Light Grenades

We played Soundwave back in 2008 and had a great time although I remember looking around at a lot of the other bands on the bill and thinking ‘Wow they are much heavier than us. We’re sort of the odd ones out here,’” laughs Boyd.

“We were happy to come back for Soundwave because we love coming to Australia – being from California it’s like our home away from home. But on top of this when we found out that Faith No More and Soundgarden were on the bill – that was it. Those bands were so important to us and whether they know it or not, or for that matter are happy about it they were partially responsible for this band’s existence.”

"Being in a band like this is like living life permanently on amphetamines."

Coming out of the wave of alt-metal that blossomed in the early ‘90s Incubus have proven themselves far more durable than many of their peers who at the turn of the last century started breaking up with alarming regularity. One of the things Incubus has done to ensure their longevity is take extended hiatuses when needed. According to Boyd, it’s just common sense.

“With every core of my being I know that not being scared to go away for a while has saved this band. People don’t realise how intense it can get – being on the road for years, being away from your families – it can be rough on people. And of course we are blessed for all the opportunities we’ve had because of this band, so I’m not complaining at all. But being in a band like this is like living life permanently on amphetamines. Any minor dysfunction you have personally, or the band has as a whole, is magnified. Add that to an insane travelling schedule, malnutrition, you name it, and things can go wrong quickly. We’ve always treasured the opportunities we’ve had to play our music together and bring it to people. If the price of that continuing is to take a break now and again, we’re prepared to do it.”

Although various members have released solo albums, the band hasn’t released an album since 2011’s If Not Now, When? That’s set to change and Boyd was happy to tell The Music all he could.

“We’re definitely on a creative streak right now. We’ve set up shop at a studio here in Los Angeles and we’re all together writing songs. None of us really knew what to expect, we thought we’d just see what happened. So far I can tell you that all these sweet riffs are coming out of Ben [Kenney, bass] and Mike [Einzinger, guitar]. The room is a huge mess and we’re all having a lot of fun. There’s tons of material pouring out, so I think the curation process for all this creativity is going to be interesting.

“Well the goal now is to have some new music recorded and mastered before we come down to Australia next year – definitely not a whole album, but something,” Boyd expands. “We’re actually planning on playing some new material at Soundwave – so you guys will be some of the first people to hear the new stuff live.”