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When you look at the history of a scene, one of the first things you tend to see are the bands left standing, the ones still going strong, whether that’s just live or from a creative standpoint too. For metalcore, when you delve back through time to the late nineties and early noughties, one of the main bands who (Aside from a small hiatus) remain alive on both fronts is BLEENG THROUGH. Sitting down with founding member and lead vocalist Brandan Schieppati, we took a look back at the bands career from then till now.
“When Dust to Ashes came out, we still didn’t know if people we’re going to like it, because of the black metal and blastbeats and we thought, who is gonna even like blastbeats? It’s kind of funny because it’s taken on a whole new life but at the time it was so different. We had no expectations and at the time it was really a side project, but it hit at the right time, right place and right emotion. We never thought we’d be around for twenty five years.”
Speaking about the journey from Dust To Ashes to NINE, he says, “for us it was feeling like we were expected to write or sound a certain way, but we were never that band, we never flipped to sound more radio rock or change our sound. We’ve always been comfortable with our sound and what BLEEDING THROUGH is as a band, we’ve always tried to progress naturally and especially on our new record, it’s still BLEEDING THROUGH and we try to expand our sound every record. I feel people will respect and see the progression, we’re not a different band, we’re still definitely BLEEDING THROUGH. This new record, in the same way that every new record is, it’s a statement of how we want to sound and not giving a fuck.”
Not giving a fuck has been a key aim of BLEEDING THROUGH‘s entire career, and with the voice of Saruman coming in with ‘We have only to remove those who oppose us’, it’s a state of mind that clearly remains today. “The record opens with a Lord Of The Rings sample, and that’s because Lord Of The Rings is one of the most black metal things of all time. We’re all big nerds in the band and the quote from Saruman sounds really good and I guess we’ve always had this chip on our shoulder and we see those as oppose us as ones we’re going to move through, to beat. We love our fans and fan-base so much and I think for so long they’ve taken on the Us vs Them mindset because we’re so different, and that quote sums us up well.”
None of BLEEDING THROUGH‘s work can be described as light but NINE may be one of the darkest chapters in the bands recorded catalogue. Gallows in-particular is a very serious track, dealing with suicidal thoughts and depression, but from Brandan‘s view, it’s a form of catharsis. “It’s very weird, when you look at a lot of BLEEDING THROUGH songs they can be dark and depressing but there’s a sort of, uplifting side to them. From day one when I wanted to do this band, it was a personal thing that I wanted to get my emotion out there in a dark way. I want us to have this music that we can share and find hope in the darkest times. We try to go out there heart first and make a connection with people.”
One of the most notable things on listening to the album is keyboardist Marta Demmel having a much more visible presence than before. “Her becoming more involved was the goal and she’s showed her range and skill on records before. She’s so incredibly talented. Recording this record was quite isolated, we all live far apart but it kind of helped because we were writing our own stuff. Marta took over this record in a way, with her composing and lyrical content and with some of the best singing she’s ever done.. I’d love her to have all the attention, I’ve had so much of it. The key was getting her more involved and her presence is a lot more obvious and it works so well. The darkness over the record can definitely be down to Marta and her vision. I think in tracks like Lost in Isolation it comes through the most, and we have a great back and forth.”
Part of the reason that Brandan and the band have stated they’re able to still exist as a band is by cutting back on what used to be a hectic, arduous touring schedule and managing their touring plans more carefully.
“It makes our tours more impactful, I know you’ve got to pound the pavement but at a certain point you can take a step back. Instead of grinding ourselves down, we pick our tours better and aim to put more of our effort into them. It helps us remember shows better and appreciate it more.”
Not satisfied with simply being a legacy band, they sit proudly on SharpTone Records, a label known for being home to some of the most exciting bands in the ‘core scene today and Brandan is keen to shout them out. “156/SILENCE are one of the most exciting bands going right now, I also manage a band called SALTWOUND who are doing good things and MUGSHOT are sounding so great, so heavy right now.”
Looking far ahead, having reached album NINE and it’s stamp of twenty five years of being in a band, is there a Ten on the horizon? “I can see us doing another record. I don’t see any reason to stop doing this.” With a record so dark, it’s refreshing to see a band still maintain their love of their music and desire to progress over a quarter of a century and it paves the way for a whole new generation of fans to experience the majesty that is, BLEEDING THROUGH.
NINE is out now via SharpTone Records. View this interview, alongside dozens of other killer bands, in glorious print magazine fashion in DS118 here:
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