The Butterfly Effect

They've kept us hanging since their last full-length release, 'Begins Here' in 2003, but now Brisbane rockers The Butterfly Effect are back and ready to show off their brand new album 'Imago'. Currently on the road in support of the record, drummer Ben Hall took some time out of the band's busy schedule to have a chat about the guys' ARIA chart-topping, hit release.

"We actually haven't done that many interviews, surprisingly, I thought it would be a hell of a lot more, so it's good. We're just relaxing at the moment. We have a show that we're playing here in Armidale - that's where we are right now - so I'm definitely looking forward to that tonight."

It's hard to believe, I must admit, that all is fairly quiet on the interview front for The Butterfly Effect, especially when one takes into consideration the success and fuss surrounding 'Imago'. Not only has the album reached the Number 2 status on the ARIA national charts, but the Imago Tour itself has already managed to sold out two shows in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and now one in South Australia.

"Yeah," Hall chuckles, "it definitely does make you smile, how could it not. It's good news that the audiences want to get out there and see us. I mean, it has been a while, we were cooped up in a recording studio, and not to mention in a whole different country, there for a while. To be honest, we were kind of little bit worried at first because we knew that this album was going to take a different direction, so we were wondering how the fans would respond to it."

A fair enough call, after all, 'Imago' sees the band shed some of their metallic skin and take a more melodic, mellower approach to their music.

"It wasn't that we thought people would hate it or anything; when it comes down to it the real fans of the band are going to like what that band comes up with either way. But we were wondering how it was all going to be soaked in. This is what we wanted to do - this is how we wanted it to end up sounding. And it was definitely a conscious decision to go in a different way this time. The four of us sat down and had a bit of a discussion before we started recording, just, you know, where we were going to go with this one because we certainly didn't want to make another 'Begins Here'. What's the point?"

Hall explains that the band had something of a 'whislist' when it came to producers they wanted to work with - Joe Baressi being on top of that list.

"We were stoked!" Hall exclaims excitedly. "We didn't think it was going to happen but when it did, it was unbelievable because he's such a great guy to work with."

So the band packed up their belongings and jetted off to the United States to record in the famous LA Sound City Studios, where the likes of Nirvana and Rage Against The Machine once recorded.

"Wow, it was great. But I have to admit, what I had pictured in my mind before we arrived there, about the studio I mean, and what the studio as actually like were two different things...I don't know what I was expecting or why I was expecting it, but I guess I had a more glamorous picture of it all in my head," Hall laughs. Despite their LA adventure -"the people are weird" - Hall admits that the guys are glad to be home in Australia to show the fruits of their labour to the Aussie crowds.

"We've got Repeat Offender coming along with us to most states, like South Australia, then in Western Australia we've got Subtruck as the main support. Oh yeah, and there's also The White Room who are supporting us in South Australia, so it should be a great night of friends. With some of the shows already being sold out, how could it not make you smile that people are obviously very keen to hear what you've been up to. So far I think people are getting used to it all, from what I can tell they like the songs."

Which begs the question - what happened to Phoenix, a single the band released late last year to serve as a reminder that yeah, they're still around, but an album is still in the works.

"Oh," Hall laughs, "umm...Yeah. Well, basically, to tell you the truth, the crowd seemed to like it, I suppose, when we played it live...But we as a band just kind of really don't like it. It doesn't at all represent where we are at the moment so we decided to leave it off the record."

Nina Bertok

The Butterfly Effect play at the Governor Hindmarsh on Fri 11 August and Sun 13 August (all ages). 'Imago' is out now through Roadshow Music.