With looks reminiscent of an all-boy band and a sound that is as rock as it gets, 'Our Last Night' have an uncanny ability to cater to metal purists as well as some of the lovers of mainstream music.
'Our Last Night' will be touring South Africa in a week or so, and comprises brothers Trevor (vocals) and Matthew (guitar, vocals) Wentworth, Alex “Woody” Woodrow (bass guitar), and Timothy Molloy (drums).
The band has recently tapped into other genres through their alternative metal covers of some of the most popular songs. From Katy Perry’s Dark Horse to Kendrick Lamar’s Humble, the band has certainly made themselves known to audiences that wouldn’t have traditionally known who they are.
Chatting to Trevor, he said the decision to do covers by the band was spontaneous.
“We started doing the covers about five years ago. We were friends with a bunch of YouTubers, who got seriously popular from doing these kinds of covers. They didn’t put out any original music. We didn’t see any bands our style doing the covers and original music, so we thought we’d give it a try, use the covers to boost our original music and introduce us to a new audience.
“We started off with Adele’s Skyfall, which got something like a million views and we thought it’s a no-brainer - we’ll just continue doing the covers,” he said.
Trevor said his favourite covers were Ed Sheeran’s Shape of You, and Post Malone’s Better Now.
The experiment, it seems, was a success, and the band has tapped into markets they traditionally wouldn’t have. But their forte remains metal. For the last 12 years, their evolution as a band has come from becoming a bit more hands-on with their business.
“We do everything ourselves now and that’s given us a chance to work closely with our fans. When you work with a label, they take control and that’s a little ridiculous because the band always knows what their fans want, and also what’s necessary to help the band grow.
"We have grown to a band much bigger than we ever thought we would.”
Another aspect to this evolution has been the band’s sound. From the traditional almost expected usage of death-metal vocals in their earlier material such as their debut album We’ve been holding back, and a cleaner sound in their later works.
Or a combination of both throughout their 12 releases, which the band became quite skilled at. Where this puts them, Trevor admits, is in a space in-between genres.
Part of this growth comes with doing international tours that allow the band to meet their fans across the globe. This time, their tour leads them to South Africa, where the band will perform in Joburg, Cape Town, and Pretoria from November 9 to 16.
Each local date will feature four local bands that were picked by the concert organisers.
Asked what local fans could look out for at the shows, Trevor said: “They can expect a crazy time.
“A lot of our fans have said our live show is one of the best things about the band. It’s something we take a lot of pride in, ensuring that our show is one of the best experiences we give to our fans. We’ll have a sing-along, crowd surf, acoustic versions of our songs, and we’ll do covers.”
Details on their social media platforms and Webtickets.