French metalcore band LANDMVRKS are back with their third album ‘Lost In The Waves’ on 19th March via Arising Empire. We spoke to them about some of the songs that inspired them as a band.
Box Car Racer – ‘I Feel So’
Nico: This band, and especially Tom Delonge’s way of composing, has influenced my personal writing so much. This Box Car Racer album is really special to me, it has so much power and I love the dark / emo / punk vibes of this one.
The Distillers – ‘Drain the Blood’
Nico: I remember being 14 years old, playing guitar in my bedroom and wanting to be in a punk band. If I had to choose a punk band to be in, it would be this one for sure!
The Police – ‘So Lonely’
Paul: I think The Police were the first “rock” band I listened to as a kid. I remember my parents always rocking their albums on the stereo and ‘So Lonely’ has always been at the top of my list. It almost had a pop-punk vibe more than a decade before pop-punk was even a thing. Stewart Copeland’s drum parts were out of this world, so far ahead of its time!
Blink-182 – ‘Story Of A Lonely Guy’
Paul: This is the first song I learned on guitar and that changed everything for me. I’ve always been a massive Blink fan since the Dude Ranch era, but this one holds a special place in my heart. 12 years later, I was touring with them in Australia and watched them play this song side-stage and cried ahah, Blink 4 life!
Linkin Park – ‘Somewhere I Belong’
Kevin: I think it was the first Linkin Park song I heard! It was on the TV and after that I became a big fan of this band! The next Christmas, I received my first hi-fi system and ‘Linkin Park – Live in Texas’ – I know every single line from this DVD!
Blink 182 – ‘All The Small Things’
Kevin: First song I ever played at a show! It was for my music school’s end of year show and I played this song with two guys from my school. Now, 15 years later, I am still a huge fan of Travis Barker! It’s a big inspiration for me.
Metallica – ‘Fade To Black’
Flo: I remember listening to the album ‘Ride the Lightning’ in my dad’s car on the way to school and being completely hypnotised when this song came on. I just wanted to go home and listen to it again. That’s when my love for Metallica started and that’s what made me really want to learn to play guitar.
Stick To Your Guns – ‘This Is More’
Flo: Stick To Your Guns are a band that helped me shape my vocal style, and also made me believe that punk/hardcore and modern metal could be mixed in a good way, ‘cause that’s what I wanted to do with LANDMVRKS
Slipknot – ‘People = Shit’
Rudy: In my early teens I listened to American rap. I didn’t know metal. When I got tired of American rap, I asked my mother to find me something else. A co-worker of hers gave her an album for me: it was Iowa. All that rage. It was such a revelation, a catharsis, as if I were a barrel and Shawn Crahan was hitting me with a baseball bat! Thanks mom, without you I would have known metal way too late.
Three Days Grace – ‘Animal I Have Become’
Rudy: First song I learned on bass, with a cheap bass and a second-hand guitar amp. That was with my very first band in college. This intro is crazy, but I didn’t know at the time that you needed bigger strings to play it, even a 5-string bass! I finally learned the classic ‘Come As You Are’ long after…