Sleemo: Catharsis in Chaos

The Alt Metal Power Trio Reveal All About 'Bleeding'

Norwich noise-mongers Sleemo will be storming the TOCstock stage next week, unleashing their relentless, sludgy, post-hardcore sound: a triple-distilled cocktail that hits harder than a cocktail shaker to the face. They'll be joined in the chaos by metalcore titans Severed Tongues and hardcore maniacs MSRY. Brace yourself.

Sleemo — their name a Huttese insult — have built a loyal, passionate, and ever-growing fanbase through tireless gigging. Based in the middle of butt-fuck nowhere, Norfolk (their words, not ours), the guys are veterans of life on the road, and will be hitting the highway again the week after TOCstock to push their new single, ‘Bleeding’.

Dropping the same day as TOCstock — Friday, 10 October — ‘Bleeding’ signals a heavier chapter for the band. Sleemo's soundscape is still dark, raw, and uncompromising, but now even more so. Everything has been turned up to eleven — just the way we like it.

Sleemo | Jacob Brooks, Jack Andrews, Billy Utting

Sleemo comprises Billy Utting on guitar and vocals, Jack Andrews on bass and vocals, and Jacob Brooks on drums. Together since 2019, the’ve released a string of impressive EPs and singles, culminating in their critically lauded debut album Call to the Void in 2023.

Long-time advocates for mental health and supporters of Music Minds Matter — the charity TOCstock’s in aid of — Sleemo not only signed up to perform, but also said yes to a pint or two in The Winchester, where we vigorously probed them on ‘Bleeding’ and more besides.

For more oomph, leaky bum music, and giving the full gas, read on!

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Hello, Sleemo. Welcome to The Winchester. What are you drinking?

Guinness all around!

Excellent choice. God’s fluid. Please introduce Sleemo.

Sleemo is an alternative sludge, post-hardcore power trio hailing from Norwich, Norfolk.

We write music about personal collapse and destruction; we find catharsis in chaos.

Norwich is a long way from everywhere. Gigging must mean many motorway miles. Describe band van life for us.

Jacob is the only driver in the group; he was smart enough to get his licence when lessons were, like, £20. We have a big mixtape playlist that we all contribute to. That goes on shuffle, unless our good pal Jake is driving. He forces us to listen to ska-punk, TV show donk remixes, and late 2000s pop hits from Example and Tinchy Strider; what we have aptly relabelled ‘leaky bum music’.

As far as motorway services go, we can safely say that our favourite and regular is Birchanger Services, junction 8 of the M11. You absolutely cannot go wrong.

Tell us, as if we didn’t know already, how you came to be part of TOCstock.

We’ve been fans of your merch for years, and when we did the first interview with you guys it felt like we’d hit it off pretty nicely. When you asked us to be a part of TOCstock and explained what it was for, it was a cause that really hit home with us all.

We’ve been big supporters and donors for Music Minds Matter for a long time. We’re staunch advocates for mental health, healing, and recovery, so this was something that we definitely could not turn away.

We were made up when you agreed. Knowing it’s like a 1,000 miles from Norwich to Banbury, we kinda expected you to say no. So happy you didn’t. And it’s too late to back out now. One call and we can have you barred from Birchanger.

What are you most looking forward to about TOCstock?

Lots of things, really. In no particular order: to play a huge show for a cause that makes a big difference, to play with some incredible bands － shout out to MSRY and Severed Tongues － and, finally, to get some face-to-face time with you guys after what has felt like ages.

Ditto. Can’t wait to meet you chaps in person. Your new single, 'Bleeding', drops the same day － Friday, 10 October － will you be debuting it at TOCstock?

It won’t be the first time we’ve played it, as it was one of the first tracks we put together when we were going through a change in sound; however, we will be debuting quite a few new tracks that will be released sometime in the near future.

You heard it here first. You haven’t told us if you have a rider? What’s on it?

Guinness: normal and zeros, as we have to drive. And some snacks.

We’re never that fussy, really. We’re happy to play regardless of the situation.

Don’t worry, we’re sure we can find you a dry husk of bread and a can of pop. Which song are you most looking forward to unleashing?

Opening up with ‘Better Bodies’ and giving the full gas really gets everyone in the mood, before we almost relentlessly smash through the rest of the set.

Do you have any pre-show rituals?

We never used to, but as we’ve got older and somewhat wiser, we’ve all decided to get in the warm-ups and stretches before our set.

We always catch the other bands, and make sure to watch as much of their sets as we can. That’s something we’ve always felt was incredibly important, not just in a supportive and communal way, but also to get a really good feel for the night.

Do you still get nervous before shows?

For sure! Though not as much as we used to, when we were a lot younger and inexperienced. We’ve definitely become more comfortable with our sound and ourselves as time has gone on. Playing live often brings unexpected moments.

What’s the first thing you’ll do when you’ve finished your set?

We’ll be grabbing beers with everyone and having a chat. We love meeting new fans and new people. We love hanging out with the other bands and making plans.

Let’s talk about your new single. Tell us about ‘Bleeding’.

‘Bleeding’ is a song that depicts rejecting help out of selfish pride; only for the same pride to eventually consume and overcome you, causing you to finally reach breaking point. It’s a total reflection of that prideful anxiety, build up, and final blow-out where you cannot take it anymore.

Very evocative. Please sum up it up in three words.

Dark. Heavy. Raw.

Beautiful! How was the writing process?

The writing felt pretty natural, and it was one of the first songs we put together where we discerning the next evolution of our sound.

One of the biggest surprises, to us anyway, is that we have now leaned much more fully into the metal side of Sleemo. It was always there, but this time it felt like the most logical step. We have really let our Gojira, Meshuggah, Conan, Silent Planet influences start taking over － something we never expected to do when we started out.

Exciting stuff. When did you record it?

We actually had this fully recorded back in March / April, back at our favourite Bomb Store Studios, with the legend Dave Vickers from A Horse Called War and Berenice.

Dave has been fully involved in the engineering, producing, mixing, and mastering for the whole process. He has a really all-out, in-your-face style that pushes everything to its limit, focusing the most on our sound as a band rather than colouring in post-production. What you hear on the recording is almost identical to how we do it onstage.

We’ve actually been chipping away at a lot of music in the studio for quite some time.

Tell us more.

We opted for a bit of a different approach than we did with the last album. We recorded live in-studio demos for this and another song back in October [2024]. We sat on them for a while, to really figure out the direction and fine tune things in the rehearsal room. Then, when it came down to it, we re-recorded the parts, but with much more oomph and grit.

Beyond more oomph, did ‘Bleeding’ evolve much from demo to finished version?

We spend a lot of time in rehearsal rooms, refining, adding, and deducting before we hit the demo process, so there isn’t a ton of difference structurally. However, you can really hear the change in volume, tone, and power with the finished version. That was the main focus.

Did you get any new toys to boost the power?

We bought a couple of new pieces, including some new guitars. Jack bought a new multi-scale bass, to tighten stuff up for the really low tunings. He’s also gone all digital for his setup, which has made things really loud and consistent.

Billy got himself a new Reverend which has a really tight response and makes his picking sound pristine.

Jacob has been using and smashing a double kick pedal to make things really amp up, which has been a huge influence on the newer sound.

What was it that made you pick ‘Bleeding’ to spearhead this new chapter?

We wanted to put something out that we're really proud of, that really shows what we’re about moving forward. It’s much heavier, more cathartic and emotional, and has pushed the boundaries that we set on our previous releases.

This is the beginning of a much, much bigger chapter. There’s a lot more to come.

Said the bishop to the actress. How are you feeling now the single’s about to drop?

Really, really excited. We’ve been waiting a long time for this to come through. Now it’s finally ready, we’re ecstatic to show everyone what we’ve been up to.

Beyond ‘Bleeding’ and TOCstock, what’s next?

We’ll be going on tour for the week after TOCstock, with our pals in Ogives Big Band, and Pohl. After that, we’ll be taking a small break to focus on and finish our new material before coming back in full swing for February.

We’re lining up some festival dates for next year, so keep your eyes peeled.

What festivals are on your bucket list?

We’ve always said, from day one, that we would love to appear on ArcTanGent one day. It’s our favourite festival, with all our favourite bands every single year. We’d also love to appear on Burn It Down, and Download, eventually. We go every year and always work towards that goal.

We'd also love to tour Europe. It's not happened yet, but we get closer with every year that passes.

It will happen, for sure. Thanks for chatting with us. Looking forward to swapping these virtual pints for real ones after your TOCstock set next week. Any final words?

We love and appreciate every single one of you for supporting us and we cannot wait to show you what we've been up to, and meet and greet you all wherever you are.

See you at TOCstock!

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