Page 21 - Black Velvet Rock Magazine Issue 114

BV114 pg 20-23 Defences Interview.qxp_BV114 pg 21 11/06/2026 16:59 Page 2

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Transforming Your World
Transforming Your World

etamorphosis is the process of transformation, the growth and change
Mfrom a young stage of life into another, more mature, adult stage. It’s
cell turnover, personality overhaul, and a blossoming into something or some-
one that he, she or they were always meant to become. A caterpillar becoming
a butterfly. It was also the first single released by alternative rock/metal band
Defences in 2026. And it sums up the band to a tee. Slogging away for years
underground, the Hertfordshire-formed band have emerged to become some-
thing special. Cherry Duesbury on vocals, William Alex Young on keyboards
and vocals, Calum Wilmot on guitar and Kyle Parke on drums have been trans-
forming to become the band you need in your life.

riginally forming in 2014, Defences’ steady rise up the made a massive difference, as well, I hate to say it. Unfortu-
Omusical ladder has always been led by passion. Vo- nate as it is, being signed can really, really help you and open
calist Cherry tells Black Velvet that looking back to the start of up just so many opportunities for you. So, we’ve been able to
the band compared to now is like night and day. The band has really start to reap the rewards of 12+ years of hard work in
most definitely evolved. the last few, and so it’s just a whole different kind of landscape
“Back then… I actually forget how old I would have been… for us now.”
it was 2014, so I guess I was 22 when the band formed. Fairly
fresh out of college, and I had been studying music perform- herry says she owes everything to Calum when it
ance at college and really, really wanted to be in a band. I was Ccomes to Defences. ”Without Calum, there would be
at the height of my obsession with some of your staple metal- no Defences,” she says. “Calum was one of the original mem-
core bands like Memphis May Fire, Sleeping With Sirens, early bers who auditioned me. Me and Calum, and kind of Kyle, but
Of Mice And Men – they were my bread and butter and I really also, not really, are the original, original members of Defences
wanted to be living that. But also, Paramore – I was fully, fully – or the band that became Defences. So, he does the majority
obsessed. I was coming home from college every day and lit- of the songwriting, Calum, and the initial ideas come from him
erally jamming out to Paramore in my room, pretending to put and then we all work on them and develop them together. He’s
on my own shows, kinda thing. I really just wanted to make also been acting as band manager for the last few years. We
that reality, and so, finding a band that I could do that with was haven’t had a manager and we’ve kind of just been managing
my top priority. And when I found Defences, or what became ourselves, and he’s been at the core of that, essentially, just
Defences, what I really wanted for the band was for us to find trying to make sure that all of the various pots are being stirred
our place, and for it to kind of be some kind of creation based and liaising with some of the other members of our team.”
on those kind of influences, which you wouldn’t normally put We ask if there’ll come a time when they get a manager.
together. So, if you imagine album one of Of Mice & Men and “We have been looking for one, actually,” Cherry replies.
‘Brand New Eyes’ – Paramore had a baby, that’s how I wanted “We’ve been looking for one for a little while now. But we
Defences to be. haven’t been able to find anyone that would really be able to
“So, musically and energetically, I wanted to bring my in- add more to what Calum is already doing, essentially. Or be
fluences to life through my own creation and find people that able to open up more doors than we’re currently being able to
also wanted to do that with their own influences, and that’s pry open either ourselves or with our label. Yeah, they have to
very much what it was. Other than that, it was really just trying be a good fit. They have to be on the same page as us, and
to get anyone to take us seriously,” she laughs. “That’s my they have to really believe in us, as well. It’s taken us a really
biggest memory of those early years. We were writing music long time to build our team, and that’s because we really
that we were really proud of and we thought was good, and it needed to have people who believed in our band and really
was trying to get anyone to give us enough attention, to listen backed us and were passionate about it as we are, and that’s
to it, to hear us out, to give us a chance. We played a lot of obviously very difficult to find. We’ve kind of stopped looking
shows where we could feel that we weren’t very welcome. We urgently, because we are managing ourselves, but if the right
could feel that people were like, ‘What is this?’ But we also person comes along then we’re obviously open to it, but, at
played a lot of shows where people were like, ‘Oh my God, the same time, we’re not gonna just take anyone on.”
this is incredible. I’ve never seen a black woman on stage at
a metal gig before.’ And yeah, it was a lot of ups and downs, very member of the band has a valuable position
a mixture of just trying to keep pushing, despite the setbacks Ewithin the unit – not just when it comes to performing,
that we had. And now, we still face some of that, but, obviously, but offstage too. Cherry says that drummer Kyle is the band
now, our fanbase has grown so, so much since then. Just the dad. “He, basically, makes sure that the band keeps on going.
amount of people that know who we are and like our music, He’s the finances guy, so he makes sure that we can afford to
it’s just magnified and magnified.” do things. Or, if we can’t, then he figures out how we can afford
The band have released three albums, ‘With Might And to do things. He also manages our van. We were fortunate
Main’ (in 2017), ‘In The Balance’ (2021) and ‘Shadowlight’ enough, somehow, during Covid in 2020, to buy our own van
(2024), as well as two EPs. that we’ve been using for touring since. That lives with him and
“Our last album, ‘Shadowlight’, was our first with our he kind of manages it.”
record label, Long Branch Records, the first record label that Fellow vocalist and keyboardist Will is also an integral
we’ve ever been with,” Cherry says. “We finally got signed member of the band. “Will is one of the most connected people
after being an independent band for over ten years and that that I’ve ever met in my life. He knows everyone, somehow,”
DEFENCES