Sanctifyre is a heavy metal band Eugene, Oregon. They have put out a demon 'Wasteland Warriors'. This just screams heavy metal and that's exactly what they do best. They'll put a fyre inside your head. This is the music you will be playing while your going down the highway like Mad Max. Wyatt Benson conducted this awesome conversation/interview with Sanctifyre.
Wyatt Benson : Out of all the metal genres around, what inspired you guys to play the metal style you do?
Noah Hadnutt: To me personally, old school styled metal, in some form, is all I could envision playing in any kind of serious, goal-oriented sense. There was this undeniable spirit of energy, power and strength that permeated the entire genre and its formative bands during its glory days of the late 70s and 80s because something mighty and unforgettable was happening. And I want to do my part to make sure that stays alive. At this point, channeling that timeless spirit of heavy metal itself and making a lasting contribution to it is what inspires me more than any specific bands, but of course, the legends like Priest, Maiden, Accept, Riot etc are massive influences on our playing style and we all love them. And we all have our own particular favorites too that inspire us individually, and it just comes together in this heavy metal melting pot.
Wyatt Howell: Well, for a while I was playing thrash metal, which is very near and dear to my heart, but for whatever reason it just didn't feel quite right. My breakthrough moment came when I was listening to The Sentinel, and it was just like "yeah, this is what I need to do". It was really as simple as that. I had been into Judas Priest for as long as I can remember, but it just didn't hit me until that moment. I came into contact with Nik not too long after and started jamming. I couldn't imagine playing anything else and putting 100% heart and effort into it.
WB: What is the metal scene like in your area and are there any bigger named bands in your scene?
NH: For Eugene itself, it's kind of dry as far as anything beyond a local scene goes. We have Yob, but that's about it as far as national level bands go, across all genres of metal. Eugene's scene is small, and largely focused on other types of metal than what we do. But we've gotten a good reception anyway, which I'm very grateful for. Plus there's this contingent of teenagers here who are super into classic heavy metal so when we do an all ager, it's guaranteed to be a good time. Portland is about 2 hours north of us, and we play there a lot. That scene is way more geared toward stuff like what we do and there are tons of old school style bands. Spellcaster are probably the biggest of those, they're doing a lot these days. Weresquatch, Tanagra, Bewitcher just to name a few. There's a ton of great stuff happening there right now. Now I'm just holding out for a Glacier reunion! Haha
WB: You mentioned Glacier. I’m not too familiar with them, but they’re a legendary old-school heavy metal band correct? Are there any other old school gems in Oregon?
NH: An old school heavy/USPM band from Portland. Their self titled EP is the stuff of legends. They haven't officially done anything since the 80s to my knowledge, but there's been some recent activity like planned reissues of their 80s material, and more outreach to fans. So we can only hope
WB: Right on! Alright, back to questions for all 3 of you. If you could play anywhere in the US, where would it be? What 2 bands would you pick to play with?
Nikki Krimson: If I could play anywhere in the US, I think someday I'd like to sell out the Madison Square Garden with Striker, and Spellcaster. Those guys work really hard, and they're a blast to play with
NH: Right now I'd say my ideal US show would be one of the festivals - Frost & Fire, Ragnarokkr, if they do another Metal Threat that would be great too. As far as bands to play with (avoiding the obvious Priest and Maiden), High Spirits is a current one I'd love to share a stage with. Crystal Viper too, if they were to make their way over here. We're actually playing with one of my major bucket list bands in November, Riot. Still kind of in shock about that one.
WH: I'd definitely be really stoked to play Ragnarokkr. And if I could throw two bands on there, I'd probably pick Spellcaster and Striker as well haha.
WB: Cool, cool. Do you guys have any plans for recording new material any time soon?
NH: Actually, we're right about to start recording an EP. That should be ready for release soon.
NK: It's gonna rock your socks.
WB: Can you tell me more about the vibe and all that?
NH: I'd say basically just the same old Sanctifyre from the demo, but more focused and current to where we're at right now. Some speedy stuff, some more hard rocking stuff. There's some new stuff that's going to be on it that hasn't ever been played live before
NK: It's going to be fast, and melodic, but with lots of guts. The riffs are high octane, and the vocals are going to make you want to ride a dragon in a thunderstorm. Imagine injecting Nitro into you vein, and shattering poser skulls. We want everyone to feel like rocking out when they listen to it.
NH: It'll make you shit straight out your ass
WB: And you guys will sell me the EP a little early right?
NH: 😂I'm sure we can arrange that!
WB: Right on!!! Anything else you wanna add to this interview???
NK: Sanctifyre just wants your beer, and your babes. And to start a Fyre in your home town
NH: Well, we plan to hit the road next year and we hope to shatter as many of your skulls as possible out there so stay tuned for that! Blast records. Rage hard. Keep the true spirit alive and burning in your metal hearts!
https://www.facebook.com/sanctifyremetal/
https://sanctifyremetal.bandcamp.com/releases
Wyatt Benson : Out of all the metal genres around, what inspired you guys to play the metal style you do?
Noah Hadnutt: To me personally, old school styled metal, in some form, is all I could envision playing in any kind of serious, goal-oriented sense. There was this undeniable spirit of energy, power and strength that permeated the entire genre and its formative bands during its glory days of the late 70s and 80s because something mighty and unforgettable was happening. And I want to do my part to make sure that stays alive. At this point, channeling that timeless spirit of heavy metal itself and making a lasting contribution to it is what inspires me more than any specific bands, but of course, the legends like Priest, Maiden, Accept, Riot etc are massive influences on our playing style and we all love them. And we all have our own particular favorites too that inspire us individually, and it just comes together in this heavy metal melting pot.
Wyatt Howell: Well, for a while I was playing thrash metal, which is very near and dear to my heart, but for whatever reason it just didn't feel quite right. My breakthrough moment came when I was listening to The Sentinel, and it was just like "yeah, this is what I need to do". It was really as simple as that. I had been into Judas Priest for as long as I can remember, but it just didn't hit me until that moment. I came into contact with Nik not too long after and started jamming. I couldn't imagine playing anything else and putting 100% heart and effort into it.
WB: What is the metal scene like in your area and are there any bigger named bands in your scene?
NH: For Eugene itself, it's kind of dry as far as anything beyond a local scene goes. We have Yob, but that's about it as far as national level bands go, across all genres of metal. Eugene's scene is small, and largely focused on other types of metal than what we do. But we've gotten a good reception anyway, which I'm very grateful for. Plus there's this contingent of teenagers here who are super into classic heavy metal so when we do an all ager, it's guaranteed to be a good time. Portland is about 2 hours north of us, and we play there a lot. That scene is way more geared toward stuff like what we do and there are tons of old school style bands. Spellcaster are probably the biggest of those, they're doing a lot these days. Weresquatch, Tanagra, Bewitcher just to name a few. There's a ton of great stuff happening there right now. Now I'm just holding out for a Glacier reunion! Haha
WB: You mentioned Glacier. I’m not too familiar with them, but they’re a legendary old-school heavy metal band correct? Are there any other old school gems in Oregon?
NH: An old school heavy/USPM band from Portland. Their self titled EP is the stuff of legends. They haven't officially done anything since the 80s to my knowledge, but there's been some recent activity like planned reissues of their 80s material, and more outreach to fans. So we can only hope
WB: Right on! Alright, back to questions for all 3 of you. If you could play anywhere in the US, where would it be? What 2 bands would you pick to play with?
Nikki Krimson: If I could play anywhere in the US, I think someday I'd like to sell out the Madison Square Garden with Striker, and Spellcaster. Those guys work really hard, and they're a blast to play with
NH: Right now I'd say my ideal US show would be one of the festivals - Frost & Fire, Ragnarokkr, if they do another Metal Threat that would be great too. As far as bands to play with (avoiding the obvious Priest and Maiden), High Spirits is a current one I'd love to share a stage with. Crystal Viper too, if they were to make their way over here. We're actually playing with one of my major bucket list bands in November, Riot. Still kind of in shock about that one.
WH: I'd definitely be really stoked to play Ragnarokkr. And if I could throw two bands on there, I'd probably pick Spellcaster and Striker as well haha.
WB: Cool, cool. Do you guys have any plans for recording new material any time soon?
NH: Actually, we're right about to start recording an EP. That should be ready for release soon.
NK: It's gonna rock your socks.
WB: Can you tell me more about the vibe and all that?
NH: I'd say basically just the same old Sanctifyre from the demo, but more focused and current to where we're at right now. Some speedy stuff, some more hard rocking stuff. There's some new stuff that's going to be on it that hasn't ever been played live before
NK: It's going to be fast, and melodic, but with lots of guts. The riffs are high octane, and the vocals are going to make you want to ride a dragon in a thunderstorm. Imagine injecting Nitro into you vein, and shattering poser skulls. We want everyone to feel like rocking out when they listen to it.
NH: It'll make you shit straight out your ass
WB: And you guys will sell me the EP a little early right?
NH: 😂I'm sure we can arrange that!
WB: Right on!!! Anything else you wanna add to this interview???
NK: Sanctifyre just wants your beer, and your babes. And to start a Fyre in your home town
NH: Well, we plan to hit the road next year and we hope to shatter as many of your skulls as possible out there so stay tuned for that! Blast records. Rage hard. Keep the true spirit alive and burning in your metal hearts!
https://www.facebook.com/sanctifyremetal/
https://sanctifyremetal.bandcamp.com/releases