Interview with death thrash metal band from United Kingdom - THE BLEEDING.
Answered Tasos (guitars), thank you!
Recenze/review - THE BLEEDING - Monokrator (2023):
Ave THE BLEEDING! I have never found any interview with you in Czech language. I will ask you first to introduce the band to the readers who do not know you yet. You can start from the beginning and take us throw the whole history of THE BLEEDING.
Tasos: -The Bleeding started in late 2010 with myself and Themis K from Acid Death wanting to do an old school death metal project. We added Jeff Wirth to the group and started writing material. Up until the release of Death Eternal, The Bleeding was a studio project. At that point I decided that I wanted the band to play shows, and sadly because Themis and Jeff lived in other countries, the first version of the band gave way to the new London-based one. Germ (Jamie Stungo) is a professional musician and friend of mine who joined as the vocalist. We’ve changed our line up a few times over the years, but we’re still going strong!
This year you are releasing the new album „Monokrator“. Again, it's a dark, harsh and honest thrash/death metal. Did you access to the recording process differently than last time or did you choose verified practices?
-We try to learn from each studio session and one of the things we’ve learned is that you can’t rush the vocal tracking, or you might end up with performances that miss the mark. For Monokrator, Germ tracked all of his vocals in his home studio and I think the result is his best recorded performance to date. The other change is we’ve kept some of the solos as they were tracked in the demos, because there was a magic about them that can’t be recreated.
The new album seems to me more complicated, perhaps initially less accessible, at the same time incredibly dark and evil. Was it intentional? How did the album originate and how did you compose the music?
-It was intentional. The good thing that happened with the pandemic was that it allowed us to evaluate the band status and the musical direction. We decided we wanted the new album to be a statement that The Bleeding means massacre. We’ve made the new record as direct and death-metal-based as possible.
I have a „Monokrator“ in my MP3 player and I have to say that this album literally engulfed me. These are not just great ideas but also sound is simply devastating. I'm sitting in the tram, and suddenly I find myself shaking my legs. I have a feeling to start moshing. If I weren’t so old, I would probably start to. Where did you record and who is signed under mastering?
- Well this is 20 years experience in playing and writing metal. Also this time around there was a lot more focus and almost zero friction during the songwriting process, which I couldn’t say the same about the Morbid Prophecy sessions.
Who is the author of lyrics on „Monokrator“? What are they talking about? Where do you get inspiration for themes?
-Germ wrote most of the lyrics. The basic themes are Death, Destruction, Madness and Desperation. Germ is a master of his craft. I would encourage everyone to take a moment and read through his lyrics from all of our albums. You’d be hard-pressed to find a better lyricist and all that before ChatGPT!
Who is signed under the cover of „Monokrator“? I like his work very much. How did you choose the motif for cover?
- Juanjo Castellano did the artwork. We were very fortunate to have onboard one of the best illustrators in modern death metal.
When we look back at the beginning ... What was the first impulse to found the band? And why the thrash/death metal? It's not the typical style which can would give you great "glory".
-The inspiration to start The Bleeding was the song Death Eternal. I had ealry versions of this song in previous bands, but one day as I was walking home, the verse riff came to me. I paused for a minute and decided that this is good enough reason to start a new band. We all love Slayer, Kreator, Sepultura as well as Death, Cannibal Corpse and Pestilence. I personally appreciate death metal more as a genre but I like the punk-rock foundation of early thrash. I think it’s important to combine the two. You end up with something that has roots in Motorhead essentially.
You come from United Kingdom and you play extreme thrash/death metal. Our readers would certainly wonder how the metal scene works in your country. To tell you the truth, so lately I hear only the great bands from there. Does this mean that the scene there is so strong at the moment? What about concerts, how many people coming to them?
-There’s a scene in the UK but not necessarily tailored around our genre. People support local bands as well as big live acts. Most major shows are sold out.
From your music is possible to feel that you are influenced by American thrash death metal school and as well by the old European bands. How do you feel about it as a fan? Do you prefer the original metal of the 1990s or do you get inspiration as well from the new albums? If yes so I am wondering which bands had the greatest impact on THE BLEEDING.
-I was thinking about that the other day. I think the most recent band that was an inspiration to us was Nekromantheon and before that, Bloodbath. The problem in the way we perceive 80s and 90s bands now is that most bands treat them as prototypes. You hear today an entire dissonant genre that is based on Incantation, bands that are essentially using the works of older bands as blueprint. We do that as well to a degree, but not intentionally. Some bands that have inspired us are: Nekromantheon, Goatwhore, Marduk, Impaled Nazarene, Bloodbath, Hypocrisy, Cannibal Corpse, Hypnosia, Blood Red Throne, Sinister, Deranged, early-Death, Celtic Frost, early-Kreator, early-Slayer, very-early-Metallica, early-Pestilence, Sodom, Darkthrone, early-Sepultura, Ancient Rites, Asphyx.
What about you and concerts in general? Are you a band that goes for concerts anytime you can or you are picky about where you will play? Do you have a dream, maybe a group you would like to go with for a tour or festival, a city where you would like to perform?
-We have been quite picky about shows and that is not great. No particular dreams other than to play to energised crowds across the world! Any promoters in Europe or elsewhere that would like to have us over for shows do reach out!
I'm going to listen again your new album „Monokrator“. I have to say that for me personally, this is basically a perfect thrash death metal work. Totally inferno. I wish big success to your record and to get this album to as many people as is possible. This album deserves it. I wish you all the best in your personal life. Whatever you do and the last words are yours. If you want to tell something to fans, labels, promoters, you have space here..... Thank you for the interview and I am looking forward to seeing you live!
-Thank you for this interview, we really enjoyed it! We appreciate all the love and support and we look forward to seeing you all to a venue soon! THRASH TILL DEATH! \m/
Recenze/review - THE BLEEDING - Monokrator (2023):
Recenze/review - THE BLEEDING - Morbid Prophecy (2019):
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