Currently holding down dual roles as vocalist, guitarist and songwriter for Gold Coast rockers HAMMERS and drum duties for blues funk trio Hot Cobra, Stone‘s work as a solo artist brings a venomous and dexterous twist to his creative repertoire, lined with sharp post metal and blackened alternative rock. And today, Stone combines 35 years spent writing and creating music into a brand new solo and completely independent EP: DEATHBED.
“I do this for me. Which is kinda silly, I guess,” says Stone. “Clearly, to my career’s detriment, I’m approaching 50 and I’m only just now starting to understand that I do have an audience and, sometimes, strategic placement of elements of your artform makes it easier to execute said artform. On the other hand, as far as my integrity goes, every single note and word I’ve penned is all of me. I’ve bent for no one. Is that a good thing? Probably not. But honestly, in my heart of hearts, I wouldn’t change a fuck’n thing. I’ve broken & rebuilt myself multiple times for this shit and it’s been worth every fall…”
DEATHBED also boasts the addition of some of Stone‘s talented friends and stalwarts of the Australian heavy music scene, including: Colin Jeffs (Aversions Crown), Leigh Dowling (HAMMERS), Nathan Wyner (A Secret Death), Dario Lagana (HAMMERS, HELM), Mick Jeffrey (Aversions Crown), Simon Reys (Scalene, Born of a Jackal), Sam Vallen (Caligula’s Horse), and Jason Brown (Sunk Loto).
With a performance and songwriting career that began professionally in 1994, Lucas Stone has birthed eight EPs, six full length albums, including HAMMERS’ incoming full length album soon to add to the list, and multiple single and video releases across his 30 year career. With his tenure in a handful of bands, spanning Quilt and Scalene from 1990 to 1997, Tension from 1998 to 2005, HELM from 2008 to 2015, HAMMERS from 2017 to now, and Hot Cobra since 2021, Stone‘s musical output has cemented him as one of the most prolific and hard working heavy music composers in the underground Australian scene; and, still relatively little known by those who haven’t followed his career.
The depth of his love for music is second only to his war hammer work ethic. Somehow, amidst all of that, in his new solo release DEATHBED, he has managed to squeeze out a project that is uncompromisingly him and serves only to satiate what it is he needed out of his own toil, after all the years of contributing to the music world.
“I just wanted to go this one alone,” Stone says. “Play everything. Write everything. Feel everything for myself, uninterrupted. No boundaries or setbacks. It’s essentially the most selfish thing I’ve ever produced. Actually, that’s only half true. I guess I also got to choose some of my best, talented mates to chip in for a coupla cameos. Equally selfish, but also, sharing the love. And I got some damn clever friends. It’s been a fuck’n blast…”
Stream DEATHBED here
