Interview with DEATHBLADE
!!!THRASH METAL FROM THE UK!!!
We had a conversation with Daniel (Guitars/Vocals). Enjoy!
Welcome to the FILTHY DOGS OF METAL Webzine.
Tell us a few things about DEATHBLADE (Members, Starting Year etc).
We started in 2018, originally as a punk/heavy metal band. I was 12 years old at the time and just picked up the guitar so I was writing these really short, primitive songs that weren’t any good. The couple years after that we quickly picked up thrash metal, and its been our modus operandi since. Currently the lineup is myself on lead guitars and vocals, and Andrew on bass. We’ve also got Aiden (ex-bassist) returning as a drummer and a lead guitarist called Uzi, but this new lineup is in its early stages right now. I’m writing this while on a bus to rehearsal, so hopefully we can pick it back up as a full band quickly.
You have recently released your album ''The Degenerate Spawn''. What is the feedback from your audience as well as from the press?
The feedback has really been amazing, a promotion channel uploaded our album and it received 1.5k views in the first day. We also hit our all-time record on all streaming services, it’s great to see the album was a success and an improvement from the debut from a critical standpoint.
Label or DIY and why?
We’ve always been independent. I think it’s important for a smaller band like us to have creative freedom, although we’re planning on some CD/Tape releases on a distro here in the UK. In general I’d like to see us on a label like Century Media or even Nuclear Blast in 5 or so years, that would be the dream.
Is there any funny or weird story from the recordings or from your live shows that you would like to share with us?
It was really annoying at the time but now it’s funny in retrospect, we actually botched our debut album twice. Originally in early 2019, we had 8 songs written and a couple recorded, but unmastered. We were ready for a full-length release, but a bunch of bad omens seemed to happen: I spilled drinks on all the tabs, my tiny 10 watt amp broke, the master files for the songs got corrupted etc. In the end I’m glad those songs got scrapped. We also had our debut album finished and planned to record it in a week, around halloween 2020. We had a Marshall Combo with a microphone that balanced on a printer, plugged into a DAW on a laptop. It was really awkward and unprofessional but funny to look back on. So we scrapped that too and spent another year working on the debut, which came out in September 2021. A pretty interesting thing about our first gig is that the venue doesn’t actually exist anymore. The building is still there, but it’s a different pub.
Do you prefer Vinyl, Tape, CD or Digital Format and why is that?
I’ve always preferred vinyl over everything else. It’s expensive, but always feels better when you’re listening to a full record. It sounds more crisp and for physical formats in general, you can trust that you’ll always have that specific version of an album and it will never be changed or removed, unlike streaming services. Say you want to listen to a fantastic album like Restless and Wild by Accept, it’s not on streaming services.
Your music style is Thrash Metal. Which are your main influences (Favourite Artists / Bands etc.)
The two biggest influences have always been Sodom and Dark Angel, that rougher thrash metal sound but they can still play their instruments. Others that have shaped my personal writing style would be black metal bands like Dissection, Mutiilation and of course Bathory. Also early Destruction (especially Sentence of Death) and definitely Exodus, Testament, Morbid Saint and Hellripper. Pretty much any thrash metal band you could name, I’ve probably gone through their discography and tried to imitate what they do. Some underground bands I’d recommend are Soothsayer from Canada, Necrodeath, Sabbat (Japan and UK), At War and Savage Steel.
Which things do you think a band should sacrifice in order to succeed? Have you ever sacrificed anything in your life for a better future for your band?
You definitely sacrifice a lot of time, every band needs dedication on all fronts and putting in years of perserverance is really the only way to improve. I wouldn’t say I’ve literally sacrificed anything for the band, but it’s constantly in my mind. At college and work I’ll always be thinking of new ideas for writing, and spend pretty much half of my time at home playing the guitar with a DAW open just to see if new songs go anywhere.
Describe your ideal live show as a performance band. Have you already experienced that?
I would love to play a bigger venue like The Fleece in Bristol that isn’t too big like a stadium, a place with a 200ish capacity would be awesome for moshing and stave diving, that kind of thing always makes shows 100 times better.
What attributes do you think that a new Thrash Metal Band should have in order to gain identity and be unique?
Don’t try to enforce this rule of old-school only, new bands are automatically new-school and pigeonholing yourself cuts off a lot of potential fans. Musically, try to find your style and stick to it, while making every song stand out in their own way.
Do you believe that Digital Platforms help the new Thrash Metal Bands? Which, do you think, is the ideal way for a band to promote its work?
Definitely, the digital age has made promotion much easier; as opposed to the 80s where you would send your demo to a label and they would put your name on a poster, whereas now you have playlists that people follow, social media and digital fanzines and forums to spread the word of your band.
Tell us a few things about the New Underground Metal Scene in the U.K. (Bands, Fanzines, Webzines, Metal Clubs etc.)
It’s awesome here, especially for thrash metal. You’ve got Hellbearer, Unburier, Hellfekted, Blacklist, Devil’s Henchmen, Tortured Demon and so many more. We have shows constantly and it’s fairly easy to get to shows. There aren’t many fanzines here, but I can recommend UKthrashers and ScreamBlastRepeat.
Do you know anything about the Hellenic Metal Scene?
Well I’m a massive history nerd, so I love anything Greek regardless. In terms of bands, Septiflesh is one of the all-time greatest, Rotting Christ is also really cool. Then you have Bio-Cancer, a ripping thrash metal band and Inveracity, one of the older slam bands. Also Greek black metal is insane, with bands like Necromantia, Tatir and Kawir.
The last 4 years, worldwide in the world, we have faced many dark, strange & new situations in our everyday life (covid, lock-down etc.) Did all of this affect you positively or negatively?
Lockdown was hugely positive for me to improve my playing, it also caused me to meet some amazing people that have supported the band. I feel like I would have met none of the current members if lockdown never happened, although I understand it was difficult for a lot of people. For me, I lived in the middle of nowhere at the time, so I could go out to the forest near my house and smoke with Slayer or Deicide playing. It was an awesome time for me.
What are your future plans?
Future plans are to start gigging regularly again, hopefully get festival placements and generally grow as a band, maybe with some music videos coming out soon.
Thank you very much for your time & keep up the good work! The closure is yours.
Thanks for having me, it’s always great to talk to other diehard metal fans, especially from different parts of the world. Only Death Is Real.
By Steve the Filthy Dog.
DEATHBLADE CONTACT:
https://www.facebook.com/deathblade.uk
https://www.instagram.com/deathblade_theband/
https://deathblade.bandcamp.com/