Belfast metal crossover act Survivalist have released new album, A Place For Those Who Suffer, Alone. We asked their singer Gave the BIG questions . . .
Survivalist are a four-piece, featuring Gavin Sharp (vocals), Nick Butcher (guitars), Lee Shaw (bass), and Rhys Fraser (drums) and have shared stages with Thy Art Is Murder, Chelsea Grin, Polaris, Suffocation, Atreyu, Kublai Khan, Party Cannon, Heriot, and Distant.
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Speaking about A Place For Those Who Suffer, Alone, the band say, "This record taught us a lot about writing, using studio time effectively, and working together as a four-piece, ultimately helping us lock in our sound.
"We wrapped everything up around August or September and immediately went back into the studio, with several new tracks already finished for an EP planned for 2026."
Tell us three things about yourself.
Most people know me as the singer of Survivalist, but I also play guitar, bass, piano, and I help write some of the guitar, piano and synth parts. So I'm not just the bearded face behind the horrible screaming your ma hates.
People use to say our guitarist Nick looks short in pictures. He’s not small, he's a regular human. I’m just 6’5".
When I was five or six, I won a dance competition in Colchester town centre doing Michael Jackson moves. The prize? A stack of CDs and an HMV voucher. Peaked early.
How would you describe your music?
We’ve never liked boxing ourselves into one label. If we want to write death metal, we will. If it’s thrash, hardcore, whatever. We just write what we love. If we had to describe it, it’s a mix of metalcore, deathcore and groove metal. We jokingly call it "groovecore" - mostly because we're edgy.
Who are your musical inspirations?
Michael Jackson was the first. Man in the Mirror made me want to sing. My music teacher, Mrs. Ferguson, inspired me to take piano seriously. Then guitar pulled me into metal. Eddie Van Halen and Dimebag Darrell. The riffs, the harmonics, the energy. Before that I was into hip hop and classical, and I still love all of it.
What was the first gig you ever went to?
Trivium, when I was 14, at the Ulster Hall in Belfast. God Forbid and Mendeed were supporting. We gave some nice Scottish men money to buy us beers. We’d had exactly one beer each and thought we were El Chapo.
What’s the first record you ever bought?
The first album I remember spending my own pocket money on was South Park - Chef Aid purely because of Chocolate Salty Balls. No deep artistic reason… although it is a banger. The first record I bought because I genuinely loved it was The Slim Shady LP. That sent me down a serious hip hop rabbit hole at a pretty young age.
What’s your favourite song right now?
Probably Who’s Having Fun by Drain. It feels like summer. Skate parks. No responsibilities. Just hanging out with your friends. It’s got that carefree energy but still hits hard when it needs to. I definitely prefer being an adult but it’s nice to revisit that feeling for three minutes.
Favourite lyric of all time?
Five Minutes Alone - Pantera. Just those three words in the chorus. Simple, heavy, and there’s a whole story behind it, you can look into that yourself. It reminds me of a time when music felt a bit rawer and more unapologetic.
If you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life, what would it be?
The sensible answer would be something rock/metal. Something long and progressive like King Crimson’s Starless. Probably, Chopin’s Nocturne No. 2 in E-flat major. It’s beautiful, intense, calm and dramatic. It feels like a full story. I think I’d need that balance if it was the only piece of music I had forever.
Where can people find more about your music?
Everywhere. Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Spotify, YouTube we’re on the Seek & Strike Records channel, and there’s a Linktree in all our bios with everything from music to merch. If you can type our name into Google, you’ll find us. We’re hard to miss.
Alan Corr
