Scottish multi-instrumentalist XAAR brings a fierce, personal edge to Metallica’s Leper Messiah with a bold reinterpretation rooted in his dark, industrial sound — and a lifelong passion for metal.
1. First
off, congratulations on the release of your version of "Leper
Messiah"! What made this specific Metallica track the right one for you to
cover?
Thanks!
Leper Messiah stood out to me as a track that goes against the grain its always
sounded a tad different to me compared to the rest of the Metallica catalogue,
I also chose this song because I imagined it working so well with the XAAR
sound and its not an obvious choice for a cover track!
2. Covering such an iconic song from Master of Puppets is a bold move. How
did you strike the balance between honoring the original and infusing it with
your own dark metal sound?
I played the bass parts exactly as Cliff Burton did! The track overall is
similar to the original but is played in B standard to beef things up a little.
Obviously serving the song is very important and Iam confident it will shine
both XAAR and Leper Messiah in a good light. (There’s a surprise during the
Solo).
3. You’ve said Metallica inspired your entire journey into music. Can you
take us back to that moment in 2004 at Glasgow Green — what exactly changed for
you that day?
Wow! ok! Yeah so At the time I had been playing Bass and Guitar for 2 years I
was a 14 year old kid that was obsessed with Metallica and the Guitar! But the
spin is that I lived in a small town outside of Glasgow and metal wasn’t
exactly popular or understood, especially when I was going to pursue music
professionally. Anyway.. back in 2004 Metallica announced that they would
headline “ Download Scotland”…(Yes that Download and yes it only happened
once!) my day was made when I received my ticket but the big rev up to the big
day was eminence! On the day both me and my school friend had “dentist
appointments” so that we could attend the show! It was the 4th year of High
School.. We get to the gates and we ran for our lives toward the stage where
“HIM” opened the day.. Slipknot, Korn also played which was awesome but lets be
honest the big draw was METALLICA!
After a long 1 hour and half wait after Korn’s set the sun whent down slightly
and the crowd got restless… Out of nowhere the intro tape rolls…”Long Way To
The Top” by AC/DC subtly sounds on the PA… Ecasty of gold next and my 14 year
old stomach had butterflies…. Lars appears.. then Rob and Kirk.. then James
joins during the intro to BLACKENED! To me it was the most intense moment I had
experienced unreal!
They also played “Ride The Lightning” so both “Ride The Lightning” and
“Blackened”take me back to those moments 21 years ago!! It was then it was more
than solid I knew that no
matter what I would Peruse music! It just is apparent to me that it was the
most inspirational day of my life! Iam still saying that 21 years later!
4. From bass player in bands to running XAAR as a solo project — what
inspired that transition, especially during the pandemic?
After playing in many project for over a decade on bass, I felt frustrated and
knew I was capable of so much more since I have always shown a multi
instrumental and multi facetted nature since I was a kid. During the pandemic
like many I was locked in my studio and it all just made sense… I am a firm
believer in that the answers will find you when you are ready! And for me that
meant to take my future and life by the horns and use my own steering wheel.
5. "Leper Messiah" isn’t a typical cover choice — was it important
to choose something more niche and unexpected for hardcore fans?
Yeah! It is the first cover I have ever released and for a long time I would
not do a cover as specially a Metallica Track as I felt it was too obvious that
a metal project covered metals biggest band! BUT! I remembered that in the
early days of XAAR I was jamming to Leper Messiah on bass… it reminded me that
its a track thats against the grain much like my project and that its a track
only true fans of Metallica or Master of Puppets would know!
6. How did you approach the recording process for this track, performing all
instrumentation yourself at XAAR HQ in Scotland?
True. I recorded bass first after programming the drums… Then quad tracked
guitars.. the vocals where done in one day.. Vocals are my newest Instrument so
Iam kinda new to Vocals!
Gear I used
LTD PHOENIX 201
Ibanez - EHB1000
Kemper Profiler
Shure Sm57B
7. What role did Charlie Wilson Jr. at Monolith Studios play in shaping the
final sound?
Charlie Wilson Jr was Mixing and Mastering Engineer
8. There’s a powerful visual identity behind XAAR — from the logo to the
album art and photography. How important is the visual aspect to the XAAR
experience?
From the onset of the project the creation of visual elements by me is to
showcase my multi faceted nature as I also do Graphic design, photography that
I am 100% self taught.
I use original phots by me and turn them intro artwork for the singles.
I also created the XAAR name and logo back in 2021.
9. XAAR’s sound has been described as a mix between Nine Inch Nails and Lamb
of God. How do you define XAAR’s sonic identity in your own words?
Interesting! That was from a review a while back to me XAAR is its own thing
but naturally people will use genres and other bands to describe the product
Iam ok with that!
If I had to choose a genre or list of bands it would be “ Melodic Modern Metal,
Industrial Metal, Blackened Death Metal, Sludge,”
10. Looking back at earlier releases like River of Bones, how do you feel your sound and vision have evolved since launching XAAR?
Kinda moved away from the post apocalyptic undertone of the early releases, new stuff Iam writing is beefy and kinda a throwback to 00s metal that it all started with for me back then!
11. You’ve hinted at new music and a live lineup. Can you share what’s next for XAAR in 2025 and beyond?
Iam working on new music daily, I can reveal that 2 solid songs have strong demos that iam Hyped to drop later and working on over 50 new riffs that Iam consolidating into new XAAR music.
As for live line up its still something in its early stages but Iam determined that XAAR will tour and play live shows.
12. Finally, what message would you give to young metalheads — especially those growing up in small towns — who dream of following in
your footsteps?
Keep going! Get out there! Do your thing don’t copy! And above all BE YOU!
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