Photo I took at the Riff Haus (Night Demon album release show)
1. Hi Kelsey, thank you for your time. How is everything in the Blade Killer camp at the moment?
KW: Hey Nathan, thanks for the interview! Things are going well over here in the world of Blade Killer! We've been playing some shows, writing new material and planning some exciting things for the future! I'm very stoked for what is to come!
2. Blade Killer former in 2012, how did you join the band?
KW: . Yes, Blade Killer formed in 2012. I'm one of the original and founding members of the band. Carlos contacted me one day asking if I would be interested in starting a Heavy Metal band, and of course I said yes! The original members consisted of myself, Carlos, Jay and Andrew (our past drummer). It wasn't unit a few months later that John joined the band to relieve Carlos of second guitar duties so he could focus on doing vocals.
3. I read that the band name came from a Sortilege song? Have you guys ever thought about covering a song by them?
KW: We sure have thought of covering one of their songs before. Carlos thought of the idea for the band name, Sortilege is a big influence of ours. We've toyed with the idea of covering one of their songs, but it hasn't yet fit into our set list. Eventually though I'm quite sure that we will pay our respects to them! We’re quite particular on which songs we choose to cover, so far we only have a few that we’ve played, some live, the others just at rehearsal.
4. The song lost angels is pretty damn good. Is that going to be released as a single later this year? If it is will it get the vinyl treatment or just a digital single?
KW: Thank you! Lost Angels is one of the songs to be featured on our full length album, but it is also going to be debuted on an exclusive upcoming release that we will be announcing details for soon, and not to mention that I'm really excited for! We've been writing a whole arsenal of new material that we are eager to record and release to all our fans out there. We've been getting asked quite frequently when this full length will be released, we hope to have a date in mind soon so we can let you all know!
5. You guys got an official drummer now, Tommy. Was he already playing live shows with you guys before joining the band?
KW: Tommy was our session drummer for more than a year, he has actually played all of our shows with us, not until recently did we make him an official member. When Andrew left the band, he left before we had played live, it brought about a bit of a delay in getting us on shows, I guess having a drummer is an important thing haha! We waited a while before making it official due to the fact that if we were going to bring someone in this band they needed to have the same vision as us, the same passion and drive that this band deserves. Bringing in someone new into such a tight knit group of people was a big decision, it's only 5 people in this entire world that make up Blade Killer, to hand over that title to him as the official drummer took time, and I'm glad we did. He's young but has the fire in him, he's a hell of a drummer and I couldn't be happier to have him behind the kit backing us up.
1. Hi Kelsey, thank you for your time. How is everything in the Blade Killer camp at the moment?
KW: Hey Nathan, thanks for the interview! Things are going well over here in the world of Blade Killer! We've been playing some shows, writing new material and planning some exciting things for the future! I'm very stoked for what is to come!
2. Blade Killer former in 2012, how did you join the band?
KW: . Yes, Blade Killer formed in 2012. I'm one of the original and founding members of the band. Carlos contacted me one day asking if I would be interested in starting a Heavy Metal band, and of course I said yes! The original members consisted of myself, Carlos, Jay and Andrew (our past drummer). It wasn't unit a few months later that John joined the band to relieve Carlos of second guitar duties so he could focus on doing vocals.
3. I read that the band name came from a Sortilege song? Have you guys ever thought about covering a song by them?
KW: We sure have thought of covering one of their songs before. Carlos thought of the idea for the band name, Sortilege is a big influence of ours. We've toyed with the idea of covering one of their songs, but it hasn't yet fit into our set list. Eventually though I'm quite sure that we will pay our respects to them! We’re quite particular on which songs we choose to cover, so far we only have a few that we’ve played, some live, the others just at rehearsal.
4. The song lost angels is pretty damn good. Is that going to be released as a single later this year? If it is will it get the vinyl treatment or just a digital single?
KW: Thank you! Lost Angels is one of the songs to be featured on our full length album, but it is also going to be debuted on an exclusive upcoming release that we will be announcing details for soon, and not to mention that I'm really excited for! We've been writing a whole arsenal of new material that we are eager to record and release to all our fans out there. We've been getting asked quite frequently when this full length will be released, we hope to have a date in mind soon so we can let you all know!
5. You guys got an official drummer now, Tommy. Was he already playing live shows with you guys before joining the band?
KW: Tommy was our session drummer for more than a year, he has actually played all of our shows with us, not until recently did we make him an official member. When Andrew left the band, he left before we had played live, it brought about a bit of a delay in getting us on shows, I guess having a drummer is an important thing haha! We waited a while before making it official due to the fact that if we were going to bring someone in this band they needed to have the same vision as us, the same passion and drive that this band deserves. Bringing in someone new into such a tight knit group of people was a big decision, it's only 5 people in this entire world that make up Blade Killer, to hand over that title to him as the official drummer took time, and I'm glad we did. He's young but has the fire in him, he's a hell of a drummer and I couldn't be happier to have him behind the kit backing us up.
6. A few months ago you guys played a show in Albuquerque, New Mexico. How was the show? How was the overall experience?
KW: New Mexico was great! We cruised through the night to get there, we left around 9:00PM and arrived around 10:00AM the next morning. We stopped in the middle of the night to check out the stars in the desert, which I thought was awesome, we don't see that kind of sky here in L.A. We played the Launch Pad, which is a great venue, I really enjoyed playing there. The turnout was really strong and we had a terrific response from the crowd, it was a 13 and over show so it was cool to get some younger heads to come out to see us as well. We will definitely be back Albuquerque!
7. For people who don't know you were in Unholy Lust. What do you feel are the biggest differences between playing in Unholy Lust and Blade Killer?
KW: The biggest difference is definitely the music, Unholy Lust is a death metal band, while Blade Killer is Heavy Metal. Although I do like Death Metal, I have to say that Heavy Metal is my #1, and always will be. Blade Killer is exactly the kind of band I've always wanted to be a part of, down to the music we play and the chemistry and energy of the members together. I enjoyed being part of Unholy Lust, the leather and gauntlets worn on stage was like an armor and it was empowering to deliver such music and imagery to the audience, while being a female. I got a lot of grief from that surprisingly from both the female and male audience. I really don't know why to tell you the truth, maybe because they were hesitant to see me on stage and handle my business up there. I know how to play my bass and I'm perfectly fine with proving people wrong about that haha. In Blade Killer though I haven't had really any adversity, or maybe I've just stopped paying attention to it haha. But all in all both bands have been a learning experience full of memories and good times (more to come of course) and I'm very thankful to have been and be a part of these two bands.
8. I have to ask about your Judas Priest tattoos. Who's your artist? I think it looks kick ass! And on a related note what did you think of the new Priest album?
Thank you! I'm quite proud of my Judas Priest sleeve haha, although it is still in the works of being completed, a few more albums I'm going to add to it and it's finished. It all started because I decided to get Screaming For Vengeance tattooed and the only logical idea was to fill the remainder of my arm with more Judas Priest artwork! So far I have Screaming For Vengeance, Defenders Of The Faith, Hero Hero, Turbo, Rocka Rolla, Point Of Entry and British Steel. My artist is Hugo Alejos, he goes by El Mono Alejos if any of you are interested in checking out his awesome work or getting any work done by him you can find him on Facebook or Instagram.
9. How was the recording process for the EP? And songwriting does everybody come in with ideas or how do you guys work?
We recorded the EP at Bird Cage Studios. Since we didn't have a drummer at that time Carlos recorded the drum tracks for the 4 Track. Thankfully he's an experienced drummer (Fueled By Fire) so not having a drummer at that time wasn't an issue. In regards to song writing Jon and Carlos write most of the material, Jay writes some as well, but we all try to make it a point to contribute to the writing process. Having 5 people in the band to work ideas off of allows us to have more minds to articulate a song, create ideas for the album or design new merchandise to release.
10. What gear do you use?
I am currently playing an Epiphone Flying V, I have a B.C. Rich Iron Bird as well that I used with Unholy Lust, but have yet to use that live with Blade Killer, I'm planning to break that one out again though and use that one soon! I play through an Ampeg SVT Classic original head and a full stack Ampeg speakers as well.
11. I'm just going to list some bands and tell me what you think of them.
Night Demon
KW: Alright lets see here NIGHT DEMON, what's to say about these dudes except they totally rule and they're awesome guys! We've played a lot of shows with them and I'm really thankful for the opportunities they've brought ou r way. It's really cool to see them accomplishing the things they have done, very inspiring!
Raven
KW: We got to share the stage with these guys twice and I was definitely stoked, one of the first Cd's I begged my dad to get me for Christmas when I was 12 was All For One, I did indeed get it and I was thrilled haha! These guys just keep on going and I don't see them giving up that Heavy Metal spirit any time soon and I love it!
Pentacle
KW: Ancient Death Metal!! These guys are awesome, I know them pretty well, I spent some time on the road with them when they came to the U.S. last year, I had a blast! I'm quite picky with my Death Metal but they are definitely one of my favorites, if you haven't given theses guys a listen I definitely recommend it!
Usurper
KW: Another good band. I've listened to a handful of their material and I do enjoy it, yet again another Death Metal band that has my approval.
Visigoth
We played with these guys in Ventura back in April, they're a very solid band and Jake has a great voice. What is also cool is that back in 2011 when I was in Unholy Lust we played Salt Lake City and we shared the stage with Jakes old band Winterlore, it was pretty cool being able to link those two bands and two experiences like that. It would definitely be cool to play some more shows with these guys!
12. Last question is can we expect more live shows this year and hopefully a full length by next year? Also, do you think you will continue working with Stormspell and Swords and Chains records?
We'll definitely be hitting the stage again at least few times this year. Some possible opportunities in September and we will also be playing Vegas for the two day Throwback Metal Fest with Omen and a lot of other bands. We're in t he process of writing which means we'll probably end up in the studio by the end of the year, if not earlier. We are hoping for some time in early 2016 to release our full length. I'm not quite sure who we'll be working with at the moment, we've had a few offers already to release the album, but we haven't made a decision on who it will be re leased through yet. We're keeping our options open at the moment since it's early in this whole process.
Well I wanted to say thank you Kelsey for your time. Any last words or shout outs?
KW: Thanks for the interview Nathan! We definitely appreciate your interest in Blade Killer and I had a great time doing this interview, you ask some good questions! As for last words for all you readers out there we look forward to giving you even more hard hitting heavy metal, we've got a lot planned and are definitely looking to deliver!! Until the next one Killers...Cheers!!
https://www.facebook.com/bladekillerheavymetal?fref=ts
KW: New Mexico was great! We cruised through the night to get there, we left around 9:00PM and arrived around 10:00AM the next morning. We stopped in the middle of the night to check out the stars in the desert, which I thought was awesome, we don't see that kind of sky here in L.A. We played the Launch Pad, which is a great venue, I really enjoyed playing there. The turnout was really strong and we had a terrific response from the crowd, it was a 13 and over show so it was cool to get some younger heads to come out to see us as well. We will definitely be back Albuquerque!
7. For people who don't know you were in Unholy Lust. What do you feel are the biggest differences between playing in Unholy Lust and Blade Killer?
KW: The biggest difference is definitely the music, Unholy Lust is a death metal band, while Blade Killer is Heavy Metal. Although I do like Death Metal, I have to say that Heavy Metal is my #1, and always will be. Blade Killer is exactly the kind of band I've always wanted to be a part of, down to the music we play and the chemistry and energy of the members together. I enjoyed being part of Unholy Lust, the leather and gauntlets worn on stage was like an armor and it was empowering to deliver such music and imagery to the audience, while being a female. I got a lot of grief from that surprisingly from both the female and male audience. I really don't know why to tell you the truth, maybe because they were hesitant to see me on stage and handle my business up there. I know how to play my bass and I'm perfectly fine with proving people wrong about that haha. In Blade Killer though I haven't had really any adversity, or maybe I've just stopped paying attention to it haha. But all in all both bands have been a learning experience full of memories and good times (more to come of course) and I'm very thankful to have been and be a part of these two bands.
8. I have to ask about your Judas Priest tattoos. Who's your artist? I think it looks kick ass! And on a related note what did you think of the new Priest album?
Thank you! I'm quite proud of my Judas Priest sleeve haha, although it is still in the works of being completed, a few more albums I'm going to add to it and it's finished. It all started because I decided to get Screaming For Vengeance tattooed and the only logical idea was to fill the remainder of my arm with more Judas Priest artwork! So far I have Screaming For Vengeance, Defenders Of The Faith, Hero Hero, Turbo, Rocka Rolla, Point Of Entry and British Steel. My artist is Hugo Alejos, he goes by El Mono Alejos if any of you are interested in checking out his awesome work or getting any work done by him you can find him on Facebook or Instagram.
9. How was the recording process for the EP? And songwriting does everybody come in with ideas or how do you guys work?
We recorded the EP at Bird Cage Studios. Since we didn't have a drummer at that time Carlos recorded the drum tracks for the 4 Track. Thankfully he's an experienced drummer (Fueled By Fire) so not having a drummer at that time wasn't an issue. In regards to song writing Jon and Carlos write most of the material, Jay writes some as well, but we all try to make it a point to contribute to the writing process. Having 5 people in the band to work ideas off of allows us to have more minds to articulate a song, create ideas for the album or design new merchandise to release.
10. What gear do you use?
I am currently playing an Epiphone Flying V, I have a B.C. Rich Iron Bird as well that I used with Unholy Lust, but have yet to use that live with Blade Killer, I'm planning to break that one out again though and use that one soon! I play through an Ampeg SVT Classic original head and a full stack Ampeg speakers as well.
11. I'm just going to list some bands and tell me what you think of them.
Night Demon
KW: Alright lets see here NIGHT DEMON, what's to say about these dudes except they totally rule and they're awesome guys! We've played a lot of shows with them and I'm really thankful for the opportunities they've brought ou r way. It's really cool to see them accomplishing the things they have done, very inspiring!
Raven
KW: We got to share the stage with these guys twice and I was definitely stoked, one of the first Cd's I begged my dad to get me for Christmas when I was 12 was All For One, I did indeed get it and I was thrilled haha! These guys just keep on going and I don't see them giving up that Heavy Metal spirit any time soon and I love it!
Pentacle
KW: Ancient Death Metal!! These guys are awesome, I know them pretty well, I spent some time on the road with them when they came to the U.S. last year, I had a blast! I'm quite picky with my Death Metal but they are definitely one of my favorites, if you haven't given theses guys a listen I definitely recommend it!
Usurper
KW: Another good band. I've listened to a handful of their material and I do enjoy it, yet again another Death Metal band that has my approval.
Visigoth
We played with these guys in Ventura back in April, they're a very solid band and Jake has a great voice. What is also cool is that back in 2011 when I was in Unholy Lust we played Salt Lake City and we shared the stage with Jakes old band Winterlore, it was pretty cool being able to link those two bands and two experiences like that. It would definitely be cool to play some more shows with these guys!
12. Last question is can we expect more live shows this year and hopefully a full length by next year? Also, do you think you will continue working with Stormspell and Swords and Chains records?
We'll definitely be hitting the stage again at least few times this year. Some possible opportunities in September and we will also be playing Vegas for the two day Throwback Metal Fest with Omen and a lot of other bands. We're in t he process of writing which means we'll probably end up in the studio by the end of the year, if not earlier. We are hoping for some time in early 2016 to release our full length. I'm not quite sure who we'll be working with at the moment, we've had a few offers already to release the album, but we haven't made a decision on who it will be re leased through yet. We're keeping our options open at the moment since it's early in this whole process.
Well I wanted to say thank you Kelsey for your time. Any last words or shout outs?
KW: Thanks for the interview Nathan! We definitely appreciate your interest in Blade Killer and I had a great time doing this interview, you ask some good questions! As for last words for all you readers out there we look forward to giving you even more hard hitting heavy metal, we've got a lot planned and are definitely looking to deliver!! Until the next one Killers...Cheers!!
https://www.facebook.com/bladekillerheavymetal?fref=ts