Freestate

American socialist writer Eric Hoffer once said that " It still holds true that man is the most uniquely human when he turns obstacles into opportunities". In the case of Melbourne's alternate metal quartet Freestate, the aforementioned statement is more like a theme for the band, as they have faced obstacles of their own throughout their history, one of the more recent being the group's departure from Crusade Records.

"We did part ways with Crusade records just a couple of days ago, but there is no bad feelings towards anyone regarding the split. It was a mutual decision between us and the label; I mean, even with label support we have been doing this as basically an independent band. Crusade is a boutique label in the end, and he [owner Tom Vernette] was doing things quite hard himself, he didn't have a huge money backing, so we left for various reasons, but in the end I think we can do a lot of it on our own from now on so it's kind of exciting. I won't lie though; if that 'squillion' dollar deal comes along we may reconsider," Drew Kario, vocalist for Freestate, laughs.

The four-piece have had their share of hard times throughout their six-year history, especially back in 2002 when a close friend of the band sadly passed away from cancer. However, because of her hope, faith and laughter, the band pushed on, creating an opportunity through the obstacle and the result is their debut album 'Surrender'.

"When the album originally came out we had no idea what to expect. There were some issues with it like publicity, because sadly there wasn't a lot of it - whatever publicity there was it came from our hard work on the road and I guess Myspace helped out a lot, too. All things considered though, we have done quite well with it bearing in mind that we haven't had television or radio support. That is something we will definitely work on however - we are happy with how the album has gone though, it could have been much worse."

The debut album features a fantastic combination of metal / rock anthems easily comparable to the likes of Sevendust or, closer to home, The Butterfly Effect. With a total of thirteen tracks on the LP, all more than capable of becoming radio hits, the task of selecting one or two songs to become singles must have been a tough one, but if the lead single and video for Twice Alive is anything to go by, it was a correct decision to make.

"For our first clip I think it did come out really well, we did use high quality film for it, that's why it looks similar to a high budget movie. We did it over two days, and we were quite involved with the whole thing. I mean, we came up with the initial concept for it, but then it got skewed and changed by the director. But in the end, for the budget and time we had, it came out quite strong."

The next song to be pushed as a single is the track Necessary, a song which begins with quite a foreign feel and explodes into a grasping and captivating anthem-based rock song. The track perfectly showcases the band's incredible ability to write thought-provoking and catchy songs, and with a film clip incorporated, Freestate may become the next band to be irremovable from radio and television.

"At this stage the single looks like it will be coming out in July, the video is strictly performance-based and a bit darker than Twice Alive. We have gone with a different company for this one, and I think this clip encapsulates how the song really works and its energy levels, so we are excited to get this out and really push it."

So with a new found direction, the only question is: What are the future plans for Freestate?

"We just signed a deal with Triple Vision Records to release the album in Japan, so we are hoping to tour over there at some stage. We have also written about ten to twelve new songs so we're hoping to also get into the studio at some stage as well. We plan to push another single after Necessary as well, and then finally we are really hoping to get to America some time around March."

Will Oakeshott

Freestate headline Krankfest, which also features Day 13, Lost Angels, Seconds To Fall and Strait Jacket Fashion, at Fowler's Live on Sat 10 May.

'Surrender' is out on Crusade Records through Sony/ BMG.