What’s your role in Pyroclast?
Guitar.
Where you from, man?
I grew up in Fort William and moved to Glasgow when I was 21.
When did you join the band, and what brought you to this wonderful group of awesome people?
I joined in August 2023 when I heard that Tantrum were lacking a bass player for a couple of upcoming gigs. I saw Tantrum perform the year before and loved their set so I offered to fill the space, temporarily, and somehow it’s been nearly two years and I am on guitar now.
What drew you to your instrument originally?
I was 10 years old when my parents went to visit my auntie and dragged me with them. I remember I clocked a swivelly office chair in her living room which I claimed and repeatedly spun myself with. My auntie’s boyfriend had a guitar so my dad asked him if he could play any Deep Purple. He of course played Smoke on the Water (a song that I had heard hundreds of times in the car by that point) which completely blew me away. So for Christmas that year I asked for a spinny chair and a guitar.
Who would you say were your greatest influences? Not necessarily for your own instrument, just in terms of writing, performing, and style?
I have a few infuences for different reasons but to be brief – Ritchie Blackmore, Steve Morse, John Petrucci, Iron Maiden, Dio, Michael Romeo, Russel Allen, Kai Hansen, Anton Kabanen.
When you want to chill the fuck out, who would be the first three bands you’d likely want to listen to?
In no particular order: Iron Maiden, Symphony X, Helloween. Ask me again in a week and that will probably change.
Who are your past bands and/or projects?
My last band was Nocturne Wulf – a heavy metal band with a mix of influences. A push for melody, a lean on thrash. I was with those lads for nearly 7 years. An absolute unforgettable era that I’ll forever cherish.
My band before that (excluding multiple failed start-up bands) was Hired Guns, my first gigging band. Heavy influences from Maiden in that band. That was with Liam on bass – I think he may have invited me to the band at the time actually. Back in 20….11? 2012? Aye, 2012. We gigged in small venues up north in the space of 2 years but felt waaay longer at the time with everything being so shiny and new.
List your main gear (e.g., guitars, amps, drum kit, pedals), etc.
For live, it’s always a tough choice between my Dean 450 Custom (with EMGs which I find cut through very nicely in a live environment), and my Solar V1.6 (which has an Evertune bridge which is a game-changer!).
For amps/effects, that is all handled by the Line 6 Helix LT. FOH person will take a line out of that, and I take a line out of it and connect it to the “return” of the BluGuitar amp just to power a cab for my on-stage monitoring. Very exciting!
What’s one piece of gear you’d never give up?
That’d be my Schecter Blackjack C-1 SLS. First guitar I personally bought and still use for recording. It’s got a Seymour Duncan Full Shred which, although is classed as a medium output pickup, is very responsive and aggressive.
What’s one piece of gear you don’t have but would sell your granny for?
Generally I have everything I need. Which is why I have no grannies left. But I would like a Solar strat-type guitar with Fishman pickups and an Evertune bridge. A reliable work-horse guitar.
Are you a tone-chaser, fannying around with your gear all the time, or do you plug and play?
A bit of both! I like to explore the options on gear or plugins. But I like to quickly get something decent by starting with the basics. Then I’ll go about and see what we have to play with. Option paralysis is definitely a thing though.
What song are you most proud of and why?
Difficult to say as I tend to second guess my choices once I’ve decided something is “finished”. There’s always that “oh maybe I could’ve done this or that…”. But what made me feel quite chuffed was when the first song idea I submitted to the band, which was shortly after I’d joined, was selected to be the first single for the upcoming album “No Placed for the Damned”. That song is “The Darkest of Times”. I had originally called it “Rage of the Toastie”.
And I have to list “The Pit and the Pendulum”, even though I only had a small part in the writing of that one. It’s just such an epic song to end the album with, and so much fun to play.
What’s the weirdest/funniest thing that’s happened on stage?
There’s been a few hilarious and odd things over the years. Maybe the Hired Guns gig where our singer dressed up as Darth Gandalf and handed out sweets to the audience from his wizard hat.
What do you do when you’re not making music?
Cry.
Guilty pleasure artist or song?
I’ve only got a boring answer for this. Sooorry. But I don’t feel shame/guilt on anything I listen to or enjoy. Shouldn’t feel guilt for what tickles yer lugs.
What’s your ultimate one-day festival lineup? Doesn’t matter if they’re not around anymore.
There are some obvious picks (Maiden, Rainbow, Sabbath etc.). I’d love to see Beast in Black, All For Metal, Fellowship, FEUERSCHWANZ, dArtagnan, and Angus McSix at the same fest. There’s enough cheese there to spike your blood pressure.
What’s the best gig you’ve been to? Ever. Hands down.
This is so difficult to answer. Feck. My immediate thought is Helloween – 02 Academy, Brixton, 2017. Just an incredible 3 hour set which was shortly after Kiske and Hansen came back.
This was really difficult to type with my hands down.
What would you like to see from Pyroclast over the next three years?
I’m genuinely very excited for what we have planned. I’d love gigs in places we haven’t played before and hopefully in front of bigger audiences. I’d especially love to perform abroad. I think (I hope) we’d fit really well for European audiences!
Ask yourself a question that you’d like to have been asked but which Markuz was stupid enough to overlook.
You wanna hurt me? Go right ahead if it makes you feel any better. I’m an easy target. Yeah, you’re right, I talk too much. I also listen too much. I could be a cold-hearted cynic like you… but I don’t like to hurt people’s feelings. Well, you think what you want about me; I’m not changing. I like… I like me. My wife likes me. My customers like me. ‘Cause I’m the real article. What you see is what you get.