Steven Smith

Keep up with Steve here:

www.myspace.com/beyondterrorbeyondgrace

Beyond Terror Beyond Grace is a 4-piece modern grindcore band from the Blue Mountains, Australia. The band was formed in August 2004 by Bart (vocals), Ben Terror (guitar), Alex (bass) and Steve (drums). Our sound is a mix of straight grind with a liberal dose of crust/punk and extreme metal influence with a lyrical focus on existence/society/humanity from a political and philosophical perspective.

We have released an EP (‘Still Human, Still Humane?’) in 2005 and a debut album (‘Extinction | Salvation’) in late 2007 on Grindhead Records. The album was recorded and mixed by Chad Halford and Erik Miehs (ex/current members of The Amenta) in December 2006 and mastered by Tim Carr (soviet records) at Studio 301 Sydney. Each song on the ‘Extinction | Salvation’ album was recorded live in the studio with no editing or digital manipulation. The intention of the record was to capture the intense and raw qualities of a live atmosphere.

We started playing live in late 2005 and have since toured all of Australias major cities with a diverse and brutal range of overseas and Australian bands such as Behemoth, The Black Dahlia Murder, Cephalic Carnage, Insect Warfare, Ulcerate, Kataklysm, Skinless, Psycroptic, The Amenta, Blood Duster, Extortion, The Day Everything Became Nothing, and many more. We have announced our first international shows in August 2008, with further extensive national and international touring well and truly in the works for 2009, as well as plans for a new album.

 

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Steven Smith Interview:

SD.com: How old were you when you started playing?

Steve: I was 13 when I got a kit for my birthday, started seriously playing at 14 ish, and I’m now 19.

 

 

SD.com: Did you play in a school band or any drum corps?

Steve: I briefly played in a school band in Year 9, but I was shown the door because the leader told me I tried to be ‘too creative’. What a bitch!!!

 

 

SD.com: Who are your top 5 metal influences?

Steve: They change all the time, but at the moment….
Dave Haley – Psycroptic, Ruins, The Amenta, Blood Duster
Kai Hahto –  Wintersun, ex Rotten Sound
Jamie Saint Merat – Ulcerate
John Longstreth – Origin
Adam Jarvis – Misery Index

 

 

SD.com: Who are some other of your favorites?

Steve: There’s too many…but at this time…
Shannon Lucas – The Black Dahlia Murder
Alex Pelletier – Despised Icon
Graham Broad – Roger Waters
Justin Rousselle – Beneath the Massacre
and many more…

 

 

 

 

SD.com: Let us know 5 CD’s that are in your current rotation

Steve: Ruins – Cauldron
Origin – Antithesis
Annotations of an Autopsy – Beneath the Throne of Infection
Rotten Sound – Exit (always)
Underoath – Define the Great Line

 

 

SD.com: What do you do to warm up before a show?

Steve: I usually just do some single strokes on both my hands and feet for about 20 mins before showtime. Just long enough to break a bit of a sweat. I’ve found stretching your wrists and ankles really helps too.

 

 

SD.com: Do you read music? Regardless of answering yes or no, please tell us how it might have effected your playing?

Steve: No, I can’t read music. Playing in the extreme metal genre, I can’t really say that has hindered me in any way, as yet. I think if I was playing in a different genre, I would have to learn to read music because I think it’s skills like that which separate good drummers from amazing drummers. As I’ve never had lessons, I’ve also never really had an oppurtunity to learn to read music – but it would be something I’d want to pursue maybe later on. I know for a fact that Kai Hahto (Wintersun drummer) reads music, and he can pretty much do anything he wants behind a drum kit – any genre, any time signature etc. I think to get to that level, being musically literate is important, so I would love to be able to do it one day.

 

 

 

 

SD.com: Do you have a favorite brand of drums or cymbals?

Steve: I love Paiste and Zildjian cymbals, especially the crashes and chinas. Yamaha drums are quite good too, although I’m playing a fairly old kit.

 

 

SD.com: If you could give one piece of advice to young drummers, it would be…

Steve: As I’m only 19, I’m not really in the position to be giving too much advice, but…A lot of people sit in a darkened room and practise to a metronome all day and I think this creates boring, monotonous and robotic drummers. The more you play to and listen to songs and other drummers, the quicker you will find your own creative niche and develop your own unique feel for drumming. Fair enough, metronomes are great to develop time keeping and speed, but drumming is about much more than just ‘keeping time’ and being fast. The best (and i mean best) drummers in extreme metal can play fast but are never, ever boring….(Rotten Sound – Exit, Psycroptic, etc etc)

 

 

SD.com: Who gave the best live performance you’ve ever seen?

Steve: I’ve been really lucky to play with some bands that have incredibly talented drummers, so I can’t really pick just one. Shannon Lucas was great when we played with The Black Dahlia Murder. Inferno was sick when we played with Behemoth. Dave Haley has always been amazing everytime we’ve played with his bands, and is a great guy. Jamie from Ulcerate was rad when we played with them in Sydney earlier this year, also a cool guy.

 

 

SD.com: If you had to stop drumming, what would you want to do with your life?

Steve: I’m at university doing a Psychology degree, so I’d probably pursue that. I’m also really into football (soccer) and would like to do something there too. David Beckham is the man!