A few questions - interview with horror death metal band - BLOOD RAGE.
Answered Tom Hughes (Guitars), thank you!
https://www.deadlystormzine.com/2022/09/recenzereview-bloody-rage-welcome-to.html
Ave, can you introduce your band to our readers? – When was it founded and what style of music do you play etc.?
Tom: Blood Rage was founded in 2021. I wanted to make something more death-grind between writing the Maimed & Crypt Rot debut full lengths. Usually when I start a project I set parameters for what it'll be as I find it easier to write within limitations, so with Blood Rage it was short, to the point songs with simple song structure, no tech riffs or frilly stuff, only brutal grinding death!
Where and under what conditions were you recording the new album? Who was in charge of sound, production and mastering?
I recorded, mixed and mastered it all at my home studio; it was a steep learning curve as I've never mixed or mastered before; but I wanted to keep it all as D.I.Y as possible and at the time I didn't have the money to hire a real producer. The songs were actually recorded over a period of a year or so, I always record in short bursts, writing and recording two guitar tracks and the bass track in the same session so it all has the same feel; that way each song is like a time capsule of where my head was at creatively that day. Once I'd recorded everything I sent it to Filip in Romania to record his vocals, and Ryan in Cornwall to record his solos and programme the drums, and once I got their tracks back I knew I had to step my game up on the production side as they had nailed it! The sound I went for was as old school as I could get it using vsts in Reaper. In the future I'd like to get a cab so I can reamp the guitars live, but until then im using vsts. I used the new Otto Audio II II for the gutars and bass, and I think GGD drums with an instance of Kvlt Drums just running an extra snare to give it some character. Now I've got a taste for it so I'm going to produce all the upcoming Blood Rage stuff and try to get it sounding better and more old school each time! We were also really lucky to have Italian Composer TV CRIMES add some killer synth work to the album to act as intros to each side of the cassette; we knew each other from working on a film project a few years ago, so I explained what the project was about and he sent me these two amazing tracks!
How many copies were released and which medium was used for this new edition (CD, digital, vinyl, cassette)?
Frozen Screams Imprint did 100 tapes for America, and I think Cavernous Records did 100 tapes and cds for the UK, we also did some shirts, stickers and badges ourselves.
Who is the author of the lyrics and how were they created and about what do the lyrics deal with?
I really like albums with a concept and am a big King Diamond fan; so I knew from the start I wanted to have the albums take place in a fictional summer camp inspired by films like The Burning, Friday the 13th and Sleepaway Camp. I named it Crimson Pines and each new album will tell another part of the story of the camp and the killer that terrorizes it. Once I had the concept and feel of the music down I fleshed out the idea and song titles with the original singer, Anthony Crisanti from Gored Embrace; unfortunately after mailing back and forth for a while we realised he wouldnt have time to record for the project as Gored Embrace had their debut EP out on Sewer Rot and were starting to play shows regularly; but he kindly let me keep his song titles and the concepts we had worked out together. Once Filip had come abord as the singer I sent him the songs with the titles and he wrote all the lyrics and expanded on the mythology. Apart from the intro where the killer comes back and the end where he will return each song is a brutal kill scene.
Who created the logo of the band, and who took care of the graphics and the website? What about you and social networks? Do you consider these things important?
I drew the logo and cover art myself using a tablet and Photoshop, although I'm not really an artist so I used a lot of reference for the cover art. Me doing all the art was just another way to keep things simple and in the D.I.Y attitude I wanted for the project; I'm obsessed with old school death metal and youtube channels like Death Madness and Ken's Death Metal Crypt, so usually when I make something new I'm aiming for the look and feel of a demo you'd find on one of those channels. We were really fortunate to have Ken host a premiere of our album on his channel, and that was a real high point for me being featured on a platform I've loved for so many years.
Social media is a neccessary evil these days in promoting your music; thankfully we have labels to help us but if you want people to check you out its up to you to put in the groundwork building a fanbase, making promo images for socials etc. I'm also a videographer and editor so thankfully I can knock out promos in Photoshop and Premiere without needing to hire anyone; and I think it helps the labels out that I work with, as they know they dont have to do all the heavy lifting with the promo side of things and I'll pull my weight and deliver on the things I say I'll do.
Which label did you choose for releasing your album and why this label? Are you satisfied by how your label represents you and takés care about you?
Over the past few years I've developed a really good relationship with John from Frozen Screams Imprint in NY; he was the only person I sent the Crypt Rot demo to and once he was on board we've talked pretty regularly, so I'd told him about Blood Rage just cuz I knew he was such a huge fan of 80's horror and b movies, and once I'd shown him the cover art he was on board for releasing even before hearing the music!
Thankfully he liked the songs once we'd finished them and as we both can do layouts we collaborated on the J Card design and planned some cool extra goodies for people that Pre Ordered. I had also worked with Chris from Cavernous Records before so when I thought of releasing a UK edition I thought of him; he ended up doing both CD and Cassette release for us and I couldn't be happier with how they came out. He's a really solid guy that delivers on what he says and keeps everything simple, which when you're playing in a lot of different bands and planning multiple releases in a year like I am is really helpful!
Which bands do you idolise and where do you get your inspiration?
For Blood Rage it was 1000% Mortician worship but filtered through my playing style, which always ends up being pretty old school and catchy; I really like neat songs with no fat on them, so I'm always trying to get the point of the song across in as simplest way as possible and keep the momentum going. I think we were all also really sinpired by the first few Cannibal albums; I know Barnes is a big influence on Filip's vocal style and I've always loved their hammer ons and groovy sections.
Did you send your record to some Labels - which are the labels? How was the response?
I only sent to the labels that ended up releasing it, I tend to use the same labels once I work well them as it means we already have a shorthand for how we work together and our roles are already defined.
How many gigs have you played? Which type of gigs do you prefer, whether it's (clubs or festivals) and which of your performances would you consider as the best?
None! Haha Gigs dont really interest me; im not the most social person and I like to make my music in isolation; which is also how I enjoy music, getting lost in that world. That's why I made sure the samples made the album as immersive as possible and told a story, and why I added the lyrics to the inside of the cassette and cd booklet; the whole thing is made to be an experience for the listener that I couldnt really transalate as well live; not to mention that we are in different countries or regions of the UK so practicing wouldn't really be do-able, and I'm really happy with the current lineup.
What about your plans for the future? What do you want to achieve with the band?
We've already lined up two splits with some killer bands, one from the Uk and one from America. All the guitar and bass tracks are recorded for both of those; so hopefully they'll be out late this year or early 2023. I've also outlined the concepts for the following two albums. The whole story has always been a trilogy, so I'm planning on recording and releasing part two next year, with the final part a year after. Im also hoping we can collect all the albums into a set for tape collectors at some point!
How and where can your fans contact you? Can you provide some contact information?
I dont do Facebook as its a bit of a cesspool, but anyone intersted in the band can drop me a message on
instagram @bloodragedeathmetal
Thanx for the interview.
Thanks Jakub and anyone that took the time to read my ramblings! Total support for Deadly Storm Zine!
Recenze/review - BLOOD RAGE - Welcome to Crimson Pines (2022):
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