Meet Kill The Lights: The New Supergroup With Members Of BFMV And Still Remains

Last week, Kill The Lights released their debut album The Sinner, after announcing their formation back at the start of 2019.

The band is comprised of various metalcore luminaries. Fronted by Throw The Fight's James Clark, the line-up also features Still Remains' Jordan Whelan, Threat Signal’s Travis Montgomery and former Bullet For My Valentine drummer Moose.

"After myself and Bullet parted ways, I thought to myself that I’ve come too far to just let everything slip away, I love music too much," Moose tells Kerrang! today.

"I’ve been playing in bands since I was a kid at school, so I asked myself, 'What could I do next, and who with?'"

Without wanting to join an established band, Moose wanted to start fresh, which was as simple of as sending a text to Jordan with the words, "Got any riffs?"

But what does Kill The Lights mean to Moose, and what has he learned from his time in one of modern metal's biggest bands? We caught up with the sticksman to find out…

Kill The Lights is a collective of members from various other bands. Except for a love of music, what do you think brought you all together?
"When the recording process started, and we were still figuring things out in the studio, one of the band said, 'What should this part sound like?' and I replied, 'It should sound like you'.' That’s probably the biggest thing that we each bring to this band: the individual sound and influences of each member."

Is there a shared ethic within the band for what Kill The Lights should be?
"No, not really. We just want to write music that we would like to hear, and we hope that others will enjoy it too. The main thing is keeping an honesty in the music – both musically and lyrically."

You’re a mix of British and American musicians, and the UK and U.S. have very distinct attitudes toward rock music. Do you think Kill The Lights is likely to connect more on one side of The Pond to another?
"I don’t think so. I’d like to think that we could be as relevant in both territories, really. I love touring the UK and U.S. equally, and it’s quite nice having a mixture of the two countries in the band – even if they don’t always understand my British sense of humour! Except James, who was born in the UK but has lived in the U.S. most of his life. He’s got a weird sense of humour somewhere in-between."

People know you from your time in BFMV. Can Bullet fans expect something completely new from you with Kill The Lights?
"Most definitely. There’s a lot more power in these songs, and more of a lyrical message from James, which is to try to help others going through what he’s been through in this lifetime, and to reach out rather than suffer alone."

What did your time in BFMV teach you about being in a metal band?
"It’s been great that I’ve been doing this now for almost 20 years, so things like the business side of things are more understandable to me; whereas before, being young and naive a lot of it just flew over my head. I definitely learned what not to blow the band's money on, in terms of travel, production etc."

What can you tell us about debut album The Sinner: what is that record about?
"Musically, I believe it’s the best thing that I’ve done in my career so far. To be able to write these songs with Jordan, James and Travis has been so fun, and I’ve definitely learned a lot from them. Lyrically, the album is about James’ struggles with mental health, anxiety and depression. He finds that by singing about it, it helps him a lot. We hope that we get to help out others dealing with the same issues."

Was it daunting effectively starting over again?
"I did get a little nervous at the time of putting the band together, but once I [heard] the quality of the finished songs that worry completely went away, and was replaced by the excitement of building something from nothing – just as I did with Bullet. It’s the same excitement now, but with a lot more knowledge and experience under my belt."

What are the standout songs for you on that record, and why?
"Honestly, every song for me is standout, as we had so much fun writing and recording them. Shed My Skin is me pushing my drumming to a new place without overplaying, while trying to make sure that it still sounds like me playing the kit. So I would say you need to listen to this album as a whole, where you’ll hear a band pushing themselves to make the best album possible."

What do you want listeners to take away from the record?
"Hopefully we’ll get more people into the heavy side of music, or if someone decides to pick up a guitar or a drumstick because they want to learn how to play, that would be incredible. We’d also hope that James' lyrics might help someone struggling with any issues going on with themselves."

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