Wax on Water are Maya Damaris and Steven Blessing - an Alternative Rock duo from London, who have always taken a different path from the identikit rock groups that exist on the scene. Drawing inspiration from a range of genres – they boldly fuse elements from electronica, metal, grunge, goth and Industrial music and nowhere is this seen more intensely than in their fiendishly good new five track EP ‘Ghouls & Fiends and In-Betweens…’ which is released alongside the focus track and first single ‘Ghouls & Fiends’ on 14th October 2022.
The ‘Ghouls & Fiends and In-Betweens…’ EP follows their sophomore album “The Drip” which was released in the summer of 2022 to universal critical acclaim and solidified Wax on Water’s place as rising stars of the alternative rock scene.
‘The Drip’ garnered US College radio success for the band and this bold collection of songs follows suit and easily moves between radio friendly tracks like ‘Ghouls & Fiends’ and ‘Deadbeat Guy’ to the haunting ballad ‘Part of Me’ and ‘Guanciale’ and ‘More Than I’ – the kind of darkly melodic driving rock gems that Wax on Water are known for.
Written, arranged and produced by lead singer Maya Damaris, “Ghouls & Fiends and In-Betweens...” is an exploration of shadow worlds and thoughts and how they define us in the ‘real’ world. The tracks are imbued with impeccable rock guitar magic from wingman Steven Blessing and Drums were played by up and coming London session musician Matt Chivers. The EP was mixed by ex-Fields of the Nephilim guitarist Paul Miles at his London based Select Studios and mastered by Will Borza from the Grammy-award winning Howie Weinberg Mastering Studios, Los Angeles.
First track, and first single, ‘Ghouls & Fiends’ proffers the concept that such horrors are actually imagined and ‘in your brain’ (hence the Ghoul licking a brain in the eye-catching cover artwork by London artist Dave Swan). ‘Guanciale (Mark of the Vampire)’ is inspired by the famous 1935 Bela Lugosi film ‘Mark of the Vampire’, a seminal film in the Hollywood Horror Pantheon, and is told from the perspective of a Vampire recounting otherworldly experiences and ultimately seeking revenge. The following, more playful, track is ‘Deadbeat Guy’ - a trippy far-out concept about meeting your own ego/id as an imagined character that you reconcile with. The wistful lament ‘Part of Me’ is a true love song for outsiders - underscored by Damaris’ haunting vocals - and the final track, ‘More Than I’, posits the idea that being fearful of your own thoughts in turn enables shadow thoughts to grow ever bigger.
Damaris’ says: “Following The Drip, which was a really intense writing and recording experience, we wanted to have fun and create an EP where we could explore darker subjects but also create a sonic language which had light and shade – and in some cases, have a levity to the songs, without detracting from the subject matter…”
Ever unconventional and relentlessly prolific, Wax on Water fearlessly deliver yet another body of work that doesn’t fail to tantalise and surprise and, perhaps more importantly, expertly holds up a large mirror for us to examine our own demons, ghouls and fiends.
Track Listing:1. Ghouls & Fiends
2. Guanciale (Mark of the Vampire)
3. Deadbeat Guy
4. Part of Me
5. More Than I
Music-News.com chatted to singer Maya Damaris to find out more...
Your new EP sounds like it has a true streak of Horror running through it. Can you give us a track by track explainer?The ‘Ghouls & Fiends and In-Betweens…’ EP is in part an homage to classic and B Movie Horror and also to goth rock as I am a fan of both! After writing The Drip album – which was a big and heavy album to write, I wanted to do something fun that still allowed me to talk about the things I like to write lyrics about…so I got together with Steve (Wax on Water’s guitarist) and what came out were a couple of upbeat party tracks as well as having a couple of more full on heavy rock tracks. The title track ‘Ghouls & Fiends’ is about the gremlins in your brain (which is why the cover art shows a ghoul licking a brain), similarly, ‘Deadbeat Guy’ is about meeting your own ego/id and reconciling with it. ‘More Than I’ talks about how the ego and thoughts manifest. Guanciale (Mark of the Vampire) is about working in the film and media industry as I used to work on that side of the media - and it’s also a homage to the character of Bela Lugosi’ in the 1935 ‘Mark of the Vampire’ film…and ‘Part of Me’ is more in the gothic rock style that has always been a part of Wax on Water’s musical language - and is a love story for outsiders.
Your sophomore album ‘The Drip’ came out in the Summer – are you working towards a third album?Yes, I am always writing and have already written two thirds of the new album with Steve. I already know what the concept will be and I hope that we’ll manage to release it before the end of 2023 – but we’ll see!
Any tour dates for us to look forward to?I’m in discussions at the moment and I very much hope that we will be able to tour early next year or by the summer at the latest. It’s definitely a priority for us.
What sums 2022 up for you? And what do you hope for in 2023?2022 has been so busy for me personally as I’ve just come off the back of an album release and am now doing an EP release! But that’s the way I like things to be – I like to be busy and being creative is never a chore, it’s what makes life worth living. I hope that 2023 will be the start of unleashing the Wax on Water live show element that has been on the backburner because of the pandemic – and moving on to the next album which will be the next step of our musical journey. I can’t say anymore about that at the moment, but It won’t be boring – I can at least promise you that.
Spotify I
Website I
Facebook I
Instagram I
Twitter I
TikTok 