It’s perhaps an understatement to suggest Superheist founding member DW Norton is having a bad day.

“It’s been hell,” Norton says. “I’ve been stuck in traffic all day … I’m driving down to the Mornington Peninsula from Melbourne at the moment. I live down in the Peninsula … but, you know, traffic sucks.”

He’s certainly got a point. But although it might not be ideal to sit in bumper-to-bumper gridlock, at least it gives Norton a moment or two to reflect on his recent achievements, of which there are many. Superheist, the band he has been at the creative forefront of since 1993, have recently reunited, fronted now by Ezekiel ‘Zeke’ Ox after the departure of original vocalist Rod McLeod. Better still, they have an album due at the end of the month, a whirling nu-metal delight titled Ghosts Of The Social Dead.

“We kinda had the idea of doing this again maybe about 18 months ago,” Norton says. “But we really only put it into full swing when we got Zeke on board about 12 weeks ago. I started writing for [Ghosts] about 18 months ago, and I wrote about 40 songs. But then when we actually locked it in – when we knew that Zeke was the man – we scrapped all we had and just started again and had it all done in about ten weeks.”

The idea of such a snappy turnaround would undoubtedly have most other musicians turning green with jealousy – Norton says “then, we just went ‘wacketty-whack’” as his description of how the album was recorded – and he speaks of the great ease he feels about the record-making process. “We’re really happy with the album. We’re really happy with the whole package. So we’re excited to get it out there and excited for people to hear it.”

A lot of that newfound confidence and speed came from the addition of Ox. The man has an impressive pedigree: he has previously fronted such groups as The Ox and The Fury and Full Scale Revolution, and he also possesses one of the most impressive sets of pipes around, something his new bandmate Norton seems well aware of.

“When we were first approached to [reunite] by our label, we were talking about vocalists. But it was like Zeke or bust – I pretty much wasn’t going to do it unless we could get Zeke. I just think he’s up there with the most talented frontmen in the country, just in terms of being a showman. And he’s a fantastic vocalist, a great dude – he just brings such a great vibe with him.”

Indeed, this isn’t simply a case of Ox making up the numbers. He is now an integral part of the Superheist family, but more than that, he has become an essential part of the Superheist sound.

“When you’re writing and you don’t know who is definitely going to be singing the songs, you kinda are just going for it,” Norton says. “I mean, you can come up with some new stuff, but it’s a little bit directionless. Once I knew Zeke was the man, it was just really easy to pick up on his vibe and rewrite the whole record. It just came together really well. It’s – in my opinion at least – the best record that we’ve made.

“This is definitely not our first rodeo. We know how to put a song together, we know what is expected of us in the studio … I’ve got my formula. You can tell; you can hear it’s me. I’ve had my sound that I’ve had for many years – it’s not changed, but it’s grown up. But, you know, it’s not hard. I don’t find it difficult to write songs.”

Ghosts Of The Social Dead is out Friday October 28 through Dinner For Wolves/Nerve Gas.Superheist rock theFactory Theatre,Friday November 4, with Earth Caller, Segression and Horrorwood Mannequins.

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