Interview: Austere

Hey guys thanks so much for joining me today, how are things in Austere world going today?

Tim: Pretty quiet right at this moment. We’ve just wrapped up our new album in December, and in March we’ll start preparing for our European tour, but right now taking a couple of months break.

 So you guys are back on the touring horse for Australia in 2025 which is pretty awesome. How did you find your first round of touring Australia last year when you were touring with Harakiri For The Sky?

Tim: I think it went pretty well, better than expected. We’re mates with the Harakiri guys, so we knew the tour would be a good time, but the shows themselves (with the exception of Canberra – the less said about that the better haha) went well. The crowds seemed to be really into it, and all in all it was a cool experience to play our first shows in Aus.

Mitch: Yeah, as Tim said, it was a good experience. I haven’t played much back home in Australia over the last 8-10 years, just one-offs here and there. I’ve been over in Europe/USA touring with various bands/genres so it was cool to do a couple of shows back here and see new faces and share the road with good people.

Are you guys still bringing out the same ;lineup  for your live band that had you had last year? Or is it different lineup this time (outside of you two guys as the core)

Tim: nah, we’ll have a different lineup for these shows. On the last tour we had Chris from Harakiri on bass, for obvious reasons, and Pete Peric on guitar. But that lineup was just a one off for that tour.

So I watched the interview you guys did with Rauta on Youtube, in that interview you were talking about working on your most recent release (Beneath The Threshold). I really dug that album and I loved hearing how the sound has developed over time. I was curious as to how you guys feel about that album now a year later and how the response was? 

Tim: I think the response has been pretty good. Obviously there’s a few people who wish we’d keep making albums that sound like we did 20 years ago, but for the most part people seem to be into what we’re doing nowadays. We always stay true to ourselves when making music. If we made another album that sounded like the old stuff, it would be forced, because we’ve grown both as musicians and people since then. It’s cool that a lot of people realise that and are coming on this musical journey with us. Personally I’m still happy with the album. I think it’s definitely our strongest album to date.

Mitch: Cheers. I feel good about it too, it was difficult in some ways to write because I stepped a little out of my comfort zone with it and I remember feeling really drained at the end of the sessions. I had notes, chords and ideas bouncing around in my head for weeks/months and it was a good feeling to complete it. Admittedly, I’m pretty self-analytical on anything I do but looking back at it now, it was a beneficial step for the band because the goal with that record was to offer ourselves a broader palette of material for future live shows. It also sort of pushed me further into a new direction with my songwriting now. Meaning, I have taken some of those ideas on that record and expanded them even further with some new music I’ve been working on for another band.

How have you guys found touring Europe so far with all the festivals and stuff? How is the European scene compared to here?

Tim: Obviously the European scene is far larger than Aus, and playing fests and our own shows over there has been great for the most part. It’s cool that people still care after we were gone for well over a decade.

Mitch: For gigs/fests, I’m still getting used to it with Austere personally. For various reasons but mostly, the shows I’ve been doing over there prior are within a drastically different setting to what we do with Austere. Totally different fan base/friends/line up etc. I feel quite isolated on either side of the fence if I’m honest. Not an issue though, I write the music I feel like writing and I enjoy playing it live which has been enough to continue for now.

So you guys are bringing Skuggor out on this Australian tour which was a pretty dope pick, I was wondering as he’s an old oz metaller, did you guys know each much at all in Australia before you booked this tour? Or was this more just a tour you picked for some other reason?

Tim: Matt is one of my best mates. Actually he played guitar for my solo project Germ at pretty much every show we’ve done, from 2013 onwards. He’s also played both guitar and bass for Austere in the past couple of years, and he’ll be playing with us on the upcoming Aus tour as well. I’ll return the favour by playing drums for Skuggor. Actually, the tour was Matt’s idea haha

Are you guys both still based in Australia at this point or am i correct in thinking one of you is in Budapest now (and if so how does that affect the writing process with you guys? What’s involved with the writing process for you both nowadays?)

Tim: not sure where you got Budapest from haha, but I’ve been mostly based in Siberia for a few years now. But I’m always going between here, Europe, and Aus, so we just work on austere while I’m there. We write pretty much the same way we always have, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it haha

Mitch: The geographical distance isn’t a problem for the moment. I still write the riffs/lyrics the same way and there’s tonnes of capabilities for recording these days. Whilst I prefer to work together on this band with Tim in the same vicinity, we’re also capable of putting something together at opposite ends of the globe if need be. I have a studio here and Tim has one there.

Do you think the fact that you have been touring so hard the past few years is going to have an impact on your future albums?

Tim: yes and no. Yes, in that we’re conscious of how songs will translate in a live environment now. But no, we’re not gonna change how we write just to make a song that will work live. But I think it’s in the back of our minds, with some songs at least. You can probably see this with the songs beneath the threshold being a bit more punchy and to the point. Not one riff repeated 300,000 times Mitch: It already has had an impact on me personally (as I explained earlier about catalyst for Beneath the Threshold sounding a bit different) but with that being said, may sound strange, but I don’t really feel it to be a ‘conscious’ effort when writing music for this band. I don’t have an agenda or something I feel tethered to. It just sort of happens. Sure, I have vague ideas in the beginning but it sort of just happens and builds itself as time goes along. I guess it’s a weird thing for me as I never really thought Austere would start playing gigs so I do feel in a strange position currently but again, just see where it goes for now. Back to the point, Austere is Austere if it’s Tim and I doing it which is its main influence. Internal.

I was wondering with your other projects such as Germ and Unfelled if there was much happening in any of those camps? Can we expect any touring or releases with those projects?

Tim: yes there will be a new Germ album, as well as a month long European tour, later this year. I also have a new album coming in Q2 with Autumn’s Dawn, a band I have with Matt (Skuggor)

Mitch: I’m working on something different under the title of Wilt. Which I somehow now have 2 full albums both awaiting vocals and I have a Temple Nightside album demoed and waiting for drums to be recorded some time. Some of these things may go live, I’ve unfortunately had to turn down some offers for gigs at the moment but it’ll reach a point where I’ll make other arrangements and go out to do a few different things. But Austere is challenging for me live which is why I enjoy it. I’m constantly pulled back and forth from ‘feeling it’ and then having to concentrate pretty hard on some parts with a tricky riff and vocals on top.

Outside of that, what have you guys got planned for the rest of the year with Austere? More writing or touring or?

Tim: After the euro and Aus tours, I think we’ll take a bit of a break again. We both have other stuff to work on. I’ve got two more extensive tours to do in the second half of the year. We have some more fests confirmed for 2026 though, so at some point we’ll get back into it. And hopefully, we can work start work on another album late this year or early next.

Mitch: No idea, work is totally kicking my ass but yeah, more music and more gigs. I just don’t remember when or where or how, I’m exhausted, haha.

Thanks heaps for your time guys, I was also wondering if you heard any cool albums recently that people should check out or have any bands you want to shout out?

Tim: Cheers mate. Check out the new Skuggor album when it’s released in a few months time. I mixed and mastered it, and it’s great. Huge step forward from what he was doing in the past.

Mitch: Thanks for checking us out. Recently, not really. I’m an avid collector and love finding new bands/vinyls/demos but as mentioned, I’ve been so busy in daily life I haven’t had the time and truthfully, I often don’t find the same spark in them as I did before. Probably just personal preference. Anyway, I’m currently listening to Moonsorrow ‘Jumalten Aika’ as I type this and it’s fucking amazing. But that’s no secret!

Listen to latest album ‘Beneath The Threshold Here’ https://austere-official.bandcamp.com/album/beneath-the-threshold

Or here:

Purchase tickets for the Australia tour here: https://www.yourmatebookings.com/upcoming-events/

Purchase tickets for the European tour here: https://linktr.ee/dissolutiontour2025

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