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Chekhov’s Gun – M2TM 2026

Chekhov’s Gun – M2TM 2026

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Band name: Chekhov’s Gun
Location: Edinburgh
Genre(s): Prog Metal/Avant-garde metal
Edinburgh Heat: SOLD OUT

Chekhov’s Gun have been through the fields of M2TM a few times, now, even previously making it to the Grand Final. The live initiative has witnessed them continuously evolving, but what has been the core aim around which they focus?

“An overall aim can be hard to consider as honestly I’ve always created and played music without much consideration as to why” muses founding member, James Muir.

“As a music fan, it just came naturally that I would go onto write music in order to give back the legacy of bands and music that has transformed my life for the better. At the end of the day, if our music can have even half the impact on someone that bands like Opeth or King Crimson have had on me, that’s my goal accomplished. I know it’s cliché but the emotional response in the audience is the overarching aim of all the Chekhov’s music.”

He adds: “We want to create something new and exciting and for that to happen we need to constantly challenge ourselves. Taking the last EP (The Carnivorous) to the live scenario has definitely been challenging especially with the departure of our guitarist Shane Dudley. The live setup has definitely become more complex but it’s really paying off too. We don’t necessarily aim to recreate the record exactly when playing live. We have occasionally found ways of improving the song after recording which we will then incorporate into the live performance. And with the departure of Shane many of the guitar parts are recreated on the synth, violin and cello.“

Diving a little deeper into the creation of The Carnivorous, James states: “The Carnivorous feels like us finding our identity.“

“It’s more gothic, experimental and ambitious than our debut (Eat The Rich). The addition of Kasia on violin and Lara on cello really makes the album, and has resulted in us having them play with us on a more permanent basis. Of course the incorporation of strings risks us being considered a symphonic metal band, however I don’t see the similarities between us and bands like Nightwish and Dimmu Bogir. This is because the strings play more solo roles rather than symphonic/orchestral parts where they are multitracked or played on keys. In fact I personally want the string parts to play a more lead role in our future compositions.“

“All songs on The Carnivorous cover humans’ capacity for evil. It tries to tell us something about what it is to be human. Some specific topics include transphobia, animal rights and familicide with Ruben writing lyrics for Abattoir and Death’s Herald and Josh for Primeval Romance and Disciples Thorn.“

Moving forward, James reveals of their plans for an upcoming full-length: “This album is going to be our first proper big statement.“

“It’s a concept album that will expand on our first single Mortonhall. We’re still figuring out the final structure of the concept and how it’s going to work across a track listing but all the bones are there. The songs are coming along really well. We have some super heavy parts as we’re experimenting with some lower tunings for certain songs. We’re also putting more emphasis on atmospherics through the use of synths and foley to create some otherworldly sounds.“

“We’ve learnt a lot about working in a studio via the recording of our last two EP’s. Mostly how to manage our time wisely as The Carnivorous was quite a rushed and stressful recording experience at times. This was because we set a deadline for ourselves as we booked a launch gig giving us a few months to record. Rest assured we’re going to be super tight before heading into the studio, allowing us more time for experimentation, swinging mics about, playing underwater, singing upside down and all that fun stuff.“