www.warpath-online.com
www.youtube.com/wartubeuk
www.reverbnation.com/warpath
HMTV Canada: Hi Warpath, wow your recent release Damnation
is sweeping through the media like fire with rave reviews.
Rich: Hi Tina, thank you! It’s great to see the album
receiving such good press.
HMTV Canada: Can you tell us about Damnation how long did it
take to record and how did the band land the opportunity to work with Orlando
Villasenor for the mixing and James Murphy for the mastering of this Album?
Rich: The recording didn’t t actually take that long; five
or six weeks. But at the same time, we were setting up the mixing, mastering,
production processes and also auditioning lead guitarists so that added a lot
onto the time. I think the entire process took between six and eight months. I
m a big fan of James Murphy s guitar playing and I knew he had his own studio
so I contacted him and asked him if he would be interested in mastering the
album. He said yes which was a big honor for us. Around the same time, I saw
that Kevin Talley, the drummer for DAATH and Chimaira, had opened up a studio
in the USA which caught my attention. I checked out some of the bands they had
recorded and the production sounded kick ass so I got talking to Orlando and
after a brief conversation he agreed to mix it. He did a fantastic job, as did
James Murphy! We couldn’t t have wished for a better finished product.
HMTV Canada: I’m curious who writes the band s songs and is
the majority of lyrical themes based on political issues, social injustice and
war?
Rich: I wrote all of the tracks for Damnation, except for
the bass riff in the middle of the song Infernal, which was written by our
bassist Gareth. The lyrics are about all of the topics you mentioned, as well
as drug abuse, revenge, betrayal, real life experiences and just generally the
darker side of things. I’m really not into bands that sing constantly about
partying, or the nostalgia look at my big white trainers and bullet belt thrash
metal bands that are around now. One or two songs are OK I guess, but a whole
album? No thanks. I don t give a shit about other bands hi-tops or denim
jackets.
HMTV Canada: Who is the incredible Artist that did the great
job on Damnations Cover Art and is he the same artist that designs the bands
merchandise and Myspace page?
Rich: The artist is a guy called Lee Gaskins from the USA.
He s an incredibly talented artist and a great guy to get on with. He and I
exchanged a lot of ideas for the artwork. We’re looking forward to working with
him again on the next album. The actual layout for the Myspace page, website
and merchandise was designed by Gareth and me but we used Lee’s Damnation
artwork for it.
HMTV Canada: Scuzz TV has been playing the DAMNATION music
video regularly. It is now the No.1 rated video, ahead of Slipknot. Can you
tell us a little bit about this video where on location was it filmed at and
who helped produce this video?
Rich: The video was filmed in east London at an old factory
in January 2008. We worked with Genertik Ltd, the main men being David Kenny
and Bruno Mathez, two extremely hard-working guys who put a lot of time, effort
and care into the video. We filmed for well over 24 hours straight. Actually, I
think it was close to 30 hours by the time everything was finished and we got
all of the footage we needed, by which time we could barely move we were aching
from so much head banging! But it was easily worth all of the hard work and the
response to the video has been fantastic.
HMTV Canada: Can you tell us a little bit about the current
lineup how did everyone meet, do the members share similar influences for their
music and do they like to experiment and try new ideas to their sound?
Rich: Well Gareth and I met through a friend year and years
ago; he first joined the band in early 2004. James had seen us live a few times
with our previous drummer and after he left the band, James emailed us and
asked if he could audition. We met up and were blown away with his skills so it
was a no-brainer for him to join. We met Pete through Myspace in 2007. We were
looking for a lead guitarist, and I found his profile on the Megadeth page. His
audition was pretty much his lead tracks on the album. He wrote them, sent a
clip to me, they sounded awesome, so we invited him to come and record on the
CD. After that he quickly joined as a full-time member. We all like metal but
we do have different styles and influences. James is heavily into his death
metal, I know Pete likes a lot of 80 s stuff, I have a lot of classical
influences and I’m not sure what Gareth listens to but it’s weird!
HMTV Canada: How did your first show go in Germany at the
Wacken Rocks and Head Bangers Ballroom with Slayer any funny or wild stories to
tell and how was the turnout of fans attending?
Rich: It was unforgettable! We headlined the Ballroom in
Hamburg and then played two shows at Wacken Rocks, one in Kreuth and one in
Aurich. Awesome crowd, we had three encores for one of the shows which was a
first for us! They were singing the lyrics too, which was so cool! We can’t
wait to go back to Germany.
HMTV Canda: Warpath has two great upcoming shows Thrash
Infernal Festival in November and True Thrash Fest in Osaka Japan in March of
2010 can you tell us any highlights of these shows will there be any other
bands playing in both?
Rich: Sure! Thrash Inferno will mean we get to go back to
Germany which is something we’re all looking forward to. The other bands
playing are Onslaught, Gama Bomb, Sodom, Benediction, Tankard and a few others.
Japan will be us, Assassin and At War, with support from local Japanese
bands.
HMTV Canda: Warpath has established a huge fan base in Japan
how did the band first react when the True Thrash Fest show was confirmed?
Rich: Playing Japan is a dream come true. I’ve never heard
of a band that didn’t t like it! We’re extremely excited to play there and meet
all of our fans and explore the cities and culture.
HMTV Canada: Will the band be covering live video footage of
these two upcoming gigs?
Rich: Yes, both shows will be filmed and footage will be
available on DVD from us and on our YouTube channel.
HMTV Canada: Is Warpath working on any new material for
another Album and will it be brutal like Damnation?
Rich: We have some new material written, riffs here and
there and a few half-finished songs. But we won’t begin working on a new album
properly until 2010. We still have a lot of promotion to do for Damnation. As
for how brutal it will be we l leave that up to everyone else to decide when it’s
out!
HMTV Canada: Before we wrap up our interview does the band
have any shout outs to friends or fans?
Rich: I’d like to thank you and all the readers for taking
the time to read this and to everyone that buys the album and merchandise. Keep
rocking!
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