I can’t think of a better way to start getting amped for Halloween than to join female-fronted, horror-inspired, alternative metalheads In This Moment and New Years Day [accompanied by nu-metal outfit DED and the Rock’N’Roll burlesque of Little Miss Nasty] this Saturday, October 19th, at Franklin Music Hall. Headliners In This Moment are touring in preparation for the soon-to-be-released Mother and immediate support, New Years Day, are touring behind their fourth full-length, Unbreakable, which dropped this April, courtesy of Century Media Records.
Last month I got a chance to chat with longtime New Years Day guitarist Nikki Misery, who tells me that Unbreakable did feel a bit different from previous releases: “With Malevolence and Victim to Villain we took three weeks to write these songs, but for Unbreakable, it took four years to do this one.” The sounds on the album itself also explore a wider array of the band’s musical interests and Nikki tells me that the fact that it has had a tendency to shock fans is something he’s really enjoying.
“One of my favorite reactions is when we released ‘Shut Up’ and they thought we were a pop band, doing the T-Swift thing, and then we released ‘Come For Me,’ and it’s like, ‘Oh, no, we’re still heavy’… We listen to so many different kinds of music. I really love ‘70s music. ‘70s rock was such a broad spectrum. And I listen to a lot of punk, a lot of R&B, a lot of hip-hop, and then obviously industrial and classic rock.”
I ask Nikki Misery his favorite thing about being in New Years Day for nearly a decade now and he tells me it’s definitely the time they spend on the road: “Obviously just being able to tour and live this kind of dream is the biggest highlight, it’s like The Matrix [laughs]. But we especially love touring the UK and Europe – touring with Manson in Europe was so great – but just getting to travel and meet all these people that you love is the best thing about being in this band.” He also promises that their show with In This Moment this Saturday is something you can expect to be very engaging on multiple levels: “We’re very high energy, very nihilistic in a punk way and In This Moment… It’s an amazing Rock’N’Roll show that Maria put together… I mean, who doesn’t wanna see hot girls dancing?”
