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Melodic metalcore act 40000 LEAGUES formed back in late 2006 out of the U.K. Ever since though, they have gone on to play shows, tour, releasing recent single's, with even newer music in the works too! They want to create more music, play more events, and just do so much for themselves and all of us as the listeners! See what the band discusses with us below!
1. Please tell us about the history of your band and its members.
We are 40,000 Leagues, a melodic metalcore band from Greater Manchester, UK. We formed in late 2016 after our vocalist, Nathan ‘Nips’ Crossdale, met our former guitarist, Andrew Davidson, and decided to put together a band that incorporated elements of classic metal and metalcore. This all changed when our lead guitarist Joe Leonard joined the band and brought progressive metal into the mix; he is also the chief songwriter for 40,000 Leagues. Paul Beesley and Rick Wiltshire soon joined the band, and the rest is history really. Harry Hulme joined the band after the departure of Andrew, and the line-up has remained constant ever since.
2. What’s the origin of the band’s name?
We had been struggling for a band name for a while, with no name really capturing our imagination. We thought about trying to name the band after something from either classical literature or mythology, until Nathan thought up the idea of naming the band after the book, 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea. However, we got the number wrong – but we liked it so we stuck with the name 40,000 Leagues. We also discussed having a scuba-diving hamster as a mascot – but we quickly dropped the idea… for now.
3. Where is the band based out of and what is your music scene like there? Are there any local
bands you could recommend?
40,000 Leagues are based in Manchester, which has one of the best metal scenes in the country.
There is a real positive atmosphere in the metal scene there, with so many bands being supportive
of one another. There’re also many great promoters in Manchester who go the extra mile to help
new and underground bands: James and Jayne Bennet who run the 0161 Manchester Underground Metal Community, Robin Plumbly, Mike Murphy, Suzie Doyle and many more. There are also so many great bands based in Manchester that we have had the pleasure of sharing the stage with, including: Dekaytah, Prognosis, Technologist, I Am The Wreckage, VLKA, Beyond Salvation, Agent 47, to name but a few of the great Manchester bands.
4. How would you describe your style?
We are an energetic blend of melodic metalcore and progressive metal with elements of classic metal and power metal in there for good measure. An aim of the band has been to bridge the gap between metalcore and progressive metal – and this is what we are striving to do with our next releases.
5. What have you released so far and what can someone expect from your works?
Our most recent release is a single entitled, The Dragon Will Rise. It is catchy, power metal style
song that has become a fan favorite. There is also a comedy music video to accompany it which
combines power metal and badminton in a way you never thought possible, complete with cameos
from many of Manchester’s finest metal bands. Over the last couple of years, we have released several other singles: Reflections, Reaper and Control, as well as a cover of Ain’t Nobody by Chaka Khan.
We also released our first EP, A New Beginning, nearly six years ago. So, we think it is time to release something again soon.
6. Do you have any new music in the works?
Yes, we are soon to be releasing our next new single, The Architect. The song follows the journey
of the devil as he is cast out of heaven and begins to build a new kingdom in his own image – his
own personal hell. We also have several plans in place for other releases later this year and early next year.
7. How about playing shows and touring, have anything planned out?
We are soon to be heading out on tour with our good friends in Warlock A.D. to support their upand-coming album release. We’ll be playing shows in Manchester, York, Stoke, Wrexham and a few
other locations too as part of the tour. In October we’ll be returning to the The Swan With Two Necks alongside our friends in Karma’s Puppet for a special Halloween show. The Swan holds a special place in our hearts as it is the first venue that we ever played as a band. In November we will be playing a show as part of Rabidfest 2024 – an incredible festival in Oxford, that is headlined this year by Evile and Viscera.
8. What plans do you have for the future as a band?
Our plans moving forward as a band are to book more festival slots, so that we can open up our
music to new audiences. We also plan to tour more extensively next year and perhaps even break
into the European metal scenes too. We mentioned it briefly earlier, but we will be releasing several new singles later this year, and working towards releasing an album early next year too.
9. Where can we listen to your band and where can we buy your stuff?
Our music is available on most streaming platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music,
Deezer and many other platforms. All our music videos, including the video for our new single, The
Dragon Will Rise, are available on our YouTube channel. Our merch is available on our Big cartel
site.
Below are some of the links for you:
https://open.spotify.com/artist/4Bg5VLmgR6A8oYK2tHVLl9?si=qGKhAtrAQ92o1D3oIgDSeg
https://www.youtube.com/@40000leagues
https://40000leagues.bigcartel.com/
https://40000leagues.bandcamp.com/
10. What is it you’d like a listener to remember the most when hearing your music for the first
time?
We would like our listeners to enjoy our music and hear the passion that we bring to it. Playing and
making music is something that we all love to do, and getting to do that in a band with your good
friends is something special. We hope this comes through in all the music we create.
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