interview: Bloodstrike

It does not take very long for Bloodstrike’s death metal to make an impact. They must know something about songwriting! This band is recommended for people who want to death metal that you can bang your head to when you listen. The band’s album In Death We Rot works like a charm for those that want death metal the classic way. After reading this interview with Jeff Alexis (guitars), you will understand why.

Greetings! How are things for Bloodstrike in 2016? You are in Denver, right? How’s Denver treating your death metal band?

Infernal hails, Metal Bulletin Zine! Thanks for your interest in Bloodstrike. Yes, we are located in Denver, the Mile High City. We are deep in the Denver scene and it’s a killer one. We have a huge metal community here with plenty of metal bands, bars, clubs and metal breweries. There is never a shortage of metal events in Denver. We’ve all been in the Denver metal scene for years. Whether it’s out supporting other Denver bands or hanging out at our favorite local metal brewery, we’re there.

How did Bloodstrike begin?

Our history is fairly short. Myself (Jeff) and Holly got our other guitarist (Joe) on board right away in 2013. After just a few tryouts for drums and bass we hooked up with Ryan on drums and an old friend of mine on bass, Rhia. We’ve been at it ever since. Here’s our bio:

The idea for the punishing old school death metal assault that would become Bloodstrike was first conceived by vocalist Holly Wedel (ex-Nexhymn) and guitarist Jeff Alexis (ex-Silencer) in 2013. They recruited Joe Piker (ex-Dripfed) on guitar, Ryan Alexander Bloom (ex-Havok) on drums, and Rhiannon Wisniewski (Moth, ex-Somnus) on bass to round out the band and began developing a collection of massive riffs and crushing arrangements.

Bloodstrike’s veteran lineup exploded onto the Denver metal scene in June of 2014 with their three-track Necrobirth demo. The demo gained instant popularity with the death metal underground and drew comparisons to bands like Bolt Thrower and Entombed for both its ear-catching simplicity and blood-curdling heaviness.

Impressed by the success of the demo and the work ethic of the band members, Redefining Darkness Records signed Bloodstrike to its roster in September of 2015 and quickly released their debut album In Death We Rot.

Bolstered by their new label affiliation and armed with a precise blend of 90’s death and roll groove and modern death metal aggression, Bloodstrike is ready to expand their dominion to national and international audiences.

What does “old school death metal” mean for your band?

I’d describe Bloodstrike as an old school death metal band with a renewed attitude. There are a handful of new bands out there playing a newer style of metal that I like. But overall I prefer the tried and true metal of my youth. It seems like there are a lot of people who feel the same. Both death metal and thrash metal have resurfaced as the leaders again in metal. Being old school to me is just playing good solid riffs. Not a ton of notes and progressions and just trying too hard. Something you can bang your head to, you know? We’re not to say, “Hey we’re the best type of metal” and all that, we’re just playing metal that comes from our blackened metal hearts.

What should new listeners expect from Bloodstrike? What is the total number of recordings that your band has now?

Anyone can stream the entire album. You can find it at the link below. For the new comers you can expect raw old school death metal. Our sound is taken from the famous Sunlight Studios in Stockholm Sweden when bands like Grave and Entombed were cutting their teeth. The guitar tone is very important to this genre. The buzz saw guitar tone is immediately recognizable. In Death We Rot is our first full length release. Previously we released a 3-song demo named Necrobirth. I do all of the tracking for our recordings at my studio (same place we practice). I mixed the demo but we sent out the album to our friend Patrick Bruss who did a great job mixing it for us. The recording process is pretty quick with Bloodstrike. We make sure we have the songs the way we want them and that we’re practiced up and ready to go before we start recording.

What bands really got you excited about music in the first place? How do you feel about those bands now?

Yeah, it’s most of the same bands that still get me excited about metal. I hear people talk about who will be the next big band and that there isn’t anyone waiting in the wings sort of thing and I say it’s because all of these old school bands that I grew up on (Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Slayer, Venom, Celtic Frost, etc., etc., etc.) are still kicking ass and aren’t just going to give up their spot. We just saw Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden and they both just killed it, top notch all the way around. All of these bands still inspire me today. And when death metal hit we never stopped listening to the bands that ‘got us here’ we just added that to the mix. To me the really good death metal still had a lot of the familiar formulas of good fucking old school metal. It was just a lot harder sounding and more brutal vocals.

What drives you to keep making music, even though people say that the industry is not good for metal musicians?

We don’t talk about how successful we want to become playing this style of metal. You’re right, the big cash and fame are not rolling in for us. But we could care less. We bleed metal, it’s total cliché, but it is in our veins. I enjoy every shit hole bar we play, we’ll never change our style or sound. Ever!

What are your plans for the rest of 2016?

We have lots planned for 2016. We’re currently working on a 7” split that may see the light of day by the end of 2016 (if not early 2017 for sure). We are currently booking a short US tour that will take us out East in September. We are also working on our next full length album. We’re about 4 songs in. We have some videos up on our web site. Check them out. We did a brutal video for the opening track of the album, “Abomination.” Check it out (at the link below).

Some bands think of themselves as bringing hope to their listeners. Some bands want brutal, violent imagery. What about you?

We do not want to be one of those bands that need to tell you what is right and what is wrong. We’re not going to tell you who to vote for or any bullshit like that.

Is there anything else that you want to mention about your band or about other bands in the Denver area that you like? Do you have anything to say about some guy in Denver named John Elway?!

Just keep an eye out for Bloodstrike and thanks for the support! As far as Denver bands I like there are way too many to list but I’ll list a few; Zombie Hate Brigade, Crypticus, Nekrofilth, Satan’s Host, Gomorrah, Throne of Belial. I would also like to give a shout out to a local Seattle band, Beltfed Weapon. And one Seattle band I miss, Book of Black Earth. As far as Johnny Boy Elwood, he can go jump off a cliff as far as I’m concerned. RAIDER Nation lives in Denver, too.

Cheers! Jeff

www.bloodstrikemetal.com/disco/

www.bloodstrikemetal.com/video/

www.bloodstrike.bandcamp.com/releases

www.facebook.com/bloodstrikemetal?ref=hl

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