They are Glasgow's most voodoo obsessed band who have carved out a reputation for killer short-and-sharp-and noisey swamp rock songs and riotous live shows.

Their latest crazed album The Animal Mothers Must Be Destroyed has at least one tune in my list of favourites of this year.

Having started as a two-piece garage punk band, front man Wallace Pate (25), guitarist Richard Clarke (28), bassist Phil Allen (25) and drummer Alex Abate (25) have already carved out a growing reputation in the Scottish DIY scene with five albums under their belts.

How did you manage to get together?

Wallace - Wallace Pate, Alex Abate, Richard Clarke and Phil Allen. Myself and Alex were in previous bands together and were getting bored so we decided to get drunk, conduct some weird voodoo blood rituals and start making music again. Richard was previously in The Draynes who we’d played with a few times, their on hiatus, so we knocked him out and kidnapped him and make him play guitar at knife point. Phil is a more recent addition, we needed a bass player who could literally be whipped into learning the songs extremely quickly, so far its worked out with no complaints, not that they would be taken seriously anyway.

Tell us something amazing about what is happening to you, has happened or both.

Wallace - I think the fact that we haven’t had our spirits broken yet is pretty amazing, we keep on writing and playing and trying to grow as a band rather than bash out the same old 60’s or Californian garage rock.

Richard (below) – I think the last few months in the band have been amazing and a lot of fun. We recorded our new album in Green Door Studio which was an enlightening experience and we’ve just completed a great run of gigs to launch the album. The shows we did in Edinburgh and Glasgow were two of the best gigs we’ve ever done and the new album has been getting crowds moshing and moving, which, especially for Edinburgh, can be hard!

Glasgow Times:

What's your take on Glasgow?

Wallace - We like Glasgow, it’s a pretty vibrant scene. It can be a bit cliquey but where isn’t? Lots of our allies/fellow cult members are based there. Bands like The Kidney Flowers, Black Cat Revue, Sweaty Palms, Tongue Trap & MISC. MEAT all help make it pretty sick! There’s obviously more like Twin Mirrors and Future Glue (both involving patron saint of the scene Keith Harcus) but I’m not going to spend time gushing over them here.

Richard – Coming from Edinburgh I find the Glasgow scene absolutely superior by comparison in terms of the bands that come out of the city, it seems to live and breathe music. I would say it definitely feels like home…musically speaking.

How many live gigs do you think you have done now since you formed and what was your most bizarre experience and best moment?

Wallace - That’s a really hard question to answer because I don’t think myself or Alex can remember most. It must be between 60-80 though, possibly more. We played a gig in Inverness that was pretty weird, I hadn’t slept and the sound guy kept turning the monitors on and off, coming on stage to change my amp settings and having a rave to himself behind the sound desk.

Richard – I think our most bizarre gig experience by a mile was in Dundee. While we were playing the drum kit kept falling apart, the sound guy jumped on stage and put a seemingly empty paint pot in front of the base drum to hold it in place. Next thing I know there is a sea of white paint gushing across the stage coming at me and Wallace like the blob, we just played through the pain(t). A surreal moment.

What's your take on the live music scene in Scotland? Are you better here, or down in London and why?

Wallace - The live music scene in Scotland is pretty decent but it’s fairly insular, the industry is far too London-centric so it is probably better to be based down there which is a shame because there’s so many good bands and artists beyond the wall.

They say that rock is on the slide, and the pop charts are full of E(lectronic) D(ance) M(usic), can a band like yourself really hit the mainstream now?

Wallace - People always say that, its so boring. I love when delusional mainstream, corporate rock garbage like Arctic Monkeys or Kasabian claim to be the last rock and roll band. Its all underground which is where the best music has always come from. So what if the charts are dominated by pop and dance music? Haven’t they always been? That sort of stuff is always going to exist, its about going out and finding what’s good and interesting from either the current generation or in the past. I don’t think a band specifically like us would ever be mainstream now but I don’t know if that’s where we want to be either. You didn’t find Neu or The Gun Club in the charts. I plan on dying a cult hero!

Glasgow Times:

Richard – I think there are two different musical worlds going on, the sugary sweet corporate world of chart rock music, which includes crap like Noel Gallagher and Kasabian, that’s where all the money is. In direct opposition there is the underground, that’s where we sit. To be mainstream is to pander to the masses, fitting into a certain cage, it’s to give up creative control over everything – why would you lust after that. I’m happy being the outsider.

What do you think about the current musical climate?

Wallace - The current music climate is fine, there’s a lot of good music out there but a lot of bad as well. The only thing that really stands out is that there isn’t really the tribalism that’s been associated with a lot of past scenes, everything just kind of blends together which makes things seem a bit anaemic because there’s no sparks or rivalry. There’s also nothing that really stands out particularly well which is a shame.

Richard – I think underground rock is at its healthiest in years, there are great bands out there making great music, you just have to go look for it, get out and go see a gig, get out and smell it. I think there’s a thriving counter culture and dirty underground rising again, bands like Idles, Fat White Family and Yak show that there is an alternative to the beige ‘rock’ you see in the charts.

What are the obstacles for a new-ish band to break through into the public consciousness.

Wallace - Music is so accessible now and there’s so much of it so it’s hard not to get lost in all the other noise. It’s also hard to break new ground sonically, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try, we certainly won’t give up. People are also really easily offended now. Back in the punk days that was good for a bit PR but it seems that what should be the counter-culture dictates so much of what is acceptable and what isn’t which is a damn shame. I think it’s really important to nail your colours to the mast as an artist and try to let yourself come through which it seems that a lot of people are afraid to do.

Glasgow Times:

Richard – I think unless you are a bunch of good-looking 19-year-olds who are ready to be used and abused then your chances of ‘breaking through’ into mainstream consciousness are pretty slim. We do what we do and we love it, and we do it on our terms.

Do you see this as a career, or are you still holding down full time jobs during the day. If so, what are you all doing?

Wallace - It would be nice to do this full time but unfortunately that isn’t financially viable. Alex works in a zoo playing with animals all day as he always has, Richard works for the propaganda departments of the Scottish Government and myself and Phil work for local authorities so you could say we’re also helping to take down the system from the inside.

A new album is out. It's more dirty psyched-up rock. Any chance of a dance album?

Wallace - Well I do like house and techno so there’s every chance, but that might have to be relegated to a solo project.

Finally where do you see yourselves in five years time. Still doing this?

Wallace - Dead.

Richard - Surviving.

The Animal Mothers play Stereo, Glasgow on December 30