The Fever 333: 'We're here to represent the disaffected'

Following their blistering first ever UK performance on The Avalanche Stage hosted by Kerrang! Radio’s Fresh Blood, The Fever 333 caught up with Sophie K for an inspirational chat.

With the adrenaline still running through their veins, Jason Aalon Butler (vocals), Stevis Harrison (guitars) and Aric Improta (drums) heaped praise on the “wild” Download Festival faithful, with Aric noting “I feel like that was the best pit we’ve had.”

A searing punk-rap-rock tour-de-force, aside from the music, where The Fever 333 truly stand out from the crowd is through their thematically weighty lyrical themes that speak to those feeling the impacts of authority injustice around the world.

Asked by Sophie K if they consider themselves like a modern-day Rage Against The Machine, Jason said: “I want people to feel open and I want them to feel accepted no matter who they are or where they’re from – even if they are fully diametric to what I believe, they’re fully opposed I still want them to be a part of this conversation.

“But with this (band) it was really about opening that space and going like ‘this is my truth, what’s yours?’ and let’s discuss this, let’s figure it out. We have too much division, all these divisive… whether it’s politics or ideologies now throughout the world now really are not getting us anywhere… a pretty bad place. We’re just trying to figure it out in our own way with this project.

“There’s no compromise – this is what it is and that’s it. If it’s not something for you, that’s absolutely fine, but we’re offering it to those that need the representation. This whole thing points at Stevis and Aric is literally a spectrum, that was also thought about. We can have a brother, we can have the ambiguous guy and the beautiful Nordic man. That was truly deliberate, I’m not even going to front, that was something I thought about.”

Jason continued: “In our writings and everything, it’s like anyone – from the trans community, gay community, anyone displaced, anyone disaffected, we are here to offer some sort of representation or understanding where you can express that.

“(Our music) is reactive, now because all of us are able to articulate and to facilitate and to mobilise in a way that is impactful because we’ve had these years to figure it out and also because this whole universal coming to a head thing where everything in the world is crazy.”

Reflecting upon the turbulent modern times, Jason added: “We feel equipped enough, confident enough and versed enough to discuss it and again create a forum where people can feel included, it’s about inclusion, it’s a very inclusive thing and it doesn’t have to be one subject.

“I said it on stage, if you’ve been marginalised, subjugated, defected, told you can’t be something you know you are. All of these feelings we all feel. It’s a much bigger situation than one sense of politics. We will touch on a lot of politics on social paradigms but ultimately it’s about feeling free.

“It’s a much simpler concept that some people believe; if we able to just to accept the diversity, the integration that made these countries, that made this world what it is then we’d be in a much better place. That’s easier said than done but that’s why we’re here now.”

What the full interview right here:

• Download Festival
• the fever 333