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| "High speed thrash is our game" |
Bloodletter is absolutely relentless in its shredding and exhausting drumming and manic riffs that blaze by in buzzing glory. Pizza thrash this ain't. Or was it party thrash? It doesn't matter. This is the real deal. Imagine Bay Area thrash at its stingiest, while getting spat at by German-bark like vocals. It's a lethal concoction that honours past masters and if this chat is anything to go by, Bloodletter are poised to not stand still. Their EP Different Kind Of Hell clearly demonstrates this attitude with its various references to sub genres but more importantly, they pull it off with fervour seldom heard in new bands. Easily one of the most enjoyable surprise discoveries I've made this year and I'll eat my Sodom t-shirt if these guys don't get signed in 2014.
[Laughs]. Dude, my mom bought me Dead Kennedys, Ramones, and Maiden when i was seven.
The internet cannot handle thrash metal today it is weak. Today's music is weakness as well. What’s thrash without speed, aggression and violence?
Thrash without speed is slow, boring metal. without aggression? It's slow, boring metal that has no substance. Without violence? It's metal that's no fun!
Speaking of fun. The "cool guy" front is unleashing some backlash on "pizza thrash" as they call it, frowning upon the fun element, I appreciate that bitterness to a certain extent, but but thrash metal was always about unbridled fun and aggression, although many of the lyrics dealt with social issues and burning hell. The two fed of one another, the anger and good times.
Well for us, the music has to match what we're writing lyrically. Bloodletter tends to focus on a few things within religion, current events and people in general. I'm in no way really a satanist, but I'm fascinated with it and the occult. I wanted to write a vile, snarling type of music that helps me get out my frustrations with the world today. And the way the satanist bible speaks of how people are to be treated is really interesting. Especially with the way people treat each other these days, and with wars constantly being waged, I wanted to write a criticism that most would think is an obvious nod to being anti-religious. However, if you take a look at some of the lyrics in a few of the tunes, you can hear a lesson being told; "Be a good person, and maybe you won't go to hell and get EVERYTHING you deserve for being a shithead."
Clearly scholars of past greats, I'm hearing a whirlwind destruction-boost of Vio-Lence and Forbidden at their most aggressive cornering Demolition Hammer in a bloody fight with Exodus precise riffing.
We're definitely fans of Vio-Lence and Demolition Hammer. We're huge Skeletonwitch, Toxic Holocaust, and Gama Bomb fans too. High speed thrash is our game.
One of the first things that caught me is how fucking tight the band's performance is. Is this really how you pull it off at practices? Hetfield's right hand would be proud of you.
[Laughs] I actually recorded the drums and the most guitars for the EP. But the band is pretty damn solid when we rehearse. The energy is through the roof and it's a shitload of fun to play with those guys. Most of the guitars the solos done by Jason, and he's probably the single best guitar player I've ever worked with. He's really gifted. Tanner our bassist likes more technical bass lines and we try to write more lines that he can shred on. And Zach beats the drums to death. It's this bombastic assault of melodic thrash and we love playing it.
And it shows. It literally explodes out of the speakers. Thrash metal is slowly (too slow) gaining respect and interest again but not nearly as fast as throwback death metal has the last four years. Why do you think that is?
Well first off, death metal kicks ass. But it seems like a lot of folks want equal doses of speed and heaviness with their music. I've also noticed that while bands like Municipal Waste and Toxic Holocaust have been championing a thrash revival, it looks like people still crave heavier riffing, crazier solos and more intense live shows. Which is something you can get from some of the bigger death metal shows a la Carcass & Bolt Thrower.
Does Bloodletter fill this gap you mention?
I think we do. We're influenced by death metal, thrash, hardcore punk and NWOBHM stuff too. We've got more tunes on the way with epic arrangements, big guitar harmony parts and lots of big drums.
That's good to hear. Exciting. Bloodletter isn't resting on their laurels ideas wise. I see a band like Vektor fill that gap too.
Vektor definitely delivers an intense brand of metal. And we're definitely always writing and always trying to make more exciting music. All while having the most fun possible.
The recordings in question - on your bandcamp - are very convincing and can easily take on the biggest acts going to day, and in in all frankness sound much more assured and proper than a lot of the, shall we say thinner skinned thrash in a pan bands going. How have people received you and have you gotten any label interest?
Wow, thanks man. Since we recorded the record ourselves at the studio I work at, we were really relaxed and had a great time of it. I think for our sound, this record shows that we don't want to aim for a super polished recording. That bit of grit and raw sound can make the record closer to what we want. As far as the reception of the record, we've sent it out to a lot of people. Some of the guys in Skeletonwitch have listened and really liked it a lot, and so far, the general consensus is that everybody seems to love it, and we're so pumped on the response! We're just gonna keep spreading the music out there and get ready for our first real shows and hopefully someone would want to pick up the record and help us spread the evil!
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