Drop G and No Bullshit: Sam Walker-Smith of Infinite Exile on Riffs, Resilience, and the Road

When Sam Walker-Smith first lined up outside Sanity at 6 a.m. with his dad to buy the latest Metallica CD, something clicked. He was six years old, sitting in the tray of a ute, soaking in heavy guitars and defiant energy. That moment planted a seed — and decades later, it’s grown into Infinite Exile, a hard-hitting modern metal act fueled by precision, passion, and power.

Growing up with the dual influence of Angus Young's raw electricity and James Hetfield's chugging force, Sam’s musical journey reflects a transition from youthful obsession to calculated, crushing craftsmanship. The bands that later shaped his sonic DNA — Parkway Drive, Korn, Bring Me The Horizon, and Emmure — taught him one key thing: good metal isn’t just noise, it’s noise with a message.

Sam’s first guitar, a battered Squire Strat, now sleeps above a school dorm ceiling, a relic of drop B experimentation and relentless tinkering. Today, his setup is far from entry-level. He runs a Dino DC live through a Kemper profiling rig, using tones from Omega’s Obsidian and Granophyre amps, dialed to perfection. For studio work, it’s the DC plus a Hype GTI with an Evertune, often running Mixwave’s Mike Stringer pack. And soon, a custom Kaseki — heavily modified and uniquely Sam — will join the lineup.

"Meaty, tight, clean" is how Sam describes his tone. But ask him about his approach, and it’s clear that the philosophy runs deeper. He values simplicity over showboating, and utility over ego. “Keep it simple, keep it tight,” he says. Drop G is home, with occasional excursions into F# when things get nasty.

Live, Infinite Exile isn’t just a show — it’s an eruption. Shoeys, breakdowns, and pulling mates like Floyd on stage for guest spots make each performance a party. But it’s not without its struggles. From soundcheck stress to mopping beer off the stage, Sam knows the grind behind the glam. Still, the energy from the pit makes it all worth it.

Offstage, Sam is thoughtful and honest. He admits he’s not the most technical player, and he’s fine with that. “I lean heavily into feel and emotion when I’m playing,” he says. The tech wizardry is left to his bandmate Fabian. What matters more to Sam is telling stories, whether through riffs or lyrics. “We talk about things we’ve all been through,” he shares. “The point is that we’re still here to talk about it.”

Creatively, he stays inspired by the community around him. Scrolling through the riffs posted by fellow Ormsby artists on Instagram is often the push he needs. And when the music hits a wall, he leans into it with curiosity rather than fear.

Sam’s outlook on the future of metal is open-minded and optimistic. He sees genre-blending as the next frontier and hints that Infinite Exile’s upcoming release is exploring new sonic territory. “We’ve always tried to change things up between releases to keep things fresh,” he says.

Next year promises big things: a new release, a string of shows, a run to the East Coast, and the launch of his own recording studio. There’s even talk of taking on mixing clients. But through it all, the goal remains the same — honest music, written from experience, performed with heart.