Merseyside ‘caveman battle doom’ trio Conan churn out some of the rawest, darkest riffs audible to the human ear. Just before they took to the stage to support the mighty High On Fire at the Camden Underworld, we grabbed hold of guitarist/vocalist, and contender for the ‘nicest man in metal’ title, Jon Davis for a quick chat about latest release ‘Blood Eagle’, Skyrim, Arnie and a man called Horst.
HTF: You’ve been on tour with High On Fire for a little while now. How has it been?
JD: It’s been amazing. The show’s that we’ve played together have gone really well. All in all it’s been really enjoyable, but I’m looking forward to getting home tonight and giving my kids and my wife a big hug.
HTF: Are you big fans of High On Fire? How about Sleep? (HOF frontman Matt Pike’s other main project)
JD: Yeah of course. Chris (Fielding, Conan bassist) and I in particular are massive fans of High On Fire and Sleep and obviously other bands too. We were asked by the band themselves if we wanted to join them on some of these shows. It’s a huge honour, and really exciting, it was amazing to be asked.
HTF: Did you visit any old haunts on the tour? Find any new favourite places?
JD: We played in Wurzburg again, which I used to say as ‘Whirzberg’ but that’s the Scouse way of saying it. It’s a town in southern Germany, we’ve played there three times now in two years. There’s a guy there called Horst, he’s the promoter, and he’s possibly the nicest guy I’ve ever met. He put us on at this venue underneath the main post office, it’s the same venue Hammer of Doom Festival takes place in. We played in Tilburg (Netherlands) again at 013 which is where Roadburn is held. It’s the fourth time we’ve played in that town now, that’s always a good vibe as well.
HTF: Have you played the Underworld before? It’s fairly intimate as there’s no barrier, does that help you feel more connected to the crowd?
JD: Yeah. In these sort of venues you turn up loud normally and the crowd are more into it. It’s less formal: lots of graffiti on the walls, you can tell the attitude of the place is more about how things sound rather than how nice it looks. In general it’s a cool place, we played here at Desertfest last year and we had a good time, we really enjoyed it. Coming back here to round off the tour is perfect.
HTF: How’s the material from your latest release (second album ‘Blood Eagle’) been going down live?
JD: Great, those songs are good enough to put in a set on their own. We’re really enjoying playing them, all of them are really rocking and really enjoyable to actually perform as a band, and the crowd seem to like it. Obviously we’ve had some good press and people have been able to hear the album on a wider scale than our previous releases, so the crowd responses at shows has been really encouraging.’
HTF: The blood eagle is a pretty vicious method of execution. If you had to pick your own method of execution what would you go for?
JD: ” I would like to be … I dunno … I’d probably like to be eaten alive by my family, ‘cos in that way I’d kind of live on through them. It’s a weird answer but if you’re going to die anyway it might as well be with the ones you love
HTF: You probably get asked this all the time, but did you take your name from the original stories by Robert E. Howard or from the 1982 movie version with Arnold Schwarzenegger?
JD: Obviously from the movies themselves. I saw the movies before I heard any of the stories. However, I think the stories are much more enjoyable than the movies, obviously the character himself influenced our decision to call ourselves Conan, but he’s not the only fictional character that we write about.
HTF: A lot of what you write about deals with battles, swords and sorcery. What is it about those themes that you find inspires your lyrics?
JD: Well it doesn’t make you feel self-conscious like writing about love does. We’re not Rage Against The Machine we’re not gonna start shouting about politics and all that bollocks. It’s stuff you can actually just write about without feeling self conscious and you can use your imagination more.
HTF: So it’s a form of escapism?
JD: I’d say so yeah. Early on it was important for me to get into this whole kind of groove and not write about things that were just linked to my personal life. But in previous bands it had all been about that sort of thing. Writing about it is really really enjoyable. It kind of feels like I’m playing a computer game when I’m writing these songs. I basically invent my own scenes for Game of Thrones.
HTF: Are you guys big ‘Thrones fans?
JD: Yeah, I’ve seen every episode more or less. I love the game Skyrim. That sort of thing turns me on … you know, musically.
HTF: So, big question, who’d win a fight – Terminator Arnie, Predator Arnie or Conan Arnie?
JD: Conan Arnie. He’d chop the other two in half in five seconds.
HTF: There’s been a steady increase in stoner, doom and sludge acts on the British metal scene over the last decade or so. Do you think it’s a passing trend or it’s here to stay?
JD: I hope it’s a fixture that’s here to stay because it’s music that I really enjoy listening to. And yes there are trends in music, that’s natural. So yeah, it is a trend I suppose, but it’s definitely a welcome one, I haven’t got a problem with it.
HTF: What’s on the horizon for Conan? Any plans to lay anything down in the near future?
JD: We’re gonna start writing again maybe next year. We’re going to enjoy doing some supporting for this album, touring when we can. Next year maybe we’ll tour a bit less, maybe play a few more festivals if possible. See what we can write, let the material come through naturally. We don’t want to put a deadline on it.
