Birmingham's Xilla onto a winner with album

All the hours put in writing and recording material for their recent album Distant Minds has paid off, and now they get to sit back and watch the adulation roll in.

The five-piece metal-influenced outfit are mostly based in the Second City. Guitarist Greg Pullin and drummer Pete Smyth are both Erdington lads, while guitarist Chris Flanagan also hails from the city. Bassist Richard Pullin, Greg's brother, is based in Sutton Coldfield.

And then there's a Black Country twist to the vocals with Leigh Oates hailing from Stourbridge.

"We’re hoping to use all this positive press to jump on to some decent touring in the next year," he admits when speaking to us. And he's not the only member hoping for something good to come of it.

"Distant Minds has had a great reaction from everyone who listens to it, gaining great reviews from recognised magazines such as Prog, Rock Tribune and Metal," Rich adds.

Pete continues: "We’ve been lucky to draw people from many different demographics - the heavy rock and metal scene, the old school 'proggers' and the more melodic rock listeners too, as well as the neo-progressive and prog-metal audience."

Not bad for their first full release.

The range of listeners is no surprise either, as their influences as a five-piece are also a wide-ranging spectrum.

"My biggest drumming influences on this album are probably Dave Grohl of Nirvana, Jose Pasillas of Incubus, Jon Theodore of Mars Volta, and Danny Heifetz of Mr. Bungle," adds Pete. "They're the ones that show up most in my playing."

And Greg adds: "For me it started off with bands like Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica, Muse and Iron Maiden.

"But then I moved onto more progressive and technical bands as I developed as a guitarist such as Dream Theater, Pantera and Symphony X. I’ve gradually been introduced to a whole world of incredible guitarists, from Dave Gilmour and Steve Morse to John Petrucci and Guthrie Govan."

It's been a long process since their early beginnings in 2012. Greg, Richard and Chris had been together since school, then Chris met Pete in college. And finally, Leigh entered the fray.

"I was new to Birmingham and my former band had stopped touring, so I wanted to work with a band that was ready to play live," he remembers. "I heard the Xilla demo material and thought I could make a positive contribution, so got in touch and have been with the guys now for around 18 months."

As with most unsigned bands, Xilla believe in the power of social media. Getting noticed in a flooded market can be difficult, and with a product to get out there they see it as the best way to get it picked up around the world.

However, it's not the be all and end all, with them even describing it as a "necessary evil".

Rich said: "We see social media as very important in this modern day, if we didn’t use it we couldn’t advertise gigs, announce music and videos or even reach new fans.

"On the other hand, there is a lot of distraction on social media, which doesn’t help when you are trying to grow the band," he adds for balance.

"I think it's very important these days to have an online presence if you're a band, especially if you want to interact with your fanbase," Pete continues. "But it's not easy to reach people, it's all in favour of those who already have a lot of money to invest. It's not easy for a new project to get off the ground.

"If you're already established it's a lot easier and not as necessary. Tool, for example, have basically snubbed the internet for their entire career but it hasn't affected their popularity. If anything it's fed into the mystery and quirkiness of the band’s image."

And Chris says: "We grew up in the last days of the old-skool system, so social media isn’t as important to us as it might be to others. We are a live band and we do things the old way - lots of gigging and lots of releasing music. We just see social media as a necessary evil."

"It certainly helps a lot for a band to get more exposure," admits Greg. "Thanks to social media and streaming platforms we’ve noticed an increase in people listening to our music globally, from Europe and the US to South America and Australia. Still, we are primarily a live band, so traction online doesn’t necessarily mean guaranteed fans at shows.

"We’re trying to build it as naturally as possible by getting out there and performing for people, as well as having an online presence."

With those live shows so important to them, they are understandably keen to flag a couple of them up, starting with a support slot for Birdeatsbaby at their home city's Scruffy Murphy's in September.

"Yeah, really looking forward to that one," admits Pete. "Scruffy's is where we held our album launch so it's a special place for us and culturally for Birmingham, as it's one of the few rock pub venues in the city centre."

And Leigh says: "We also have a big Distant Minds homecoming show on November 30 at the O2 Academy 3 in Birmingham."

And for anyone that hasn't seen them, what can they expect from a Xilla show?

Leigh says: "Lots of passion and power from the band and a good time - you'll leave wanting to see the band again as soon as you can."

Sounds good, right?

Pete adds: "We play great rock songs with an outside the box approach," and Chris says they are "five genuine musicians playing the old-skool way."

For a blast of nostalgia, they could be worth checking out.

Xilla can be found on Twitter @XillaUK and Facebook @Xillaband. Their debut album Distant Minds can be heard on their Spotify page. For tickets to their Scruffy Murphy's gig search for them on Bands In Town, and tickets for the O2 Academy 3 gig are on Ticketmaster.