THREE former South East residents will grace the stage at one of Australia’s biggest heavy music festivals – Unify Gathering – after winning a national competition.
Millicent’s Josh Cory and Mason Bunt are the vocalists of Pridelands, joined by former Mount Gambier musician Liam Fowler in the five-piece Melbourne-based metal band.
The group was recently announced as winners of triple J Unearthed’s Unify Gathering competition, which catapults the band onto the festival’s two-day line-up.
The metalcore band will join the likes of Karnivool, Underoath, In Hearts Wake, Taking Back Sunday and Every Time I Die when they star as the opening act on the Saturday of the festival, which will be held in Tarwin Meadows, Gippsland, on January 11 and 12.
The news comes as the band prepares for its return to the region, playing an all-ages show in Mount Gambier on Saturday night at the South Aussie Hotel as part of the Any Colour You Desire tour.
The three South East performers relocated to Melbourne from the South East four years ago with Pridelands, which come a long way since performing its first show at the former Purplez nightclub in Mount Gambier, having shared the stage with prominent Aussie acts Northlane, Dead Letter Circus, I Killed The Prom Queen and Hellions and international acts The Ghost Inside, Attila, Stray From The Path and Counterparts.
The band also released debut EP Natives in 2015, two singles Coalesce and Battery City in 2016 and this year dropped its second EP Any Colour You Desire, which has been described by critics as a culmination of Pridelands’ strongest and most cohesive songwriting to date.
Josh, 22, said it was an “insane” feeling to have won the competition, adding Pridelands could not be more thankful for triple J’s support.
“Since we all live out of home and most of the money we earn goes towards the band, we had to give the festival a miss this year, which meant missing out on seeing bands like Karnivool and Underoath,” he said.
“The fact that we now are able to play with them is unfathomable still.”
Josh said the competition win, alongside Pridelands’ EP launch show, was the band’s biggest career highlight to date.
“We sold out for our launch show at this really cool venue in Fitzroy,” he said.
“A lot of our friends and family were there to see and we were all smiles that night.
“The response to Any Colour You Desire has been far beyond any expectations we had for it.”
When it comes to songwriting, Josh finds inspiration “anywhere at anytime” and he also tries to channel any negative energy he has into something musical.
Over the years his biggest influences when it comes to music have been his family, as well as bands of the punk-rock genre.
“Growing up around musical people was a blessing I will always be thankful for,” he said.
“Next would be bands like Rise Against, My Chemical Romance and Linkin Park.
“Lately though I try to draw it from anywhere.”
With this year proving to be the busiest and most intense for the band so far, Pridelands is stepping up activity in 2019.
Josh said the band had grown closer in its individual friendships much more than anticipated through the journey.
“When you want to make stuff like this work it is almost like dating the other members of the band,” he said.
“There is a lot of compromise and learning when not to push buttons.”
Pridelands will head back home this weekend for the Any Colour You Desire Tour, which will be open to all ages and held at the South Aussie Hotel.
Just days away from the South East tour date, Josh reflected on the band’s last appearance in Mount Gambier at Sierra’s farewell show, adding the band looked forward to returning.
“We all love being home,” he said.
“When you leave, all the reasons you want to get out of the place you grew up are so fresh in your mind, but every time we go back now it brings such a peaceful feeling over us all.
“It’s nice to reflect on everything that happened that all felt so long ago.
“So much of my adolescence was spent at shows put on in Mount Gambier, so playing there again feels like a coming of age.”
Tickets can be purchased online or at the door for Saturday night’s show, which starts at 7pm.
