Jon, it’s great to have you with us! Your music spans a variety of genres, from melodic death metal to flamenco and even 80s pop. We are thrilled to know more about your artistic journey, so let’s start from the beginning, when did you discover your passion for music and how do you manage to blend such diverse influences into your sound?

Jesus…there’s not a moment that I can remember not loving music! My Ma was an absolute rock chick, blasting Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, Motley Crue, you name it. The first album I can ever remember hearing is Rainbow’s “Stranger In Us All” and I absolutely loved it. Music was always the backbone of our house. My big sister was always introducing me to music and she played guitar for a few years when we were young. We’d put on terrible concerts for our parents doing Linkin Park and Eminem and whatnot. Kids being kids, y’know? Eventually, my sister got into heavier music and, in turn, I got into it.

I was about eleven when my sister came home with a Children of Bodom album, Hatebreeder, and it just blew me away. It was like nothing I’d ever experienced before. The fusion of these aggressive riffs that didn’t shy away from some 80s influences with these ultra melodic classical sounding melodies, it really was the first time I was ‘listening’ to music, how every instrument was complimenting the other. I started listening to more bands with that approach. By the time I was twelve, I begged my sister to teach me. So, she taught me Black Sabbath’s Iron Man, how to read tabs, and sent me off to teach myself.

Merging my influences, honestly, isn’t something I consciously do. I’ve always been a self-taught guitarist and most of my music theory I studied from a classically trained pianist who I attended music college with. So, those styles are just so ingrained in my playing. Alexi Laiho, Synyster Gates, Hizaki, Antonio Vivaldi, Mozart, Django Reinhardt…all people that have just been so essential over the years that I don’t think I’m even conscious of when I’m playing something influenced by them anymore.

“Cry Of The Witch” and “At Death’s Door” are two great albums. How do you see your musical evolution from one album to the next? 

As a musician with not a lot of money and a very modest studio setup, every recording and release is an experiment. Cry of the Witch was very much an experiment in that it was my first recording with a real setup and my first experiment with making a pseudo-concept album. Of course, it’s scratchy and amateur but it still holds charm I think. 

At Death’s Door is straightforward me doing what I wanted with the tools I had whether it worked or not because, at the time, it was going to be my final album. I went all out and bought Pro Tools, hired a fantastic singer so I didn’t have to throw anything away, and just went for it. Surprisingly, it got a really good reception, particularly Back To The Fire. 

Your recent singles, “Serial Killer” and “I See Blood,” showcase different aspects of your musical style. Can you tell us more about the inspiration and creative process behind these tracks?

Serial Killer was, believe it or not, inspired by mid-00s rave music haha. I’m a massive fan of horror movies, even if they’re awful I’ll watch them because they’re usually so bad they’re good, and I had just got done watching a film called Superhost where the woman playing the villain was just SO MUCH FUN to watch. Like, genuinely so much fun that it kickstarted the idea of “I need to write a song called Serial Killer”. For whatever reason, I had been listening to a lot of Cascada at the time and the thumping bass is what gave me the idea for the hits in the intro. After that, it just went from there and I ended up just having so much fun with it.

I See Blood…I hate to admit it but the entire of the I See Blood EP started in November-December while I was in therapy for personal reasons. Hence why a few of the tracks deal with some heavy topics like self-harm, relapsing, and hatred. It’s very much just venting.

On a more interesting note, though, the track Witch Hunt from the EP; the lyrics for that track came from the backlash against Bambi Thug during Eurovision. Growing up in Northern Ireland and Ireland, it was just heartbreaking seeing so many people give this girl so much hate and saying she doesn’t represent them. Like, actually, some of the stuff I saw people say about her was vile. So, “Witch Hunt” is basically my way of telling those people to shut the hell up haha.

The single “Serial Killer” has a distinct 80s vibe, which is a bit of a departure from your usual death metal sound. What drew you to this style, and how did you integrate it with your usual influences?

Any fan of mine knows I never wanted to be a death metal artist. I love death metal but it can box me in at times, but I don’t have a voice to do much else and hiring singers is expensive. When I have the money for a vocalist, I feel more comfortable writing vocal parts and delving into my favourite style: 80s.