Pedal To The Metal

They’ve played with The Rolling Stones, The Who, Aerosmith and supported AC/DC on their Black Ice world tour. They can count Jimmy Page, Joe Elliot and a host of other rock luminaries amongst their fans.

Yes, the last few years have been quite the whirlwind for The Answer.
Now their third long-player Revival has just hit the streets. Their most accomplished work to date, it is jammed with polished rock nuggets, catchy riffs, glossy production and arena-ready euphoric choruses.
Over afternoon tea in Dublin’s Library Bar, frontman Cormac Neeson is contemplating the impact a year-and-a-half on the road with AC/DC had on the long-player.
“Watching them work that crowd every night you can’t help soaking up the rock ‘n’ roll tricks of the trade,” he muses. “It was just hooky rock ‘n’ roll hit after hooky rock ‘n’ roll hit. I think we’ve managed to incorporate some of those songwriting principles on this album. You can tell by listening to it that it’s in no way trying to be AC/DC. There is that same kind of efficieny of songwriting though. You’re not wasting a beat or a breath.”
The band set to work on the album as soon as they’d returned from the massive slew of dates.
“We’d just come off that amazing tour and thought it was really necessary to channel all those good positive experiences and make an album that was on the whole quite an optimistic record. Full of energy and vibrancy and everything that it is to be in The Answer.”
Being on the road with one of the biggest bands in the world was an eye-opening experience. Happily the Australian rockers proved to be exemplary hosts.
“Brian (Johnson) and Ciff (Williams) came in to our dressing-room on the first night of the US tour, wished us the best and let it be known that they were more nervous than we were about what was about to happen,” says Cormac. “Brian is the kind of guy that you could walk into Whelan’s front bar and he’d be having a pint entertaining the whole place with stories. He’s a straight-up-Geordie-Old-Holburn-smoking dude who is very approachable. He’s hilarious as well. He’d just crack you up.”
When we remind Cormac of the impressive list of stars with whom he’s shared the stage, he highlights The Rolling Stones shows as “the most star-struck we’ve ever been".
Did the Downpatrick lads get to meet Mick & Co.?
“Yes, it was like meeting royalty,” he smiles. “We were brought in to the general area of their living quarters and then were told, ‘The Rolling Stones will see you in five minutes.’ Once we met them they were really good guys, Mick Jagger even cracked something approaching a joke, ‘So you’re the Scottish guys are ya?’ He could see us getting a bit annoyed and he burst out laughing and said he was only teasing.”
Praise has also been heaped on the band by some of the biggest names in rock including Def Leppard mainman Joe Elliot.
“He’s come out and said great stuff about us in the past,” nods Cormac. “He said once that Rise was an influence on the album that they did around that time. That’s the ultimate compliment a musician can get. A guy like Joe saying it has made an impression on his approach to his music. It’s like holy shit! Thanks very much, Joe!”
Closer to home, Neeson acknowledges a strong camaraderie between Northern Irish acts adding, “I think bands in the north have grown up with this attitude that the world is against them, which isn’t a bad attitude to have because it means you fight for every yard. The music scene is doing really well up there at the moment, there are bands from so many different genres breaking through; General Fiasco, ASIWYFA, Cashier No. 9. And you’ve got that foundation of the Ashes and Therapys and Snow Patrols of this world who’ve been there and done it.
“Our drummer James used to play in Ash way back in the day actually,” he points out. “He was with them for the tour that got them the record deal. He was only 17. He had a few other projects of his own at the time so he stepped down, which worked out well for us in the long run!”
On another topical northern note, how does Cormac feel about Martin McGuinness’ presidential bid?
“Marty? He’s got a big set of brass balls at least! I’ll say that for him!”

Revival is out now on Spinefarm. The Answer are on Irish tour throughout the month of October.