THENWOTHM.COM caught up with Surrey based metallers Armstrong Gun to find out more about the band, their new EP ‘Struck With Steel’ and what they have in store for 2023!

THE NWOTHM: First up can you introduce us to the members of the band and where you are from?

A.G: Lewis Tocker – Vocals, Drums Dan Mortimer – Vocals, Bass Cameron Smith – Guitars. We are all from a little town called Horley which is in Surrey, UK.

THE NWOTHM: How did Armstrong Gun form and is there any insightful story surrounding its formation?

A.G: Cameron – I started to learn Guitar in 2015/2016 and after a while put a band together with some friends, playing covers and writing original material. This didn’t go anywhere and so I looked further for people to jam with. I met Lewis during a night out at the pub and we very quickly realised we only lived four doors away from each other! We started writing together and both shared similar interested in genres of rock and metal which related to the songs we were making. Our original drummer left the group after a few months of writing material and then we recruited Dan to be part of the lineup. Lewis switched from bass to play drums and Dan picked up the bass to allow the band to continue. We all have learned our instruments for the band. I was originally only meant to be rhythm guitar!

THE NWOTHM: How did you choose the band’s name? And is there any background to it?

A.G: Dan – the band was called ‘Blackfire’ when I initially joined in 2019 but due to the number of bands with that name Lewis and I felt a different one would be more appropriate. Lewis suggested the name ‘Armstrong Gun’ to me and explained it was a type of cannon, although I later found out it was the name of a pub that he had seen when he was at university, 10 or so years ago.

Lewis – I pinched it from a pub in Englefield Green, I used to drink there when I was studying. One day I’m sure they’ll give me a pint on the house for the free advertising

THE NWOTHM: As a band who would you say your biggest influences in life been, both musically and outside of music?

A.G: Dan – in terms of music it would have to be Iron Maiden as they were the first metal band I got into, and I haven’t looked back since! Outside of music my parents have been a big influence on me and have always been very encouraging. I also draw a lot of inspiration for lyrics from books I’ve read or films I’ve seen, so I could lump in some authors, screenwriters and directors as influences as well.

Cameron – As a band I think we all have an interest in NWOBHM bands such as Tank, Saxon, Maiden etc. We all are interested in similar bands but each member has their own rabbit holes of certain genres of metal/rock they are interested in. Me personally I am a big KISS fan and also love Black sabbath (all eras), Van Halen and Megadeth. All these bands made me want to pick up the guitar and write my own music. I learnt a lot of skills and techniques form these bands also!

THE NWOTHM: In your music collections what records would you say are your most prized possessions/favourites?

A.G: Dan – I have a record store day release of a Maiden single called ‘Empire of the Clouds’. It is quite a rare record in of itself, but it is extra special to me as I was fortunate enough to have met Bruce Dickinson at a pub in 2016 and had a conversation with him, he signed my record and we had out picture taken together. That was a great day. I also have a Fender scratch plate that was signed by all four members of Trivium when I went to a meet and greet before one of their concerts in 2016.

Cameron – I have a signed copy of Buckethead’s Crime slunk scene on Vinyl which comes with signed pictures and guitar picks. I know this fetches a hefty price on ebay nowadays! I have a paper aeroplane which was signed by Ace Frehley and thrown into a UK KISS gig in 1976. I paid far too much money for this and we joke as a band that it may or may not be real – I like to think it is haha! To add to all this I have beaten up original press of Paranoid by black sabbath and I own every KISS release on Vinyl which I keep in a flight case! Needless to say I have a large record collection!

THE NWOTHM: If you could play with any band or musician from the 80’s, dead or alive who would it be and why?

A.G: Dan – difficult question to answer but I’m going to throw a curveball and say Kenny Loggins. Playing ‘Highway to the Danger Zone’ on stage in 1986 in front of thousands of people sounds pretty fun to me!

Cameron – I would have loved to have jammed with anyone in a minor NWOBHM band form the early 80s (Vardis, Tank, Witchfinder General). I can relate our formation and ways we operate to these guys. I’m sure it would be great fun!

THE NWOTHM: How do you go about writing lyrics and where do you gain inspiration from?

A.G: Dan – It depends really. I might have a sentence or a title in my head and tend to build it up from there. Other times for example I may have watched a documentary or a film about an interesting topic and decided to try and write something about it. For example, ‘Heaven’s Gate’ from the new EP is about a vulnerable young man who is drawn up into the Heaven’s Gate community that existed in the US in the mid to late 90s. It was a commune of people who were following orders from a leader who convinced them to commit mass-suicide, in the belief they would ascend to Heaven. Another song I co-wrote on the EP is called ‘Love and War’. The title came first on that one, as I had always found the phrase ‘all is fair in love and war’ interesting. It essentially means that in certain situations any way of achieving your goal is justifiable, so I decided to write a song about a soldier who just has to ignore any moral conscience and get on with the job, or else he will be killed. I don’t tend to write about politics but I would say those are probably the most political lyrics I’ve written.

Cameron – I play guitar at least once a day. This could be practicing scales or just noodling away. If I stumble across a good idea, I will record a sound clip on my phone then revisit this later. I have audio editing software on my computer and play around with making demos on my laptop. The editing software allows me to move riffs around and I’m always trying to keep in mind where the lyrics will fit. In a nutshell it’s a lot of trial and error! Once I’m happy with what I have come up with I play these to the lads and see what they general consensus is. I don’t write lyrics for the band as I struggle with that avenue. I prefer to develop a lot of the musical side of things as I feel this is my strong point.

Lewis – I listen to a demo-take of the music until it’s in my head and then I go out for a wander, the words will come depending upon the tone of the music and whatever is on my mind that day.

THE NWOTHM: In the few years you have been together you have released a number of demos! Can you tell us more about them and how they came about?

A.G:Dan – Looking back on that I would say that was just us trying to find our feet as a group with writing styles and how we wanted them to sound. Sonically we have come a long way and I am very proud of how the new EP sounds. We have our good friend, Aaron Sharma to thank for that.

Cameron -These were trial and error. The first demo we did was with Nobby Styles who actually sung lead vocals on one of the tracks. I think at the time we wanted to see what we could do with the vocals in ways of phrasing certain lines. We got a bit of guidance from him which allowed us to expand upon these ideas. We then went to record some DIY demos at Dans house which were great fun! The recording of all these demos allowed us to develop our writing skills and generally how the whole recording process works! Practice makes perfect.

Lewis – We were offered to have the first demo done just as Dan joined the band, we recorded 2 more ourselves due to the world shutting down for a year and having no chance to record an album.

THE NWOTHM: In May last year you released the single ‘Smart Kills.’ Can you tell us more about it?

A.G: Lewis – It was born outside of Armstrong Gun in another ‘band’ that I was in; nothing happened there so I bought it into our set. I think we chose Smart Kills as the single because the recording was slightly clearer and we had some good comments about the chorus from early recordings

THE NWOTHM: In July 2022 you released your debut self titled album! Can you tell us about the album, the songs and the writing process behind the record?

A.G: Dan – I didn’t have much involvement in terms of songwriting on that. When I joined in 2019 a few songs such as Still Alive and Kicking, Ravaged by Time and The Scraggard had already been written. Lewis and Cameron were in the process of writing some more around that time which ended up on the album. The only two songs I had involvement in were Dark Dreaming (intro and main riff and I wrote the lyrics) and the intro riff to Alone in the Oaks, which is something Lewis and I jammed one weekend. I left the rest of it to Lewis and Cameron as I was still finding my feet as a bass player, as I had started on guitar. As the songs came together, we knew we would be looking at a 45 minute or so album, which is what we wanted. I think the sequencing on the album is good and I am proud of the songs. I just wish we had spent more time recording it, rather than bashing it out in one weekend. It’s of its time though and something we can all look back on and feel proud of.

Cameron – The songs for the first album were written across a period of 2-3 years. It was very easy to write the songs for the debut as there was no time limit and we had immense fun perfecting them as a band. I think we found a writing style that we all connected with after Dan joined the band and started to write more focused NWOBHM type songs. Our signature writing style seems to be that the Guitar solos always go off in their own direction then loop back round to the song’s “home base”. I’m very proud of the songs we wrote and are writing currently. Not bad for a couple of Metal heads who decided to start a band! I do believe that even though the pandemic did get in the way of recording the album we used this time to develop the songs further.

THE NWOTHM: How did you decide on the direction for the album and who did your artwork?

A.G: Dan – I don’t think we consciously settled on a direction. We are into similar bands and I think that has an influence on the songwriting and how you want the final product to sound. The artwork was designed by Lewis.

Cameron– We are all into similar bands so it was logical that we all started writing music that we liked.

Lewis – We had 10 songs that we considered to be finished and ready to be laid down. After a year and a half, the priority was just to release something other than demos. The artwork is a heavily-edited photograph that I took.

THE NWOTHM: You have a new EP coming out called ‘Struck With Steel.’ Can you tell our readers what to expect?

A.G: Dan – I am very proud of this EP. I think it is a total step up in terms of songwriting and in terms of production. We are all more settled now I would say. I feel as if I really pushed my singing voice on this one compared to the album. The songs are generally very up-tempo and bursting with energy. There are some meaty riffs, great drumming and some nice bass playing, if I may say so myself! It’s very ‘us’.

Cameron – You can expect more Armstrong gun – branded heavy metal that explores more avenues compared to the debut album. I’m very happy with how it turned out! Everyone worked extremely hard on the EP and mention must go to Aaron Sharma! – The man who produced and mixed it.

Lewis – A thunderous, barreling feast of traditional English metal, hopefully.

THE NWOTHM: What are your tour plans for 2023? Do you have any big shows lined up?

A.G: Dan – sadly this will be my final hurrah (at least for a while) as I am moving to Australia at the start of April, which is something I’ve had on the cards for a long time. Our friend, Aaron is going to take my place in my absence. He’s a very accomplished musician and is more than the right man for the job. However, I’ve already warned the guys I will be sending riffs and lyrics from the other side of the planet! So although I won’t be there in person I’ll still be getting stuck in where I can.

Cameron – We will be getting Aaron up to speed with the set as Dan will be moving to Australia. I’m sure we will do a few shows in the future but nothing has been planned yet. We have however already started writing songs for the second album! It’s a never-ending process with us haha! Dan will still be part of the second album however.

THE NWOTHM: Where can people check you out on social media and buy your music/merch?

A.G:Dan – we are on Bandcamp, Youtube, Instagram and Facebook. You can buy merch through the bandcamp page.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArmstrongGun

Bandcamp: https://armstrong-gun.bandcamp.com/album/struck-with-steel

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCu-_BhNWSZxmRenabjIUv0g

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/armstrong_gun_uk

THE NWOTHM: is there anything else you would like to mention?

A.G:Dan – Yes, thanks to Aaron for being so easy to work with. We hope everyone enjoys the EP.

Cameron – A massive thank you to everyone who has checked any of our releases out! It means a lot.

#armstronggun #thenwothm #Struckwithsteel