When Spineshake emerged from Southern California some 15 years ago, the metal scene was thriving. Ozzfest had just launched, and the Family Values touring festival would emerge just two years after Ozzfest. Spineshank, a band that played heavy industrial metal, established itself as a major player with the release of its 1998 debut, Strictly Diesel. The band toured and recorded for nearly a decade when singer Jonny Santos left the group in 2004 and effectively put the guys on hiatus. Now, however, the band has emerged with a new album (Anger Denial Acceptance) and is on its first headlining tour in years. The group plays Peabody’s at 7 p.m. on Thursday. Tickets are $10 advance, $13 day of show. Guitarist Mike Sarkisyan recently spoke about the turmoil the band has faced in the last several years.
How is the tour going?
Good. We’re having a good time playing these new sogns and meeting people and talking to them about our new record and all that good stuff.
Is this really your first headlining tour in six years?
It’s longer than six years. It’s since 2003. We’ve done quite a bit of touring. It was hard touring in between records when we didn’t have a new record out. We would draw one or two new songs but people didn’t know them. It’s always a good feeling to come out and play shows when the catalogue is readily available. It’s a better feeling. Sometimes you play a song that people haven’t heard and you want to see their reaction. That can tell you a lot about where you’re at in your writing process.
