– Hi, thanks for your time. What are you currently up to? How is everything doing right now with BLOOD OF THE SUN?

1. Hi! Thanks for the interview. Blood of the Sun has been staying pretty busy lately and we’re excited to finally have our new album released. It’s been 4 years since our last record and we’re long overdue for this new one.

– Though you are about to unleash your fourth full-length album I guess there may be some people who aren’t familiar with you yet so, first off, could you please share some history of the band?

2. Yeah, we’ve been around for quite a few years. Our first album came out in 2004 with the help of Brainticket Records (John Perez/Solitude Aeturnus label). Our first album also featured original Las Cruces vocalist Mark Zamarron. We’ve had various line up changes for nearly all of our records with different guitarists and vocalists. I’ve done vocals for the second album and then we had Derek St. Holmes (Ted Nugent) was on our third album Death Ride. Our line up changes on guitar/bass/vocals were all not really but choice but we’ve just had to roll with the changes. We live in a metal town where most people are more interested in a more heavy metal and Pantera styled approach and musicians that want to play this type of music have not been necessarily available. As a result we look to older players that have been doing this hard rock for years like St. Holmes, John O’Daniel, Tony Reed and end up working with them. It’s slim pickens over here in DFW for hard rockers. Nothing against the metal scene but we’re just coming from a different place.

 

– And why did you pick «Blood of the Sun» as band name?

3. There is a Mountain song on their first album by the same name and since we all love Mountain….

 

– As I said, you are about to release your new album, entitled «Burning on the Wings of Desire». What are your expectations on this opus? And how is its feedback being so far?

4. Feedback so far as been great and getting some widespread recognition thanks to Listenable. Brainticket Records was a small label and not much happening especially in Europe so our exposure was limited for the first three albums. Now we have proper promotion so more people will be able to experience our hard rock sound! All we expect is for as many people to hear the album as possible and for us to get out and do some live shows to back it up!

 

– It’s hard to calibrate but, would you say this is the album that best describes the band? As it seems you have got a perfect balance between all your elements.

5. Yes, this album has a little bit of everything we’ve done in the past and more. We really tried to get more in tune with the song writing on this album. Tried to make things less of a full blast «jam» and concentrating a bit more on the songs themselves. Tony Reed (Mos Generator, Stone Axe) helped us with a couple of songs, creating an even greater variety of styles on the album. We’re really pleased with the results on one! I think it’s our strongest and most cohesive release to date.

 

– In fact despite the quality all your albums have, you have always remained into the underground so, with such a superb new effort in your hands; do you think this could be the opus that would help you get the ultimate consecration?

6. Well of course we want as many people to be aware of and to hear our albums. i think with Listenable helping us out we’ll be able to reach many more people than before. I also think that this is our best and most «listenable» (sorry!) record we’ve ever done. John O’Daniel (Point Blank) did such an amazing job on vocals as did Rusty Burns on guitar (also of Point Blank). This album should appeal to anyone that appreciates honest hard rock sounds with quality control!

 

– As I said before, you’ve got the perfect balance between all your elements, as that SABBATH touch and the 70’s Rock basis, with thick guitars and nice keyboard melodies. Anyway, the overall sound seems to be firmly rooted in the 70’s so I guess classic bands from that period may be your biggest influences?

7. For certain we are into 70’s heavy rock bands but much more than that as well. We’re all huge fans of all things hard rock and heavy metal so our influences come from many different places but yes some of the basic 70’s heavy stuff we are all very much into like Bloodrock,Deep Purple, Bang, Atomic Rooster, Mountain, Grand Funk, Captain Beyond, Cactus, tons of obscure stuff as well. The 70’s produced so many great acts but we’re also into heavy stuff from beyond the 70’s as well as a ton of metal bands.

 

– I have also noticed a more modern/clean production, which contrasts with that 70’s feeling I’ve mentioned. Was this the kind of sound you wanted to get? How was the production process this time around?

8. We’re not necessarily trying to get a 70’s production sound, we’d like to get a more up to date heavy and clean sound but at the same time we’re want to get that authentic «feel» of the 70’s with regards to tone and style of playing. Nothing wrong with sounding «modern», we’re just here to play honest hard rock with the best sound possible so however that turns out is fine with us. Our songs and attitude are what cuts through the most.

 

– «Burning on the Wings of Desire» has been your first record with Listenable Records after signing with them last summer so, how could you value their work and this cooperation has been so far?

9. Laurent and Listenable have been absolutely great to us so far. Lots of promotion and enthusiasm from Listenable and we know they believe in this record and this band. Nothing but good things to say about them at this point. They made a great effort to begin working with us and have continued to show us positive support and enthusiasm.

 

– I guess anyone would be curious about the cover artwork so, would you mind to tell us how did you work on it and how did you come up with the idea of the cover?

10. Thanks, glad you liked the cover! We used a local artist named Darren Paul. the cover idea matches the name of the album (Burning on the Wings of Desire), we just wanted something that reflected the title. Nothing too out of the ordinary as to how we came up with it, just a nice piece of artwork to represent the songs within!

 

– All this about «Burning on the Wings of Desire» being said; how could you describe it in 3 words?

11. ROCK AND ROLL.

 

– And finally, what are your near-future plans?

12. We plan on doing a tour next year in Europe for this album! We’ve been to Europe 3 times already but we’re ready to come back and this time with the help of Listenable we should be able to reach out to more people and places! Thanks for the interview and we’re looking forward to rocking in Europe soon!

 

– That’s all, thank you once more for answering our questions. If you want to add some final words; feel free to do it.

13. Thank you! We appreciate your support and encouragement.

 

Sergio Fernández

sergio@queensofsteel.com

 

Deja una respuesta

Tu dirección de correo electrónico no será publicada.

Highslide for Wordpress Plugin