You Me At Six knew about their breakup lengthy earlier than we did. From the Easter eggs within the throwback aesthetic for his or her now-final album Fact Decay (2023) to their remaining UK pageant exhibits at Slam Dunk, the place they topped the invoice in 2024, their victory lap has sufficiently lived as much as the standing of a band who’ve been a mainstay in British rock for the final 20 years.

“It’s been a lap of honour, thus far,” confirms guitarist Max Helyer, talking on the eve of their remaining UK exhibits. Having already waved goodbye to North America, South America, Australia, and Europe, the “dynamic” of every farewell present has stormed into fifth gear, with tons of of followers confirming the sentiment felt throughout the band: they’re within the type of their lives.

Boasting a profession that features chart-topping albums Cavalier Youth (2014) and SUCKAPUNCH (2021) and quite a few hometown headlining performances at Brixton Academy, Alexandra Palace and Wembley Enviornment, the Surrey five-piece introduced their resolution to name it quits in January 2024, promising one remaining worldwide tour – neatly dubbed The Closing Nights Of Six.

Breaking out with snappy pop-punk and emo-tinged numbers like Save It For The Bed room and Keep With Me, You Me At Six’s biggest hits catalogue boasts an entire vary of sound palettes, from the blissful, clear balladry to No One Does It Higher to the crunching post-hardcore tones to Chunk My Tongue – a collaboration with Carry Me The Horizon frontman Oli Sykes. Pure indie seeped its means into VI (2018), earlier than SUCKAPUNCH integrated monstrous synth traces backed up by an underbelly of dense guitars.

“We wished the setlist to be a journey by all eight albums,” says Helyer, describing the problem of cramming their mighty discography into one final hurrah. “It’s up and down, it’s a journey, it’s dynamic. Our followers love our sluggish songs – however you possibly can’t play a set filled with sluggish songs… we’ve bought a core set, after which one other 10 songs that we’ve earmarked to switch [one another], particularly after we’re doing double nights [in certain cities].”

Heavy, Clear and Every part In Between

Loading the tour bus for one remaining time, Helyer is choosing a concise set of guitars to select from, avoiding overwhelming himself with an “arsenal” to select from. “My most important guitar? It’s a Fender Telecaster,” he admits, quoting his 2017 customized store mannequin as one which notably modified the sport for him on the VI tour. “I drifted from it and got here again to it, round album 5 or 6, and it’s simply so numerous. It’s a workhorse. Having an array of [Telecasters] that I do know are all going to work on no matter tuning – they’re the very best of each [worlds] for heavy and clear.”

Together with an American Tele, Helyer’s 1985 Gibson ES-335 covers all bases with regard to the early, humbucker-heavy You Me At Six materials. Having had such a chameleonic, ever-changing guitar sound throughout their discography, the underlying core consistency loops again to his amps and pedalboard.

After swapping conventional Marshall JCM 900s for Audio Kitchen’s Little Chopper across the Cavalier Youth cycle, Helyer went seeking a extra “heat, huggy ” sound for his or her 2017 document Evening Folks. “I wished to mess about with two amps… I additionally wanted to have extra of a spike, extra of a cut-through sound.” When a Fender Twin introduced itself to him at Nashville’s Blackbird Studios, there was no wanting again.

“[I was told] the one different one that has blasted that Fender Twin as loud as me was Jack White – his sound was so abrasive. That mix of a Little Chopper and a Fender Twin in entrance of my pedalboard, that was the sound. The amps are each simply earlier than biting level the place they’re loud, however they’re singing, and you may hear it in a transparent dynamic.”

Whereas a dialog Carry Me The Horizon’s Lee Malia impressed a current environment friendly swap to Neural DSP Quad Cortexes, the elemental Max Helyer pedalboard is his satisfaction and pleasure, as he provides us the complete, prolonged rundown. “The TC Digital Corridor Of Fame 2 is the right [reverb pedal] for studio and reside,” he begins. “I’ve bought choices on a small pedal – I’m tweaking the decay and results continually all through the present.

“I’ve bought an Electro-Harmonix Bass Microsynth that I take advantage of for songs like SUCKAPUNCH and No Future? Yeah Proper – it squelches slightly bit, and saturates it extra in the direction of a synthesizer sound. Being a guitar participant, the Bass Microsynth reacts otherwise and simply will get that little bit extra grunt out of that decrease finish.”

No Future? Yeah Proper

Along with his ever-evolving, “adventurous” strategy to guitar taking part in, You Me At Six’s Wembley Enviornment swansong on April 4 will certainly not mark the tip for every member, individually. “When one door closes, one other one opens. Come April 5, my doorways are open once more. You by no means know, I’d make some extra music, collaborate with anyone else, be a part of one other band. You don’t actually know on this world… it’s simply bought to really feel proper to me.”

Revealing that he’s lately been working with Leicester pop-punk trio Mouth Tradition, the “lottery ticket” of open-minded collaboration is one thing that’s excited Helyer, ever since You Me At Six opened that door round Evening Folks to the likes of Snow Patrol collaborator Iain Archer and former Kaiser Chiefs drummer Nick Hodgson. “[Songwriting has] all the time been in my blood, and I gained’t ever cease that,” he says. “If that’s within the rock world, pop, dance, hip-hop, RnB – I really like so many alternative types of music.”

For now, although, Helyer’s full focus, time and a spotlight is on You Me At Six – as a result of the final dance has begun. Yet another stint on the street together with his fellow axeman Chris Miller (“we’re like yin and yang – we complement one another in such a unique spectrum”), this band of brothers had been all the time decided to see this illustrious profession out on their very own phrases.

“We’re simply humbled,” he concludes. “I’m glad that our music has had such an influence on individuals’s lives – that’s primary for me, all the time is. One thing that has introduced us 5 plenty of pleasure, creating music within the studio, has resonated with individuals all the world over. My job is finished, due to that.”