It’s not new to hear of an exciting, talented band leaving a major record label after two albums.

The debut album would’ve been hyped up in the music press, the promotions and touring schedule relentless, and a top ten album hit following shortly after.

Then, the infamous second album comes along. Noted for its usual difficulty (make an album too similar to the first and you will be seen as one trick ponies, make one which is too diverse, and people will say you’ve lost it), it can be seen as a final nail in the coffin for mainstream success.

Another reason can be to do with the label themselves. A change in music scene, or in personnel at the label can see bands dropped like confetti, a lack of apparent interest or understanding of a bands philosophy can see bands get discontent – just look at Fightstar’s recent falling out with Island over the label wanting them to go more pop.

As Larry Hibbitt, guitarist for Great British rock group Hundred Reasons explains, the personnel change at the top saw the band left out in the cold. Where a lot of bands could easily fade into obscurity, the five-piece found a new label [V2], got voted as Best Unsigned Act 2004 at the Kerrang! awards and created a comeback album that would beat the living shit out of Rocky Balboa.

Things, it seems, have never been better…

Why do you think people like Hundred Reasons?
    “Honestly, I have no idea. [Laughs] I can see why people like us, because in my opinion we write a lot of good songs and were good live. I think we’ve always had a very good fan base that has stayed with us through no matter what happens.
    "I think that’s because were also pretty active as a band, in communicating with people rather than putting ourselves on a pedestal - I suppose that’s one reason why, but honestly I don’t know!”

Do you think with websites and communications like MySpace for example are really important to bands these days then?
    “Oh yeah definitely, I think they are more important than your own website nowadays as so many people go onto it and access it. I guess there are new bands now that go onto it and suddenly have access to thousands of people and just break it from there which is just crazy!
    "However, when we first started out and got our own website, people were like “why?!” [Laughs]. If they did [have internet access], they had such shit connection speeds that they couldn’t do anything with it!”

You’ve said in the media before about your second album, Shatterproof is not a Challenge being rushed, with more pressure put on you than the first. Do you think that this is your chance to actually put out a ‘proper’ second album, or would this album not exist in its current state if it weren’t for that experience?
    “I think if anything this album [Kill Your Own] is more of a debut album, or a second debut album - that’s what it feels like for me, musically and lyrically at least. I think it’s an exciting album and we definitely had more time to put it together for whatever reason.
    "The second one was funny, it seemed like they weren’t even putting pressure on us to do as well. We had such a bad relationship with the label [Sony] it was like they didn’t care how well we did; they just wanted to get something out there so they could drop us.”

What’s been your main inspiration behind the new album?
    “I deliberately didn’t listen to any other rock music throughout the recording of the new one because I didn’t want anything to subconsciously find its way onto there from a similar sounding band.
    "We draw inspiration from each other and from around the room, we don’t necessarily need to take it from anywhere else.”

If you had to attach a particular label to the album, what would it be?
    “It sounds so contrived but as a band we want to do all the stuff we couldn’t do on the last record, which is to go around the country and play as much and to as many people as possible.
    "The goal with the record was to make it as good as we could. We would demo it again and again, and if in our minds it wasn’t good enough then we would drop it. We dropped a load of songs for the album, so that was the goal - to just make a really good sounding record.”

Where would you say that Hundred Reasons fit genre-wise? I know that bands don’t generally label themselves…
    “This record isn’t ‘emo’. I hate all that stuff that’s coming out right now, its all carbon copies of each other and it’s getting really stale. It’s the same with all these “The” bands. I like a lot of those, but it’s getting to a point now. I would place us outside both of those.
    "We just wanted to make a rock album, a great British rock album, which has nothing to do with all the fringe cuts and stuff. For us really its more important to fit outside of things rather than fitting inside of them.”

Going back to the ideas of the music industry and modern technology  - I read an article in Q magazine that suggested that the record label would be dead within 10 years. Do you think that will happen at all?
    “No no no no… people will say that “Bands can do everything for themselves!” - Bollocks. How do you get a million people to hear about your band? It doesn’t matter how many Internet connections you’ve got!
    "It is good if you do want to do it a DIY way - because it’s a lot cheaper now - but (pauses) I have an unhealthy belief in human nature that people do still put a value to people’s creative work and that people do still want to “own” something tangible rather than just a bunch of zeros on their computer. I still get really romantic about records - I mean; I still buy vinyls!
    “I think there is a place for record labels in the world, and I don’t think they’re Satan. Things didn’t work out at Sony, but when they were it was brilliant. It’s just the fucking luck of the draw. It always seems that the artists are blameless in everything that happens, it’s the notion of “oh its just the artist being pissed on again!” and its not really that accurate.
    "Record companies aren’t Satan, they’re machines and they’re businesses fine, but you’ve just got to keep that in mind. The creative bit of that fits in there somewhere, but it doesn’t always work out. Record labels will find a way to get music to people the way they want, as opposed to what everyone wants.”

We touched on digital media earlier briefly - do you feel that digital technology like camera phones and digital cameras at gigs are taking something away from the interaction and the feeling you get with audiences?
    “You see people holding up these fucking mobile phones at gigs - what’s that gunna sound like? [Imitates the sound of a majorly distorted mobile phone] KKRRRKKRRRRR!! – It’s just stupid!”
Colin Doran (Vocals): “I’ve never filmed a gig on my phone, ‘cause it sounds shit! It just sounds like [also imitates mobile noise] KRRRRRRR!”
Larry: “…And you’re just staring at it going, “What is it?!” [Laughs]. I don’t care honestly, I mean if someone wants to film us when were playing then it’s up to them, but it wont be that good - I mean - we released a live DVD, a fuckin’ five pound thing – it [recordings from the crowd] won’t be that good honestly, but its up to them!
    "If they wanna be watching a gig through a camera screen, that’s their problem, you’re just gunna miss out on the whole thing really! If you’re really gunna pay eight quid to do that, you’re an idiot! (Laughs)”

The final track on ‘Kill Your Own’ is the anthemic ‘Breathe Again’, complete with the lyrics: “A chance to leave the past behind/And move toward the future bright/This time it’s done a better way/Breathe again this time”. You can’t help but see it as a fitting epitome to everything that Hundred Reasons have stood for. They’ve left their previous problems buried in the past, and come back stronger, fresher and more determined.

It’s a new start for the band, who have got everything to play for. They’re genuine hard-working rock band that always pull a crowd, no matter where they play. It’s no fluke though, as they rock with the passion and conviction of a band that actually believe in what they are doing.

Then again, it shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone who has followed their progress, as they’ve always strived – and succeeded – to create something that is better than anything they’ve ever achieved before. The only thing the record label split achieved in doing was to make a great band even greater.

Let’s hope their second album is as good as the first…