Wearing Scars

We all wear the scars of our past, and Andy James and Chris Clancy are no exception. The consequence of trauma acquired on their journey to the present. Andy didn’t even notice his appear. His band, Sacred Mother Tongue, were being heralded as the next big thing in British Metal; signed to EMI, touring the world with some of the biggest names in hard rock and opening the main stage at the highly prestigious Download Festival in the summer of 2013. On the surface, things could not have been going better. But the cracks were forming... all of a sudden, hidden under the clothing of the press hype and impressive tour posters, the wounds of financial reality were opened. The bleeding had begun... Sacred Mother Tongue were forced to call it a day. Chris had to travel further for his scars. Leaving everything behind, quitting his job and waving goodbye to the country he grew up in, he answered a call to join New Jersey metallers Mutiny Within. Signed to his childhood dream label: Roadrunner Records, widely regarded as the biggest and most powerful metal label in the world, touring with heavyweight metal names such as Soulfly, Soilwork, Death Angel, Arch Enemy, Periphery and even writing a song for WWE wrestler Evan Bourne, metal superstardom awaited. Yet for similarly ugly reasons, after two years Chris was forced to make the tough decision to head back home. Aside from these similar paths, there are other common qualities shared by Andy and Chris; Exceptional talent; a passion, determination and commitment to their art that no obstacle of the music industry can quell; and the knowledge that the best thing to do with a scar is proudly wear it. And so Andy James and Chris Clancy – alongside SMT’s former rhythm section, drummer Lee Newell and Bassist Craig Daws - are WEARING SCARS. It started on Facebook: “We didn't know each other personally but were both familiar with the others work.” Explains Chris. “I was at work one day when Andy sent me a message saying if I ever needed anyone to play some guitars he'd do it. I had been working on an album on my own and after talking for a week or so, we decided to use some of his music, some of mine and put it all together.” Andy agrees. “2 weeks after getting in touch we were recording! We realised pretty quickly that we had something. In fact I knew when I sent one of my demos to him and received an almost finished vocal written within the hour we were going to get on. I'm pretty impatient so to work with someone that's as on it as me is a great find, especially with his voice.” With a powerful chemistry and a new found freedom, unbound by the shackles of expectations that come with established bands, WEARING SCARS are enjoying their new found musical freedom, as Andy explains: “Honestly, it's a pleasure to write when you know you're not limited vocally, so I'm not so much trying to fill the music with impossible riffs and shred. We're both fans of writing more melodic, sonically pleasing music, so it's nice to create more freely in that regard. And we both write, as before most of the writing in bands has fallen solely on my shoulders being the only guitarist in guitar driven bands” Chris is equally enthused: “Andy turned my songs from being a mediocre solo album to something really special. I play guitar and write songs but lack that ‘spark’ when it comes to guitar. Andy took my very basic parts and developed them into something far more interesting that still served the song well. Andy has added a whole energy to everything that simply wouldn't have been there.” The progress in the musical output for both is immediately evident, and any pining for Sacred Mother Tongue or Mutiny Within will disappear within seconds of the first listen of their debut song ‘Become Numb’. Mixing heavy, syncopated grooves, glorious riffs, Andy’s signature shred and Chris’s angelic, soaring vocals, it’s a promising taste of things to come. What happens next is yet to be written, but if there's any truth to the old adage "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger", then WEARING SCARS should be unstoppable. Wearing Scars is: Chris Clancy Andy James Lee Newell Craig Daws A combination of members from Mutiny Within and Sacred Mother Tongue