Brisbane metalcore act Bad Party have been turning heads with their unique electro-punk style since their debut EP Beyond Repair in 2022. After releasing standalone single “Want It” last year, the band have recently shared the sultry single “Pray” – the first with newly appointed vocalist Dale Dudeson of Revoid.
Produced, mixed and mastered by Callan Orr at Avalanche Studios (Dream On Dreamer, Bad/Love, Alt.), “Pray” is more on the heavier side with a story of detrimental affection. Thunderous drums and beefy chugs with glitchy synths and fiery growls make it a headbanging affair from the brutal opening and rapped bridge to the punchy finish. The seductive accompanying video by Colin Jeffs at Ten of Swords Media uses alluring club lighting and fisheye focus to portray a relationship akin to a siren song.
We asked Bad Party some questions about the single, video and more.
Congratulations on the new single! How has it been received so far?
Many thanks! We’re super proud of the song and how it all came out, music and video combined. It was our opinion as we sat on this release for months, that it was absolutely our best work so far, and that seems to be the sentiment of everyone who has reached out to us about it. It was a risky move deviating from our previous releases by going so much heavier out the gates with a new vocalist, but it has absolutely paid off and we’re happy to see that everyone is enjoying it as much as we love it ourselves.
With “Pray” as the first recorded music you’ve put out with Dale on vocals, how did he come to be in the band?
Around the time our last single “Want It” came out last year, our previous vocalist Henry had decided to leave the band, so it put a bit of a dampener on our momentum and plans to release new music in 2023. At the same time, we were working with Monica from The Last Martyr on our PR and media presence, and she was kind enough to put some feelers out for us looking for a new frontman. In the space of 2 days, we were introduced to Dale, listened to his catalogue with Revoid, and deep in discussion about new music and where we wanted to take the band. He’s been onboard ever since, and we think his contribution to our progression has been exactly what we needed.
What inspired the song, and how was it created?
We had two songs ready for recording with our engineer Callan Orr and about 2 weeks out, wrote the instrumental for “Pray” and put it to the team. It was an immediate hit and an obvious choice to replace one of the options we had ready. Dale fast-tracked the lyrical draft the same day, and we continued to produce and develop the piece for those 2 weeks before tracking. In the early stages of writing, the lyrics weren’t as heavily weighted on the subject matter as they are in the final product – but once we were sold on the point we were trying to make and how it would be executed alongside the visuals, it all came together effortlessly.
The video for the track is quite mesmerising. Were you going for a similar theme of enchantment to the lyrics?
The music video is supporting the concept of the song, and sets the scene for where the issue of men preying on women is most prominent – but from their perspective. In the eyes of an obsessive, compulsive, manipulative individual, the idea of control and the coveting of another person is overly sexualised. The music video showcases the way these types of people think of themselves, and the people (in this case a woman) that they target. “Pray” is a homophone of ‘prey’, like the way they perceive the object of their obsession.
The video ultimately aims to be aggressive, unrelenting, and kind of disgusting when you take a deeper look at the character Dale is playing. On the surface they’re trying to be attractive and sultry, but executed in a very unstable and completely unacceptable way. The song’s meaning goes as deep as you want to dive, but even that is a metaphor for how deceiving the intentions of a person can be, despite their perceived innocence on the surface.
Which artists are some of the band’s biggest collective influences?
We all come from pretty varied musical backgrounds to be honest! Anything from hip-hop, to EDM, to hyperpop, to deathcore and prog floats our boat, but if we had to pick the first artist that comes to our head: Periphery, Bring Me the Horizon, Whitechapel, and Mick Gordon.
Who else should we be keeping an eye on in the local heavy scene?
The quality of music coming out post-COVID in the local heavy scene really is putting the pressure on for newcomers to meet a whole new standard, but we love that because it means there’s so much good new music coming out. Some of our favourites are: East Capri, St Sinner, Ghost Complex, Citadel, and Revoid.
What’s on the 2024 bucket list for Bad Party?
We’ve got a few more tracks to come out this year, so we’re focused on fulfilling that promise to ourselves that we’ll continue to put out great quality new music to take over our existing catalogue. We’re hoping to continue to hit new highs spreading our brand, but also play more shows with our new configuration – a big win for us would be to play outside of Brisbane also!
Since it’s that time of the year, how would you profess your feelings for someone on Valentine’s Day? Asking for a friend…
As someone who has recently planned and successfully executed a proposal (she said yes!) I would say presenting your honest feelings about another person in a romantic way is the best bet – not so romantic that it’s cringe and funny, but just being genuine.
If that’s not your deal, go for a poem:
Roses are red
Violets are blue
Please go out with me
I’m so lonely…
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