Interview with WHISTLE HORSE
!!!HEAVY SPEED METAL FROM MEXICO!!!
Welcome to the FILTHY DOGS OF METAL Webzine.
Tell us a few things about WHISTLE HORSE (Members, Starting Year etc).
We are a Heavy speed metal band. The band was formed on February 9, 2024, in the city of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. The band is made up of Christian Ruiz on drums, Joey on bass and vocals, and me, Eliseo Silva, on guitar and vocals. We take influences from NWOBHM and NWOTHM bands, adding a little thrash/punk from the 80’s. We started as a power trio, but at the beginning of 2025 we are integrating Alan Ordaz as a guitarist to complete the sound we are looking for.
You have recently released your EP ''Fast & Loud''. What is the feedback from your audience as well as from the press?
Yes, the Ep was released on November 24, 2024. The response has been good among friends and partly in the local scene of the city, since in Guadalajara there are few heavy metal bands, but step by step we are earning a place among the people and the other extreme metal and punk bands. We also had a good response from other states of the Mexican Republic, for which we feel grateful.
Label or DIY and why?
Nowadays we make our music independently, nowadays it's easier to record your music. But equally, if the opportunity to collaborate with a record label arose, if the contract is good we would take advantage of the opportunity.
Is there any funny or weird story from the recordings or from your live shows that you would like to share with us?
The recordings of drums, bass and vocals are made in a studio in our city called Madhouse Studio, it was our first time in a studio and I remember that I, Eliseo, brought all the guitar tracks I recorded at home for the EP, so first Joey recorded the bass parts in incredible time! Joey already had past experiences, when he recorded for his band RED ANIMALS, Joey was a professional. At night Christian came to record the drums, he had never recorded before, damn! Christian is a human metronome, while recording song by song we had a lot of time to drink beer, smoke and eat pizza. As the night progressed, it was fun and productive. In the captures of the voices, a moment that I consider incredible was when for the songs Whislte horse and Heavy metal punk, the choruses were already recorded by Joey and I Eliseo. We decided to invite friends from other bands who were there to the studio to strengthen the choruses more, which is why the choruses sound so powerful! It took us 7 hours to record all the tracks on the EP, of course it wasn't in one day.
Do you prefer Vinyl, Tape, CD or Digital Format and why is that?
Personally I prefer the vinyl format, I think it is the best. But with technological advances and social networks, the ideal is the digital format, you reach more parts of the world and people and you can have the music of your choice on your mobile device or computer.
Your music style is Heavy/Speed Metal. Which are your main influences (Favourite Artists / Bands etc.)
My favorite band is Black Sabbath but Our influences are from NWOBHM such as Judas Priest, Tokyo Blade, Virtue, Iron Maiden, Medieval Steel. speed metal influences with bands like Angel Steel, RIOT, Grim Reaper, Razor, Violent Force, and bands from this century would be Cruel force, Iron Curtain, Enforcer, Acero Letal, Skull Fist, Ambush and more but these are the bands that come to my mind
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?
Each goal has its sacrifices, without a doubt we have already started this path sacrificing time, money, being absent from family or friend gatherings, negotiating with our jobs to be able to leave early and arrive on time to give a show. Hours of sleep to compose, money for merchandise, for production, to pay for rehearsals, to pay for our instruments. everything is sacrifice and in a way an investment for the future of the band.
Describe your ideal live show as a performance band. Have you already experienced that?
We had a couple of shows last year. Personally for me (Eliseo), my favorite show was our debut, we opened the event for our friends from Speedfreak, the celebration of the release of their album “HELLSPEED ROCK & ROLL” I recommend it to you. That event was on August 3, 2024, it was fantastic to see the faces of the audience totally surprised by our show! Fists in the air! Screams and applause! We believe that for shows to be a success you have to give it your all! With all the force of lightning and thunder!
What attributes do you think that a new Heavy/Speed Metal Band should have in order to gain identity and be unique?
The main attribute is the fucking attitude! Of course it sounds good, a loud and fast sound but well done! The show goes hand in hand with the attitude! leather! denim! and spikes! Energy and fury to connect with the public, energy and fury in the recordings to connect with the listeners.
Do you believe that Digital Platforms help the new Heavy/Speed Metal Bands? Which, do you think, is the ideal way for a band to promote its work?
Yes, I think that in these times digital platforms are very helpful, you can reach many corners of the world. Upload your musical on Bandcamp, or other steaming platforms, Share photos, reels, flyers of your shows on Instagram or Facebook, having interaction with your followers is important.
Do you see any differences between the Mexican Metal Market & the EU Metal Market (Labels, Bands, Fans etc)?
I don't think I can answer that question completely well. because we are slowly emerging on the scene of our city and we have little reach with other states in the country for now. I imagine it's the same everywhere in the world: start your project, earn a place in the scene, finance your music and merch and end up on some major record label or festival. Of course there are the bands that have greater monetary wealth and their progress is greater than other bands even if they are not really good, but they can pay to be on a recognized record label or an important festival, promote their tours outside the country because they have contacts within their families, children of producers, businessmen, etc. For our part, we have no conflict with that, if they have the money and contacts to take advantage of them, let them do so. And the fans, I think they get more support from strangers than from close people, again we think this happens all over the world.
Tell us a few things about the New Underground Metal Scene in Mexico (Bands, Fanzines, Webzines, Metal Clubs etc.)
In my opinion, Mexico's underground scene is regaining strength, because due to Covid 19, like all over the world, shows stopped and forums closed. Many bands fell by the wayside due to these circumstances. But on the other hand, some were reborn with more strength and energy and new ones emerged. The scene in our city is more extreme from our point of view, black metal, death, thrash, punk bands and all the variants are speed and rage. We seek to bring that traditional heavy/speed metal sound, earn a place in the New Wave Of Traditional Heavy Metal and raise our fist! hey! In Guadalaraja there is also good extreme metal and fucking heavy metal! In other states of the country I have seen that good heavy or speed metal bands are moving, with that combination of Black speed rock and roll or that influence marked by God Motorhead! Mexico has very good fucking metal! Speedfreak, Acidez, Atrox, Summon, hellsterror, Full of Hate, to mention some great bands from our city, and from the other states of the country there are Rënz, one of us, starforcer, damn! We could give a long list! In our city there are some forums that promote metal and alternative genres, “Foro independencia” “anexo independencia”, “Casa Occulta”, are the ones that we consider strongest for the underground scene.
Do you know anything about the Hellenic Metal Scene?
If we know some bands from Greece, I Eliseo Since I had access to the internet I started looking for metal bands all over the world, and of course I still lack them and we still have a lot more to meet. The first band I remember is Rotting Christ. In fact, they were in our city on February 22, 2024, a brutal show! I also know the music of Suicidal Angel. I remember that when I was in high school I listened to the album BloodBath Fuck! blew my head! In those years I was immersed in Thrash metal! When I was 15 or 16 years old, a friend was immersed in black metal and together with him I listened to bands like Necromantia.
What are your future plans?
Our future plans are to continue working on compositions to release our first album at the end of this year, as well as I mentioned before, to earn a place in the New Wave Of Traditional Heavy Metal. Find or create a good offer to continue on the heavy metal way
Thank you very much for your time & keep up the good work! The closure is yours.
Thank you Filthy Dogs of Metal for the opportunity, the space and the dissemination of our work in your webzine! And thank all the people who read this interview, listen to our music! Heavy Metal Never Dies! Heavy/ speed and loud is our mission ¡ we are Whistle Horse From Guadalajara Jalisco Mexico! Thank you so much!
By Steve the Filthy Dog.
WHISTLE HORSE CONTACT:
https://www.facebook.com/WhistleHorseband
https://www.instagram.com/wh.gdl
https://wh-gdl.bandcamp.com/album/fast-loud-ep
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7xh7qqcyS836y7A1cZPEfg