Interview by Kris Peters
Fifty years of service to any industry is a remarkable effort, but when that industry happens to be the cut-throat one of music, then that achievement takes on ever greater credence.
The Angels have long been an institution on the Australian music scene, with their high-energy brand of rock transcending generations of music lovers across this country and beyond. The band have literally been there and done that in a landscape not designed for longevity, bouncing back from tragedy, critical upheaval and anything else the world of music and life has thrown their way.
Better known with Doc Neeson out the front, The Angels also welcomed The Screaming Jets' Dave Gleeson to the family for an extended stay, but now, as they enter their second half-century as a band, the baton has been passed on to former drummer, now focal point, Nick Norton.
To celebrate this wonderful milestone, The Angels are releasing their 14th studio album - and first in over a decade - on June 28. Simply titled Ninety Nine, the album marks Norton's first release as vocalist but promises all of the hard-edged rock and roll swagger made famous by The Angels over so many years.
The band has also announced their 50 Not Out national tour, starting in June as well, with Norton putting some time aside recently to tell HEAVY about all of the new adventures in store for The Angels.
"We're stoked about the album," he beamed. "I actually haven't been this excited about a new album since I was… at least ten-plus years. It's always good to be on recordings, and it's an exciting thing, but this one I have repeatedly said to the band and I think I keep surprising the guys about how excited I am about it (laughs). I'm satisfied with the way the tracks have gone down, the way we made sure that everything has been done to a T and exactly how we wanted it. Even from a vocal perspective, this is the most time I have ever taken to really nail parts and layer up all of these interesting harmonies and got it exactly as I was hearing it. Some of these tracks we recorded the rhythm section stuff for four years ago, and we've been laying guitars over since. It was not long before Christmas last year we went on this whole kind of extra thing to get the album finished, and we did a couple of big sessions down in Melbourne at Light Hill Studios to get the album all finished up for the 50th year. Suddenly it's gone from 'we'll get around to finishing the album' to we actually have something here, let's do this."
In the full interview, Nick talks more about Ninety Nine and how it sounds, what they were going for with the overall sound and how The Angels' DNA is spread throughout it, lead single Ninety Nine and why it was chosen to represent the album, delivering what is expected of you while still coming up with something fresh, taking over from Dave Gleeson, fan reaction to his role as frontman, his history with the angels, writing with the Brewster Brothers, their upcoming tour and more.