

Name a band you'd love to give a shout out to and think people should listen to

We have played with so many good bands - Bosphorous, Wozniak, Venus Sleeps and loads of others, but if I had to choose one, it would be Dublin's Wild Rocket. Heavy Space Rock at its absolute best.

How much has the internet and technology helped your band get to the point where it is today?

It has helped in several ways - Bandcamp is an easy way for people to hear our stuff, and means nobody has to fork out huge amounts of money to hear the music.

Social media allows us to get the word out about shows - it seems that you get a lot more of this than actual posters and flyers these days. Some might argue that this has gone a little further than it should, and sometimes the odd show does not seem particularly well advertised (not just ones we have played), but overall it is a useful way to let people know what we're up to.

The main benefit is that it has allowed us to stay in touch more easily with various like-minded bands over the last few years, meaning that the 'scene' is not restricted by geographical constraints

What is in your music player right now?

V by Ommadon

Ok, you have a few lines to tell us why people should listen to your band. GO.

We play heavy rock with mad swirly phasers over it in places, and echo-ey screaming. If this sound like your sort of thing, I expect it will be every bit as good as you imagine it would. If not, it would be wrong to mislead you, however I appreciate that you made it right to the end of this interview.