DURENDAL
Q1. Could you please provide some background information on the band for those readers who may not be familiar with you—where you’re from, when you formed, etc.?
So Durendal is a five-piece Metalcore band based out Leicester in the UK. Right in the middle of the country. We all attended college and university together, and some of us were even in the same workplace briefly. Our shared love for heavy music is ultimately what brought us together after some of our older groups disbanded. The conception of Durendal came to be in late 2023, we toyed with a couple ideas that included a more classic Beatdown/Heavy Hardcore sort of style but after bringing up some older demos we knew we wanted to gravitate toward a more Metalcore type of sound.
Q2. How would you describe your sound? Who would you say are some of your primary influences?
We’ve definitely been described as nostalgic, and I’ve seen a few people online use the term “VHS Core” when speaking about us. Id’ like to agree and really I would say this band is a love letter to the music we all grew up listening to. We’re not here to push the needle or change the landscape per se, we’re just here to have fun doing what we love. We draw influence from a number of sources, and that pool of influences will only continue to grow as we put out more music. It’s a fairly eclectic mix. For now, a lot of that influence comes from early 00s Metalcore groups such as Martyr A.D, Eighteen Visions, Parkway Drive, Killswitch Engage, On Broken Wings, etc.
Q3. Are you big King Arthur fans?
Personally, I’m not as well versed with history, like a lot of people I’d say most of my information on these sorts of topics comes from the media I consume. And whilst I can’t speak for everyone in the band, I know we’re all a bit nerdy, and we do love swords. Our name derives from medieval weaponry after all.
Q4. You’re now a part of The Coming Strife team, a label that’s really become one of the most vital of the UK heavy music scene. How did that come about?
It all came about a bit unexpectedly really. We really wanted to play the field in terms of who to work with in the build up to our debut release, and as it was our first time I think we were all comfortable enough to do it independently. After we put out a couple of singles, we were approached by TCS to work on releasing it together. They’ve played a crucial part in reviving the sound of Metalcore in the UK, and to be a part of that is really important to us.
Q5. You have a track on the Light of the Final Dawn Coming Strife Records Compilation (I’ll be reviewing the full compilation as part of my September Shout-Outs); what can we expect from your contribution?
We’re super excited for the compilation to release. We were asked to contribute with a new track pretty much right after our EP came out, and I wasn’t sure if we could pull it off as we were a pretty late addition to the track list. That being said, we pulled a really strong track out of the bag and we can’t wait for you to hear. If you’re a fan of big choruses, you’re going to love this one.
Q6. What are some of your most memorable experiences as a band so far?
Its honestly still very early days for us as we’ve only officially been a band since May, so that’s a tough one to answer. We’ve got a lot in the pipeline that should prove memorable in the future, but I think collectively for now we’d say that the warm reception we’ve received in such a short amount of time has been really welcoming and something we won’t be forgetting too soon.
Q7. Who are some other bands on the scene we should be paying attention to?
We’ve gotta give a huge shoutout to our TCS family, in particular to Dandelion & Long Goodbye who’ve shown us love from the very start.
Q8. What are some of your upcoming plans—shows, etc.?
We’ve got a few of shows lined up throughout September and October that we’re really looking forward to. As the later half of the year approaches, we’re hoping to get ourselves back into the studio and lay down some new material. Watch this space!