One of the best parts of being a music fan is getting an inside look into an artist’s life through their music. From feelings of happiness and love to anxiety and similar mental health battles, artists open themselves up in a way other professions don’t, allowing them to connect both with fans and those around them.

When UK based metal band Fatality first formed, they knew that they wanted to help use their platform to bring awareness and aid to the less glamorous side of life. Creating several releases inspired by their own mental health and personal lives, the band have helped remind fans that they are not alone in whatever they may be going through. And have since raised over $800 for various charities through live shows and EP releases.

With 2020 putting a halt to all live Fatality shows and preventing the band from uniting in person as often as they hoped, the four members dedicated their time to building a social media presence as well as recording new music to keep fans engaged throughout the year long touring break.

We had the chance to chat with vocalist Josh Abbott about how this downtime has affected Fatality as a whole and what their hopes are for the new year.

You can read our full Quarantine Questionnaire with Abbott below to find out how the band is handling 2020 and be sure to stream their latest single “Savior,” out now.

Second Society Report: How are you holding up during this insane year that is 2020? Hopefully your friends and families are staying safe and healthy!

Josh Abbott: We’re doing alright thank you. Getting by as best we can and trying to adjust to the way things work at the moment. It’s difficult but not impossible.

SSR: Did you have any big releases or tours that were put on hold because of the pandemic? How has that affected the band? (could be personally, financially, morale wise, etc.)

Josh Abbott: Yes we did. We recruited our new drummer Jordan in November 2019 and his first show with us was supposed to be in April 2020. We were then due to play a string of shows across the UK up until the summer time in which we were going to write and record a new EP.

Obviously none of the live shows could go ahead so Jordan is still yet to play a Fatality show in front of a live audience. Luckily we didn’t lose any money on these shows as the venues were nice enough to not charge us for the cancellations. We instead knuckled down in the studio (using Card Trick Music in Essex for fully isolated rehearsal sessions) and wrote and recorded loads of new music which we’ve been releasing every 6-8 weeks to give our audiences something fresh to listen to.

SSR: How have you been spending your newfound “downtime” while the world has been essentially shut down?

Josh Abbott: Like mentioned before we’ve been spending much more time writing, recording and refining our sound. Making sure everything is tight and purposeful within our music. We’re really happy with the way our songs are structured now and we have loads of ideas in the pipeline. On a personal level it’s been tough not being able to meet up in person as much as we could before. We’ve been taking up new hobbies such as boxing, weightlifting, some extra gaming, a bit of live streaming etc to pass some of the time where we would usually be hanging out so that’s all been helpful.

SSR: Have you picked up any new hobbies while quarantining that you’d like to share?

Josh Abbott: Yeah as previously stated I’ve been boxing, weightlifting, live streaming games and I’ve even taught myself to video edit which is SUPER stressful but loads of fun.

SSR: Have you worked on any new releases during this time? Any that are already out or that we can get a sneak peak of?

Josh Abbott: Of course. We’ve been releasing new music every 6-8 weeks to keep things fresh for our fans. You can hear all of this new music on all streaming sites, our website or find links to it on any of our social media pages.

SSR: If already out- what was the inspiration for the release? Have you written any songs specifically about the state of the world right now?

Josh Abbott: We’ve just written about what we usually write about to be honest. A lot of our music is centred around mental health and the struggles that we’ve all had. I don’t think we’ve written specifically about the state of the world right now but we definitely have been feeling the darker side of mental illness due to the pandemic and we always use our music as a way to express that. We know that all people one way or another have suffered with mental health issues so it’s also a way of letting people know that they’re not alone and maybe they can draw some kind of comparison and empathy with our music.

SSR: How has it been being an artist in a time when you cannot tour? How have you been working to promote your music and expand your reach?

Josh Abbott: We’ve been much more active on social media, attempting to interact with our audiences and listeners. I think releasing all these singles has helped promote us more as our name is a bit more prominent in the music scene (if that even still exists haha!). We’ve just been trying our best to stay relevant in these times where it would be easy to slip away.

SSR: Do you have any words of advice for fans that are feeling particularly bummed out about the live music world coming to a halt?

Josh Abbott: Hang on! It WILL be back eventually. We in the music industry have always found ways of banding together to overcome whatever adversity stands in front of us and we will 100% do it again to bring live music back to the people.

SSR: When the world returns to a safer spot and we are able to (hopefully) attend live shows again- say in 2021- what do you hope to achieve?

Josh Abbott: We honestly will be so happy just to share and enjoy our music with a live crowd again. Anywhere and everywhere.

SSR: Is there anything you wish your fans would know about you or about the current state of the music world?

Josh Abbott: We’d like them to know that we will keep giving you music. We will keep releasing singles until we’re allowed to play live again. Once that happens we will be tirelessly booking shows up and down the country to enjoy the live scene with you all again!

You can stream Fatality’s latest single “Savior,” out now, and be sure to connect with the band via social media to stay up to date on all things new music.

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