Andrew Borthwick was supposed to talk with Beecher vocalist, Ed Goodby, at a July Beecher show in Edinburgh, Scotland but unfortunately both Scottish dates were cancelled last-minute by the promoter. The interview took place two days later, via phone, with Goodby back in England.

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So you've just recorded the new album, This Elegy, His Autopsy.

Yeah we went back to Boston. We were in Salem this time, which is where Kurt (Ballou, producer) has moved to and we spent three weeks doing the new album and it came out really well. Just exactly as we'd hoped for really.

And was it all written at home beforehand?

Yeah we'd been writing for about a year and a half. Then over the last seven or eight months, up to and including April this year, we were finalising stuff and really knuckling down with the writing. Then we recorded from mid-April till mid-May. All the music was written before we went into the studio and the order of the songs was also decided upon, so we went in with a pretty clear idea of what we'd come out with.

Was that a fast recording process?

Well, we took the full three weeks so we were able to take time over it and make sure everything was right. Having three weeks meant that we had time and we didn't have to rush any individual parts of the record.

And what made you choose Kurt Ballou to produce the album?

Well we did the last one [Breaking The Fourth Wall] with him. That was self-financed. Obviously, since then we've signed with Earache so we do these things on a budget. So when we decided to record the new album it seemed like a good idea to go back to him because we knew he could handle anything we would chuck at him. And obviously, when your budget is in pounds and you convert to dollars you can nearly double your money. So this time we went out there and we were in a hotel for three weeks, because last time we stayed with Kurt on his living room floor. Which was a bit much.

Yeah it must have been. I thought the production on your last album was great.

Oh it's really good. And he's done some good bits and bobs since then. He did that Breather Resist album, Charmer and we all really liked the production on that and of course he produced the new Converge album.

Which has a very different sound to, Breaking The Fourth Wall.

Oh yeah and this one's different too. Not all of his records sound the same. You get that with certain producers they get a signature sound and he definitely doesn't do that.

And do you get on with him personally too?

Oh yeah, he's awesome. He's a really good dude.

Now, I read that there is a theme running through the new album or it has a concept to it?

Err... yeah, well, kind of.

Is that the wrong term?

No, no it's not. It's just that the concept of a concept album gets up my nose a little bit because it comes across as so stuffy. Some concept albums are quite fantastical and far removed from reality and this is just a story really. There is a common theme running through the album and it's all based around one character. It's more just a story.

Can you explain?

I don't want to give too much away but it's a sad story about a fictional character, the problems he has and the people he encounters along the way. It's a sad story but it's got a positive moral to it. Hopefully people will read the lyrics and try and figure it out for themselves a bit.

Were the any particular authors that influenced you when writing the lyrics?

No, not really, no. I don't really know why I decided to do that. When the time came for me to think about what the next batch of Beecher songs were going to be based around lyrically, I just had all these ideas going round in my head and the best way to put them together was to incorporate them all into a story. I decided to take ideas that I had about other things and turn them into characters, instead of just singing about things from a personal experience. So I can't really think of anyone that inspired me to do it that way.

Who are some authors you read?

I read all sorts of stuff. I'm just reading this book called The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffeneger and that's quite interesting. And just before that I was reading a book about the history of grindcore and death metal by Albert Mudrian. [Choosing Death: The Improbable History of Death Metal and Grindcore].

The editor of Decibel.

Yeah, that's right.

I suppose a particular author I like is Iain Banks but he's not been a particular influence over me.

Iain Banks lives about twenty minutes from me in Fife.

Oh right, yeah, he does live in Fife.

Getting back to the album, you seem to be a band with quite diverse influences?

Our ideas come from all over the place. There isn't one defining influence. You know how with metalcore at the moment you have all these bands with similar names, all their album covers look the same and they dress the same? Well, I don't feel that we're involved with that. We just do what we want and get on with doing something original as opposed to doing something to fit in with part of the scene.

Yeah, it's obvious that you guys aren't trying to fit into any particular scene. That's why I wasn't surprised when I heard Earache wanted to sign you.

Oh, really that's interesting because the last person I spoke to about this was Tommy Udo from Metal Hammer and he thought it was weird that we signed with them. He thought that they almost benefited more from the association than we do but I had never thought about it in those terms. I thought it was a bit of a strange thing for him to say.

Well I can see what he means by it but it wasn't what crossed my mind when I first heard about it.

To go with Earache felt like an obvious progression for us because the classic Earache bands like Carcass, Napalm Death and Godflesh are bands that we look up to. That was actually one of the reasons why we went with Earache.

Well, that's exactly why I wasn't surprised when you signed to Earache; precisely because there are a lot of bands at the moment that sound very similar, it didn't seem strange that the label were keen to sign a group who had the same pioneering spirit as those bands you mentioned.

Yeah we were definitely pleased. I mean at the time there were a couple of labels interested but we all wanted to go with Earache because it's a cool label.

Yeah, it's got some history.

In regards to the new album, the only song I've heard so far is, Function! Function! but it's quite a development in sound.

Yeah it's definitely the most diverse and experimental stuff we've done. You know, everyone says it about their new album but the heavier parts are heavier and the nicer parts are nicer.

So there is still a use of melody?

Yeah but it's kind of done in a more subtle way. The mood shifts and flows in a quite schizophrenic manner. So the fast parts are raging and then as it slows down it gets more beautiful.

And have you kept the electronic parts?

Yeah. More so, in fact. We've introduced synthesisers in parts and Mark (Lyons, guitars) has gone crazy with all his computer electronics and guitar synths and Dave (Hopkinson, bass) has his bass synths in there too. You know the track "Floating Point" in the middle of the last album where it goes all electro and crazy? The penultimate track on the new one is like that.

And what was the name of the hidden ambient track on Breaking The Fourth Wall? Does it have a name?

Well it does now. (Laughs). It was a hidden track and it had no name but then when Earache re-released the album, it became one of the bonus tracks if you like, so the gap was cut out and it got a name.

And what was the name?

Well the name of the first song we wrote as a band was called, Crack Fiend, which never even made it onto a demo, so we took the name and gave it to that track.

Being so gentle and melodic, it's a huge contrast to the rest of the album but I really enjoy it.

Yeah a lot of people like that one. But a lot of people didn't know it was there. I suppose the thing with the new album is there is more of that in there.

I thought that might have been how it developed.

Definitely. But I think you might be surprised by it because it's probably done in a way that you're not going to expect. I hope anyway. (Laughs) But I do think it's going to surprise people.

And what are your touring plans for the future?

Well, we're on tour at the moment but obviously the Scottish shows fell through, which was very frustrating. So at the moment, I'm in my house playing table tennis in the back garden with Malkovitch who are on the tour with us.

But pretty much after this tour we start a full European tour with Darkest Hour and Reflux, then we have release party shows in London and one elsewhere. Then a few weeks after that we have a European tour with Soilent Green. We don't have anything set in stone for the US yet but we'd like to get out there at some point so people should keep their eyes peeled for news on American tours.

I think they'll like you out there too. You've got Earache behind you and there's the Kurt Ballou connection and that will catch people's attention.

Yeah, it definitely works like that. It's a shame that some people will only listen to bands because they've worked with Kurt from Converge. To be honest, we're trying to keep it to a minimum, because we don't want it to seem like we're trying to trade off the association with him.

Oh, I wasn't trying to suggest that you would do that.

No, no, I don't mean you but it's definitely come up in interviews and it is true, people will investigate things that have an association with other bands they like. We're not unhappy to talk about working with him but we don't want the focus on us to be because of the Converge association. And with the last album that happened to a certain extent, with adverts and internet banners, but we'd like to try and keep that down this time.

Well that was what I thought was so funny with the interviews when, Breaking The Fourth Wall came out. Every interview I read said something along the lines of "album cover by Aaron Turner, produced by Kurt Ballou, a live show to rival Dillinger Escape Plan." It was almost like the noisecore album box-check, you know? "If you like these guys, try Beecher."

Exactly, yeah! Ticking the boxes.

But it ended up overshadowing your music. And then there was a photo of Mark in a Rush t-shirt so journalists tried to make some connection to prog-rock but it didn't necessarily work.

Yeah! Mud sticks you know? It's weird. Mark had a Rush t-shirt on in a promo photos, so for the next two years everyone who interviewed us asked us if we'd been listening to any Pink Floyd recently. And it's like, "Well, yeah, but what's that got to do with anything?"

(Both laugh)

What actually have you been listening to recently?

Oh, um, recently what have I been listening to? [Pauses for a moment]. Oh, Annihilation Time and Torche. Oh, and Big Business which is on Hydra Head. That's a cool one, put that in there.

And what about three non-metal albums you'd recommend?

Three non-metal albums. [Pauses] Oh, ok, the new Coldplay album, X & Y.

Yeah, there are some good songs on that.

Yeah, it's great isn't it? Hmmm, three non-metal albums?

[pauses] I'm trying to think of something that isn't completely obvious. Ok, anything by Johnny Cash. Although, I know that is an obvious choice!

No, no, it's a good one.

Oh, let's just go for broke on it. Let's go for Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd.

(Laughs) Yeah, why not? They're good choices.

Yeah, exactly. Why not?