“Our producer always says ‘play good music, get good shows.’ We like to think we do both of those.” Ahead of a momentous performance at Bloodstock 2025, Ted Claxton and Phillip King of tealdeer spoke to us about new record ‘menace,’ what lies ahead for the group, and their ominous deer magic.

Anyone at the final of Metal To The Masses Nottingham could tell that tealdeer were the crowd favourites to win it— the chanting was deafening, not to mention the number of attendees wearing antlers and deer masks. For the band themselves though, the win didn’t feel quite so certain. As Claxton explained, “it was tough, because everything in the moment was pointing to us winning— which was lovely, of course— but in my head, I’m like, ‘it’s the hope that kills you.’ So I was trying to keep it all inside.” King agreed, adding that “it was the same for every round. Everyone was just so professional and so good at what they were doing. It’s scary stuff!” 

The duo were also keen to share the secret behind tealdeer’s success, with Claxton putting it down to the band’s distinct identity. “I think the secret is— not to sound big-headed— but you’ve got to sound unique. I think something I love about my band is that you can’t find us elsewhere.” This focus on standing out seems to define the band, as King would go on to discuss. “Innovation over imitation, is what we’re trying to go for. I think a lot of people want to be their favourite thing, whereas I think you’ve just got to go for it sometimes and go for something that might be a leap of faith.” The band promised that they would be playing their “heaviest stuff” at Bloodstock, sharing their intention to “calm [the crowd] down to get them to waltz, and them get them back into a mosh.”

With things seeming to be on the up-and-up for this deer-themed five-piece, Claxton and King were able to reminisce on the journey the band’s taken to get to this point, and the struggles of breaking out as a small band. As King explained, “it’s a saturated market in general: a lot more people have a lot more access, which is an amazing thing, but obviously as a result of that, there’s a lot more people trying to break out.” Claxton also went on to detail how the band’s recent successes have been shaping their approach to music, and to touring. “We’re a small band, but we’re growing, and we’re getting more opportunities as we grow, and every release will have more to it. When it’s a little band like us, who’re up and coming, you just root for them: I hope our fanbase will be enjoying what they can get and wanting more.”

We were keen to hone in on that unique tealdeer sound, which the band put down to their diverse influences: System Of A Down were cited as a favourite of the band’s founder Ominous Deer Man, though King was also proud to share the influence that pop punk and emo acts (including Hundred Reasons and blink-182) have had on his writing and vocal style. For Claxton though, taking inspiration from his favourite acts doesn’t seem to be so straightforward. “My influences are a bit of a problem: I always try to get crazy lyrics through the filter and Ominous Deer Man shuts it down. I normally write crazy sh*t and we dial it back. Even if it goes weird, it never goes that weird: theres always something behind it.”

The duo were also happy to discuss new release ‘menace,’ which sees tealdeer at their heaviest and most off-the-wall yet. Talking about their writing process, Claxton gave us a glimpse into the inner workings of tealdeer. “A lot of it comes from Ominous Deer Man, and then we put the spice on top of it. It’s good to have that direction: every band works differently.” They were also keen to shout out their producer Ben Gaines (the Audiomage) — the ‘sixth deer’— who had a major impact on the sound and style of ‘menace,’ including the gothic choir elements of ‘don’t be a cult’ and the circus-themed theatrics of single ‘waltz of the worthy.’ As King went on to say, “I think Ben saw the best parts of the band and he made sure those parts were in every song: he made sure that every song had that deer-ness, the unique spin to it, something a little bit different about it.” 

Diving further into the new record, we were keen to find out what inspired its overall presentation: for Claxton, the clue is in the name. “[The release] is called ‘menace’ because the songs embody that word: they are menacing. When we were trying to find a title for it, a lot of the things we were talking about were that we were unrestricted for this one.” As for the record’s artwork, the band revealed the unconventional places they’d been pulling from, with King sharing, “they’re French photographs from the 1800s: some of the oldest photography that exists, as far as I’m aware. It’s supposed to be depictions of hell.” As Claxton went on to say, “I love that album cover: it’s my favourite album cover I’ve made for any band ever. I’m very proud of the ‘menace’ cover.” The duo agreed that ‘the devil’s toybox’ is their favourite track from the release— as King explained, “it’s just the feeling of having an instrument in your hands to play that one, and the way you can just fully rock out and throw your guitar around while you’re doing it. That’s got to be my favourite because you can go the craziest to it.”

With a project as out-of-the-box as tealdeer, we just had to know how deep the lore runs: the duo answered, “deep enough to; have fans on TikTok dressing up; have people turn up to shows wearing antlers, which we love to see every single time; have [Ominous Deer Man] himself wear his mask offstage and simply be in character.” The entire lore of tealdeer is contained within the band’s music videos— “we can’t say how it all pieces together chronologically: I don’t think any of the band even know that! You can do some sleuthing.” Claxton and King made it clear that their lore is far from complete though— “we’ve got ideas for future videos to expand the Ominous Deer Man lore. You heard it here first: you might be getting to see some Ominous Deer Woman.”

As ever, we had to know the duo’s favourite albums— for both, the choice was very clear. As Claxton shared, “mine is Deja Entendu by Brand New: 2000s album that reshaped emo music. It is fantastic. Runners up: any of the latest three Paramore albums.” As for King, “it is the self-titled blink-182 album: masterpiece. Jerry Finn’s best work, as well as blink-182’s.”

tealdeer have a number of upcoming shows in support of ‘menace,’ including a supporting slot for LASTELLE in September, as well as that climactic performance at Bloodstock festival this year. With the promise of more as-yet-unannounced shows on the way, as well as more music on the horizon, the band’s future seems very bright. As King put it, “it’s ominous deer magic, that’s all it is.”