So after I reviewed them, I decided to throw some questions their way. And thankfully, Dustin and Andrew were more than happy to respond. Here is my interview with Die Among Heroes.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

I guess to begin with, how about we let people who have no idea who you are get to know who you are? Who is in the band, and what do they do?

Dustin Young – We are a high-intensity metalcore band from Austin, TX. Our goal with our music has always been to give something to everyone without compromising our own passions and values. We don’t rely on a solid album alone to carry us to fans abroad. When people come to our shows, we make sure to hit them as hard as we can with our energetic live performance and make them remember Die Among Heroes. Our team consists of Chase Hughes on vocals, Andrew Gonzales and Alfonso Hernandez on guitars, Kyle Reeves on drums, and myself, Dustin Young, on bass.

Andrew Gonzales – We are an ass-kicking band, who kicks alot of asses, and if you come to one of our shows, be prepared to get your ass kicked. In the ass.

You guys are a totally DIY band. This kind of arrangement can’t be easy, especially in today’s world of music. How do you balance day jobs, band-related work, writing and practicing, and still have real lives?

Andrew – All my time is spent fine tuning every part of the band’s presentation. There is no balance. I’m slowly losing my mind. What’s a real life?

You’ve been compared to Killswitch, Trivium, and more. Hell, even I compared you to them in my review. But if there was one band in the world that you would love to be compared to, past or present, who would it be?

Dustin – Pantera really set the bar here. Not that we play similar styles of Metal, but to get anywhere close to the sort of impact, energy and complete rockstar vision that they had would be a dream come true. Seeing them when we were younger made us want to pick up an instrument and say “Hell yeah, that is what I want to do for a living.”

Andrew – The Pantera Home Videos changed my life. RIP Dimebag.

On the flipside of that question, is there a band that you would rather die than be compared to? (it’s odd, this question IS grammatically correct, and it sounds right, but looks really odd. and this stuff in parenthesis is totally not going to be published.)

Dustin – Hollywood Undead… they are just terrible.

Andrew – The Jonas Brothers. Although, if someone said, “Die Among Heroes has as much money as the Jonas Brothers”, I think I could live with that.

You’ve been in a contest to actually open for Killswitch Engage this month, and from what I can tell you’ve been doing pretty good in it. But I still can’t find the final results. What’s going on with that, and how did you originally get in line to open up?

Dustin – The radio station C101 in Corpus Christi, TX held an online poll between 80 bands for the chance to Battle it out for the opening slot for KSE. The top 4 bands were to do a Battle of The Bands in Corpus Christi, and the winner was determined by crowd voting. We smoked the online poll and went up against 1 local Corpus Christi act and 2 out of town acts. We shuttled 3 vans full of fans to Corpus so we would at least have a shot at beating the draw of the only local band on the bill. All of the bands played a great show, and unfortunately, we were unable to bring more fans than the local band.

After listening to the self-titled a couple times now, I’m finding some stuff I didn’t hear the first time around. I’m curious about your guitar styles. It seems fairly technical, but you’re also not afraid to just do some chords and arpeggios that don’t seem too intense. Have you guys had formal schooling with your instruments, or are you self-taught?

Andrew – Myself and our new guitar player Alfonso Hernandez are self-taught. Alfonso is a mad player and our new stuff will be far more technical than the present album.

About the album – how long did it take to write and record? Are you completely happy with it, or are there things you would change if had the time or money to do so?

Andrew – The album was recorded in 5 days. For the most part I am happy with it considering the circumstances. I wish we had more time to spend tracking and mixing.

Since it is out independently, how have you marketed the album, other than live shows? Do you find this part of being in the band to be hard work, or has this part of the ‘job’ been easy for you? And how can people who cannot make it to your shows get a copy of the album?

Dustin – Marketing is definitely one of the hardest and most time consuming parts of being in this band. We’ve have been covering all of the bases through social, online and radio pushes. Some great tools are out there helping DIY bands like Tunecore and Jango. S.P. Unlimited has been helping us tremendously to take our band to the next level. The guys at The Syndicate and Clawhammer PR are also great to work with. We’ve definitely realised that the cheapest and perhaps best way to market ourselves has been through our devoted friends and fans. People can find our album digitally through several outlets like iTunes, Rhapsody, Shockhound, Amazon, and many more.

If you were to sign to a label, is there a dream label you’d like to be on at all?

Dustin – Warner or Road Runner would be our top picks.

Andrew – It doesn’t matter as long as they had the proper resources to promote a talented band. It’s important to find someone who can understand and nourish our vision.

Next month you’re going to be playing SXSW for a ten day stretch, then doing a pair of shows in Abilene and Austin. What’s coming up after those dates? More touring, or are you going to take some time off?

Andrew – Extreme Success. We’ll take some time off in about 5 years.

I think that about rounds it up. Is there anything I haven’t touched on that you’d like to add?

Andrew – Lock up your daughters.

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First up, tell me about yourselves. What kind of journeys have the individuals in the band made to end up on the same path of 13th Sky?

13th Sky was originally formed and based in the San Fransisco Bay Area. The original line up split in two. Myself (Steve Jennings), and original keyboardist Ken Ginnard moved here to Los Angeles in 2001. The other half of the band stayed in S.F. and wanted to pursue a more electronic sound.

You define yourselves as Goth/Rock on MySpace, with influences that are definitely in that area of music, as well as an (amazing) sound that is so goth it hurts. But what else influences the sounds and styles of the individual members of 13th Sky, as well as collectively

Our sound is based on our musical influences. The bands that we like and listened to growing up and still enjoy today. Richard Coal is the newest member and does most of the lyrical content based on his own experiences and reflecting the emotions our audience.

How does being from Los Angeles contribute to the sound of the music? Do you feel that being from one of the most important cities in music is an influence in itself?

Living in Los Angeles definitely creates a vibe to the music. There are a million bands around you and it keeps you active to promote and keep going.

Are there any side projects readers should look for? Or are all the band members 110% committed only to 13th Sky?

Side projects or cover bands etc., are PROHIBITED in 13th Sky. Side projects are a sure way to confuse the audience and become lost in your own work.

What bands in your numerous shows across the U.S. have you shared the stage with, and are there any cities in particular that are a pleasure to do shows in?

13th Sky has played a lot of shows over the years. It’s always a blast to get out of town regardless of where we are headed. Over the years playing in the South (Texas especially) has been very rewarding and well received by the fans. San Fransisco, the old hometown, as well.

In touring, have you ever gotten the pleasure of sharing stages with any personal or professional heroes?

In 2004 we had Bari Galvin (Christian Death, Mophisto Walz) filling in with the band. He had worked with us in the studio and did a magical job. That was a special time.

In respects to the making of 13th Sky’s music, what kind of gear do you use? I myself am particularly interested in Brian’s gear, as I am a bassist primarily. But by all means, if you wish to share any insights into particular effects, amps, guitars, etc., please do.

We use Fender, Gibson, and Gretsch guitars and basses. We also stick with the old Boss effects. There is a lot of killer new stuff out there but we tend to stick with what we know.

Why is it that Hollywood and the Sunset Strip seems to be a breeding ground of industrial, goth, and hard rock bands?

A lot of bands aren’t from here and they come from all over to showcase their band because this is the music capitol of the world. There are a lot of clubs and venues in the area that cater to Industrial, Goth, and Hard Rock music.

Finally, what can present and future fans of 13th Sky expect for the next 12 months?

13th Sky is writing and recording new music as well as pushing our CD, The Sin Sessions (you can purchase it on our MySpace profile or Amoeba Hollywood). Along with that, we are working on a few videos showing some of our past performances.

13th Sky on MySpace.

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I guess first off, Ed, I’d like to ask why you departed from your normal music styles and decided to create a doom album?

I’ve been into doom since the early 80’s when I first heard Candlemass and Trouble, I even sang in a doomband for a short while, but I never considered playing drums in a doom band. Too much of a flash drummer for that I guess… but then a few years ago I started playing guitar, first it was very primitive and just enough to be able to write songs for Gorefest and later Hail Of Bullets, but after a while I felt confident enough to actually want to play guitar on an album. Rogga already mentioned he’d like to make some doom a while ago, but somehow that turned into me playing drums for his band Demiurg
instead. I did like the doom idea and started writing my own tunes until I had an album’s worth of music and of course I had to get Rogga involved so here we are!

I guess that still doesn’t answer “why doom”, so… I myself am a very melancholy person, and I find that when I sit down by myself late at night and don’t have death metal on my mind I write heavy, slow and sad music. I love minor scales and harmonies, big melodies that make you cry (or laugh, apparently, haha), dramatic themes, in short: doooooom.

Before Gorefest you were in Elegy, which is a band I’m not too familiar with.
Could you speak about Elegy? What did you you with the band?

I joined Elegy in 1987 and stayed with them until 1992 when I made the switch to Gorefest. Elegy played a rather technical form of power metal, with lots of guitar shredding and high pitched vocals. I was very much into this kind of stuff (Cacophony, Malmsteen, Racer X, etc) when I joined them but in the early 90’s I got hooked on death metal and couldn’t wait to play this awesome music myself. In 1991 I met Frank and JC from Gorefest at Stephan’s (my later Hail Of Bullets buddy) place, when Gorefest lost (fired) their drummer they thought of me and I accepted the offer immediately. I did end up playing drums on the first Elegy album Labyrinth Of Dreams, but by then I was already in Gorefest. The drummer that replaced me in Elegy is Dirk Bruinenberg who now plays drums in the liveband of The 11th Hour, so we’ve come full circle again. Metal Mind re-released the entire Elegy back catalogue last year I think, in case you want to check some of it out.

Wow. Now that you answered part of my next question, I’ll go to something else, which comes out of that last answer. Elegy was power, Gorefest was death, and now 11th Hour is doom. What do you NOT listen to?

I do not listen to dance, modern R&B and rap/hip-hop, although as with all rules there’s always exceptions. In general though I can’t listen to soulless music, music made by machines instead of people. I always laugh when I hear an insanely expensive car stereo blasting out some stupid house beat, which was not made to be listened to while not
dancing and/or on drugs.

Besides metal my great passion is country music, and I don’t mean “Achy Breaky Heart” or shit like that, but the real deal: Merle Haggard, George Jones, Emmylou Harris, Buck Owens, Hank Williams, Bill Monroe, Johnny Cash, Louvin Brothers, etc. More than any other genre country deals with pain, sadness, grief, heartache and tragedy and I love it.

I also love old soul/R&B and blues, as well as pretty much anything that can be considered Classic Rock. Prog also finds its way into my CD player regularly, especially the 70’s giants such as Genesis, Yes, ELP or Kansas (one of my all time favorite bands).

You’re officially an unofficial member of Ayreon and you were also on Star One. Any other projects on the back burner moving to the front burner once the tour for 11th Hour is over?

We’re slowly starting up the writing and recording process for the next Hail Of Bullets album. I’ll be engineering/producing it myself this time (with a little help from Dan Swanö who will be mixing again) so I’ll have my hands full. We hope to have it done on time for a late may release.

And Rogga’s band Demiurg got signed to Cyclone Empire recently, he’s writing songs for the 3rd album at the moment and I expect to do drums for it in January.

And now that Arjen has done a “soft” album with Guilt Machine I assume he’ll be ready to rock again and this is usually where I come in, so I figure I’ll also be working with him again next year.

And then it’ll be about time to start working on the next 11th Hour album.

So, after all that, what do you think the next logical evolution of Ed Warby is going to be?

For now more death and doom metal. First up is the next Hail Of Bullets album, after (or during) that I’ll record drums for the 3rd Demiurg and then I guess it’s time to start working on the next 11th Hour album. I have some other dream projects I’d like to realise, such as a power metal album (and I don’t mean the kooky Dragonforce style, but real classic powerful metal) and once I get too old to be believable as a metal musician I’ll probably try and put together a killer country outfit. But for now the metal still flows freely and strongly!

Back to the here and now, with 11th Hour, you’re playing shows with Dirk on drums, and I imagine Rogga is singing live; who else is in the live version of the band, and do you think the live band will become the studio band, or are you going to keep it to yourself and Rogga?

The original idea was to have Rogga on vocals and bass but he’s plagued by a chronic ear infection that makes it impossible for him to fly. So instead I came up with the following line-up:

Bram Bijlhout – Guitar
Petra Guijt – Guitar
Kris Gildenlöw – Bass
Dirk Bruinenberg – Drums
Pim Blankenstein – Vocals
Me – Guitar & vocals

Bram and Pim are from a band called Officium Triste, a well known Dutch doomband. Dirk and Kris play together in Dial and just went on tour with the Damian Wilson Band. Petra is in Deadcell and Toxocara.

I think it’s a great band but the next album will just be me and Rogga, same as Burden Of Grief. I prefer doing all the instruments by myself because I have a very strong vision of what the material should sound like and how it should be played, and I don’t want to compromise in that area, at least not on record.

The subject matter for Burden of Grief is pretty deep. Where did you get the inspiration to write about someone who has a “terminal lung disease”? And what disease is it specifically? I assume cancer due to the song “One Last Smoke”, but I might be wrong.

The inspiration comes from the deaths of my parents, both from a combination of heavy smoking and lung emphysema. My sister suffers from the same disease, so it’s all very close to home for me. I’ve seen the harm it does so I never smoked myself, otherwise I may have had it as well since it’s part hereditary. The rest of the story is fiction, but the emotions in it are all too real.

Who is it that is coughing at the beginning of “One Last Smoke”?

The coughing/breathing is a sample that I modifed to count off the song.

The band name, The 11th Hour – what was the inspiration behind it, and what does it mean?

The name was almost handed to me through a string of coincidences. One morning I woke up and my alarm clock was at 11.11, later that day I was working on the song that would become Origins Of Mourning (working title: Doom11) and when it was finished I did a quick mixdown so I could make an mp3 and I noticed it was just over 11 minutes long… so I started thinking about this 11 business and came upon the phrase “at the 11th hour” which to me really captured the mood of the project. It
stands for the final hours of ones life, the last chance to make things right. The next album will also deal with similar themes so the name will remain relevant.

With that explaination, the mixdown to MP3 business reminded me of my own recording equipment, which does just that as well. What did you use to record Burden of Grief?

I oversimplified somewhat: what I really do is set up a mix and bounce it to disc as wav, then I convert it to mp3. I use Protools to record and edit, and ABC Amber Audio Converter to make mp3’s.

I was showing my friend Thom the interview so far, and he’s asked me to ask you a question for him: what are your top five favorite movies, and why?
I’d like to ask my own version as well: your top five favorite albums, and why?

Cool, I’ll make myself some coffee and put together the lists!

Ok, here goes:

Blade Runner: Sci-fi perfection. I love everything about this movie, the way it looks, sounds, feels… Rutger Hauer is awesome as the replicant that wants more life, something to be proud of as a fellow Dutchman.

Taxi Driver: I adore Martin Scorsese and although I could easily put Goodfellas or Raging Bull here I chose Taxi Driver because of its brooding menace and of course De Niro’s unforgettable performance as the psychotic cabbie. I fell madly in love with Jodie Foster after seeing this as a kid (I’m about the same age) and the violent climax left a huge impression on my young mind. I still don’t know what my dad was thinking when he took me to see it but I’m forever grateful.

The Good, The Bad And The Ugly: The best of the Sergio Leone directed Dollars trilogy and possibly the finest western ever made, or at least the finest spaghetti western. Clint Eastwood will forever be The Man With No Name thanks to this trilogy.

2001: A Space Odyssey: I had to choose 1 Kubrick but I could also have picked A Clockwork Orange which is equally stunning. 2001 has a certain otherworldly magic to it, and even though it’s over 40 years old to me it has lost none of its brilliance.

Apocalypse Now: A mesmerizing journey into the heart of darkness as personified by the insane Colonel Kurtz. So many classic moments in this, most memorable of all the Wagner scored helicopter attack.

Since I love horror movies and a top 5 is not nearly enough to include all my favorites I made a separate horror list:

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre: I mean the 1974 original of course, the single scariest movie ever made. I still feel that way about it after seeing it well over 50 times. Nothing equals the last 30 minutes of this for pure, hellish terror.

Dawn Of The Dead: Hypergory yet very smart zombieflick that works on so many levels thanks to Romero’s smart scripting and direction. Day Of The Dead has better effects but I prefer the scope and epic feel of Dawn.

The Beyond: Fulci’s masterpiece. Another movie I’ve seen way too many times, and still can’t get enough of. This movie is so powerful not even those damn fake spiders can ruin it.

Suspiria: Can’t have a list without Argento on it. I chose this because it’s so nightmarish, but I equally love Profondo Rosso, Tenebre or Opera. Nobody sets up a murder scene like he does, a true artist of death.

The Evil Dead: Part 2 was technically superior but nothing rivals the crude original for sheer intensity and gory inventiveness. I actually took a date to see this when I was 14. Loved it ever since, and I’m afraid I know all the dialogue by heart.

Honorable mention: Re-Animator, Hellraiser, Braindead, Cannibal Holocaust, Videodrome.

I’m gonna have to do the same with CD’s, metal and “other music”. This is a silly list as I have so many more favorites it’s impossible to narrow them down to just 5… but still, that’s the game, eh?

Hard Rock / Metal
1. Manowar - Into Glory Ride
2. Candlemass – Epicus Doomicus Metallicus
3. Rainbow – Rising
4. Metallica – Master Of Puppets
5. Savatage – Sirens

Other
1. Pink Floyd – Dark Side Of The Moon (I know, not very original but it’s just so damn brilliant)
2. Queen – A Night At The Opera (same comment as above)
3. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young – Deja Vu
4. Led Zeppelin – IV
5. Kate Bush – The Kick Inside

I tried to pick the real classics, stuff that I’ll probably like 10 years from now as well, but like I said there’s so much more stuff that I like it’s impossible to make a top 5. There’s not even any death metal in there, which I absolutely love. Stuff like early Entombed, Bolt Thrower, Autopsy…

Thanks a lot Ed for answering my questions. Is there anything else you’d like to add?

No.
Haha, I always hate that one, I usually do a “thanks for the support” blabla, but considering the elaborate and candid stuff we’ve done before, that won’t do, will it?
I will say I was and am very happy with your review and with the attention you’re giving to The 11th Hour. As you’ve noticed by now it’s a very personal project that means a LOT to me, so it’s much appreciated.

Ladies and Gentlemen: Ed Warby. Here’s to some amazing doom.
The 11th Hour – “Atonement” Sample.

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I basically first met Jay Raker when I first was starting FRZ, through listening to Adrian H and the Wound’s self-titled album. I found out eventually (through interviewing Adrian H himself) that Jay was no longer part of the Wounds, and that was that.
Then one day, out of the blue, there’s an email from him in my inbox. It turns out he had seen the interview with Adrian H and liked it, and we ended up chatting. Things led to things, and now here is the interview with Jay.
As per my usual, I didn’t do too much editing to it, except to make things a little pretty and easier to read.

I guess my first question Jay, is one of the usuals. How are things going for you right now?

Things are going pretty well for me and the rest of the members of Black Market Sunday. Currently I will have almost 4 weeks off to play around with some new musical ideas.

That sounds exciting. Anything completely off the wall that fans can expect?

We are working on the live show. We need more hands on deck now. There is a lot going on in that aspect. We are creating atmosphere.
The music plays in the visual. We want a surround sound in the venue. Just like a movie. We want to make you watch.

How long have you been playing music, and what other projects have you been in? How about the rest of Black Market Sunday?

I have played music since I was 14 years old, and I have shared stages with Rob Zombie, 36 Crazyfists, The Sisters Of Mercy,Tommy Skeoch (Tesla), Pat Travers and Rick Derringer to name a few, I cant remember all the details.
Some of the bands in my history would be Black Market Sunday,The Art Of War, Carbon14, Adrian H And The Wounds, Jay Raker and The Ghost Town Riders and The Candystrippers.

Derek Henderson, our drummer, started playing on paint cans when he was around 8 years old, and he got his first kit at about 13 (he thinks). He played in Junior High (Concert Band/Jazz Band). In High School he played Concert Band, Jazz Band, Marching Band, Pep Band and had helped creating a class called Comprehensive Percussion, getting to tour the west coast playing in competitions.
He’s played/recorded in Pappy Lane, Laverl, Go Upstairs, Land Caster, The End Is The Beginning and the Jeff Zetner Band.

Jeremy Dan, on guitar, has been playing for 25 years, starting with the Sizuki Method on violin. Current bands include Black Market Sunday (guitar), The Gentry (guitar/synth/backing vocals) and Sean Wagner (guitar/keys/sax/backing vocals). Past stints in reverse-chronological order are Merrill (keys), John O’Mara (keys), Jon Garcia (keys/guitar/backing vocals), Seba (And Now I’ve Landed) (guitar), Jesse Alan Jason Trio (guitar/accordion), Lander (Tyler Stenson)(keys/harmonica/backing vocals), Fuscus (guitar/vocals), Outlet (guitar/backing vocals), Dr. Fugly (vocals/guitar), Crescent Valley (CV) Wind Ensemble (bassoon), Marching Band (sax) and Pep Band (sax/guitar), Concert Band (sax), Jazz Band (sax) and Foil (guitar/backing vocals).

Rob Oseas, bass, has been playing bass for about 15 years. His most recent band before BMS was Sweet City Slang, where he played bass, trombone and sang.

So with a band like BMS, being full of musicians who are obviously accomplished and have been at it for awhile, it is hard to write music ever? Do you butt heads or have any ‘dominance struggles’, or have you been really lucky and not had any problems like that?

So far so good.
I am the main songwriter but not a solo artist , but its kind of like Nine Inch Nails, with me being like Trent I suppose.
Black Market Sunday is better as a live group, I like playing with people in a band setting. But there cant be too many cooks in the kitchen and by default Black Market Sunday tends to be a burden of love on my shoulders. I do most of the label oriented work, but its easier with more help when you can get it and I need all the help I can get.

I guess with this question I might raise some eyebrows, but I’m going to do it anyway. I’ve already interviewed Adrian H, and he would not comment on why you were no longer with the Wounds. Would you be willing to comment?

Yes, I would be willing.
First off, I do respect what Adrian H is doing and I also know that both of us can occupy the stage with great intensity; both of us are very powerful artists. There was talk of collaborating at one time, and Adrian was actually invited into Black Market Sunday and I too was as well invited to Adrian H And The Wounds. Its a mutual thing.
You should hear the original tracks of my goth bass on the Wounds CD. The mix was subdued unfortunately when time came for release.
I’m not playing with Adrian right now, and I think you can tell in the shows because its not the same.
I am just doing Black Market Sunday and Black Market Sunday is doing well.

Your current gear – what kind of instruments are you gents rocking out with? Any oddities that aren’t in the band’s sound yet?

As far as instruments and effects I use old and new technology. My main amp right now is a Fender Super Reverb. I also use a little Vox amp in the studio. I have your basic Big Muff and Analog Delay.
I wont go into too much detail on this because its pretty much in the way I hit the strings honestly. Vampire technique.
As far as guitars I use a Gibson SG and a Danelectro mostly, but now I’m playing a custom Strat given to me by Tommy Skeoch who
played in Tesla.

Are there any plans to have an extensive tour, or do commitments outside of BMS ever prevent long tours?

As far as long tours that would require us to be funded by a loan from a record company that I dont think we would come out ahead on at this point. As far as mini-tours, yes, that’s whats been the idea thus far.
We are underground but we plan on being above the ground.

So what can Black Market Sunday fans expect in the next three months? How about six?

Black Market Sunday fans can expect new music being released one by one off of our new album Regeneration. I like it this way because there is a continuous flow for our listeners instead of  “here’s the new record now, wait for two years for the next one”.

I guess my last question for the interview Jay is, if you were stuck on a desert island with a portable DVD player that played any disc format and could never run out of power, and you had one DVD and one CD for the rest of eternity, what would they be?

DVD – Pink Floyd’s Live at Pompeii. One CD, that’s a tough one. I guess it would have to be a double album and contain many different interesting tunes, so I would have to say The Beatles’ White Album.

Thanks for your time Jay. Have a good one, and I hope to hear from you again soon.

Black Market Sunday Official Site
Black Market Sunday MySpace

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Dallas, a dry, subtle area that holds three-piece, horn-raising, thrash OG’s Insinnerator. Giving their MySpace page a listen, I’m taken back to the actual Garage Days of Metallica. Pure thrash is what these guys dish out, and they’re dishing it out so raw, I can almost find myself in their crowd, fronting a circle pit with my old, patched up Levi’s denim vest on and stepping on some kids duct-taped Chuck Taylor’s.
Here, we have guitarist/vocalist Christopher “Atomic Thrasher” Crawford answering a few questions about thrash, new and old, backyard shows, and their upcoming full-length, Stalagmite of Ice.

The Texas Thrash scene is growing so strong! Not just in bands, but fans are popping up and discovering this type of music. Where we are in Dallas, there are so many bands than what there was before. When we started, it was us and Amoricide. Now we have other great bands like Quarantine, Preatcher, and Electric Vengeance just to name a few! We each have our own style, and the support is growing immensely!

Sounds good, could you give the reader a bit of a description of your live shows?

At our live shows, you can just expect some mad head banging, circle pits, and some fast thrash metal! We always play 110% at our shows, no matter if it’s for 10 people or 50. We are appreciative that people came to hear some crazy thrash!

Your new release, Stalagmite of Ice, is in progress. Could you give me a taste of how all of that is being handled?

Our debut, Stalagmite of Ice, is coming along slowly, but surely. Like so many new wave of thrash metal bands, we are doing this without label support. The songs are all completed, and we are looking into a few good studios here in Dallas. The funding of the album is what’s taking so long. We are pinching pennies to ensure that this album is nothing short of our best, both in the performance and production. Within the next couple of months, we will have all of the funds, and the actual recording process will begin.

Damn, must be tough having almost no money. Tell me what you plan to do once this record is unleashed? Play bigger, better shows? Tour the States?

Yeah dude, being low on funds is tough, because it puts us a little behind. But it’s all good! We’re not going anywhere anytime soon!
When the record is released, we would love to tour. We have played in El Paso with our great friends Terrorist, and even just going to the other side of Texas was a mind blowing experience. Playing for fresh faces felt outstanding! So we do plan to tour, and hopefully play some big, great shows!

Great, before I close this interview, how about you tell me a bit of what you guys do outside of this band?

Outside of Insinnerator, I go to school full time as a Classical guitarist at UNT. That takes up a good portion of my free time. Brutal Ben plays in Mental Addiction, a technical death metal band and goes to school. Juan Speed is a full time musician pretty much. He plays drums for the thrash metal band Amoricde, and bass for Preatcher, another new thrash metal band in Dallas. Aside from all of our music and school, we all enjoy video games, just hanging around, and all of that kind of stuff!
Thank you so much for letting is be interviewed by you! This has been really cool! Thank you for also supporting the New Wave of Thrash Metal! This music isn’t going anywhere, and neither is Insinnerator!

Good luck guys, can’t wait to hear that new album.

Insinnerator on MySpace

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