Frontierier: New Mathematics

Frontierer stands out as one of the only math/tech metal bands in Edinburgh. Photo: Calum McMillan/Gingersnaps Photography

They might boast violent guitar screeches, explosive rhythm and a beast for a vocalist, but Frontierer still aim to “write tunes that people can remember,” according to guitarist Pedram Valiani. For all we know, his band””in all its unholy havoc ””is the perfect soundtrack to someone throwing a thousand punches in all directions.

The Edinburgh, Scotland-based guitarist and producer Valiani started the mathcore band in 2011 and tore up plenty of eardrums with their gnarling, frenzied debut full-length album Orange Mathematics in 2015. Valiani says over the phone from Edinburgh, “I’m trying to constantly write and record music to a standard of quality that I just listen to myself.” The independent release garnered them a lot of attention and quite a bit of funds as well, which probably aided their firstever live show in July 2016, at UK’s Tech Fest. Valiani says of the show, “I think it was mostly there but I think it wasn’t as good as it could be. I think we all agree with that. So moving forward with the next sessions, we want to up our game outperform Tech Fest, smash some faces.”

Videos show that it was more or less an impeccable performance for a band that’s usually morphing riffs unpredictably on the record. But Valiani welcomes criticism, “I like raising that curiosity, because I kind of hope to live up to it, from record to live. It’s not all been positive and I don’t expect it to. I want to gain that constructive criticism so that I can take it on board.”

“I’m trying to constantly write and record music to a standard of quality that I just listen to myself,” says Pedram Valian. Photo: Calum McMillian/Gingersnaps Photography

This month, they’re getting on stage again, on their debut Europe tour that kicks off at Complexity Festival in Netherlands, alongside the likes of metal veteran Ihsahn and tech-death metal band Obscura, among others. Valiani says he’s not bothered about being the odd one out on any lineup. “As long as we can play a show and the offer to have us come and play, I’ll play a pop festival, I’ll play Coachella or something like that. I just want to make sure we’re covered and we know what we’re going into and can perform the way we want to,” he says.

Frontierer stands out as one of the only math/tech metal bands in Edinburgh, but they could be seen as the next best thing after mathcore bands like The Dillinger Escape Plan and The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza. The 16-track Orange Mathematics is almost too intense to hear in one sitting, but if you survive, you know you’ll never think of metal the same way any longer. Valiani, along with (the US based) vocalist Chad Kapper bassist Callum Craig, guitarist Dan Stevenson and drummer Owen Hughes, are already working on premiering new material on their five-date Europe tour. They’re also enlisted for an appearance at Euroblast Festival in Germany in October, and Valiani says they will most likely chart out another Europe tour around then.

As for their upcoming second full-length album and the follow-up to the unsparing Orange Mathematics, Valiani says it’s nearing completion, but will be slotted for release in 2018. He describes the new material in typical metal terms, like “heavier” and “more aggressive,” but the difference is that he’s aware that those are overused adjectives. The guitarist does add that there are more electronic elements as well as plenty of tempo variations. He says, “It’s more familiar and it goes to new places. I kind of feel like our music is comfort food””you know what you’re getting is good quality and you just want to keep getting more of it.”