You’ve recently just finished your incredible 15 month tour. How was it for you to come off that and be off the road after that amount of time?
It was definitely a long time coming. I was looking at how the venues we were playing have changed and worked out that in the space of year we went from playing a basement show in Leeds to actually playing the Leeds and Reading Festivals. We’ve been playing the same songs all this time so it’s good to start writing new material and do something different in future live sets.

You’ve travelled the world with the band, how does each country differ for you when you’re touring? Gallows are high profile here in the UK, and are still just starting out in some countries. Do the fans differ from place to place?
Most of the countries feel the same because we spend more time in venues and dressing rooms than we do sightseeing which is a shame. However, there is no denying that there is no place like Japan. It’s so different and we had such a good time when we over there. The fans out there are awesome; they bring you presents and are genuinely happy to see you. It’s incredible.

Your live shows are legendary, high impact, chaotic and intense. It must be exhausting. Your tour schedule demands have been high with shows nearly every night for over a year. Do you think that exhaustion and lack of having time off affected your live show?
Definitely, during the end of Taste Of Chaos the extensive touring was really taking it’s toll and people could tell. It felt like every muscle in my body was falling apart but no matter what we still give it our all. Even when it feels like we have nothing left to give we try to pull it together to produce a show better than most other bands.

How is it to deal with these demands, they must be coming at you from every angle; fans expectations, label and management requirements and no doubt a pressure on yourselves to always be giving 200% at each show?
It’s weird because everyone working around us is so supportive that it feels like there isn’t much pressure other than to do our best. There’s a certain amount of pressure in the sense that we don’t want to let our fans or ourselves down. It sounds harsh but we don’t really care what other people think. If we did we’d probably all be nervous wrecks by now! As long as we’re proud of what we achieve that’s what counts. I’ve realised that some fans can be really fickle. They’ll like you one minute and hate you the next. There’s never pleasing everyone.

Do you think the touring and this pressure you put on yourselves puts a strain on band relations?
All the touring does put a strain on band relations. Space is important. Also, having lots of different people around you helps too so you’re not stuck together all the time. On stage we never have any problems though. It’s our chance to release our frustrations.

The tour finished quite abruptly with the cancellation of three Japan dates, due to writing and recording commitments, was this your decision or the choice of the label/management?
It was our decision. We love Japan and it sucked so much we couldn’t go but once we finished the UK tour we were desperate to get back in the studio and start writing. We’d probably go mad if we had to play the same set again. Our album was written way back in 2005 and we’ve been touring it for what feels like forever. It’s time to move on and get some fresh ideas. The UK tour was extremely exciting for us as it proved all our hard work was paying off. We were feeling creative and didn’t want anything to stop that.

What is the bands relationship like with the label? You, quite controversially, signed to Major Label Warner with a deal that was publicly known, and one that caused quite a stir. How did you go about that decision of signing to a major, were there many other label offers?
We have a healthy relationship with Warner Brothers. They give us ideas and we give them ideas. Obviously there’s the odd struggle where a Major Label does things differently to a band born in the DIY scene but it normally works out. We had a lot of interest from different labels but at the end of the day Warner Brothers has a great selection of successful alternative bands (Against Me, Mastodon, Deftones, My Chemical Romance). For us signing to a Major meant the chance of doing the band full time and not having to worry about work. Essentially I get to act like a kid again and I love it.

Has your approach to the band changed since you began? You’ve been tarnished with the Sell-Out brush by many, and for some of the hardcore kids who loved you originally it’s not cool to be a Gallows fan anymore. Even though you’re still touring with the same music as you started out with.
Yeah, that’s the funny thing about hardcore. As soon as more than 100 people like your band you’re no longer cool. It’s especially hard in the UK scene because I don’t think any band from our background has achieved what we have. I consider selling out as changing your sound in order to reach a wider audience. We signed to a major based on one record. That’s not selling out.

Do you think this may affect the way you go with the next album?
Yeah, our next album is going to sound like Britney Spears. That would be pretty cool actually. I wouldn’t mind getting Timbaland to produce it.

No, the way we see it we’ve been given the opportunity to write an album that can be anything we choose to create. Obviously if we were still back in the punk and hardcore scene we’d have to release a record that fits that mould but now we’ve broken out of it we could literally write anything we want.

Piano based ballads maybe? We’ll have to see. We’ve written quite a few song ideas already and we’re already confident in saying it’s far stronger than any of our other material.

Your first album made such a huge wave, are you concerned at all about your follow up; there are going to be a lot of high expectations?
Orchestra of Wolves received some awesome reviews and scored highly in a lot of magazine’s end of year polls. Again, we want to make a record that we are proud of as individuals. I’m sure a lot of people will like the next album hopefully as much if not more than the first.

Do you ever wonder that maybe your sound is one that doesn’t have the longevity of most, and that maybe there is only a limit to how long it can last? Or that your album was the peak and that there isn’t anywhere else to go with your sound?
I like to think that Orchestra of Wolves will stand the test of time even if Gallows don’t. I can’t think of another record that sounds like it and it doesn’t fall into any fashionable genre at all. If kids are still listening to the album years down the line that would mean so much to us.

You and Frank wrote the first album born of the anger and frustration that felt about your situation, the area you lived in and the lives you lead. Now you don’t quite have the same frustrations, what do you think will be your influences this time round?
Trust me, there are always frustrations. Frank writes most of the lyrics and he gets pissed off a lot. I’m confident he will find inspiration. For some reason a lot of annoying things always happens to the fella so he’s never short of lyrics.

Is the process of writing going to be different this time, is the rest of the band going to get involved?
We’re in the studio pretty much everyday and everyone has ideas. Some of us will come in with a riff and it goes from there. It’s a very organic experience, nothing is forced and as soon as we come to blank we call it a day. We’re making sure every part to every song is amazing. No filler riffs at all.

What is the recording process like for you? Your live performances are legendary now for their energy and power, and in Orchestra of Wolves a lot of that came through in the tracks. How do you manage to capture that in a studio?
We don’t go through loads of takes of songs. Not only that we don’t record parts to songs bit by bit. We pretty much play the whole track from start to finish as hard as possible. We’re not precision metal. We’re more like blues where it’s the feel that counts.

Lethal B was support on one of your UK tours, and you also had him feature on your cover of the Ruts Staring at the Rude Bois. Are there any other artists that you’d be keen to work with? Any features for the next album?
We’d love to work with many different artists. We’ve met so many talented people that the only way we could satisfy our collaboration desires would be to release a whole separate album. If we have the chance to work and create music with singers, MCs and bands we respect then we should definitely grab the opportunities.

Are there any other musical avenues that you yourself would like to follow? You already do DJ sets with Stu across the country, what are those nights like? What’s on the play list?
I’d love to write movie scores or even write songs for other people. The DJing thing is fun because we basically get to go out and party and listen to the songs we want to hear. Last night we played stuff like Converge, American Nightmare, Saves The Day, Turbonegro, and Everytime I Die. A lot of bands you don’t normally hear in rock clubs. It’s a lot of fun.

How aware are you about what’s happening in the industry, both with what you’re directly involved in and what you see around? What’s your view on the whole scene?
The music industry is very money orientated. Especially in a climate where so many people are downloading music for free. I try and stick to writing music, playing shows and having a good time. Gallows isn’t going to last forever so I’m making the most of it while I can.