Tales of Autumn are a four piece band from Brighton, with heavy influences of metal, hard rock and "slow whiney stuff" (there words not mine!) Their music features tasty drum beats, face melting riffs and a voice so powerful it could literally kill a man! We caught up with the guys and chatted about their influences, dream producers and the ultimate festival lineup....
Great to meet you! Please introduce yourself to our readers!
Hello! We are Tales of Autumn, a four piece prog rock band from Brighton.
How long have you been playing?
We have been together as a band for nearly three years now, but only been gigging for two.
Do you remember the record that made you want to pick up an instrument?
Nick Horton (Bass/Vocals) – Actually it was a game, Guitar hero 3 that first got me into playing, every song on there is an absolute classic to me now. I felt cool as hell as a kid playing on expert and rocking out to it, now realising I was a bit of a loser!
Tom Kiggins (Guitar) – My parents were big fans of 70s and 80s rock and metal. I remember hearing the solo in Bon Jovi’s "Wanted Dead or Alive" and thinking “What is that? I want to do that" so that and the main hook in Guns n' Roses' "Sweet Child o' Mine".
Stefanos Karantonis (Vocals/Guitar) - I believe it was my dad who introduced me to music at a very early age. At first, I was listening to some Greek rock records from my dad's collection and later I discovered Van Halen I and I could not believe that a guitar could sound like that so I got hooked.
Given the choice, who would be your dream producer?
SK – HevyDevy for me. I love his work and the way he is able to get such an amazing live sound and performance captured in the studio.
TK – I feel like Steven Wilson would get what we want to go for but I also think it’d be heart breaking making a mistake in front of him. Maybe Acle as well though from Tesseract or, of course, HevyDevy himself. Those records sound so big.
Jordan Dann (Drums) - The producer I personally would love to work with would be Michael Baskette. His recent work on Alter Bridge’s latest record “The Last Hero” and Slash’s “World On Fire” record is really amazing. I think a lot of the guitar and vocal work on those records is amazing. Of course, it helps to have a voice like Myles Kennedy’s but I’ve always loved the overall sound of his albums! From what I’ve seen in some videos he’s also a laugh to record with which is important for us.
If you had to pick your dream festival line up, who would it feature?
Devin Townsend, Alter Bridge, Opeth, Periphery.
When was the last time a piece of art shocked you, and what was it?
NH – I recently got into a band named leprous and out of a whim, bought their album ‘Malina’ from HMV a few weeks back. My god, I was blown away by the rhythms and the technicality. Most of all was the hauntingly beautiful voice coming from within it, truly a masterpiece, and looking to expand my collection!
SK – Hearing Mastodon's Emperor of Sand really shocked me because it has been a long time since I heard an album so diverse and unique. Jaguar God is the prime example of how unique this album is.
TK – I think I’d have to say “The Story of Light” by Steve Vai, it’s actually his openness when taking on board new techniques but the way he keeps it so musical. Gravity Storm is a great example of that, amazing technique idea and execution but also such a cohesive song.
Can you pick out a song that has a different meaning to you now opposed to when you first wrote it?
TK – This is a tough question in regards to this album as we tried to write with the theme in mind so the album has an overarching concept of human or mental health issues. It gets progressively heavier as it carries on too. Sometimes we read into things differently though , I love the lyrics in worthless that I think Stefanos and Nick wrote but to me it’s a little less black and white than what they wrote it about.
SK – I think all the songs have a different meaning for me now than in the beginning. I loved all the songs we wrote together but moving on and trying to complete the concept of the album they evolved and stuck together like a puzzle. Emotionally and lyrically She's Watching is very dear to my heart now than it was in the beginning.
JD - I think for me it would be Final Confession. That is one of the songs that took the longest to write - from initial idea to the finished song. We wrote the riff when it was just Stef, Nick and myself in the band and we just couldn’t find a chorus. I basically thought it wouldn’t make the cut when we continued writing. But when we brought it back to the table once Tom had joined it suddenly fell into place. So, it means way more to me now because it was a song that we stuck at and really had to craft. It certainly wasn’t an easy one to write but it was worth the effort in the end!
When it comes to playing live, do you find it easy to get lost in the moment or do you become very self-aware?
NH – I was incredibly self-aware at first, but then I stopped caring what other people thought of me and started going as hard as I could at every show, and it’s way better.
SK – Sometimes when we are playing with bigger and heavier bands I get a little bit nervous before getting on stage but as soon as the first song starts my whole attitude changes and I get more into it.
TK – I have horrible stage anxiety. It actually takes a few songs for me to get comfortable every time but I usually just pretend. If we’re gigging regularly it gets so much better but a few weeks off and the fear comes back.
Could you envision yourself working in a different artistic medium, and if so, what would it be?
NH – I dabbled in composition at College and used to write pieces for video games. I would definitely go for that instead if not this.
SK – Writing music for film and TV would be something else I would love to do and I do it on my spare time for fun.
TK – I’ve always loved comedy and acting. I think if I had to choose something else I’d be a comedy writer or voice actor. I spend 50% of my life putting on other voices.
Pick two out of four; if you had to select a film, an album, a piece of art or a book that had an impact on you, what were they?
NH – Album, Karnivools Sound Awake, it impacted me as I always tried to make my bass playing melodic or technical, but Jon Stockmans’ lines showed me that space in riffs and soul crushing tone gives so much more impact when appropriate.
SK – The Shining (Cliché I know), and album has to be Damnation by Opeth.
TK – Metropolis pt. 2 by Dream Theater and a concise book I picked up on a plethora of Friedrich Nietzsche.
We'd like to thank the guys for sparing their time to chat to us and wish them all the best for the future. Keep up to date with their whereabouts using the social media info below,