Musicians across Victoria are stuck in a difficult position during the COVID-19 pandemic, as many have been forced to delay projects until they can return to the stage.
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This was a scenario that faced Ballarat metalcore band Anticline, who have opted to release their new EP, 'Urgency' on August 28.
Guitarist Will Baker said the band had already spent a significant period sitting on the project for some time before making the decision to release the new music.
"In November last year we got through all the pre-production down in Melbourne and then finished recording everything in January, so we've been sitting on this for a while," he said.
"We got our final mixes and masters in April after some frustrating technical difficulties and delays which was already causing some frustrations for us.
"Once the pandemic happened, we had to really take a long look at our agenda... It was one of those things where we put the release on hold and had a good think as a group about what the best course of action was.
"We ultimately decided with everyone in lockdown, perhaps people have more time and are more eager to sit down and listen to new music."
Having released a pair of singles from the EP, Baker said it's been strange to see the response to their new music coming in the form of numbers online rather than the cheers of a raucous crowd.
LISTEN TO ANTICLINE'S NEW SINGLE 'IN THE OPEN' BELOW (WARNING - COURSE LANGUAGE)
"It's been weird watching numbers and charts rather than going to a show and seeing what the energy in a room is like," he laughed.
Since the pandemic hit hard early in the year, the five-piece has only played together one, taking place as part of the City of Ballarat's 'Sanitise' live music showcase in June.
Baker said while playing live together scratched a major itch for the band, the setting and lack of practice made the event somewhat nerve wracking.
"When it came time for us to play, it had been about two months since we had actually all been in a room together. Unfortunately, while four of us live in Ballarat, our drummer Darcy lives in Melbourne, so he's well and truly stranded down there.
"It was a little nerve wracking because aside from practicing at home, we hadn't played together for such a long time and the setting of being in front of a fairly silent, un-moving room was strange."
Moving forward, Baker said he is eager to return to the stage as things begin to get back to normal and the band can start delivering it's brutal, headbanging tunes to a live audience.
"That's the thing we miss most, playing in front of people," he said.
"We occupy more of a niche market than some other bands... we desperately need to interact inside our own community and grow with those other bands around us."
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