Due to “that pandemic”, all artists were forced to find a new way to interact with their fans. The Pineapple Thief, along with many others, decided to go down the live stream gig route, but, as Bruce Soord told MetalTalk, they decided to tackle it differently.
The Pineapple Thief – Nothing But The Truth (Kscope)
Release Date: 22 October 2021
Words: Robert Adams
“We didn’t want to do a sterile gig on a soundstage to just a camera crew,” Soord said, “so we got our heads together and came up with a different way to present ourselves. It took quite some time to set up and get right for ourselves and our audience, but the results were more than worth the time, effort, and money.
“I am so proud of what we managed to achieve, and the box set of this show will take pride of place in my collection.”
As mentioned above, I was fortunate to review the live stream and was completely blown away by it. Now we get to have a constant reminder of a beautiful snapshot in time.
During my chat with Bruce Soord on the eve of their European tour, the conversation turned to drummer Gavin Harrison. “After our tour for the Magnolia album, I started writing what would become the Your Wilderness album,” Bruce said, “and we found ourselves having to look for a new drummer. I was very disillusioned, and I came close to ending The Pineapple Thief as a band when someone at Kscope asked me if I had considered asking Gavin.
“I knew Gavin was one of the best drummers in the world, and I didn’t think for a second that he’d be interested in playing with The Pineapple Thief. I sent him an email asking if he would be interested in playing on our forthcoming album. He replied and asked me to send him some of the tracks so he could hear them before committing.
“After he heard some of the songs, I got a reply which said, ‘I’m in’. We had a blast recording the Your Wilderness album, and Gavin was his usual impeccable self. Then came the conversation about the tour. I knew Gavin wasn’t keen on touring, which was a big deal for us as a band.
“Thankfully, Gavin agreed to do the tour, and we all got on like a house on fire. Recording an album is much different to touring on a personal level. With recording, we all go home after a day’s work, but with touring, you are together pretty much 24/7 for the duration of the tour. Therefore everyone has to get along.
“We had a fantastic time on the Your Wilderness tour, and Gavin brought that extra dimension to our sound that we’d been lacking. A few months after the tour ended, I had an email from Gavin asking when we would start writing for the next album. Up to this point, Gavin was a session drummer for us, and I told him that he should join the band full time, which he agreed to do.
“Gavin isn’t just a world-class drummer, he also brought in his ideas and arrangements for our material, and it was such a relief and joy for me personally to have someone of his calibre to bounce ideas off and have a truly collaborative relationship.”
The release of 2020’s Versions Of The Truth album sounded like a band at the peak of their powers, a fact that Bruce agrees with wholeheartedly.
“It felt really special even when we were recording it,” says Bruce. “This was our third studio album with Gavin, and everything has gelled perfectly for us as a unit.”
I asked Bruce if the setlist played on the Nothing But The Truth live stream would have been the set the band played on their aborted tour. “Pretty much the same,” Bruce said. “We dropped a couple from the set we were going to play on the tour and added a couple more from the Versions Of The Truth album in their place.”
Asked if the live stream was played as a proper gig, Bruce said, “mostly it was, yeah. We had around four takes on Versions Of The Truth that opened the set, but that was down to me coming it at the wrong time.
“Once we got into it, it all came together pretty seamlessly. I am incredibly proud of what we achieved.”
Bruce says he is neither nervous nor excited to be finally going back out on tour. “I think relieved would be a better description of how I feel,” he says. “I know what to do when I get on stage, so in that case, I’m not nervous at all. We’re all just looking forward to playing to our fans again after all this time.”
The album and DVD of the Nothing But The Truth show is a beautifully put together package and looks and sounds magnificent. There’s even a Gavin Harrison drum cam option on the DVD.
MetalTalk has got our hands on a CD copy of the Nothing But The Truth album for one of you lucky readers to win (UK only, sorry). All you have to do is tell us which Kscope label band did Gavin Harrison play with before joining The Pineapple Thief.
Email your answer to comp@metaltalk.net. Closing date is 29 October.
The album can be ordered from tpt.lnk.to/NothingButTheTruth
Deluxe 4 disc hardback book contains:
DISC 1: Blu-ray (Audio – Hi-res Stereo/DTS-HD MA 5.1/Dolby Atmos)
DISC 2: DVD (Audio – Hi-res Stereo/DTS 5.1)
· The blu ray and DVD discs feature the full performance plus a dedicated Gavin Harrison ‘drumcam’ option
· Includes 4 bonus songs not seen on the streamed event
· 4 music videos “Demons”, “Break it All”, “Versions Of The Truth” and “Driving Like Maniacs” all with Dolby atmos mixes.
· 6 documentary shorts from the band
· 60 page hardback book containing lyrics, exclusive photos from the performance and much more
DISC 3: CD ONE (audio)
DISC 4: CD TWO (audio)
Blu Ray Edition – contents as above
The audio soundtrack is released on 2CD / gatefold double LP on black vinyl and digitally.
Full Tour
14.10.21 Krakow – PL – Klub Studio
15.10.21 Budapest – HU – A38
16.10.21 Munich – DE – Technikum
17.10.21 Pratteln – CH – Z7
19.10.21 Stuttgart – DE – Im Wizemann
20.10.21 Lyon – FR – CCO Villerurbanne
23.10.21 Paris – FR – Elysee Montmartre
26.10.21 Mainz – DE – KUZ
27.10.21 Bruxelles – BE – Ancienne Belgique
28.10.21 Strasburg – FR – La Laiterie
29.10.21 Cologne – DE – Carlswerk Victoria
30.10.21 London – UK – o2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire
05.11.21 Bristol – UK – O2 Academy*
23.2.22 Trezzo sull’Adda (Milan) – IT – Live Club
24.2.22Â Roncade (Treviso) – IT – New Age
25.2.22 Rome – IT – Auditorium Parco della Musica
01.3.22 Barcelona – ES – La Nau
02.3.22 Madrid – ES – Caracol
3.3.22 Toulouse (FR) – MetronumÂ
11.3.22 Dresden – DE – Tante Ju
12.3.22 Vienna – AU – Szene
13.3.22 Bratislava – SK – MMC
15.3.22 Ostrava – CZ – Brick House
6.3.22 Hamburg – DE – Fabrik
17.3.22 Berlin – DE – Kesselhaus
18.3.22 Copenhagen – DK – Amager Bio
20.3.22 Haugesund – NO – Hovleriet
21.3.22 Gothenburg – SE – Pustervik
22.3.22 Oslo – NO – Rockefeller
23.3.22 Stockholm – SE – Nalen
25.3.22 Tampere – FIN – Olympia
26.3.22 Helsinki – FIN – Tavastia
