interview: Hyperstrike brings the action and adventure to heavy metal!!

This Friday, September 12th, 2025, the Seattle action-and-adventure heavy metal band Hyperstrike (2024–present) will release their debut album, High Risk. Their combination of uptempo, good-time rhythms and catchy melodies is something great for fans to hear. These heroes go by the following names: Chop Daddy (Xoth, Wraith Vessel, ex-Warbringer, ex-Bonded by Blood [live]) on bass; Goblin Hammer on drums; Siberian Claw (Void Dancer, Symphony North) on guitars; and Brain Lord (Ashes of Ares [live], ex-Ghost Ship Octavius) on vocals. They are a new band, so let’s find out who they are!

Congratulations on your album! It's so good! I hope that you did not end up homeless after making the album. Recording albums is not cheap!

Ben “Chop Daddy” Bennett: We are pumped you are into the album, that means a lot to us. The album cost us 200 dollars to make. I rented the drum microphones and did everything myself. We tracked drums in Claw’s grandma's living room. I edited, mixed and mastered the entire thing. If we had to pay for the whole studio experience, we would never have been a band. DIY or DIE it seems like these days. The most expensive thing going on for us was merch. So BUY OUR SHIRT.

I like your music because it’s fun! Who came up with the idea of Hyperstrike?

Ben “Chop Daddy” Bennett: I’d been in Xoth for about ten years, playing a lot of technical music, but honestly, I had writer’s block for almost eight of those years. Last year I started teaching guitar again, and that completely reignited my love for the instrument. Suddenly I was overflowing with riffs and songs.

I’ve always loved melodic death metal and hardcore/pop-punk, so when I started writing Hyperstrike material, my first instinct was to have harsh vocals on songs like Meltdown and Steel Heart. But I realized I wanted a real singer to bring the hooks alive. Brain Lord was basically the only guy I knew who could pull that off, and when he laid down a demo it just clicked. He and Claw came as a package deal, and once they were in, the lineup really started to take shape. We needed a drummer, and out of a few choices we went with Goblin — honestly because he was kind of cute, which still makes us laugh.

At the core, I love action movies, fun energy, and catchy melodies wrapped in fast, galloping riffs. Hyperstrike came out of that — a heavy metal band that doesn’t shy away from being colorful, explosive, and, most importantly, fun.

How was the idea pitched to other musicians?! And the clothes?!

Ben “Chop Daddy” Bennett: I dress in gold and black on stage. I wanted everyone in the band to have their own color and flare. The first demos I cut were more RnB/funk oriented. I was originally just writing a solo project titled “Business Class,” so the two ideas crossed and that's where the image came from. As a side note, all of the Hyperstrike songs I've written (close to 75 at this point) are all in different variants of “Business Class” folders.

It looks like traditional heavy metal and speed metal are part of your sound, but some extreme metal elements here and there. Also, classic rock! The last song on the album, "Savage Sword," sounds like it has a bit of those sweet classic rock guitar melodies.

Ben “Chop Daddy” Bennett: Yes!!!! You get it!!! Indeed, there is a heavy influence of Thin Lizzy in some of my songs. I was listening to Katatonia's “Brave Murder Day” the morning after Xoth played a show in Portland, and the intro lead to “Savage Sword” kind of just popped into my head. I ran to the DAW and cut the song in a couple of hours. The lead guitars you hear on the album are actually the first takes I did on the demo when I wrote the song. I wanted to keep the magic from that moment, and I think that it translates into the final product. In my opinion, it’s the best song I’ve written. When Brain Lord laid the vocals down the song took form and “kind of wrote itself.”

You actually let the bass guitar be heard! It's so refreshing to hear.

Ben “Chop Daddy” Bennett: I’ve been playing wild slap bass in thrash since 2007. It took a long time to really dial in my technique and tone, but it’s dialed in hard now. When I was in Warbringer and Bonded By Blood, I mostly played with my fingers and used the slapping as an effect. As time went on, I played with my fingers less and less until now it’s 90 percent slap/pop. I’m very thankful that my bros in Xoth respect me and let me play how I want to play in that band.

Is your music fun on purpose, as a contrast from the dreary Seattle rock music?!

Ben “Chop Daddy” Bennett: People like what people like. Seattle is a very trendy city. Right now, OSDM, Doom and Black metal are all very trendy and popular, and the city reflects that. Personally, I could never make that kind of music because I like to have fun and feel alive, and it just seems so serious all the time. That's one of the things I try to inject into Hyperstrike, fun. In the end though, there’s no accounting for taste.

I think the first time that I heard your music was with the song “Warning Shot.” Was that the very first song that the band wrote? It's a great vibe of fun music. Is “Warning Shot” part of a story?

Ben “Chop Daddy” Bennett: “Warning Shot” is one of the first songs we wrote. The very first demo we have is from a song called “The Game” when we were working with another drummer named “Dr. Boss.” Maybe that will see the light of day, maybe not. “Steel Heart” was the first song Brain Lord gave me vocals on. “Leaving You Again” was one of the first ones too. All these songs were written in the same 2 weeks or so. I wouldn’t say the songs are all connected to one story. We have some songs that tell stories, and some songs that cut more close to home. The way we have been writing lyrics has been cool. Me or The Claw “dear diary” the chat and Brain Lord turns the random spastic ideas and what not into lyrics. We usually write the lyrics as Brain Lord is recording the vocals.

Is it accurate that your band has a video game?! Does it have fighting and cars exploding?! Is it for general audiences?

Ilya “The Claw” Ignatov: Yes, we do indeed have a video game! And the demo is playable now on itch. https://hyperstrike.itch.io/hyperstrike-game-demo

Brain: It’s a 2D side-scrolling platformer-shooter, in the vein of Contra, Mega Man, and the original Duke Nukem. Yeah, there are guns, explosions, blood, and guts—so I wouldn’t exactly recommend it for little kids. Then again, I would’ve been playing the hell out of this as a kid.

Your band wears bright colors. Are you thinking about having your merch be similar in look? How about a Hawaiian-style Hyperstrike shirt?!

Ben “Chop Daddy” Bennett: As I said above, I dress pretty flamboyantly on stage. I wanted the whole band to match. We have poker chips right now for our merch table. We have a roulette wheel table as our merch stand. You can bet a dollar to win stickers, cds, shirts, or poker chips. Come to one of our shows and try and gamble it all. Hawaiian shirt is a great idea. If the album does well and we have some traction, the sky's the limit as far as merchandising goes. What we really need is Hyperstrike Nunchucks.

Tell us about the song “Slug City”? Man, it feels on this song the action is about to get heavy, and cars are going to explode!

Ben “Chop Daddy” Bennett: “Slug City” is about a cage fighter. Get it? This song turned out awesome and it went over super well live. The single bass note hit is supposed to be like the scene in Bloodsport where the dude is doing mad martial arts and the big guy just punches him in the face. BOMP!

What are your plans for the rest of 2025 and for 2026?

Ben “Chop Daddy” Bennett: We have somethings lined up for the end of the year, mostly Washington State and Oregon shows. Hopefully we get down to California, but for sure more regions will be STRUCK next year. We should be going up to BC also. I mean, the dream is to play “Savage Sword” in every country.

What else would you like to mention? I'm sure I have forgotten to ask a bunch of things! For example, I forgot to ask about your drummer's favorite restaurant for Chinese food in Seattle.

Josh “Goblin Hammer” Hoffman: There can be only one Chinese Restaurant in Seattle……… The Rickshaw…..

Ben “Chop Daddy” Bennett: I’m a producer. If you liked this album and you are interested, dm me @speedchopperbass on Instagram. I mix, master, engineer, produce. Whatever you need. ALSO LONG LIVE FREE SOFTWARE EVERYTHING I PRODUCE IS ON LINUX FOR FREE.

Ilya “Siberian Claw” Ignatov: I teach music. If you like the shred on the album and want to work on your chops, hit me up for lessons @ilyasignatov on Instagram.

Adon “BrainLord” Fanion: I also offer multimedia services, teaching, and I am an award-winning composer for independent cinema, hire me. Thank you for the fun interview and review!

High Risk by Hyperstrike

Warning Shot by Hyperstrike

Savage Sword by Hyperstrike

https://www.facebook.com/hyperstrikeband