Profiler: Bringing Our Own Take

Profiler first made it onto our playlist with their 2022 single ‘Ninety Three’ – a metalcore masterwork about patience, persistence and pursuing your dreams.

It’s an apt anthem for a band that has invested ample blood, sweat, and tears to build its impressive reputation on the UK metal scene.

Profiler signed to esteemed independent label SharpTone Records in 2020. A series of singles and a successful self-titled EP followed in 2022. The excellent debut album ‘A Digital Nowhere’ was released back in February and the band embarked on an extensive European tour soon thereafter.

Formed initially as a solo project by songwriter, vocalist and guitarist Mike Evans, Profiler became a band with the addition of bassist Joe Johnson. Other band members have come and gone in the years since. Meanwhile, the original dynamic duo have continued putting a new spin on early-2000s nu metal, with each successive release evidencing ever-greater maturity and musical inventiveness.

The Profiler boys make no secret of the fact that influences abound in their work. Elements of their songs inevitably call to mind the likes of Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park, Deftones and Periphery, all of whom the band cite as inspirations.

But this is not pastiche. In fact, arguably, part of Profiler’s appeal lies not in spotting the references, but in hearing how, artfully, they are able to take familiar ingredients and use them to create songs that are fresh, exciting and satisfyingly unfamiliar. 

If you follow us you'll know we are long-standing fans of metal band Defects. When we saw that Profiler would be joining Defects on their upcoming Bloodlines tour – along with Brighton-based goth metallers Knife Bride – we took it as a sign we should get in touch and find out more about Profiler. Happily, the guys readily agreed to be grilled for your pleasure.

We had a nice long chat with front man Mike and bassist Joe, who graciously took time out from prepping for the tour to answer our characteristically penetrating, probing questions. 

For steamed vocal folds, slapped bass, and no one giving a shit about your problems, read on!

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Hello Profiler. Thanks for making time to chat with us. To begin, please describe your sound for anyone who hasn’t heard you before.

MIKE – We describe it as kind of nu metal, slash nu metalcore. I mean, we’re definitely influenced by music coming out of the ‘90s and early 2000s, and we’re bringing our own take on that, in a fresh way. We’re always trying to hone our sound, challenging ourselves.

JOE – With the album we tried to make it kind of broad, with something for everyone on there. So you have slower, more sort of shoegazy or Deftones-type tracks, like ‘Consumed’ and ‘Sequence’. You’ve also got more metalcore songs, like ‘Zero’ and ‘To Utopia’.

Please give us a brief history of the band.

MIKE – I was writing in college and uni; writing riffs, recording songs, just solo, by myself. ‘Identify’ was one of the tracks that came from that period. Hearing recordings of my demos I was like, I wanna turn this into a project.

I kinda started scouting-out talent. I found Joe, who’d been living in the same building as me, on the floor above, for like a year or more. He knew Oscar [Hocking], who was our original drummer. We met up, started practicing, and then, yeah, we became a band.

We started recording songs, doing promo. We recorded some of the EP tracks together in our producer’s bedroom, basically, in a small, little den he has in Bristol. We started releasing some of those tracks and we got some attention from labels.

You're being modest. You got more than attention; you got signed! Please tell about that.

MIKE – It was Nathan [Barley Phillips] who kind of found us. He came down because he’d heard about us. He was like, hey guys, I want to introduce you to Shawn [Keith] of SharpTone.

Shawn liked our stuff and we got signed. It was pretty quick, but we did a lot of work gigging and putting out music for a couple of years to get that attention.

What’s Profiler’s secret sauce?

MIKE – Joe's bass style. It sets us apart, at least in the metal scene. The way he plays bass, his style, is something that’s hugely complimented when we play live.

JOE – I use a variety of different techniques, to keep it interesting. Playing live, I’ll use a bit of pick, bit of fingerstyle, bit of slap, bit of thumping sometimes, depending on the song. I just try to put it all in there. I’ll try to be a big sort of presence on stage as well, to fill it up, as Mike’s often tied to a microphone.

What special ingredient are you adding, Mike? Don’t be bashful.

MIKE – Hopefully, my writing style. I'm trying to write from a place of being as authentic as possible within the genre. We’re not trying to repeat or revive; we’re doing our own take.

I just like our sound. I don't know if there's anyone that really sounds like us. Obviously, people can say, oh, that little bit sounds like Limp Bizkit, or Deftones, but I’m hoping over all it always sounds like us.

What’s the dynamic in the band? Are you still mates?

MIKE - Mates, for sure, but we butt heads on some issues. I predominantly write lyrics, vocals, things like that, but musically it’s a 50/50 split. Editing, mixing of demos we do between the two of us.

Joe takes complete care of all social media content. We both do merchandise and taking care of the business side of things, like accounts and all that boring stuff. We both run the show. It’s very collaborative.

Other than this interview, what’s been your biggest highlight so far?

JOE – I think when we first got news that SharpTone wanted to take us on. Considering how big we were at the time, how much reach we had, that was incredible. We were just like, what the hell? That was the label we wanted to go for, if by some miracle we could make it happen. And then, like, a guy knows a guy, and then and then, and you’re in. Yeah, that was super sick for me.

MIKE – It’s the same highlight for me. Being under a label like SharpTone, especially as it came early on, obviously gives us a lot of confidence in what we’re doing as a band.

Tell us about the Bloodlines tour with Defects. How did you come to be involved?

MIKE – I think our manager was chatting to a few people and booking agents. It was kind of out of the blue, but I’m sure our manager had been doing some digging. I guess Defects were happy to take us on the tour. We got offered it and we were like, yeah, let’s do it.

How do you prepare for a show?

MIKE – I like to steam my vocals. I’ve got a vocal steamer which produces hot condensation that, basically, hydrates your vocal cords. Everyone thinks when you drink water it immediately hydrates your vocal cords. It helps a bit, but it doesn’t really hydrate them till, like, 24-hours later. I’m steaming my voice so my vocal folds are nice and moisturised.

I also do a little Wim Hof breathing. I’ll go sit by myself on the bus, do some breathing, steam, sort of meditate, get in the zone. I’m quite introverted. I have a huge amount of anxiety, so before a show I’m pretty much just panicking.

Honestly? Is it the same every show?

MIKE – Pretty much, but it does depend a bit on the show. Like, if it's a festival, you've kinda got a bit more time and you're only playing one set. You don't give a shit if your voice is fucked afterwards or if you, like, injure your back or whatever. So that's kinda more relaxed.

On tour, it's like you gotta have a bit of longevity. Tours are stressful. You arrive at a place, you load in, you have some food, warm up, get ready, you’re on stage, crowd comes in, you gotta go. It’s relentlessly fast. But when we start playing, I chill right out.

When was your last tour?

JOE – We did a European tour, basically all over Europe, four or five months ago, after we released the album. It was our first big tour. Everything went really well. Then we had a bit of a quieter summer, and now we’ll be back at it for the rest of the year and going forward.

Do European crowds differ from UK ones?

JOE - I’d say they’re a lot less self conscious. The UK crowds need a couple of pints before they get to that level, whereas some of the French crowds we’ve had were on it from the get-go.

MIKE – Every show is different. Like, we had one in Nottingham that just popped off. Crazy!

JOE – We'd never played there before, but they were just really up for it. I think it really depends on if there’s a metal community in the area. People who know each other feel more comfortable moshing around each other, enjoying the music. I think that metal sense of community is very important.

Is there a date or venue on the forthcoming tour you're especially looking forward to?

MIKE – London's always cool, but we’re so excited for every show, to be honest. Considering our position as a band, where we are, being signed, we’ve had a lack of shows. We’ve just had bad luck. Like, we were about to go on tour, then Covid happened.

Then, after Covid, there was a backlog of bigger bands ahead of us. We also had a show with Ghostkid lined up, and that got canceled because of vaccine stuff and problems with them getting into the UK. We’re super hungry to get up and play in front of anybody, even if it’s just like 10 people. Ideally it’ll be more!

It will. How did you cope with Covid and lockdown?

MIKE – It sucked. We just tried to use it to our advantage. I was lucky enough to be furloughed from my job, so I used that time to write. I guess that was the silver lining.

In a 6-month period of one of the main lockdowns, when it was super severe, I was in Bristol in my flat and I just wrote something like 20 tracks. That’s where ‘A Digital Nightmare’ came from. We used Covid to create the album.

Do you have a favourite Profiler track to perform live or one you’re most proud of?

MIKE – Each song is different. I'm definitely proud of the fact that I can say I like every song we've put out. Like, I’ll often go back and listen to our EP. I think it’s got longevity. For our newer stuff, ‘To Utopia’ I’m pretty proud of. And I think ‘Operator’ is pretty catchy.

JOE – I’d say ‘Ninety Three’. When we bring in that intro riff live, people kind of know what’s going down. It’s a super nu metal, metally chromatic riff. But there’s also a bass solo in the middle, which you just don’t really see in nu metal songs.

What's the best thing about being in a band?

JOE – The creativity. I feel like I have to be creative. Like, if I'm working a job where I can't be creative, I'm just urging to do something: composing, doing some designs for merch, or whatever. I just love being able to create things that are potentially there forever. It’s like our legacy. That's my favourite part of it.

MIKE – Yeah, it's the same for me. And having music out that people are into. Like, when they come up to you after a show and they’re like, yeah, I’m really into your band and I’ve been following you for 5-years. That’s a really nice feeling.

What's the worst thing about being in a band?

MIKE – It’s a lot of work. It’s also difficult financially, at least when you're starting out. There’s a lot of investment in terms of time, effort, practice, all that sort of stuff. We’re putting our own money into it, from working day jobs, for videos and stuff, and there’s not really much financial return. We do it for the love of doing it, but it would be nice to make a little bit of money. Unfortunately, it's one of those industries where it's difficult to make an income you can live off.

JOE – I second that. The financial aspect is hard. I play a lot of weddings and function gigs, outside of the band, playing the same songs over and over to a load of drunk people, and getting paid decent money for it, but it doesn’t mean the same as having a fan sing your song back at you. That’s worth more than a few quid; it’s a different type of reward.

Do you ever get disheartened with the grind?

MIKE – I guess the stress is the same for any difficult challenge, like starting a business and doing it for 10 years before you make any serious money. For me, that’s a motivating factor.

I'm confident that we can get to a place where it's pretty big, just by doing the best we can with it. And when it happens, I'll be like, we fucking deserve this because we’ve worked hard for it.

Damn straight. Who are your musical heroes or your biggest influences?

MIKE – For me, Limp Bizkit is the big one. They have such an iconic sound. Also, Linkin Park, Incubus. It's not necessarily just the band; it’s the guitarist of the band, like Wes Borland, Brad Delson from Linkin Park, or AJ Rebollo from Issues. His writing style is insane.

JOE – I definitely grew up on Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park as well, from my dad playing them in the car. What really got me into metal was Periphery, around the ‘Periphery II’ era. I find a lot of those rhythms tend to sneak their way into my writing. Volumes is another band I draw quite a lot from.

Please give us 3 albums everyone should own.

MIKE – Okay, ‘Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water’ by Limp Bizkit. That album is insane! Yeah, I couldn’t live without that. And ‘Hybrid Theory’ by Linkin Park. But then I’ve covered the heavy aspect, so I might need something chill. ‘Black Sands’ by Bonobo. Yeah, those three.

JOE – Profiler. Profiler. Profiler.

Let’s assume everyone already owns Profiler’s entire back catalogue. Any others?

JOE – For anyone interested in hip hop, there’s ‘The Main Ingredient’ by Pete Rock and CL Smooth. That’s a really sick hip hop album. Then there's a band called Narrow Head which I really like. ‘Moments of Charity’ is the album they released last year, which I'm a huge fan of.

And then, one final one… I don't know what genre to go for. Let's go for ‘Happier’ by Volumes.

Good choices. If you could be in any band at any time, but not Profiler, which would it be?

MIKE – Ooh, I’ve never had that question before. I'd love to play in Limp Bizkit. Yeah. doing what Wes [Borland] does, that'd be fucking awesome: dressing up, putting all the makeup on, and stuff. That'd be sick.

JOE – To play with Miles Davis would be absolutely insane. He’s an absolute icon. To play with him, to be the bassist, or anything really, would just be nuts.

Knowing what you know now, what advice would you give someone starting a life in music?

MIKE – No one really gives a shit, insofar as no one cares about your problems. No one gives a shit that you gotta graft and validate yourself. You might have all this stuff going on in your head about your plans and dreams, but everybody else is just the same. They’re not concentrating on you. Realising that can help you not care too much about what people think about you.

JOE – Persist. If you really believe in something, go for it. Keep grinding away. Like, if you throw 100 darts at a dartboard, you’re probably gonna get triple 20 at some point. Keep throwing everything at it. Keep the quality high. Keep improving. Aim as high as you can.

MIKE – And be patient. Sure, some bands start and it pops off immediately. That does happen, but it’s a super small percentage. If you wanna get there, to the high levels, you need to be prepared to be patient.

Sound advice. As well as the tour, what’s next for Profiler?

MIKE – We're getting ready for the tour and we’re adding to our lineup. Towards the end of this month we’ll be holding some auditions to bring in a new drummer and maybe a guitarist. It’s a lineup change I’ve been thinking about for a long time. A guitarist would free me up to take the position of just front man for our live performances.

We’ve always done well live, but I think it can be better. I’ve always felt restricted doing vocals and guitar. I want the freedom to interact more with the crowd, getting in there, stage diving, whatever. So we’re gonna try bringing in a guitarist for this tour, to make Profiler a four-piece.

We’re also writing new music, which is super exciting. We’re learning from our experiences, what works, what we like, pushing some heavier areas, and being super constructive and critical of our own work to make the best fucking music we possibly can.

Excited to hear it. Thanks, Profiler, that was great. Any final words for your fans?

MIKE – Thanks, guys. And thanks to everyone for checking us out, listening to our band, coming to see us live, giving us support. We’re very grateful for everything our fans are doing for us.

JOE – So grateful to those fans that have stuck with us. It’s amazing to meet people at the shows and learn what the songs mean to them. Those moments are what's important to me.

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▶︎ ‘A Digital Nowhere’ by Profiler is streaming now on Apple Music, Spotify and elsewhere.

▶︎ Photography by Luke Shadrick