Ultima Ratio Regum – ‘the final conversation that comes when there’s nothing left to say’ - is the quote that has inspired the third album Final Conversation Of Kings for The Butterfly Effect. The Brisbane rockers have spent the last 12 months shaping and crafting this epic third album, with fans already given a teaser at the Big Day Out with The Hidden and These Hands, which were both received well.
Now The Butterfly Effect’s followers can celebrate the arrival of new single Window And The Watcher on the airwaves. Drummer Ben Hall talks about the year spent working on their new album and how the band narrowed down the final track selection.
“We’ve tried to make the songs more epic than anything we’ve done previously,” Ben admits.
Was there a lot of pressure to not only exceed your own expectations but that of fans as well?
“It’s one of those things I guess that as long as you’re enjoying the music that you’re writing, which is what got you in the position in the first place, I don’t think it is as easy to change the way you write songs or the style of music you would write. I think fans would rather hear what you feel and we’ve always written that, so the two are related. The focus for us has always been to keep it fresh and to keep enjoying the music, which hopefully translates.”
Did you do anything different this time round with recording the album?
“In the interim of finishing the last record [Imago] and starting this one we’ve tried to push ourselves a little harder. We thought that might have the effect of making things more interesting for us after playing night after night on tour.”
Compared to recording your two other albums, was this one more complicated?
“The first two or three months back is the most difficult period for us. There’s always usually a clash of directions before it gets nutted out. Overall, it was probably the best album to write and it was fun for the four of us in the rehearsal room. I’d like to think that this album is a little better than the rest but there were different vibes right across all the previous records. On Imago we tried to go for more of a live feel and a lot of overdubs and a lot of different instruments were used on every song. Sonically this one is going to sound a lot more expansive.”
What inspired the album title Final Conversation Of Kings?
“Clint [Boge, frontman] had written a lyric that had a conflict theme and we had noticed a lot of conflict themes in the songs, so we looked for a relevant title for such a thing and found the Latin phrase Ultima Ratio Regum, which is ‘the last conversation of kings’. The last conversation of kings is when you’re battling - that’s the only way you can sort the situation out. It’s interesting and I think [French king] Louis XIV had it etched onto their cannons before they started the war.”
Does the rest of the album keep up that theme of conflict? “Lyrically there’s definitely a thread in there.”
How was the studio experience this time?
“We set ourselves up pretty well. This time we were in Mango Studios on the Central Coast for the best part of five weeks and we had plenty of time to get things done. It was fun and following on from that we went down to Melbourne to mix the album for two weeks. I think the whole process reflects the quality of our producer [Forrester Savelle] who was under the pump to get it done and make sure it sounds great.”
Do you think, especially with Clint also being involved in Brisbane act Final Days Of Autumn, being around other bands has contributed to the strength of this album?
“Clint does that because of the way we write,” Ben asserts. “We usually like to have a couple of songs under our belt before Clint comes in and starts putting his vocal content to the record. He had a bit of spare time at the start of the process and also had a few songs of his own that he wanted to pursue, so it buys a bit of time to get some ideas down. It was good in the sense that it’s not like when he comes in that we haven’t run out of ideas and that there’s still plenty in the bag. Plus it tides his mind over and keeps him busy rather than waiting around at home waiting for the call to come in.”
Does that make it tricky to try and make the vocal content fit the music?
“It can. It can be a little disappointing because Clint may come in and not hear anything or he won’t attach to something we’ve been working on for months. Generally, he may come in and write certain parts of it and go from there or starting working on some new stuff. It gives us a back catalogue and some newer stuff to move forward with.”
Is there much heated debate about song selections or what does and doesn’t work so well?
“There were a few arguments on this one. There was a bit of debate around the final tracklisting, but we’ve never been a band that has written enough songs as it usually is pretty clear what the 10 album tracks are and what the B-sides will be. If we write more than 11 songs we usually tend to ditch one, so if there is a 12th we say that one is shit and has to go and end up back at 11. There were definitely points of contention along the way, but overall the process was a lot easier than previous occasions.”
The Butterfly Effect play HQ on Sun Nov 9 with Trial Kennedy and Sleep Parade. Final Conversation Of Kings is out on Sat Sep 20.