Some neck

There is a band who hail from Larne in Northern Ireland: a band who make searingly good rock music: music with hooks that seem to grab you and throttle you into submission. Some have lumped them lazily with the burgeoning hardcore scene and they’re already favourites with the likes of metal bible Kerrang. Therapy?, no, it’s Throat, a four-piece who seem set to follow Andy Cairns’ mob to global success.

The first I, and indeed most music listeners, heard of Throat was when a single called ‘Sonny’s Hired Killer’ arrived in the post, seemingly out of nowhere. The song was bloody brilliant, all big, bruising guitars and infectious chorus, and it became something of a slow-burning hit on Dublin pirate, Phantom FM, where it was one of the most requested songs of 2000 – indeed, the band are thinking about re-releasing the song, so pleased were they by the reaction to it.

“It’s great that there are stations and shows playing rock music now because other than that, unless you’re commercial, it’s hard to get on radio,” enthuses drummer Mike Barr, singling out people like Mike Edgar and Dave Fanning out for special mention.

“That song [‘Sonny’s Hired Killer’] was originally a demo that we recorded and paid for ourselves, but we liked it so much we stuck it out on a CD,” explains Mike. That song eventually led to Throat signing a management and recording deal, with Pete Fleming of Schism and Riverman Records respectively. The last year has seen three more quality singles follow, in the shape of ‘Soho’, ‘Circus Trick’ and ‘Crazy Horses’, the latter of which features Neil Fallon of Clutch.

Fallon is not the only guest musician to play with Throat, however. Therapy?’s Andy Cairns plays guitar on ‘Gleason’, while former Scheer axeman turned producer, Neal Calderwood, also contributes some musical mayhem to the proceedings.

“Therapy? And Clutch are two of our favourite bands,” Mike gushes, “so it was amazing to get them to play on the album.”

All four singles to date feature on the Larne boys’ debut album, Knievel Is Evil, along with their latest seven-inch, ‘Cleaver’, recorded with acclaimed producer Head, whose previous credits include PJ Harvey and Therapy?. They weren’t daunted at all, however, when it came to working with such a big-name producer: “He’s a real down-to-earth guy”.

In fact, they got on like a house on fire with the studio wizard, who initially flew over from London to meet the band.

“That was probably stranger than going to record with him, when he came over to Larne,” laughs Willy Mundell, guitar and vocals. “We practise in what is really a run-down old house, and we ended up bringing this big producer to this shack with one wee crappy heater. He was sitting in the corner while we were playing away, and it was bloody freezing.”

The band profess themselves completely happy with the album, most of which was actually recorded almost two years ago, and more than anything, they are just relieved that their debut LP is finally being released. So what are their expectations for it?

“The Clutch tour and Therapy? Tour got our name about so hopefully it’s going to do well,” Mike enthuses.

Realistically, they don’t expect it to knock the likes of Six or Westlife off the top of the charts, however. “I don’t think a pile of people will buy it straight off,” Willy muses humbly. “I’d be happy if a few people buy it at the start and people start to pick up on it.”

Throat could be pleasantly surprised, however. If enough people get to

hear their scorching guitars and infectious melodies, they could be very much to the fore in the current rock resurgence.

The Larne quartet won’t be resting on their laurels anytime soon however. They are taking to the road for an Irish tour around the time of the album’s release and don’t be surprised if you see Throat added to the bill for some big name supports over the coming months. As they sing on ‘Circus Trick’, “Failure does not suit me”.