Hailing from Plymouth Devon, Mentality have been providing the South West with some of the hardest mosh riffs!
With their singles ‘In Vein‘, ‘No Justice‘ & most recently this January ‘Snakeskin‘ you can definitely hear why. I can’t wait to hear their debut EP which is due to be released imminently!
I’ve been speaking to Mentality members Ty & Dan earlier this year about everything that has brought Mentality together including some of their favourite moments so far including an invitation to play last years Burn It Down festival (which they are also playing this year!)
Mentality have shown what they are capable of bringing to the table since their formation and in the past few months have featured on the Concrete South all dayer in Torquay and supported some of the best UKHC has to offer in Asidhara, Negative Frame, Emergency Broadcast & in the past week False Reality.
In the past year the South West and brought a lot of up and coming heavy bands to the UKHC scene and Mentality are definitely one of those that I can’t wait to hear and see more about.
FIRST OF ALL WHERE ARE YOU GUYS BASED & HOW DID YOU ALL MEET?
We’re all proudly from Plymouth. It’s home, and it’s where Mentality started.
For me, the spark came after finishing up a career in teaching. I suddenly had more time, started going to way more shows again, and that old itch to be involved in the scene came straight back. I’d been in bands when I was much younger, and the idea was pretty simple: I wanted to start a band that basically ripped off all my favourite heavy bands and have fun doing it.
Before any of that properly took shape, Dan had actually approached me on a night out years earlier. We vaguely knew each other from back in the day, and at some point he drunkenly put his phone to my ear to play me these riffs he’d been writing. In hindsight, he was clearly trying to recruit me.
Fast forward to late 2023 / early 2024, I started seeing his Instagram stories of him playing guitar along to Machine Head in his flat, usually with screenshots of his neighbours’ noise complaints layered over the top. That felt like a pretty convincing advert. Around that time I was seriously thinking about starting a band, and I knew quickly that Dan was the guy.
Con, our drummer, and I go way back. We played in a tech metal band together years ago. That band eventually broke up, and not long after we both lost a close friend who’d been part of it, which made the whole thing pretty heavy. Reconnecting with Con and making music together again felt pretty cathartic. By coincidence, we got back in touch right as this band was forming.
Ty
WHAT WAS THE SCENE LIKE IN DEVON GROWING UP & HOW DID YOU GET INVOLVED IN IT?
Speaking for myself, I first got involved in the scene when I was about 14, so around 2007. Growing up in Plymouth, my local venue at the time was a place called The White Rabbit, and that’s where everything really started for me. The shows were usually mixed bills — deathcore bands alongside hardcore and metalcore — and the scene felt genuinely busy and alive, with loads of great local bands and plenty of touring acts coming through as well.
Some of my earliest memories are from shows like All Shall Perish playing with Sworn Enemy, and seeing Architects before they’d released Hollow Crown, alongside bands like Dead Swans.
Early on, I got heavily into deathcore, which made sense at the time. Everyone was blasting Count Your Blessings by Bring Me The Horizon on MySpace, and that sound was everywhere. But even as my tastes shifted, I kept going to shows, and it was the energy and chaos of hardcore that really grabbed me. The intensity of the crowd, the participation, the sense that everyone in the room was part of it – that felt completely different to anything else.
Over time, I found myself gravitating more and more towards hardcore shows, and that’s where the love for the genre really set in.
Ty
THIS MIGHT SOUND LIKE A DUMBASS QUESTION BUT HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THE NAME MENTALITY?
For me, the idea behind the name Mentality is that you’re often only a mindset switch away from doing something you really want to do, or something genuinely cool. For a long time, the only thing stopping me from getting back into music and band life was my own head. There wasn’t a lack of ability, or opportunity – it was just a mental block.
At some point that switched. Once the mentality changed, everything else followed pretty quickly, and suddenly we were writing riffs, jamming, and putting a band together again. In that sense, the name reflects where the band came from as much as what it is now.
Ty
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR SOUND TO SOMEBODY WHO HASN’T HEARD YOU BEFORE?
We’d describe our sound as crossover at its core. Pulling from hardcore, thrash, and heavy metal. There are fast, thrashy riffs, stompy beatdown sections, and a big focus on groove and energy. Everything we write is meant to hit hard live and get a physical response from the room.
A lot of it comes from the bands we grew up on and still love: hardcore that feels chaotic and aggressive, but with metal riffs that actually stick. We’re not trying to reinvent anything; we’re just leaning into what excites us and writing music that feels honest, heavy, and fun to play.
WHAT HAS BEEN SOME OF THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES YOU’VE BEEN FACED WITH?
One of the biggest challenges we’ve faced so far was losing our original bassist, Mark, fairly early on due to work commitments. It’s never easy when a lineup change happens just as a band is finding its feet, and having to replace someone at that stage was definitely a test for us.
Finding the right person took time, but thankfully we found Jack, who’s been amazing. He settled in quickly, brought the right attitude, and fit in both musically and personally straight away.
WHO ARE SOME OF YOUR ALL TIME FAVOURITE ARTISTS?
For me, the biggest all-time favourites are the bands that really pushed me towards starting Mentality: Malevolence and Guilt Trip. I’ve loved both bands from the very beginning. Ty
Pantera, Slayer, Machine Head the holy trinity of big riff enough said. Dan
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE SHOWS YOU’VE REALLY ENJOYED BEING A PART OF & DO YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE VENUE?
Burn It Down Festival was a huge personal highlight for me. It’s a festival I’ve attended every year as a fan, and it’s easily the biggest event for underground and heavy bands in the South West, so being able to play it felt pretty special.
In terms of venues, there are so many local places that mean a lot because we grew up going to shows in them. Playing in rooms like that or getting the chance to play new ones with the same energy and community is always the goal. Ty
WHAT WOULD BE YOUR DREAM TOUR TO GET MENTALITY ON?
For me it’s obvious! Touring with Malev and Guilt Trip would be the dream come true. Ty
The dream tour for me would be Pantera,Slayer and Machine Head even though that will absolutely never happen. Dan
WHAT HAS BEEN SOME OF THE BEST EXPERIENCES YOU’VE HAD TOGETHER?
We’re a brand new hardcore band from Plymouth, so our experiences so far haven’t exactly involved rockstar clichés like throwing TVs out of hotel windows or anything like that. But one of the things craziest days we’ve had together was definitely New Year’s Eve in London.
We made the five-hour drive up in two cars, shot a music video during the day, and somewhere in the middle of that I got accosted by a very drunk guy while I was trying to spit lyrics on camera which was… pretty rogue. Not something you plan for, but it definitely added to the chaos of the day.
That night, we played a sick New Year’s show with Negative Frame at Blondie’s, then ended up partying into the early hours. It was one of those days where everything was stacked back-to-back: travel, filming, playing a show, celebrating the new year and by the end of it we were completely exhausted but buzzing.
HOW HAVE YU FOUND THE SCENE CHANGE IN RECENT YEARS DOWN IN DEVON AND THROUGHOUT THE UK?
Overall, it feels like heavy music is very much back in business. There was definitely a period where it felt like fewer younger people were getting involved, and things dipped a bit, but honestly, Gen Z have breathed a lot of life back into it. They’ve got a real appetite for metal and hardcore, and hardcore in particular feels bigger and more energised than it has in a long time.
That shift has been really noticeable both nationally and locally. When we first started jamming together, there were hardly any hardcore-adjacent bands around in the South West. Fast forward a relatively short amount of time, and suddenly there are loads of new bands, new shows, and a genuine sense of momentum. It’s so cool to be part of a buzzing local scene again.
WHO HAVE BEEN SOME OF THE LARGEST INFLUENCES IN YOUR SOUND?
I developed the sound for Mentality by pulling influence from the classics I owe a lot of my play style to Slayer, Pantera and Machine Head’s 90’s efforts. But as writing has progressed since the original inception of the band I’ve found myself to be incorporating more modern grooves and experimenting a bit more with chord and note progressions used by more contemporary artists.
My actual tone is half vulgar display of power and half burn my eyes. I’m always searching for a tone that really bites ! I keep the gain low on 5150 and run a Maxon ST9-pro in front with a MXR 10 band in the loop . I’m all about the volume and the crunch! My ethos has always be about feeling the note out front not hearing it . It’s taken me a while to almost be completely happy with my tone and I’m still not quite there but maybe one day!
Dan
WE CAN’T ALL BE MUSICIANS 24/7 SO WHAT JOBS/CAREERS DO YOU GUYS HAVE?
I work online making digital learning and also teach English on the side. – Ty
Connor fits flooring.
Jack works in a shop.
Dan works in the energy industry on the IT side keeping servers up and running.
HAVE YOU GOT ANY HOBBIES/INTERESTS THAT YOU’D LIKE TO SHARE WITH THE PEOPLE?
It’s very hard to fit those in on top of the band and the rest of life in general, but I still try and get in the bouldering gym when I can and love to read a good book. Ty
YOU RELEASED A COUPLE OF SINGLES LAST SUMMER, WHAT WERE YOUR INFLUENCES FOR THESE TRACKS AND HOW HAPPY WERE YOU WITH HOW THEY CAME OUT?
The singles we released over the summer were really about setting a foundation for what Mentality is. In terms of influences, they came directly from the bands that made us want to start this project in the first place: that crossover space where hardcore meets heavy, riff-driven metal. We weren’t trying to overthink it; the aim was to write songs that felt aggressive, fun, and would actually work live.
All of the tracks, including Snakeskin which came out January 23rd were written and recorded in a very DIY way. We tracked everything ourselves in a makeshift home studio, which let us work at our own pace and keep things raw. Once the songs were down, we brought in Stu McKay from Studio 6 who’s worked with bands like Malevolence, Guilt Trip and Brutality Will Prevail to handle production and mixing.
Having someone with that level of experience involved really elevated the tracks and helped turn what started as demos into fully realised releases.
We were genuinely really happy with how they came out. For a first run of songs, they captured the energy we were aiming for and gave us confidence that what we were doing made sense.
Our track Snakeskin, probably pulls everything together the most. It feels like the clearest representation of our sound so far: fast, thrashy riffs paired with stompy, beatdown hardcore sections, and lyrics that deal with personal struggle and identity. Putting that song together felt like a turning point, where everything clicked a bit more naturally.
If we had to pick a favourite from the process, Snakeskin stands out. It feels like the moment where Mentality really found its voice, and it’s set the tone for what we want to build on going forward.
HAVE YOU GOT ANY SHOWS COMING UP THAT YOU ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO PLAYING?
I think the most hype upcoming show is Burn it Down, mainly because we get a free ticket to watch Speed in our home county! Then, we’re about to announce a hometown headliner to go alongside our E.P which will be out in May!
WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FROM MENTALITY IN 2026?
Of course as is the cliche: we have BIG plans for the year! We’re going to release the rest of the first E.P which will be 7 tracks.
Then, later in the year, we hope to polish up the second E.P which we’re currently writing. We have some shows in some new places that will be announced in the near future which we’re hyped for. It’s still weird when a promoter comes along and wants to book us up ‘t’ North.
FINALLY, HAVE YOU GOT ANY OTHER ARTISTS/FRIENDS YOU THINK THE PEOPLE SHOULD CHECK OUT?
For sure, check out Safeword who doing bits with beatdown. Apathy, from our hometown, who are crushing it in the metal scene.
There’s Reality Check from Exeter who are smashing it and have some great releases out.
Also, Negative Frame and Emergency Broadcast from London who we’ve done some shows with. Both top tier bands!
If you’ve enjoyed reading this interview with Mentality, head over to streaming platforms and give their recent tracks a spin!
As I do this all on my own whilst juggling work and family life it is a passion of mine to promote the UKHC scene and all our local bands beause that’s what they deserve! Music is so easily attainable in today’s economy so promoting everyone and getting to shows is the best way to help out.
So if you enjoy what I put out there please do reshare I would greatly appreciate the love!
Remember to always support local UKHC bands and venues so if you’re interested in checking out their merch and upcoming shows visit the links below!
You can catch Mentality this festival season at Burn It Down Fest 2026 in Torquay who are featuring some of the best the UKHC scene has to offer including bands such as Your Demise 2004, TRC, Overpower and much more. Follow the link below for ticket information.
Until next time, I’ll catch you in the pit!
If you are interested in writiing a review of an album/show and would like it featured on our site please email us by using our ‘Contact Us‘ page! If you are an artist that would like to be featured please give us a message!
Never miss an article we post by signing up to our newsletter below!
Leave a Reply