Halo of Ashes is a heavy guitar-and-groove driven rock band from New Zealand. Formed by Matt Perry (vocals/guitar) and Barco Zaleta (bass). They fuse an eclectic mix of styles and influences into a full-on assault.
Initially forming while Matt, Barco, and guitar player Gargan Sharples were in high school, the band spent a few years cutting their teeth in the local Auckland scene, getting to share the stage with many notable acts from New Zealand as well as international acts including Tim “Ripper” Owens and Anvil.
After releasing an E.P in 2013 and travelling New Zealand, the band unexpectedly entered a lengthy hiatus until re-emerging in 2020 with their first single ‘Sick and Twisted’.
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CHECK OUT OUR LITTLE CATCH-UP WITH MATT BELOW:
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1. How did you initially get into creating music?
My introduction to music was probably through my older brother, who would always be blasting different kinds of music all through the house in the 90s. He introduced me to a whole lot rap music and punk rock. Then I started playing bass in a blues covers band with an old friend of mine doing covers of The Doors and The Who, and bands like that. After I met Barco and Gargan in high school we were all kind of competitive with each other in learning guitar – trying to one up each other! Through that, we started jamming on our own ideas, and that’s kind of how the band started.
2. Tell us about your inspirations & motivations?
A Lot of my inspiration comes from alternative, rock and metal bands. Anything from Alice in Chains to From Zero to Cocteau Twins. I know everyone in the band is a big metal fan and we appreciate when a band feels real and organic and has their own unique identifiers.
My motivation has a lot to do with the body I’m trapped in – I think a lot of people are quite surprised when they see a guy who has a hard time moving around, up on stage playing guitar and singing like a fury and giving it everything I’ve got. I appreciate that life is short and if you’re really passionate about something, you’ve just gotta take the bull by the horns, make it happen, and never stop working hard.
3. What have you been up to in this lockdown and how has it affected you?
The lockdown has actually been extremely positive! I’ve got a big studio space at my home and I’m a recording engineer by day. So I’ve been able to facilitate finishing up some other new tracks that Halo of Ashes has in the works, as well as working with some other up and coming musicians. We’ve all been keeping busy with writing and recording. Having said that, I can’t wait for things to get back to normal so we can all start feeling like real people again instead of living life through a screen!
4. What do you think of the NZ music scene?
We’re so lucky to have so much talent packed into a small country. I’ve been going to shows since I was a teenager, and through all the years, there have been so many incredibly talented bands that I’ve had the opportunity to witness. Throughout the last decade or so alone we’ve had great bluesy, southern-sounding bands like DamageTones and Ritual Grounds, a melting pot of metal bands like Anabyss or Deathnir, and everything in between.
One of the best bands I’ve ever seen live was a Christchurch band named ‘Skelter’. Unfortunately they broke up not too long ago, but they were criminally underrated, and to me, they sort of became a measuring for bands in the future to try and top.
5. Where would you like to see yourself in a year’s time?
It would be cool to be out there, helping to fly the flag for New Zealand Music. Hopefully once this virus settles down, we’ll be able to get back to touring and going to see live shows. Taking our music overseas in the form of touring is definitely a big goal. All being well, we hope to have a pretty solid catalogue of tunes out there for everyone to enjoy by then too! There’s definitely a lot more to come!
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Sick and Twisted was recorded in Auckland, New Zealand at More Core Audio and Wiseblood Studios, and mixed in Berlin, Germany by Clemens Matznick.
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