Coyote Mad Seeds

Rabbit Hole...

Coyote Mad Seeds

(Unsignedl)

HEAVY METAL

Review By: SAM LOUGHLAN

Band members: Nathan Mace (Vocals/Guitar)

Joe Elsey (Vocals/Guitar)

Chris Whitehead (Vocals/Bass)

Rik Smith (Drums)

Track list: Rabbit Hole

Greetings Manchester on this chilly afternoon. Today we have a little review for you of a track by Coyote Mad Seeds. These guys were brought to my attention by our fantastic co-ordinator, Nicola Covill and once again she has chosen a band which are going to make an excellent addition to our review collection.

Coyote Mad Seeds are a heavy metal band from Sheffield, UK. Formed in 2007 as a four piece, they reformed with a new line up in the summer of 2010. The band has played in various venues in their home city of Sheffield, including The Corp. They have also provided support for legendary metal bands such as Uli Jon Roth and Diamond Head.

So, this review is going to concentrate on their latest single ‘Rabbit Hole’ from their latest album Nyctophobia, released of November 24th 2023.

Let’s get stuck in…

At four minutes and forty-four seconds in length, ‘Rabbit Hole’ is of perfect duration and structure to be played at any rock night in any venue. The intro of the track presents a lovely chilling guitar solo which really adds to the atmosphere build up. When the vocals kick in at forty-four seconds the audience are presented with the full force and passion of the band as a whole. I particularly love how all vocalists join in to bring the track together as background essence with solid drum beats. This really showcases the talents off all band members equally and it was really refreshing to see this. In my opinion this is how a band should work, with no one person in the limelight. Spot on boys!

Now, no great metal song is complete if it doesn’t contain a carefully constructed musical interlude. This is where Coyote Mad Seeds really pulled it out of the bag! From two minutes twenty-eight through to two minutes fifty-four my mind was blown! For 26 seconds I was dragged into a Herman Li vortex and I was convinced I was listening to Dragonforce! These riffs were so complex and fierce, complete with perfectly timed drum beats, I was in metal heaven. Simply lost for words at how flawlessly this band gel together and create masterful tunes.

All in all I would say that ‘Rabbit Hole’ is a very well executed piece of modern metal with a solid and traditional edge. Very impressive!

There you have it, a Heads Up North Manchester view on the amazing Coyote Mad Seeds. Keep doing what yal doing guys, we can’t wait to hear what you create next.

Now if you’re after more off these guys, we’ve had the honour of being treated to an exclusive interview with frontman and guitarist Joe Elsey. Before we dive in, we’d like to personally thank the band for their patience and help in putting this piece together. You’ve been amazing and we hope to work with you again in the future.

1. What genre of music do you feel you most relate to?

Hard Rock/Traditional Heavy Metal

2. Who are you’re musical influences?

We have so many different influences but at the same time we still have the same influences too like Metallica, Ozzy, Saxon, Sabbath, Dio, ACDC, Judas Priest. I could go on but I'd be all day haha.

3. How hard is it to approach next level promoters?

It's kind of 50/50 really. It's like the old saying goes, its not what you know its who you know. However, even knowing the right people isn't always easy as you need to know how to approach them and have something amazing to offer them, which I believe Coyote Mad Seeds now has.

4. What plans have you got for this year?

Not got anything planned for the rest of 2023 as I (Joe) ended up in hospital which hindered some of our plans a little so we're looking ahead to release another single from the album in early 2024 with a music video etc. So, watch this space.

5. Are you playing at any festivals?

Up to now we only have SavFest 2024 but if any other festival organisers wish to book us for 2024 then you know, get it touch haha.

6. Which artists past or present would you collaborate with?

Oh wow. erm....who would I choose? I mean if Lemmy (God) was still on this earth with us then definitely him. Maybe Rob Halford too. I bet Benji Webb would be a fun collaboration come to think of it, haha.

7. Who would you compare yourselves to?

I'd only really compare Coyote Mad seeds to Coyote Mad Seeds really but if we were to compare ourselves to other bands then I'd personally just refer to the previous question about who's our influences. As when you're learning to play growing up you listen to your favourite bands and artists and try your best to learn their songs and make it sound how they play it. But at the same time over the years playing all your influences you eventually develop your sound which becomes unique to you. Lemmy is a great example of this. His influences are The Beatles and Little Richard and such artists. You wouldn't really compare Motorhead/early Hawkwind with the Beatles but they were Lemmy's influences and he used them to make the music he wrote.

8. What has been your favourite performance given so far?

For me it has to be Rockin' The Bowl '21. The crowd did not want us to finish chanting "MORE!" which was an amazing feeling and we really appreciated the crowd wanting us to play longer but we had to respect that their were other bands on after us.

9. What charity would you play a gig for and why?

I have connections to Steel Paws festival which raises money for an animal charity so that's one. And we're looking a raising money in 2024 for mental health as its something that us as a band have contended with over the years.

10. What are you working on music wise right now?

As I said previously, we're planning on releasing a second single from the new album early 2024 all being well. And we're always coming up with new riffs and that so we'll definitely be working on our next album pretty soon.

11. Where do you draw inspiration from for your lyrics?

I never really know how to answer this haha. We always write the music first, I then chant gibberish over it to find a melody, and then eventually I sing one or two great sounding lines and build round that. Even if they make absolutely no sense at all but still sound good. The lyrics for Rabbit Hole (our latest single) came off the back out watching Alice in Wonderland, Voices is about battling inner demons, but ‘Luck Is For Losers’ isn't really about anything really but the lyrics work. As long as the song sounds great the lyrics don't really need any sort of inspiration. Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody is a perfect example of that. Amazing song but isn't about anything.

12. What was the best gig you’ve ever been to and why?

Got to be either Metallica in '09 on their World Magnetic Tour. Amazing show with the special effects etc. And Motorhead on their The World is Yours Tour.

13. What do you love most about being in a band?

The fact you get to play music the music you love with some of your best mates and be able to share it to the world. It’s such a great feeling seeing people in a crowd you've never met before vibing to the music you're performing.

14. How do you deal with disinterested audiences?

Simple. Don't. Sounds daft really. As long as we're having a whale of a time giving our all on stage no matter the size of the crowd, that's all that matters. As long as the crowd see we're having fun, they will more than likely have fun too in their own ways. Just got to remember that everyone expresses their enjoyment in different ways. And we respect that.

15. What interests and hobbies do you have outside of music?

Me personally, I love Star Wars and playing video games so I play a lot of Xbox in my free time. Chris is the same. He plays games too. Nay is a big Star Wars fan like me so we nerd out a lot over that. And Rik loves fishing so goes to chill out doing that.

16. Have you got any exclusive gossip you can share with Heads up North, Manchester?

No major gossip right now as further planning/promoting our new album is in early stages like the second single I mentioned with a video to support it. We do have some gigs TBA too for 2024 but we're still working with our agent as we're on booking a tour aswell.

17. Would you consider allowing Heads up North, Manchester to review your future tracks and promote any future gigs?

Of Course!