They Cut Through His Spine. He Came Back With Riffs.

Heavy music has always been a refuge for people with nowhere else to put it — the anger, the grief, the frustration of feeling like the world has chewed you up and kept walking. But even by those standards, the origin story behind Brisbane’s Intent To Harm hits differently.

Guitarist Matt spent the better part of three years navigating a series of brutal spinal surgeries — procedures that saw surgeons cut through his abdomen and hammer old pieces of metal from his bones. The recovery was long, painful, and by his own admission, took him to some of the darkest places he’s ever been. Death metal vocals, something he’d built a career around in bands like Internal Devour and Splatterpuss, were gone. Possibly for good.

You’ve mentioned that you taught yourself guitar while lying down during recovery - something most musicians probably can’t even imagine doing. What did those early writing sessions feel like, both physically and mentally?Physically very hard but mentally it felt amazing. It gave me hope and a reason to feel excited about something again.

Tom, you and Matt go way back. When he first showed you the demos that would eventually become this band, what was your first reaction? Did you immediately know there was something worth building on there?When I first heard the demos I was mostly just happy to hear Matty was making music again. I know he was fairly devastated about not being able to do vocals after complications with his back surgeries. So to hear him churning out some chunky riffs was awesome. You can’t keep this guy down! Straight away I was keen to help out, jump on bass duties and make some heavy music together again.

Connor coming in from the United States as a session drummer adds an interesting international twist to a Brisbane hardcore project. How did that connection happen, and what did he bring to the recording that pushed the songs even further?I found some of Connor’s videos and loved how aggressively he played drums. I hit him up and showed him the songs. He was keen and yeah it just went from there. He absolutely smashed it. Haha!

We have a good mate over in Australia that will probably step in at some point, but not until I am well enough to play live.

Daniel, when the band decided they needed a vocalist who could really crank up the aggression, you were the guy they called. What went through your head the first time you heard the demo?The first time I heard the demo I was impressed with the mix of death metal/hardcore sound it had going for it as it had also been something I’d been wanting to do/put vocals over for a very long time. So at first hearing I was just heaps stoked to be here and doing vocals.

Matt, you’ve said “Drained Of Life” was actually the first song you ever wrote on guitar. Even though your playing has grown since then, you chose to release it as the band’s first statement. Why was it important for that track to be the starting line?I just wanted to put out the first thing I wrote that became something. The main tremolo riff in this song was probably the first I wrote that made me think, yep that’s a keeper. The song went through several iterations and yeah I am pretty pumped on it. The new songs will obviously be better, but the first 2 we put out are proper raw and I love that.

When you step back and look at everything that led to this band existing - the surgeries, the recovery, the demos turning into a real lineup - does Intent To Harm feel like more than just another heavy project?Yeah for sure, it definitely means a little more. It was something that helped me get through some very hard days, and those days are not behind me yet. Having my mates and music around me means a lot.

If someone had never heard Intent To Harm before and you had exactly 30 seconds to convince them to press play, what would you tell them they’re about to experience?I would say do you like violent music with endless grooves? Well then, have I got something to show you.

Let’s say Drained Of Life was the soundtrack to a scene in a horror movie. What’s happening on screen when that riff kicks in?Some asshole is getting bashed half to death. Haha!

Heavy music has always been a place for people to channel frustration, anger, and survival instincts. What’s something outside of music - movies, books, life experiences - that taps into that same energy for you?I love nature and spend as much time as I can appreciating it. I also spend all of my spare time with my dog haha, he is my best friend.

Imagine you’re putting together the most chaotic underground show possible. What three bands - dead, alive, or fictional - are playing that line-up with you?Love that question. I could name so many but this would be the ultimate dream come true. Sorry but had to put 4. Haha! Defeated Sanity, Tribal Gaze, The Red Shore and Intent To Harm.

Every band has that one moment where things go completely sideways - gear dies, someone misses a cue, or the crowd does something ridiculous. What’s the most “this shouldn’t be happening right now” moment any of you have experienced onstage?

We had one show in Adelaide where we had issues with audio and had to pause the set for maybe 5 minutes. At the time, it was only my 4th show or something. I remember having no idea what to talk about because I was nervous. I tried to make a few jokes, then turned around and stayed silent until we could play again. Luckily the set ripped so it didn’t matter haha.

Thanks for the yarn.