Mouthful of Flies

Mouthful of Flies Bio:

Stage 1 - The eggs are laid
The year, 2001. The town, London. At the party of a mutual friend, Dean Smith and Daniel Stevenson level the hairy eyeball at each other from across the kitchen. The smell of dope hangs in the air like the spectre of an evil, green goblin. Later over a few beers, they recount their musical history to each other and discover several coincidences.

Dean grew up in Jo’burg, South Africa, playing in bands such as Ragnarok, Odyssey, 2 Dogs Funking and the infamous Brothering. Having played just about every venue that Jo’burg has to offer, he packs his bags and heads for Belgium with fellow metal guitarist of Ragnarok, Serge Vercammen to scout the scene and see some bands. Very few international metal acts ever make it to South Africa and the guys were bowled over when they first saw Metallica in ‘88. Returning to SA with new ideas and restored enthusiasm, Dean enlists the help of brother and fellow fretmonster Robi, on bass. Together they continue to play festivals and clubs throughout South Africa. However, it soon dawns on them that the local rock scene is still in its infancy. i.e. No good place for aspiring metal musicians. So Robi opts for a new life in Vancouver, Canada, whilst Dean makes his way to London, UK.

Dan also enjoyed a misspent youth in Jo’burg, but moved to Cape Town at 17 to play in several bands including Viking, Battle-Axe and Fallout to name but a few. After four years at art school, Dan decided to seek his fortune overseas and found his way to Stuttgart, Germany where he co-wrote and recorded two albums with German metal band Bloodstone. As the conversation continued the two guitarists discovered that each had either heard of the other’s band, or in fact played in other bands with the same people. The party ends and they say their goodbyes.

Stage 2 - The larva hatches and feeds – 1st, 2nd and 3rd moult
Six months later Dan receives a call asking if he’d be interested in sharing guitar duties in the new band Dean had formed with yet another veteran of the South african music scene, Marq Vas.

“The rehearsal studio is cold and dark. South London in wintertime is not a pretty place. It’s raining, and what minimal daylight there was, has been replaced by a heavy cloud-filled, black sky. The drummer is late, the rest of the band are tinkering nervously with their equipment. Marq Vas, mightily charismatic front man and ex lead singer for South African hard core band Metalmorphosis, spits into the waste basket and scowls at his lyric sheet. Dean begins playing a riff, Dan joins
in and the synergy is immediately evident.”

Stage 3 - The pupa turns – Transformation of the larva body
Six months later, the rehearsal arena has changed to Shepherd’s Bush. The band, still without drummer, have been through a veritable plethora of bass players. The songs have gone from strength to strength, becoming more refined, but have reached a point where they’re begging to be played with a full band.
The riffs are razor sharp. They cut deep into brain tissue like a shiny, new scalpel, but it seems like the band have spent an eternity meeting with fuckheads, wannabee’s, bullshitters, crack heads, smacked up, coked up clowns and very few actual musicians. Then, as is sometimes the case, one of the members finds himself at a turning point and needs to make a life changing decision. Vas decides to leave the UK and set sail for the shores of sunny South Africa.

Stage 4 - The final transformation – The adult fly emerges
Feeling somewhat despondent, but knowing that failure is NOT an option, Dean and Dan continue to collaborate over the next few months, jamming, writing material, sharing parties and binges and god knows what else. The musical chemistry is perfect and the songs appear to be writing themselves; flowing effortlessly from their instruments and weaving a tapestry of unbridled, distinctive and forceful metal.

The gates of hell are thrown open and “Mouthful of Flies” emerges.