Monday, November 21, 2011

INTERVIEW: Impending Doom



GENRE: Metal/Christian
HOMETOWN: Riverside, CA
LABEL: eOne Music
BIO: Impending Doom is an American Metal band from Riverside, California. Formed in 2005, jumped right into the touring lifestyle and gained their success very quickly. The band has released 1 e.p. and 3 full length records, selling over 70,000 records world wide. Signed by Facedown Records from 2007-2010. In 2011 the band signed a deal with eOne Records. Come see the band in a city near you!
SOUNDS LIKE: In The Midst Of Lions, Whitechapel, Oceano, Molotov Solution, 
A Plea For Purging, With Blood Comes Cleansing, I Declare War


How did Impending Doom discover you?
We had all been friends since back in around 04 (me and Brook have known each other since 03, David and I since 05, Cory since 03). Cory and i were in XdeathstarX. He also innovated Sleeping Giant and I would mess around on bass with him. From there Cory and i stayed in touch and always talked and wondered if we'd ever be in a band again. One night I saw David go on Instant messenger and he NEVER goes on that thing...so I thought "lets see how doom is doing". So I proceeded to tell David, "Hey hows doom man? Ever need a fill in or help I'm here", (which I had always done in the past to them), David said "You never know man". Literally 10 minutes later he jumped online and said, "Hey..... Can you call me?". And of course I called him. He said that Isaac was moving on, they had to go to the studio in 2 weeks and didnt have a drummer. Of course I took the position, learned the songs by listening for about a week, then practiced several hours with them the week before the actual session in the studio. Funny thing is how powerful prayer really is. I had prayed so hard for anything to come about because prior I had lost a marriage, lost a great job, barely had a place to live. It was rough. And now here I am enjoying a great ride with my brothers taking it day by day seeing what God has in store next. 

Were you in any other bands before joining Impending Doom?
Yes I was. Here is a little break down of it: 
Dying Dreams 2001-2001 (One EP with Mitch from Suicide silence) 
Suicide Silence 2002 (started with Chris Garza) 
The Final Burden 2002-2004 2 EPs 
Plague Of Sheol 2002-2006 (2 EPsgeoff brouliette of Sleeping Giant) 
xDEATHSTARx 2003-2006 (an EP and a full length Underneath The Gun 2007 fill in 
for 5 shows Mirror Of Dead Faces 2008-2009) (full length) 
Earth From Above 2008- almost recorded full length 
haha Darasuum 2009 (one EP) 
Gabe rosales Vital nonsense- One track (Jennifer Lopez, Christina Milan, Sen Dog-Cypress Hill, 
Nicole Sherzinger-Pussy Cat Dolls, Lynch Mob) 
Austrian Death Machine fill in Sonshine fest 2009 Impending Doom- There Will Be Violence

Can you describe Impending Doom's sound?
Heavy, Pissed, Angry, Dark, Passionate, Real.....

What was the inspiration behind the lyrics for your latest album, There Will Be Violence?
Basically the turmoil that is going to be brought on this world when judgment day comes. And no not tomorrow on May 21st like every ones saying haha. Dont put so much energy into this world when its all going to be nothing in the end. The world is going to be insane when the day comes. Generally there are a lot of other meanings brook has that are dear to his heart and I can't speak for those

What has been the most interesting tour with Impending Doom so far?
Hmmm... interesting? Probably the Co-Headline tour we did with Chimaira. Just a completely different crowd than what were used to. The shows were cool, but alot different than the Doom crowd.

What has been your favorite Impending Doom album?
Mine was "The Serpent Servant". It had a lot of everything. Plus they added Cory to the mix. Dude is brilliant when it comes to writing a song 

What has been the craziest thing to happen at a show?
Hmmm... I don't think there's been anything too shocking at a show since I've been in the band.... I guess for them, there was this one time at a show in VA beach a guy pulled a gun out at the show. That's pretty crazy

Are you guys currently working on a new album?
Yes. We are writing. Slowly but surely it's coming along.

Are there any bands/musicians that you look up to when it comes to writing? 
Yikes. That list goes on and on for me. For the band as a whole I can say Slipknot, Deftones, Pantera, sevendust, karnivool, radiohead... I'm probably missing some important ones but those are primary up to date bands that will always influence us.

Any closing words?
Thank you for choosing to interview me. 
Hope to see you on the road and anyone else who reads this. 
Thanks!

Impending Doom is:
Brook Reeves - Vocals
Cory Johnson - Guitars
David Sittig - Bass
Brandon "Btown" Trahan - Drums

Monday, November 14, 2011

INTERVIEW: Mouth Of The South


GENRE: Progressive Ministry Metal
HOMETOWN: Arlington, Texas
LABEL: None
BIO: Quiet... Listen... There is a cry in the distance. A last scream of desperation. It's the sound of this generation. The sinners, the outcasts, the rejects, the addicts, and the alcoholics, they are all dying and they're reaching out for more. Tired of what the headlines tell them to do and who the tabloids tell them to be, and what the labels tell them to listen to, they march. In their rebellion they marched south, away from the stereotypes and away from all rules and regulations. They had good motives but they got lost in the mixup and their cause turned into a lust filled journey where their motivation was lost. They turned to anything that would satisfy no matter how long the high lasted it was all they wanted. But when high hopes and empty promises come to an end its time to start living for something real, something that will not fade, something that will never back down. That something is our God, Jesus Christ. The symbol of salvation hangs from our necks and urges us to press on. And now the time has come for this generation to stand up and take its place. Restart this march and reshape this world. There is a war out there and we are called to fight at the front lines, and take back this earth. We are the trumpets that begin the battle cries, we are the drum beat that initiates the march.

We are the Mouth of the South.
Forget what you've heard, forget what you've seen. Mouth of the South is here to break the mold. With the goal of sharing the love we have in Jesus Christ and playing some rawnchy music while we are at it we are more determined than ever. Music is what we love and what we do best. We aren't perfect people but we have a God that keeps us going. We have been ransomed for the soul purpose of making God known wherever we are, and the only way we know how to come close to expressing this is through music.




How did you guys get started?
Well, Mouth of the South became a band almost 5 years ago when everyone was just a bunch of little kids that couldn't drive yet. None of the current members were around back then but it got started really as just something fun to pass the time with haha.

Can you describe Mouth Of The South's sound?
We really try to encompass a lot of different styles in our music. Each one of us really enjoys metal as well as hardcore and melodic hardcore so we try to mesh all the styles we like into what we write. Our goal is to write aggressive groovy music that people can get into.

Are there any bands/musicians that have inspired your music?
Yeah, we get a lot of inspiration from all the smaller local bands we play with that are like us. Their passion and drive really encourages us to do what we love and write music we care about. 

Do you have a favorite song to play at shows?
Right now our favorite one to play is probably our new song 'Revelation' it seems to get people moving and we just really enjoy the song!

What has been your favorite band to tour with so far?
Well we've only been on one tour to date and that was with Before, there was Rosalyn. So I guess I'd have to say that Before, the was Rosalyn is definitely our favorite band to tour with by far!

If you could go on tour with any band, who would it be, and why?
As Cities Burn with their original lineup would be a dream come true. Their first CD is incredible and we'd love to listen to it every night haha. Also, For Today would be sweet. I think it'd be cool to hang around those guys and grow from who they are.

What has been the most interesting tour so far?
Well unfortunately we've only been on one so I'd have to say the most interesting tour we've been on was the one with Before, there was Rosalyn by far!

What is the craziest thing that has happened at one of your shows?
The craziest thing that has happened at our show was probably when we played an outdoor show and someone decided it'd be cool to throw an artillery shell over the fence from the neighbors yard in the middle of Texas' summer and almost caught the place on fire.

What has been your favorite venue so far?
We love our home venue 'Live at Phil's' in Arlington. But we've played some awesome venues on the road: The Lighthouse in Midlothian, TX. Art Ambush in Waco, TX. and the 7 venue in Douglasville, GA

Any closing words?
We're looking for a new drummer and guitarist right now but we'll be back on the road in february so keep on the lookout for new updates we'll post soon.

Members: 
Vocals- Josiah Lyle
Guitar- ???
Guitar- Mike Butler
Bass- Colton Bartholet
Drums- ???

Monday, November 7, 2011

INTERVIEW: Covenants

GENRE: Technical/Progressive Metal
HOMETOWN: Los Angeles, California
LABEL: Unsigned

BIO: We are Covenants, a Technical Metal band from Los Angeles. We have a 4 song EP titled "World Of Augury" which you can pick up on our Bandcamp page now! We are playing shows so hit us up for booking and if you like our stuff don't hesitate to spread the word! P.S. We love to chat so hit us up if you want to talk.
SOUNDS LIKE: Meshuggah, Veil Of Maya, Circle Of Contempt, Within The Ruins, Periphery, After The Burial, Vildhjarta, Animals As Leaders, Volumes, Elitist, Structures, 
And Hell Followed With


How did you guys get started? 

We started off in the summer of 2010 with just Victor on guitars, Zakk on drums and Gus on vocals. We wrote "Prevail" and "Delusion" and got them recorded and just went from there.

Can you describe Covendant's sound?
We honestly take influence from so many different genres of music so it's hard. However, if we had to describe our sound it would be a mix of Progressive, Death, Black and Groove Metal along with some other influences (Jazz, Classical).

Are there any bands/musicians that have inspired your music? 
A few bands that we really love are: Meshuggah, The Faceless, Veil of Maya, Within the Ruins, Behemoth, Animals As Leaders, After The Burial, Beneath The Massacre and MANY more. 

Do you have a favorite song to play at shows? 
I believe we all have different favorites, but I know we all love to play Delusion, it really gets the crowd going. 

What has been your favorite band to tour with so far?
Unfortunately we have not toured yet, but hopefully that will change in the near future!


If you could go on tour with any band, who would it be, and why?
I think it would be awesome to be able to tour with After the Burial or Veil of Maya. They're both some of the best bands in the Progressive field right now and are some of our biggest influences as a band.

What has been the most interesting tour so far? 
Again, we have not yet toured. Hopefully we will have some crazy tour stories next time!

What is the craziest thing that has happened at one of your shows? 
We were playing a backyard show one night and a guy spin kicked 2 guys in the face and knocked them out cold during our set. It was pretty intense!

What has been your favorite venue so far? 
We really like the Whiskey in Hollywood, we have an upcoming show there on November 8th with Mureau and Elitist! One venue we have not had the chance to play at yet but would love to is The Glasshouse in Pomona, such an epic venue to play at. 

Any closing words?  
Thanks for taking the time to check us out. If you have the chance, take a listen to our EP World of Augury at http://facebook.com/xcovenants or http://covenants.bandcamp.com If you like what you hear, please spread the word and try to make it out to a show if we're playing near your area! We'd love to see you all come out. 

Members:

Gus Ornelas-Vocals 
Victor Lara-Guitar 
Anthony Gamboa-Guitar
Dillon Shamma-Bass
Zakk Perez-Drums

Monday, October 10, 2011

Rust Library Teen Music Festival


EVERYONE should come to this. 
It's going to be awesome.
My brothers band is playing (!!!!!!!)
and I'll be attending all the events at The Teen Music Festival.
If you're in a band/interested in music/or just want to hang out,
 then you should come to this.

380 Old Waterford RD Leesburg VA

Experiment. Network. Perform.


Who will be there? 

Kelly Wooten of Duke University
(Zine workshop and T-Shirt workshop)

Educator and Musician Joy Harrell
(GarageBand Studio and The Honest Voice: Singing)

Technology Educator Hunter Pendleton
(GarageBand Studio)

Educator Christopher Hamner
(Slide Guitar Workshop)

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 22 
10:00-11:00 Merch: T-Shirts with Kelly Wooten of Duke University 
Learn to stencil unique designs on clothing. T-shirt and all supplies provided.

11:30-12:30 Promotion: Zines with Kelly Wooten of Duke University
Want to be a music journalist or critic? Just want get the word out about your band? Get the
basics on these DIY publications and craft your own mini-zine.

12:45-1:15 Networking Pizza Lunch
Meet other teen musicians in Loudoun County. Your next band could start right here.

1:30-4:30 Garage Band Studio with educators Hunter Pendleton and Joy Harrell
Learn to manipulate loops and record and edit your own sounds with the teen center’s Macs.
Bring your own (small) instrument if you like.

7:00-10:00 Battle of the Bands
To register your band, or for more information, call the teen center: 703-771-5998.

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 23
1:00-2:00 Slide Guitar Workshop with Educator Christopher Hamner
An introduction to the basic techniques of slide guitar, including wearing the slide, intonation,
vibrato, and some basic licks in open G tuning. For intermediate guitar players---those who
have been playing for 1-2 years and know basic chords but haven't tried slide.

1:00-2:30 The Honest Voice: Singing with Musician and Educator Joy Harrell
A crash course in effective vocal performance. All levels welcome.

3:00-5:00 Open Mic Coffee House
Teen acoustic musicians should call 703-771-5998 or stop by the teen center to register.

Sponsored by the A.V. Symington Gift Fund

For more information, visit library.loudoun.gov/teenmusicfestival or call 703-771-5998. If you require any type of reasonable accommodation, as a result of a physical, sensory, or mental disability, to participate in this program, please call 703-777-0368/Voice/TTY. Three days notice is requested.

Monday, August 8, 2011

INTERVIEW: Volumes

GENRE: Groove Metal
HOMETOWN: Los Angeles, California
LABEL: Mediaskare Records
BIO: Rhythmic, Groove, Technical, Brutal, Captivating, Face Melting are all adjectives that do not even come close to touching the tip of the iceberg when it comes to describing the sound, image and movement exploding right now out of Southern California. The source of this decibel shattering, mind-numbing, captivating phenomenon? Los Angeles metal outfit, VOLUMES.
SOUNDS LIKE: rooks, Uneven Structure, Vildhjarta, Centuries Apart,


How did you guys get started?
Well, Daniel Braunstein and Diego Farias started the band. They are excellent recording engineers and multi-instrumentalist and had similar interests in music production. They started sending each other riffs back and forth, working on them just for fun. I guess just spontaneously they decided to start a live musical project. They showed me their music production and jammed with me and recruited me as a bassist and our two vocalists Michael Barr and Gus Farias were the two local well-known front men. Recruited both for two different ranges as two is better than one? We recruited Chris Khoury as a drummer but he parted ways with Volumes due to personal circumstances. We have been using temporary drummers for tours. Daniel decided to become a non touring member and so we recruited an excellent recording engineer/producer/friend of Diego and Daniel, Daniel (DJ) Schwartz. Signed to Mediaskare Records before our first show. Met Outerloop Management at a show and signed to them. Now he we are two weeks from an International tour with some of our favorite bands. And we couldn't be more happier with the end result.  
Can you describe Volumes sound?
Volumes sound is low tuning, heavy, technical, groove/rythem-based riffs, with melodic entities as the melodies are there most of the time with heart-felt lyrics and eye opening lyrics and technical yet fun to play drumming. A mix of Meshuggah and Misery signals. The two vocalists bring the straight to your face metal aspect.  
Are there any bands/musicians that have inspired your music?
They are so many bands/musicians from all sorts of genres that inspire us daily. Two main influences are Meshuggah for their complicated and detailed rythem, Misery Signals for their beautiful melodies and guitar work inspire our music writing process.  
Do you have a favorite song to play at shows?
Intake, and Wormholes! Intake has a lot of emotion and feeling so we get a lot of reesponse and wormholes is all about having fun and bouncing! We will be performing some new amazing music very soon. 
What has been your favorite band to tour with so far?
The funnest??? The funnest band we have toured with is most likely Arsonists Get All The Girls. Thier whole lives consist on and having fun. They are such great people it was an honor to tour with them and we will be seeing them in Canada in two weeks! Check our facebook for tour dates! We had our first van war with them. We were driving on the highway alone when all of a sudden their van pulls up and they threw milkshakes, etc at our van and we couldnt see! We got them back though for sure with the hair covered poop!  
If you could go on tour with any band, who would it be, and why?
I'd say Animals as Leaders because their music is real and actually has a tone and balance, and skill to it unlike many bands these days that sound like recycled metal just to be able to say I'm in a band. Also MESHUGGAH because they are metal gods. And we are worshippers.  
What has been the most interesting tour so far?
Most interesting tour has been our most recent one with AGATG, The Contortionist, A plea for purging, and Lionheart. The Return To Motherland Tour 2011. We went through a lot as musicians and friends. We met some people who we will never forget through their life stories and musicianship. We had so much trailer problems it was off the chain but we figured it out calmly and fixed all problems without any inconvienece. Every tour is interesting. But we love Canadian girls! A lot of partying, practicing instruments, technical issues, 
sex, drugs, and rock n roll.  

What are your plans for the rest of the year?
We are planning on announcing some sick tours with some of our favorite bands and releasing our first full-length album for listeners everywhere! We are just working on the road and in the studio. We also plan to have as much fun as possible while being as professional as possible on these tours.  
Are you guys currently working on a full length?
We have been working on a full-length album since we released "The Concept of Dreaming EP" back in Novemeber 2010 and even before that. This full-length album will better define our sound and image as a band. We record in our own home studios which has so many great advantages these days. Keep a look out for it to drop within a few months on Mediaskare Records.  
Any closing words?
Thank you everyone out there who has been going to shows, buying CD's, supporting their favorite bands. We need more of this to happen. Also hearing your music and hearing about your life stories motivate us and captivate us! Thank you and keep chasing your dreams and following your passions! STAY IN CONTACT WITH US ON FACEBOOK.COM/VOLUMESBAND AND TWITTER.COM/VOLUMESBAND

Volumes is:
Michael Barr
Gus Farias
Diego Farias
Raad Soudani
DJ Schwartz
Daniel Braunstein 

Thursday, August 4, 2011

INTERVIEW: Lizard Professor

GENRE:
Progressive/Experimental/Fusion/Heavy Metal
HOMETOWN: Fort Worth, Texas
LABEL: None
SOUNDS LIKE: Who knows

 How did you guys get started
We all met eachother through being in different bands in high school, but at some point we all just happened to be out of the local music game when, BAM! as quick as lightning, we assembled like a finely tuned megazord. Dustin and Gannon wrote a song and code-named it  "Lizard Professor" based on a drawing that Dustin did of his professor... as a lizard, which later became our band name. Dustin was previously in a band with Nash and asked him to come lay down some basslines, and they both knew Sean was a great vocalist so he was approached to do vocals.
Can you describe Lizard Professor's sound?
 Our music is an amalgamation of our individual and shared influences, which are not just limited to metal.  It is a rollercoaster of genres and soundscapes. A rollercoaster that we hope makes you vomit up your cartoon-shaped ice cream and lose your comically large sunglasses, but that you still want to ride over and over again.
Are there any bands/musicians that have inspired your music?   
Between all of us, we probably listen to almost every kind of music, including J-pop and tradition Indian music, so it would be impossible to list all of the bands and musicians that inspire us.
Do you have a favorite song to play at shows?
 No, but we do have a least favorite-"Diving Upwards"- because it's slow and we like to headbang. Hard.
What has been your favorite band to tour with so far?  
Unfortunately we haven't gotten the chance to tour yet, but our favorite band to play local shows with is Urizen(http://www.facebook.com/UrizenOnline), because not only is their music great, they put on the greatest stage show-complete with rocket ships, space men, robots, and giant slugs.
If you could go on tour with any band, who would it be, and why? 
Probably The Black Dahlia Murder, because their sense of humor seems just as messed up as ours. Plus they rule.
What has been your favorite venue so far? 
The Ridglea Theater in Fort Worth has always been a favorite of ours, because we all grew up going to see our favorite bands perform there.
 If you could give a message to all your fans, what would it be? 
You fucking rule! We adore anyone that has ever bought a shirt or a demo or even just rocked out to our music online a few times. We can only do what we love to do because of the people that support us and spread our name.
If you guys could thank anybody for your success who would it be, 
and why?
It would have to be the people mentioned above who keep going to shows and supporting us and other bands. Music is a business but more importantly a community, so we would also like to thank all the bands we've shared the stage with for giving us a chance to play to their fans and helping the community to grow.
Tell us a little bit about the new album you boys have been working on? 
What should we expect from it?
The writing stage is almost complete. Simply put, this album is a monster. It will reach new levels of musicality and technicality. Every song is completely different and unique, and the album will have something for everyone to enjoy. Keep an eye out for our debut full length album Eccentricity in late 2011! It's sure to impress!
 Members:
Sean Foster - vocals
Gannon McCoy - guitar
Dustin Valenta - guitar
Nash Vaughan - bass
Bryce Butler - drums

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Roadtrip.

The reason I have been the crappiest blogger ever and have not posted anything in almost 
3 weeks is because I have been on a awesome road trip with my aunt and uncle 
and four little cousins.
Yes, four.
I cannot even begin to describe how freaking cute they are.
They are also completely insane. 
I mean INSANE.
Noah is 10.
Bella is 5.
Rocco is 3.
And Frankie is 18 months old. 
They all love the scream.
A lot.
But besides the fact that my ears began to bleed within an hour of being in the van with them
I absolutely loved being with all of them.
I loved all the incredible pictures that Noah drew.
I love how Bella says that her super power is eating.
I love how Rocco is maybe 20 pounds and thinks he is the toughest, biggest guy ever.
I also love how Rocco sings all the time.
My favorites: Troublemaker by Weezer, Turtleneck and Chain by The Lonely Island 
and Mary Had a Little Lamb.
(He can't pronounce his "R"s so it makes it so much more adorable)
I love how Frankie tickles himself and walks like a little old man.
I love how my aunt and uncle listen to an awesome wide range of music while we drive for 
10 billion hours at a time. 
This road trip definitely changed my life.
I visited places I thought I would never get the chance to see.
Sometimes the drive was extremely boring, but most of the time I was blown away by
how beautiful everything is. 
I'll give you an idea of what I saw and what I did...
The road trip started with, Flagstaff, Arizona. Oh my goodness.
So gorgeous!
We camped in these awesome Teepees. 
Ugh, they were so awesome.
I went to the Grand Canyon and it was incredible.
Then we drove to California.
Oh yes.
I lovedlovedloved California.
I miss it already.
Everything about it is perfect!
The weather, the scenery, the smell.
PLUS, they have In-N-Out Burgers which by the way is yes, you guessed it, amazing.
We went to Zuma beach and I positive it is the most beautiful beach I have ever been to.
We drove around Hollywood (the Hollywood sign was NOT as big as I expected it to be...)
Bel Air, Santa Monica and LA and I was literally blown away because of how 
incredibly beautiful it was. I have never seen anything so amazing.
Then when I didn't think things could possibly get better, we went to freaking DISNEY LAND.
Disney Land people.
Space Mountain was hands down my favorite ride.
The next day we left to go home and made a last minute decision to go to Las Vegas! 
That was probably the downside to the entire trip.
I am always hearing how people love going to Vegas, but honestly, I didn't like it.
At all.
I mean it was super awesome staying at Circus Circus but the entire time I was walking down the strip I just kept thinking about how gross everything was and how nothing looked like fun.
It was kind of depressing, actually. 
I really have no desire to go back, even when I can drink and/or gamble.
I rather spend that money on something else.
Anyway, I don't know why I'm complaining!
This road trip was crazy awesome and I am so blessed that 
Nikki and Anthony asked me to come along. 


So that is why I have not posted anything in a while.
But no worries because on Thursday there will be an interview with Lizard Professor
waiting for yah! 


Frankie and I at the Grand Canyon




Monday, July 18, 2011

INTERVIEW: The Red Chord

GENRE: Metal
HOMETOWN: Boston, MA
LABEL: Metal Blade Records
BIO: Boston Massachusetts metallers The Red Chord are gearing up for the release of their fourth full-length album (third for Metal Blade Records) titled Fed Through the Teeth Machine, due out on October 27th in the US. The Red Chord already has dates lined up with labelmates and interplanetary gods GWAR along with labelmates Job for a Cowboy. The nearly two and a half month trek with GWAR and Job for a Cowboy will take The Red Chord across the United States kicking off in Houston Texas on September 29th and finishing up in New York City on December 13th
SOUNDS LIKE: Suffocation, Human Remains, Cynic, Death, Immolation


How did you guys get started?
Guy and I met at a battle of the bands a long time ago when my old band, 
The Flux Capacitor played with Guy's old band, Ictus. 
One day, when The Red Chord was starting to come together, 
Guy called me up and asked me if I wanted to come down and try out for the guitar position.  
Needless to say, I got the job.

Can you describe The Red Chord's sound?
We're a bit noisy and fast.

Are there any bands/musicians that have inspired your music?
Cynic, Death, Immolation, Suffocation and a lot of early hardcore/punk/grind has had influence on us. 
As well as non-metal bands/musicians like Krzysztof Penderecki and The Cardigans.

Do you have a favorite song to play at shows?
I generally like to play whatever our newest material is at the time because I get bored 
playing the same thing. Right now, my favorite song to play is probably Hour of Rats.

What has been your favorite band to tour with so far?
That's a hard question to answer. 
There are so many great people we've toured with over the years. 
Between the Buried and Me & The Black Dahlia Murder are pretty close friends of ours. 
We've known both bands for about a decade now, so whenever we get to tour with them 
it's pretty awesome.

 If you could go on tour with any band, who would it be, and why?
Well besides the aforementioned bands, and all the great dudes we've toured with already, 
I'd say The Cardigans. 
Not with TRC of course. 
But in some capacity I'd like to tour with them. I would watch them every night.

What has been the most interesting tour so far?
It would have to be Japan 2010 with BTBAM. 
Because Japan is one of the most interesting places I've ever been.

What is the craziest thing that has happened at one of your shows?
It's difficult to remember all of the ridiculous things that have happened, 
but there's one that comes to mind. 
We were playing in Phoenix, AZ I think and someone at the show asked 
us to stop in the middle of our set because a tree was suddenly on fire outside. 
Shortly after that, the promoter ushered all 
the kids outside back into the venue because some random guys were running 
around threatening people with knives.

What has been your favorite venue so far?
I couldn't pick an absolute favorite...but a top 4 (in no particular order): 
Arena in Vienna, Austria; The Magic Stick/Majestic in Detroit, MI; Roseland in Portland, OR; 
and Club Seata in Tokyo, Japan.

Any closing words?  
Support the bands you love so they can keep making music for you!

Thursday, July 14, 2011

INTERVIEW: Hematidrosis

GENRE: Holy Unblack Metal
HOMETOWN: Houston, Texas
LABEL: Unsigned
BIO: Spreading Gods word out in this cruel, dark world.
SOUNDS LIKE: Dimmu Borgir, Horde, Ecthirion, Behemoth,The Breathing Process, 
Crimson Moonlight


How did Hematidrosis get started?
well me and my singer were in a band together like in 06. Of course that fell through, so we deiced that we wanted to start something way better, something we've always wanted to do. Years later we tried making hema happen again and now its even bigger and stronger then it ever has been before.


Can you describe Hematidrosis's sound?
We pretty much have that black metal sound but of course with carol on keys, just gives you that chill in the back of you neck. We also decided to head to a different direction in what we want this band to sound like and mature as musicians. 


Are there any bands/musicians that have inspired your music?
We all listen to different kinda music of course but, were all really into bands like Dimmu Borgir, Behemoth, Abigail Williams, ect.


Do you have a favorite song to play at shows?
We just started writing new material and it's coming along great. So I can speak for the whole band and say that the new stuff is probably gonna be all of our favorite songs to play. haha  


What has been your favorite band to tour with so far, and why?
We haven't had the opportunity to tour alot but the one tour we did do was with a band called my son my executioner. It was the first time we got to get out of our town and play for kids in other cities. It was so new and so much fun for us at that time. It was something I'll remember for years to come. 

If you could go on tour with any band, who would it be, and why?
I think if we had the chance tour with a band, once again I could speak for everyone and say it had to be Dimmu Borgir. They're a BIG influence in what we're trying to be pretty much. Haha I think that's one of our goals in this band is trying to do a full tour with a band we all love and admire.  


What is the craziest thing that has happened at one of your shows?
Well this isn't really while we were playing but, haha. I remember on that msme tour we did me and my guitar player did alot of graffiti at that time. everywhere we were we always left our mark somewhere. we got to the venue kinda early and we were parked next to this art gallery store next to the venue. I don't know why we decided to do that but we had our spray cans and since the van and trailer were covering us we started to do some graffiti. The venue was opening and we moved the van and as soon as we did that the owner noticed all this writing all over his wall, haha. The dude started yelling and told us he was gonna call the cops on us cause we were the only van parked there. to make things worse the guy was gonna have the cop stop the show as well!! We had our keyboardist at the time run and throw the cans away because the cop was gonna search the van and trailer. We were so nervous we didnt know if we had gotten all the can out of there. Long story short he didn't find anything and the owner had to paint over what we did, haha. Hey we still got to play and get paid!  

What has been your favorite venue so far? And what is your dream venue?
San Antonio has a pretty sweet venue and cant wait to play there again! Pretty much any venue that is sold out is our dream venue!


If you could give a message to all your fans, what would it be?
We're here to tell you that Christ is the only way and we want to share with anyone that wants to hear us out. if your not for that...that's great, if you are, we would be more then happy to talk to anyone that wants to hear what we have to say. 


If you could thank anybody for your success who would it be, and why?
God. if it wasn't for god giving us a second chance and giving us this gift of music i wouldn't be here writing this.
How did you guys come up with the name, Hematidrosis? And what does it mean to you?
I remember I was at church and my uncle was talking about what happen to Jesus when we got nailed on the cross. Hematidrosis is a very rare condition in which a human being sweats blood, though it has not been confirmed scientifically. It may occur when a person is suffering extreme levels of stress, for example, facing his or her own death. pretty much my uncle was saying that jesus was so scared of what was gonna happen to him cause he knew what was coming. I thought, man that would be a pretty cool band name. I saw it like someone would sit there and ask us what the name meant and would be a great way to start bringing up what we believe in. 


Hematidrosis is:
Albert- vocals
Ramon (lordcocos) - drums
Nate- bass
Carol- Keys
Robert- guitar