INTERVIEW: TO THE GRAVE IN CONVERSATION WITH MATT CLARKE
Interview by Cecilia Pattison-Levi
“Sorry for the noise,” exclaimed Matt Clarke, dressed in a hoodie with ‘In Rust We Trust’ emblazoned across his chest – well, oxidisation happens. “We are under a flight path and the boys are just rehearsing inside for the Australian tour.”
Matt Clarke and his bandmates Dane Evans, Jack Simioni, Nic Webb and Raymond Martin make up the Sydney band To The Grave. The band is just about to hit the road with their ‘Nail Australia To The Walls’ tour and to release their new album ‘Liberation Front’. The band’s new album is a visceral experience with devastating and brutally honest messaging about how we live in a modern world. The thoughts behind the album and the tour are well considered, if confronting, and they are sure to grab your attention.
“We want to talk about the really important matters in our songs when we play them live,” explained Matt Clarke. “The message comes through the music. As a band, we have been open about being vegan and being activists on behalf of animal rights. Our convictions are inseparable from the band. We wanted the lyrics of this album to start a conversation about what is real.”
The album has a militant philosophical core: the hypocrisy of religion and the idea of human dominion over nature in ‘Nail Mary’, environmentalism in ‘Torture Porn’ and the industrialisation of cruelty in our food in ‘Calf Slicer’ and ‘Limb From Lamb’. The sonic soundscape wraps around these issues in deathcore. It rages against the machine!
“We often answer all sorts of questions like, what do vegans eat?” Matt Clarke said in an exasperated manner. “Well, the same as what’s on your plate. With no meat! It’s pretty simple. Don’t eat animals. There are lots of other ways to get protein. It is always questions that we love to talk about on tour.”
“We are going to be bringing a very different set to this Australian tour,” mused Matt Clarke. “There will be a mix – a bit of everything – songs from all the albums. There will be new music, older songs and fan favourites. We will bring the songs and see the reactions from the crowd and fans.”
“We also want people to move,” said Matt Clarke. “We want people to come to the gig and have a good time. Not just be there watching us play our instruments or listen without enjoying the music and the gig.”
The intense deathcore sonic world and the lyricism delivered by To The Grave are wrapped up in the final song of the album, ‘The World Is A Slaughterhouse’. The sonic violence reflects the actual violence perpetrated on animals and the environment by unthinking humans. It faces full-on the industrial machinery of killing on a global and individual level.
As Matt Clarke stated, “If we can make somebody stop and question what they have accepted as normal, then we have started making those small changes. We often have fans and people come and talk to us after gigs to ask questions. We encourage them to look into an issue, make changes and engage with local groups and activism.”
However, before the album ‘Liberation Front’ is released in Australia, To The Grave will be bringing Alabama band No Cure with them to perform the ‘Nail Australia To The Walls Tour’.
“No Cure will be making their Australian debut,” stated Matt Clarke. “We have also got some great young Australian bands joining us like Melbourne’s Algor Mortis and Canberra’s Bloodmouth. We have lots of other bands playing as well. It’s going to be great.”
I hope people approach To The Grave’s tour and new album with an open mind. It will be hard and heavy, and the songs from all their albums will challenge you, especially the new tracks from ‘Liberation Front’. Hopefully To The Grave will make you question your life choices and your views about what is really happening around you.
The album ‘Liberation Front’ is out on 2 October 2026.
Nail Australia To The Walls Tour will be at the venues below with US band No Cure, Melbourne band Algor Mortis, Canberra band Bloodmouth and other local bands.
Wednesday 2, September 2026: Amplifier Bar, Perth WA with End It All and Our Demise. Algor Mortis and Bloodmouth do not appear.
Thursday, 3 September 2026: Lion Arts Factory, Adelaide SA with Chapel Hill and Anathame. Bloodmouth does not appear.
Friday, 4 September 2026: Singing Bird Studio, Frankston, VIC with Scattered Limbs.
Saturday, 5 September 2026: Max Watts, Melbourne VIC with Body Prison.
Sunday, 6 September 2026: The Baso, Canberra ACT with Slaughtercult and Rodenticide.
Thursday, 10 September 2026: Crowbar, Sydney NSW with Gosika.
Friday, 11 September 2026: Hamilton Station Hotel, Newcastle NSW with Fatal Excuse.
Saturday, 12 September 2026: The Triffid, Brisbane QLD with Onvoy.
