IT’S just over a year since Cumbrian heavy metal band Wasted Saints met and bonded over a love of music at a sixth form open day.

Now the five Ulverston teenagers are taking the next step with the release of their debut EP ‘Symbiosis’.

Recorded at Patron Saints Studio in Stockport over the summer, the record features five self-penned tracks, including ‘Cat Soup’ and ‘Greater than Gravity’.

Wasted Saints consist of Rory Lee on guitar, Dan Carruthers on guitar, Chris Belbin on bass, Ruairidh Fraser on drums and Mark Bennett on vocals.

Although some of the members have known each other since school, it was at an open day when they came together to form the band each of them wanted to be in.

“We wanted to be like our favourite bands but we all have different favourite bands,” explained Ruairidh.

“We have different tastes but within a similar genre – broadly speaking its alternative rock and heavy music.

“The music that inspired us to form the band was heavy metal.”

The band have a fairly diverse range of influences that includes System of a Down, Deftones, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Biffy Clyro and Pink Floyd.

When it comes to penning their own songs, the band say that often singer Rory has the original idea before the rest of the group chip in.
“Everyone adds their own thing,” they explain, “a lot of the songs just happen – we’ll hear something and think ‘that sounds like a song lyric’.
“The writing is a balance between trying to create an image and talk about things that are personal to us.”
The prolific five piece are already getting songs together for their second EP – to be released next year – and then hope to release a full album in a year’s time.

They can be found gigging regularly ‘pretty much anywhere in the South Lakes’, although the boys recently acquired a van – hopefully allowing them to take their shows further afield.

“If you want to find gigs round here you have to look quite hard so we want to try branching out without waiting until we’ve all left sixth form,” they said.

On what audiences can expect from their live shows they added, “It’s not a normal show – our singer is the weirdest guy on stage and we’re always energetic without taking ourselves too seriously.”