Let’s hope being perfectionists will prove a good thing for the finals at The Metro Theatre, where Aurox will go head to head with 18 other bands in hopes of getting through one more round of the Emergenza Festival. They’ve got nothing but good things to say about the experience so far, and nothing but encouragement for the other bands, but don’t think that means they won’t be ruthless on the big night. Aurox plans to put on a top-notch rock and roll performance, get droves of their fans out to the show, and maybe win over some of the other band’s fans as well. Hear what the band has to say before the big night:

SO, DO YOU THINK YOU'RE READY FOR THE BIG NIGHT?
Honestly, probably not, but that’s mostly because we are our own harshest critics. We are that band who’ll make something and then find a million things wrong with it because we are just not satisfied, but everyone else thinks it’s great. So we probably are ready but we just don’t think we are because we are not easily satisfied.

WHAT’S THE BAND DOING TO GET READY FOR THE FINALS? REHEARSING MUCH?
Yeah, we’ve set aside specific days of the week to fine tune a couple of things we didn’t think we had right in the first couple of shows. We’ve had a friend record our gigs every time we play so we can analyse and put on a better performance. And we’re just making sure we get everything as tight as we possibly can every time we practice.

WHAT, IF ANY, CHANGES HAVE YOU MADE TO YOUR STAGE SET-UP OR YOUR LIVE PERFORMANCE WITH THE FINALS IN MIND?
We’ve got a new single that we’ve been writing for the last couple of months that we are going to play on the night, which we know is going to blow people’s minds. We’re going to keep it hush hush for the moment, but we have definitely been pushing our boundaries with this new song as artists and as individuals. So hopefully it’ll be met with a good vibe by our fans.

WHAT ARE YOUR EXPECTATIONS FOR THE BIG NIGHT?
We are really just trying to keep our expectations to a minimum and let everything take its course. We think the only real expectation we have is that we put on a memorable show for everyone because at the end of the day if we’ve made an impact on the audience and made at least one person feel the way we feel about our music then we’ve done our jobs right.

WHAT EFFECT DO YOU THINK WINNING WOULD HAVE ON THE BAND?
We don’t think our egos could get anymore overinflated then they are at the moment. But seriously though, we will try not to let it affect us too much. We have all decided that we need to stay level headed and keep our egos in check regardless of whether we win or lose because we don’t want to lose touch with the reason behind why we write the music we do. As artists we hope our music inspires some sort of change in individual’s perceptions of the world around them despite what their personal translation may be, and we have to stay humble if we are to keep writing music that inspires.

CAN YOU TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE IN THE FESTIVAL SO FAR? ANY FUNNY ANECDOTES FROM YOUR PREVIOUS SHOWS OR REHEARSALS LEADING UP TO THE FINALS?
We think it’s funny that everyone is so surprised at how nice we are as a group. Some of the bands have actually come up to us and said thank you for being supportive of them because, despite our appearance, we actually genuinely want everyone to realise that we are all in the same industry and just because our styles may vary doesn’t mean we shouldn’t all be supportive of one another. A truly amazing experience for the band was having the whole front audience in The Factory Theatre jumping with us to the live jam we’ve composed in our first single, “The Road”. The music industry and live music in general is hard enough as it is without any of us having to be so snide to one another.

WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO MOST ABOUT PLAYING THE METRO THEATRE IN SYDNEY?
Just the fact that we’re going to be playing a venue that has been graced by so many great live acts before us. To be walking on a stage where bands like The Screaming Jets, Jimmy Barnes, The Living End, and other Aussie acts have played is exciting to say the least. Just the idea that one of our biggest influences as a band (Periphery) will be performing there early next year is huge for us. This is probably one of the most famous venues we have played to date.

WHAT IS GOING TO SET YOU APART FROM THE OTHER BANDS AND SECURE A WIN FOR YOUR BAND?
The thing that would set us apart the most is the completely unique nature of our sound. As individual musicians we are all influenced by different styles, and our music is a direct amalgamation of all those influences. Everyone always has a hard time trying to label the kind of music that we are, but everyone seems to be moved by it regardless, whether in a good or bad way is obviously their personal perspective and opinion though.

WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO BANDS THAT ARE CONSIDERING SIGNING UP FOR THE FESTIVAL NEXT YEAR?
We would all say that when an opportunity presents itself, especially an opportunity like this, you don’t want to look back on it and regret not taking the chance. This is the second time Aurox has entered the Emergenza Festival and this is the furthest we have come this time, so don’t get disheartened if it doesn’t work out in your favour the first time; persistence is definitely key, and opportunities are always worth taking when they are investments in yourself.

IF YOU HAVE THE DESIRE TO SHOUT OUT TO ANY OF THE BANDS OR SAY ANY THANKS, DO SO HERE:
We would just like to thank everyone who supported us, all our friends, family, the boys from Dystopic , the boys from Turn From Temptation, work mates who have come out to show their love for us, and we want to wish all the bands in the finals good luck and to congratulate them for making it this far, and we just want to let them know that, regardless the outcome, it will be an honour to share the stage with them.