Three Days Grace Talks Band History, Reaching New Fans

Posted on August 25, 2015 by newsteam

Canadian rockers Three Days Grace have released their fifth and latest album Human earlier in the year. This marks their first album without longtime vocalist Adam Gontier (replaced by Matt Walst), and their first lineup change in the band’s 12 year history.

“The first record came out in 2003. The other guys met when they were kids in Grade 9. I think they were all playing together. It’s probably around 1994 when they originally hooked up with each other. In 1997, they became a band,” explained guitarist Barry Stock, about the band’s history. Stock joined the band in 2003 as the band’s lead guitarist during the release of their debut self titled album.

While the band has scored multiple platinum status albums over the years, they have never let their past success affect how they approach their present status.

“We don’t take anything for granted,” he said, about what they went through over the past couple of years. “We’re all kind of workaholics and work really hard at what we do. We love what we do. I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. I don’t know what else we would do.”

“We’re always thrilled that we’re still relevant and people still love what we do. We hear from people all the time [about] how we’ve changed their lives and made things better through our lyrics. That’s really important to us. Just like I said, we don’t over think it but we keep working really hard at songwriting and we do the best we could do. We’re going to carry on as long as the fans gonna accept it.”

At the time of the interview, the band had just completed a run of dates in South America. Stock talked about the experience and reaching new fans.

“We’re in New York City tonight, but we just got back from South America the other night. It was our first little tour on this record. We hadn’t been to Argentina. We went there and it was amazing. Originally we were like the record’s not out…should we play the new ones or play the singles? Once we got there, we thought let’s just play half a dozen new songs. So we did that. So far in South America, we played six new songs in the set. It’s been greatly received. People are digging it, even though they haven’t had a chance to hear some of the other ones. It was really cool to be able to play some of them live, even if people haven’t heard them yet. For a band, you play the same music over and over, it’s always fun when you do a new record. We were looking forward to that. The coolest part is to get out-of-town and to play a bunch of new stuff for people.”

Since their earlier releases, Three Days Grace had not toured extensively internationally. While they have had high-profile records across North America, their focus has now switched over towards the overseas route and Stock and the band are excited to perform for new fans.

“This time around, on this record we’ve thought ‘you know, we pounded it out so hard in North America for years and years, and we’ll continue to do so. We didn’t hit a lot of places. We have so many fans all over the world who have been hounding us for years and years to play. We just didn’t make it happen. So that’s definitely our goal on this new record is to reach out to places we’ve never been, or we haven’t been to in a long time. We were in Russia in the fall. That was our first time there. It was overwhelmingly amazing. We were super accepted. It was a cool one for us. Now we just got back from Argentina and Brazil, where we haven’t been back to since 2004. The fans are just going crazy.”

“Like I said, that’s our goal. We’re constantly, between us and management, trying to find new places and reaching out to these places. That’s what we’re going to do for the next two years, and obviously continue what we’re doing here. We’re going to Europe in June. We have a bunch of the festivals we’re doing over there, and a whole bunch of countries again we’ve never been to. We’re excited about trying to reach out to as many of these fans that have never been able to see us live. Live is our most favorite thing to do. We love to do it and we love to share that with people. To us there’s nothing greater than having your fans sing and having a great time with you. We need to reach out to all of those people. That’s our goal this time.”

By Rei Nishimoto

Kyle Gunther of Battlecross Talks New Album Goals

Posted on August 19, 2015 by newsteam

Kyle “Gumby” Gunther from Battlecross.

Battlecross has made inroads in recent years with their hard work ethics and promoting their brand of Blue Collar Thrash Metal onto the music world. With the release of their latest album Rise To Power, they have shown how overcoming the rigors of the road alongside writing material that shows a gradual evolution of the band’s sound over the years.

During their last album cycle for War of Will, they learned quickly about the realities of touring and getting financial support behind it. They became one of the many artists tackling crowdfunding to get out on the 2013 Rockstar Mayhem Festival Tour and the realities surrounding it.

On the new album, the band has set new goals so they can take the next step up. “The goal for this one is to buy groceries. That is the goal for this one,” said frontman Kyle “Gumby” Gunther.

“We’re not doing that [crowdfunding] any more. We did that when we had to do that. It sucks that bands had to do that. It sucks that bands do that just to do it. We did it because we had to do it. We wouldn’t have been able to do Mayhem [without it].”

“Crowdfunding is great if you do it for a reason but if you do it to do it, I think you’re an asshole. On this album, we’re just trying to cement Battlecross. It’s album three. This is the one that should be taken well and everyone should be like ‘alright they didn’t go pussy and they’re bringing thrash,’ “ he added.

Tony Asta of Battlecross.

Gunther gave business tips for all aspiring musicians who are either in similar situations or simply looking to get their bands going.

“We are a one out of a million – I’ll say that. We had to pay out pocket for a lot of shit. If Hiran [Deraniyagala] didn’t have perfect credit and a college degree, the goal to put up all of his assets up for Battlecross to make it, you’re not going to make it. Go to college, get a real job and then hopefully one day you won’t kill yourself.”

“It’s not easy. You’ve got to do because you love it. Period. You’re not going to make any money off of it. It’s going to be trying on you and your family and all of your relationships. If it’s who you are, you’re going to be fine.”

“So all of these people who’re like ‘oh I’m gonna make it! I’m gonna have girls suck my dick and make so much money and travel all over the world. It’s going to be awesome!’ Oh well…half of that’s true.”

“I don’t want to sound like I’m being a killjoy to new bands. I am jaded by the way from the road.”

Hiran Deraniyagala of Battlecross. Photo Credit: Meg Loyal Photography

Despite the hiccups along the way, Gunther has received some praise from other musicians, especially when it came to finding tours.

“It’s also really cool when Matt [Byrne] from Hatebreed was like ‘hey we’re gonna hook you guys up for a tour…but you already have a tour! You’re always touring.’ So that’s actually a really big compliment for me from the Hatebreed dudes.”

By Rei Nishimoto

Brotherhood By Metal – Whitechapel

Posted on August 18, 2015 by newsteam

Whitechapel. Photo Credit: Kevin Estrada

The past year saw a significant growth in demand for the members of Whitechapel, as touring behind their latest album Our Endless War helped them to become one of the fastest rising new faces in the extreme music scene.

They spent this past summer on the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival, and just completed their second day of the tour. Band guitarist Zach Householder shared his thoughts on their performance.

“It’s the second day. It’s insane! We played here for Knotfest – it was just as crazy. Every time we’re here it’s absolutely nuts. It will probably be one of the best sets on the whole tour. I don’t want to be jinxing the tour, but it’ll be the ones that’ll stick out.”

Phil Bozeman of Whitechapel, by Brent B Photos.

Their rise in popularity since the release of their latest album has taken them to new heights, including a co-headlining North American tour with Devildriver and an appearance on the Knotfest in 2014.

He shares his thoughts on his band’s success and what motivates audiences towards them.

“It’s weird because I wasn’t in the band in the very beginning. I took Brandon Cagle’s place and he’s actually doing sound for us now. He’s killer at that. I’m glad it worked out.“

“I was a fan to begin with when they were first coming out in Knoxville,” he said. “There’s something about it. You just knew something was gonna happen with this band. I was friends with many of them but I heard them and thought ‘this is just disgustingly heavy!’ I think it’s the weird alignment of the planets. It’s just something happened, something clicked, the vibe worked…the right time, the right place. What a lot of people don’t get with music, it doesn’t matter how technical you write shit. It matters how you feel about you feel about writing the music. You’ve got to have an image with the music that people can grasp onto. I think that’s what happened to Whitechapel. There’s something there to hang onto and can’t pull it out and say oh yeah…it’s there.”

Ben Harclerode of Whitechapel. Photo Credit: Kevin Estrada

Headlining the second stage also placed them further away from the main stage, as on the San Bernadino, CA stop had them atop of the lawn section and many attendees having to walk up a hill to the stage. Despite the minor dilemma, the show must go on.

“A little bit of a walk…whatever. Luckily everybody had no choice but to watch it, whether they wanted to or not,” he said.

Gabe Crisp of Whitechapel. Photo Credit: Brent B Photos

This year marks the band’s third appearance on this fest and the band has shown their appreciation towards the promoters for bringing them back. “We did it in ’09 with Slayer and [Marilyn] Manson, and in 2012 with Slipknot and Slayer and obviously this year with Slayer headlining and King Diamond. King Diamond’s sick and Slayer is just awesome.”

Being that this is their third time on this tour, the familiarity behind the set up eases the tension of handling everyday business. He shared the benefits of being a veteran on this tour.

Zach Householder of Whitechapel. Photo Credit: Kevin Estrada

“The easier the more fun,” says Householder. “Obviously we partied a little more on our first Mayhem and the second one. We don’t party that much any more and we take it easy. I like the fact that we’re done kind of early and hang out. We can kick back and watch Slayer and King Diamond on the main stage. I think it gets easier for sure. Mayhem takes such good care of us. We’ve always supported this tour. We love it.”

Picking a set list is always a challenge as a band’s career advances, and including songs to please the crowd within the allotted time is something they have to deal with as well. But Householder explained the different factors that goes into choosing songs to perform each night.

“Honestly when an album comes out we experiment a lot of songs from that album and then we go by whatever goes over live and what translates well live. Even an outdoor festival versus an indoor clubs, some songs work better in a club opposed to outdoor festivals. We just know by now what we want when it comes to a set. We pick the bangers off the album and if the hits have different vibes, then we’ll pick and choose from it.”

Prior to this appearance, Whitechapel had experimented with an appearance on this tour’s sister festival tour, the Vans Warped Tour in 2010. While that audience leans less towards metal audiences, they still caught the attention of curious attendees and gave them a taste of music heavier than their usual playlist consisted of.

“We did Warped Tour once. The shows were killer but it’s a little more crowded than Mayhem is. You’re fighting for food and showers a little more. That was cool too,” he said.

Householder shared his thoughts of playing for non metal crowds like Warped Tour and how much those earlier years factored into their exploding popularity.

“I think it’s a double edged sword. Sometimes the non metal crowds are like ‘holy crap!’ Maybe they’ve never seen anything that heavy before. We all know how judgmental and harsh metal fans can be, so when we play especially on this Mayhem, there are a lot of judgmental eyes on us that have seen us before, but they’re not turning around and leaving, so that’s the good part.”

Following this tour, Whitechapel will begin working on a new album and Householder talked about where they stand on that at the present time.

“As soon as we get home, we will be. Like I said in the past interview, we’re always writing and sending riffs to each other. We’re sitting down and start writing for the next album when we get home, and we’re aiming to record in January.”

“I feel Our Endless War had such a cool vibe to it – a lot of melody and hooks in it. There are still death metal parts but it is not straight bombardment the whole time. You can breathe. I think we’re going to keep doing that. You have a little bit for sometime for everyone. Let the music breathe. Let it be heavy. We’re going to hang out and feel what we’re writing this time around, even more so last time. I think everybody’s heads are in the right place for it. I think it’s going to be, if anything, it won’t be off the wall but it will be even deeper or darker.”

Householder also gave an update on the forthcoming DVD, which has been delayed but is expected out before the end of 2015.

“The DVD is coming out. It’s taking a little longer. I’ve actually seen the whole DVD part of it and the bio part of it and the live show. It’s sick! It turned out great. Now we’re producing the physical copies.”

“Everybody’s upset about it either way I get it. It’s coming and I promise it will be out. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. It won’t let you down. Sorry for the wait on that.”

“We wanted to do this right. There are a lot of issues when it came to some people not having their shit together. I won’t name any names, but it wasn’t anyone in the band. That’s what put us in a scare but we worked it out. Early fall for sure.”

By Rei Nishimoto

Only Human: Barry Stock of Three Days Grace

Posted on August 9, 2015 by newsteam

New beginnings can be a blessing for many, and in the case of Canadian rockers Three Days Grace, they have spent the past couple of years regrouping following the departure of their longtime frontman Adam Gontier, who left in 2013 (and now in Saint Asonia). The remaining members began working on new material with their new frontman (and brother of bassist Brad Walst), Matt Walst, on their new album titled Human.

Guitarist Barry Stock explained how their first lineup change since the band’s formation in 1997 became a reflection on themselves and a time to refocus.

“Obviously with what’s going on and with our singer, it’s been an exciting time. We went through all emotions in the last two years, many ups and downs for obvious reasons, but for us this record’s been super exciting for us. It’s been a long process for us.”

“Generally when we write a record, we don’t write too much on the road. We get off the road and we all get together and put the record together. This time when we did this record, when we started touring with Matt [Walst], we started writing right away. It was almost two years ago.”

“ ‘Painkiller’ was one of our very first ideas. Matt had this idea and we’re like ‘oh cool – let’s write that!’ Then we wrote a few others, as opposed to waiting like we normally do, we thought this is really exciting. Let’s get into the studio and see how this goes. We went into the studio and then knocked out ‘Painkiller’ and a couple others. When ‘Painkiller’ was done, we thought wow. What a bad ass song. We still have to get this out and that’s why we didn’t wait for a record release to release the single. We thought people need to hear this. We were really excited and moving forward, how it was going, somebody wanted to get that out right away and that’s why it came out so early.”

Barry Stock of Three Days Grace. Photo Credit: Melinda Oswandel (via Facebook)

The band looked within their immediately band family for their new frontman. They looked to a familiar personality to sing when their previous one was on the outs with them.

“It kind of worked out perfect at the time. When we got the news when it all went down, Matt happened to have some free time. He wasn’t touring or anything himself. He happened to be Brad’s [Walst, bass] brother and happened to be with him when we got the news. I think they were having sushi together. Brad got off the phone and just said to Matt, ‘what are you doing for the next six months, or two years?’ Matt was like ‘let’s do this.’ He was really cool about it too.”

“We didn’t seem to audition anyone. Matt seemed to be a great choice. He’s a great guy and great singer. Matt’s been there since Day One and being Brad’s brother. Matt co-wrote on the first record (2003’s Three Days Grace) and on the last record (2012’s Transit of Venus). He’s been there all along. He also knows, being a family member, when we sing all the songs we sing, he knows exactly where they come from in our lives and what they were written about. He has a great understanding of the songs themselves, so it seemed perfect. So he shares the same passion that we do. He lives the same stories that we live. He’s lived it too. It seemed to be perfect. It seemed to fall into place.”

With the new frontman in place, they still worked as a group on the songwriting. Despite the new band member, Stock claims their writing approach have not changed much.

“With Three Days Grace, we do everything the same we’ve always done it. Three Days Grace has never been about one person. It’s always been a group of us – we’re all songwriters and musicians. Everyone can play multi-instruments and we all write lyrics and music. That’s how we’ve always since day one with Three Days Grace. We all collectively write when we write songs. There’s no one person comes in with a whole song.”

“We all come up with ideas and we all collectively get together to throw ideas out there. We’ll pick and choose what ideas we want to go with. But like I said, we always sit down and wrote together, generally with acoustic guitars and we’ll hash out a song. We’ve always kept that approach. Matt being around since day one and as Brad’s brother, he understood how we worked as well. When Matt came into play, he became like one of us. This is how we do it. It’s not about one person. We all leave our egos at the door when we come in the room and it’s always about what’s best for Three Days Grace. Still to this day, we approach that same thing and Matt blended in perfect. He’s got great ideas and he’s a great contributor as well. So nothing’s really changed when it comes to the songwriting.”

Stock was vague on the subject of his former singer and his parting from Three Days Grace. Despite leaving for personal reasons, he wished him well and felt both parties were in better positions now.

“We kind of went our separate ways,” he said. “Just the way it went down wasn’t great. Looking back it seemed terrible back then, but we’re all over that too. It seems like everybody’s in a happier place. We have mutual friends and Adam does too, so we hear what’s going on. It seems like he’s in a happier place. What seemed so disastrous back then, being able to look back now everybody overall is in a better place and happier. That’s what’s most important. Life is very short and we don’t have time to be dwelling on past things.”

“There’s been some contact, like I said between mutual friends. You’re going to bump into each other. It’s going to be ok on both sides.”

By Rei Nishimoto

Texas Sized Heart- Rob Garza of Shattered Sun

Posted on August 9, 2015 by newsteam

Shattered Sun. Photo Credit: Kevin Estrada

The past year for South Texas metallers Shattered Sun has been anything but dull. Being one of the hardest working bands has landed them onto the Rockstar Mayhem Energy Drink Festival’s side stage this past summer. They have been out touring behind their debut album Hope Within Hatred (out now via Victory Records).

Shattered Sun. Photo Credit: Kevin Estrada

They had just completed their first “real” tour supporting Testament and Exodus across North America, and unlike their previous DIY style tours supporting club sized acts, they learned quickly the wrong and right ways of surviving on the road.

“The last one we were with (Testament/Exodus) – that was a real get up and go,” explained drummer Rob Garza. “We were still learning and now we’re way more focused and way more on time. We’re trying not to get on anyone’s bad side especially we don’t mess up too much,” he said, about the quick learning curve.

Testament frontman Chuck Billy is no stranger to the Shattered Sun camp, as he is one of their co-managers from Breaking Bands LLC and has been mentoring the guys over the past year.

“[We’re] basically learning how to do things the right way. When we first got on the Testament and Exodus tour with them this past April, we were all fan boys over Testament and Exodus, but then Chuck’s biggest role in the band is as a mentor. He could just say ‘just relax…we’re all here as a team. We’re all family on this tour and every tour you’re gonna be on. These are your peers,’ “ he said.

“We’ve got him to calm us down the fan boys in us. Also outdoing each show – we had a decent show yesterday. Today we did better so basically we keep on pushing so we put on a better show every day.”

Joseph Guajardo of Shattered Sun. Photo Credit: Kevin Estrada.

Already from the Mayhem Fest they have gone from performing in from a largely older crowd to a younger demographic that leans towards the newer style of bands featured on the Victory Records side stage.

“The guys and myself were talking about that yesterday. Even the bands that were on tour – no disrespect to Testament and Exodus – they’re more of our age group. You go with the Testament and Exodus and it’s strictly that thrasher crowd. There’s nothing wrong with that. On this one, you have that all around, different genres of music collectively. It’s a different feel. We like it. We’re digging it.”

While the band’s sound comes from the heavier side of metal and their band name is a modified version of an Unearth tune, Garza spoke about their range of influences that helped shape their overall sound.

“When we first started jamming, our guitarist Daniel [Trejo] named our band after an Unearth song ‘Shattered By The Sun.’ So he was really into Unearth and still is to this day. We all are,” he said.

“We try to stick with melodic metal and keep it thrashy, and we’re all fans of other genres as well. One of my favorite drummers and bands of all time is the Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins. I try to incorporate as much groove into our thrash beats. It’s a combination of a lot of stuff. It’s like ‘I was listening to this today. I want to try to see how this would sound on this song.’ “

“On this album, we tried to cover all grounds because where we’re from, everyone in our area is real biased. We’re not heavy enough for the hardcore kids or we’re not soft enough for the older crowd. We just wanted to make a CD and just bring as much of everything in. We get known as bands that plays a lot of different kinds of music. We just try to throw it into one thing so we try to cover everyone’s demographic on that one.”

Henry Garza of Shattered Sun

Being on the road, Garza and the Shattered Sun members have experienced many different things but also being from a small Texas town, they also found new and unusual things.

“I believe it was on the last tour, we were in South Carolina and they were selling roasted peanuts. It looked weird, just there in a jar staying warm. Just small things like that that freak us out. But we Google what it is and say ‘uh ok…let’s try it out.’ “

“What I wanted to do when we were in Canada, I wanted to go to McDonalds and see if they had the Royale With Cheese. I didn’t get a chance to do that. I’m trying to cram a bunch of different things into my demographic right now.”

Plus the rare time off of the road has given them time to enhance their road home known as their van. While they have accepted the fact that they will be calling it home for the next year, they have slowly made moderations to it.

“This time we’ve actually built a bunk in our van. ‘OK what can we do differently?’ We’ll probably try to put another bunk in there, a shoe rack, because right now everybody’s shoes are thrown all over the place. We even have our inverter so we routed our power strips so we can charge our phones in the back. We’re learning tour by tour.”

All of the touring experience has now landed them an upcoming North American tour supporting metal heavyweights Soulfly, Soilwork and Decapitated. Garza himself is excited about the upcoming tour but has his eyes on meeting another drumming idol.

“I’m actually really pumped because one of my favorite drummers is Dirk Verbeuren from Soilwork. On our last tour, we had Gene Hoglan and Tom Hunting, and on this tour we’ve got Paul Bostaph and Vinnie Paul, and the next tour I’m going to have Dirk Verbeuren. To be on the same tours as these great drummers is amazing. I’m looking forward to picking that guy’s brain. Getting to tour with Soulfly – those guys are legendary. We all grew up listening to them.”

Learning from past mistakes, Garza admits he is trying his hardest not to have a Wayne and Garth’s ‘I’m Not Worthy’ moment on this upcoming tour.

“Deep down we have, but then it’s like be cool. On the outside, we’ve got to play it cool. On the inside, I’m crying a little bit.”

He admits there is one stop on the upcoming tour he has his eye on.

“I’m just waiting until we get to Milwaukee so I can say ‘it’s pronounced Mil-WAKEY’, from Alice Cooper on Wayne’s World Part 1.”

By Rei Nishimoto

The Devil Wears Prada Talks Facing Metal Crowds

Posted on August 9, 2015 by newsteam

The Devil Wears Prada. Photo Credit: Kevin Estrada

Being a band like The Devil Wears Prada and sounding the way they do can often be a challenge for those who are unfamiliar with their music. Over the past decade, the Ohio based act has built up a strong yet loyal following that live and breathe their style of metalcore.

They have once again appeared on the main stage of this summer’s Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival, and are tackling larger audiences who are new to their style of music. Vocalist Mike Hranica talked about playing in front of vast crowds at these events, and how much that influenced how they approached their music.

“When we got started and doing Vans Warped Tour back in 2008, it didn’t really influence us too much. We were really influenced by bands like Killswitch [Engage] and As I Lay Dying. They were always doing an Ozzfest and still doing Warped and playing with rockier bands, poppier bands, and all the way to proper metal, Slayer bands. We tried to do the same.”

Mike Hranica of The Devil Wears Prada. Photo Credit: Kevin Estrada

Ever since the band first appeared on the 2009 Vans Warped Tour’s main stage, longtime fans got their first experiences hearing their chaotic sounds and became addicted. While The Devil Wears Prada immediately became the pit kings at Warped Tour, things became a bit more of a challenge at the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival supporting some of the heavyweights in the metal world.

“We get put in our place when we come to Mayhem. It’s actually tough guys and metalheads rather than at Warped Tour it’s a bunch of young bands. We’re less cocky on Mayhem than on Warped Tour.”

“Doing Mayhem three years ago was really eye opening and we know what we’re getting in for. Also at the same time, that was the best summer tour we’ve ever done and already the past two days have been ‘oh my god…it’s so relaxing to come to Mayhem.’ “

“Having such a fraction of the bands on Warped Tour makes it so much easier. We’re pumped. I think it will be a good summer with fans recognizing and doing shows like Graspop and Download Festival overseas. We know the fan dude there standing there like ‘what the hell is this?’ and by the end of the set will be like ‘I can vibe some of this stuff.’ We enjoy that challenge and trying to win people over. That’s a big part of the challenge.”

While playing in front of a tough crowd and seeing a sea of “what the hell is this” looks, bassist Andy Trick had an interesting view on it. “You can see it if you watch the people come up and sit down and then after a few songs they get into it.”

By Rei Nishimoto

MC Lars Talks Dragon Blood Music Video

Posted on August 9, 2015 by newsteam

Bay Area champion of post punk laptop rap MC Lars is about to drop his latest album The Zombie Dinosaur LP on October 6, 2015 via Horris Records, and spent the summer performing his latest single titled ‘Dragon Blood.’ Based on his favorite television show Game of Thrones, he talked about his latest video.

“This season got weird…I won’t spoil anything. You know what I like about it? I’m such a literature nerd. I love the Shakespearian stuff. We’re trying to make it metal,” he said.

He spoke about the storyline behind the video, including how he incorporated his favorite character from the series into his theme about good versus evil.

“Her name is Chell Stephen. She’s a friend of the director’s. The whole album is this theme of the underdog surviving, and that’s why I like Game of Thrones. You don’t know who’s going to survive and it’s good versus evil but good doesn’t always triumph. I like the character Daenerys [Targaryen] because she’s always trying to do good. That’s like her tragic flaw.”

“We wanted to do a video about a woman in an office who gets fired and comes back to kick butt. The problem was I was rapping in a female perspective but I didn’t want to dress up as a girl necessarily, so we got this talented woman who’s clenched blonde and looks like her to learn this song. So the concept was revenge and post feminism – the modern feminism, the sexy heroine.”

Despite the strong female character, MC Lars himself took the fall and got beat up towards the end of the video, but got to throw down doing a dance with Stephen’s character at the very end of the video.

“The theme was each level she kicks the butt of each house. I was the symbol for the white corporate oppressor capitalist boss when she punches me in the nuts is like smashing the patriarchy. So it’s like symbolism. It’s maybe very literal but I’m the zombie character. In Game of Thrones, they have these things called the White Walkers, which are like the scariest zombies. So the idea was I wanted to be in the video somehow. I wasn’t going to star in it.”

“Max [Isaacson] & Morgan [Faust] from BroSis are a director team that I’ve known for a while. They’re great. They knocked it out of the park.”

Aside from music videos, MC Lars had an app of his own in develop but potential developers could get in on helping him reach new fans within the mobile world.

“Yeah man. If anyone’s reading and wants to help me develop an app, hit me up. Lars@MCLars.com.”

“When I was in LA, I was working at USC in the computer science department on an app, but it didn’t pass the prototype stage. We had three months to do it. It came out dope. It was like a Guitar Hero where you click on a rhyme. It would have to be good though. I wouldn’t want to put out something that’s bad.”

By Rei Nishimoto

Decapitated – Talks 20 Years of Polish Death Metal

Posted on August 6, 2015 by newsteam

Vogg and Rasta of Decapitated.

2016 will be the 20th anniversary of Polish technical death metallers Decapitated’s formation. The band was formed by guitarist Waclaw “Vogg” Kieltyka and his younger brother and drummer Witold “Vittek” Kieltyka, back when they were teenagers.

“I was 14 or 15 years old. My brother was 12,” said Vogg, recalling that time.

Decapitated 1996 era

Looking back at the history of the band, he recalled forming the band with a then-16 years old vocalist Wojciech “Sauron” Wąsowicz and a then-13 years old bassist Marcin “Martin” Rygiel, and this lineup were featured on the band’s first three albums (2000’s Winds of Creation, 2002’s Nihility and 2004’s The Negation).

Vittek, the original Decapitated drummer.

Recalling 20 years of the band and the obstacles he faced over the years made him realize how much he has accomplished and appreciate what he has done to help shape Polish technical death metal.

“This kind of question reminds me where I can from, who I am and how it was almost ten years ago when we just started. It was four kids trying to play as hard as we can, without any professional gear or anything, but with passion and heart. I never imagined that I would ever have the opportunity to do all of those things, to see all of those countries, meet all of those people, or play with Fear Factory or any of my heroes. No never,” he said.

“I think about this today. What we have right now is an opportunity to travel all over the world and make money doing music, to get the best equipment in the world and meet bands like Meshuggah and Lamb of God and doing tours together. Well that’s awesome.”

“If someone back in the day 20 years ago would have told me this, I would shit in my pants. I wouldn’t believe that. That’s [what’s] cool about doing what you love and trying to realize your dreams.”

Rasta of Decapitated.

He talked about his thoughts about what makes Polish death metal its own brand of brutality like no other. Vogg has his theories behind what makes it so heavy.

“I’m not sure 100 percent. That’s what I was thinking about today. Polish metal seems something special in the sound – bands like Vader, Behemoth, Decapitated or Hate, or some other bands. We have something similar. I don’t know.”

“Yes indeed it only was Vader back in the day when you had to cross the border to get outside of the country. Probably Vader showed the way how to do it for the other bands, or Behemoth before Decapitated.”

“For sure we were fans of Vader and we toured with them and learned from them a lot. [It was the] same with Behemoth, and actually for every band in this country. They were an example for younger bands from this country.”

“To answer the question [about why there are so many Polish bands], I mean the Polish mentality is like that. The people are pissed off all the time. If you asked Polish people ‘how are you?’ – they would answer ‘ummm…same shit. Nothing special going on.’ It’s not like they knew what you’re asking. It’s like asking ‘how are you?’’ Oh I’m great man! Awesome.’ “

Vogg of Decapitated

He talks about the history of Poland, from its communist history times to its ultra religious rule within the country, and how that factor into how its metal can get so heavy. Now after the changes within the country, people are still letting their feelings out.

“In Poland it’s different. I don’t know why. We’re still in the second World War? We had the communism and the really shitty years in our history. We’re free since maybe 20 years now. So it’s not a long time. Maybe that’s why, and also Poland is a really religious country. Catholics rule in this country and you have to learn religion in school and bullshit like that. You have churches everywhere and on every corner. People are blindly into their religion and 90 percent of the people here are going to church every Sunday.”

“Maybe heavy metal came from the west and showed the new generation of people something different and something cool. Heavy metal music gives them some kind of freedom and different opportunity to a way of life. I’m really happy that I’m a metalhead and I took this kind of way, so my mind is more open from what I can see from the people around me. It’s going to change.”

“To come back to the question, I think when you listen to Vader or Behemoth or Decapitated, you can feel this aggressive energy and it’s against something. It sounds like you’re trying to fight with something – the system, with religion, with something that blocks your life and your freedom. It’s like fighting for your freedom. That’s why we’re pushing so much. That’s why we have such a nice metal match.”

By Rei Nishimoto

Red Fang Talks David Letterman and More

Posted on August 4, 2015 by newsteam

Red Fang’s latest album Whales and Leeches (Relapse) has taken the Portland based rock outfit to new heights and placed in front of new audiences they never imagined seeking out.

During their album cycle, the band appeared on Late Show With David Letterman, a popular US late night television show that usually features well known actors and celebrities, as well as larger named musical acts. On this particular date, Red Fang made a rare network television appearance to perform “Blood Like Cream,” with Paul Shaffer joining them on keyboards.

Red Fang with Paul Shaffer on Late Show With David Letterman.

Band guitarists David Sullivan and Bryan Giles both shared their experience, and whether they actually got to meet Letterman himself.

“I didn’t see him until we walked out there. He was on stage and I got to shake his hand, then he disappeared. There was no communication,” said Giles.

“It was pretty limited with him. He came over and shook our hands, made a little joke at the end, but we didn’t really get to hang out with him and see what he’s like. I love David Letterman,” said Sullivan.

Guitarist Bryan Giles of Red Fang. Photo Credit: Kaley Nelson

When the confirmation email first came to the band, various forms of sarcasm erupted and it took a bit of time until they realized the email was real.

“When we first got this email, it was like ‘I wanted to check you availability to play The Late Show.’ I was like…is this a joke?,” said Sullivan, remembering that moment.

“At least two of us wrote back ‘ha ha. Hilarious’, said Giles.

“It didn’t seem like something would to a band our level. It was awesome. I didn’t really sleep much the night before. I was pretty nervous. We got there and we did a little line check and then Paul Shaffer came in. He agreed to play with us. It was awesome. I’ve never been on a big TV show like that before. Everybody was super cool. I think it turned out cool I think. It was definitely nerve racking for me,” added Sullivan.

Aside from the excitement within the band, breaking the news to their friends and family became a bit more challenging.

“We weren’t really supposed to say anything until there was an announcement. I remember telling my girlfriend, ‘you’re not going to believe this…we’re going to play on Letterman!’ She was like ‘really?!’”

“It was crazy. For me, it seemed out of our reach. It didn’t seem like something that would happen to us. It’s like a dream. I’m stoked I got to do it. That was a huge show,” Sullivan said.

Fred Armisen with Red Fang on the “Blood Like Cream” Music Video.

The band has also worked with a couple of well recognized faces on their music videos. Actor and musician Fred Armisen (Portlandia and now band leader on Late Night With Seth Myers) appears on their “Blood Like Cream” music video.

“He started up being in bands. He was a musician before he was a comedian so it makes sense,” said Giles.

“He was real nice. We’re not best buds with him. He works and lives in Portland, but it’s not like I can call him up and ‘Fred…get us on the show.’ That would be cool, but…maybe we should just try that! Why not? We have a little connection to him. Worth a shot I guess,” said Sullivan.

“He does Portlandia. I think he has a house in Portland. He lives half the time in Portland and half the time in New York. So I think he was wrapping up the season of Portlandia and was nice enough to agree to do it,” added Giles.

Brian Posehn on Red Fang’s “Wires” Music Video.

The band also worked with comedian Brian Posehn appears on their 2011 “Wires” music video, off their Murder The Mountains album.

“He was here [Portland, OR] and we were looking to have somebody fancy on our video. We were limited to when we could do the shoot. It was two weekends were the only options and then we had to wait until summer. One of the two weekends everyone was able to do it. He was so happened to be in town doing three shows. He was in town for a couple of days. He was also really nice. He likes metal,” explained Giles.

Sullivan added, “We had met him before. We were on tour in somewhere in Florida. He was playing down the street. We were fans of Brian Posehn so I think they went down to the show to see if they could sneak in and ended up meeting Brian. ‘Hey we’re playing down the street. You should come to the show.’ “

“He came to the show. He digs metal. We became friends and when the video came up, we’re like ‘hey when you’re in town, we’re doing this video’ and he was nice enough to do it.”

By Rei Nishimoto

Metal In Their Blood- Vogg of Decapitated

Posted on August 4, 2015 by newsteam

Decapitated. Photo Credit: Hillarie Jason Photography

Polish extreme metallers Decapitated were hailed as one of the rising stars to enlighten the world about what was brewing within their country’s metal scene. They released their sixth album Blood Mantra in September 2014, and continue to showcase their powerful brand of technical death metal to the world.

Founding member and guitarist Waclaw “Vogg” Kieltyka talked about creating Blood Mantra and the process he goes into crafting what goes onto each recording. Reaching album number six is a milestone for them, but he insists that thought process does not factor into the writing process.

“The main thing when I create a song, I don’t think about this type of stress, like someone is waiting for it and the tension. I think we have loyal fans and they know every new Decapitated album is different from what we did before. This one is different – different production, different atmosphere, different groove and it’s heavy as hell. I wrote it on seven string guitar only this time. We have a couple of songs which is the first time we played something like that. It’s kind of an experimental sound based on one riff and it takes almost six or seven minutes.”

“It’s not that hard to compose the music. Even if you have a contract with a huge label, there are some expectations. When we release it and people start to comment on it, there will always be many good comments and opinions, and I’m ready to hear some bad comments too. It’s normal and nothing new to me. So I don’t really care about it.”

“Of course I think about those things, but I still feel the freedom of when I compose the new riffs. I know I can play wherever I want. That’s the freedom of art. We’re not a pop band selling 20 to 25 million CDs or something like that. We’re an extreme metal band. We can play wherever we want. We have the freedom of creativity. It’s a cool feeling. Even if you know there are a lot of people who want to hear a new Decapitated album. I don’t feel too much stress about it. I just play what I love to play and I trust myself that it will be good.”

Keeping a consistent lineup had been an issue within Decapitated, especially since their tragic accident in 2007 that took the life of drummer and his brother Witold “Vitek” Kieltyka and severly injured vocalist Adrian “Covan” Kowanek, has their situation a bit strained at times. Vogg believes he has found the right personnel to continue the band and keeping it moving forward.

“Hell yes! I have to say that this lineup with Michał [Łysejko] on drums, Paweł [Pasek] on bass (and Rafał “Rasta” Piotrowski on vocals) – those guys have been in the band for almost two years. This is the best lineup we’ve had since 2010 since we’ve rebuilt the band after the accident.”

“I have such a good time with those two members. We really can play together. We can talk and understand [each other] in almost every way. We have such a great time together. We just go on tour and sit on a bus, sit on a plane, and go and play. We love to do it. I hope this lineup survives at least for the next couple of years. It’s the best thing to have the same lineup if it’s possible,” he said.

Photo Credit: Hillarie Jason

Even though it has been some time since the tragic accident that took the life of his brother, Vogg admits those factors did influence prior albums and even him accepting the loss.

“Those things that happened in the past come back sometimes. Of course it was the worst day in my life. It was the worst part of my life – the accident and the next couple of years. Right now I feel much better because everybody knows time makes you better.”

“For sure some things like that are happening to you, it will leave some scars into your head and into your heart. For sure it will influence your music and whatever you’re doing in life. It changes you as a human being, and your views of the world, life and how you interact with other people.”

“When I create music, I try not to think about those things. But for sure those things did change me and probably the music’s end, to create music with who I am. It touched a little bit of our creativity, as far as the atmosphere into the music and the riffs we play right now. Maybe that’s why the last record (2011’s Carnival Is Forever) was more aggressive and more fast. In the same way it was a reflection in the mood.”

“It’s hard to say how much those things influence you when you create something. But for sure it did influence. How exactly – I don’t know. I can just say I appreciate life now after what happened. It’s a big loss with Vittek passed away and Covan is sitting in his condition. We cannot do so much about that. We’re trying to do the best things within the band and keep the memory of Vittek and push things in the right direction by playing the best heavy metal music we can.”

Photo Credit: Hillarie Jason

With the release of Blood Mantra, Vogg issued a challenge to himself to create the heaviest yet the best written record he could create, and longtime fans got to the latest chapter of Decapitated.

“For sure this record took lots of time and energy to put into the creative process. I’m the main composer of every song and every instrument. This time I took this challenge to compose every note on the album, starting from drums, bass, guitar and vocal lines too. That’s because of the line up changes I was forced to create drums and everything,” said Vogg.

Already touring with such bands as Lamb of God, Meshuggah, and GWAR, and now an upcoming North American tour supporting Soulfly, Soilwork and Shattered Sun, they are ready to bring Polish technical death metal to new audiences and many who may have never experienced this style of music before.

“This album is kind of a new chapter, I think for the band. We are more mature as a band. We’ve taken more experience from tours with bands we were touring with over the past three years, on the Carnival Is Forever album. We’ve played with bands like Meshuggah, Children of Bodom, and Lamb of God. We’ve seen so many places on so many stages together with these experienced bands. Those musicians have been doing this for a long time.”

“Watching those guys all of the time makes you start thinking about those things. Talking with them and listening to what they’re trying to tell us, we learn so much from those guys. We put all of those experiences into our new songs. I think it’s the new step for Decapitated. It’s the new direction. The songs are different. This album is really surprising. You don’t know what to expect from each song coming up.”

“This album starts with dark riffs and then going into the blackest death metal atmosphere and really aggressive. Then the second side is a classic death metal sound, together with a grindcore atmosphere. Then we go into some more groovy parts on the next three songs. Then we come back to the fast riffs. It’s a lot of different things going on on this album. It’s possibly the best live album. The songs actually kick ass live. It’s the experience taken from those tours. We are better at making those songs good live than something we did before. We’ve been thinking about it to create stuff that we can take on the stage and play and sound great everywhere in the venue.”

“We are a metal band. We want to bring the heaviest riffs into the venue. The most beautiful thing about playing in a metal band is playing shows. That’s what we love the most. Not recording the records. Not sitting at home and creating new riffs. Not sitting in the bus. Not reading the news on the internet. The best thing is to go onto the stage. That’s the biggest motivation being in a metal band. To go on a stage, to go on tour, to be on stage, play music and deliver some great sounds that people can enjoy.”

“During the creative process, when we’re creating new riffs, we’re thinking about that. We are creating the things that after a couple of months, we will take these songs, play these riffs on the stage and we’re going straight in front of the people and they have to enjoy it. We have to have a great time and everything has to sound great. We’re thinking in this way right now.”

By Rei Nishimoto

Ghost Cult Magazine

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