It’s that time of year again, when in the run-up to Bloodstock we endeavour to interview every band gracing the SOPHIE, New Blood and Jägermeister stages from 8th – 11th August 2019. This means you’ve got a chance to read up on all your favourite bands set to play over the weekend and decide which new ones you’ll want to check out.
As ever, we’re predicting some horrible clashes because, true to form, there are some great bands across all three stages so you should start planning who you want to see.
Our thanks to all the bands for taking the time out to answer our questions!
Blasphemer – SOPHIE Stage, Friday
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
We are from Dewsbury, West Yorkshire in the UK
How long have you been playing together as a band?
The band originally started in 1990 and was formed by myself & Mass. The band originally ran between 1990 to 1995 when we had to put the band on hold due to another project we had at the time. We decided to reform the band in 2014 with the new additions of Dan & Dale who both ed in 2015. So the band has been in its current form for just over 4 and a half years.
Where does the name of the band come from?
We are not too keen on forms of organised religion and religious dogma.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
We are not afraid to write about difficult subjects that maybe others would shy away from. In our opinion a lot of modern metal has become safe, radio-friendly, PC and too scared to say something that might upset someone. To us that’s just anathema and it’s definitely not what turned us on to this kind of music. We like to keep the tunes simple and not over complicate things, so you’re NOT gonna get triggered drums played at 500 bpm and sweep picking solos that go on forever from us.
What’s your live show like? Why are people going to watch you instead of another band?
Aggressive, angry and old school, We try and put on the type of metal show we used to witness as a teenagers going to see bands such as Obituary, Morbid Angel, Deicide etc in the early 1990s. If you want that kind of live experience that’s why you should come and watch us. No bullshit, just death metal the old way.
Have you played Bloodstock before? If so, when?
No, we have never played Bloodstock before, this will be our first time.
How/when did you find out that you’d be playing the SOPHIE stage?
We found out we would be playing Sophie stage slightly prior to the official announcement in April. We were all thrilled when we found out.
What sort of setlist can we expect?
You can expect a very aggressive and uncompromising set which will feature choice cuts from both our self-titled debut album and our latest album Lust Of The Goat.
Which other band do you most hope you’re not clashing with so you can see them play?
For us there are actually a few bands which are Anthrax & Skeletal Remains. Luckily enough they are both playing on the Saturday so we will get to see them both. Also, a few of our mates are playing over the weekend such as Pemphigoid whom we’ll no doubt go and pelt with sharpened coins.
What are you working on at the moment?
At the moment we are preparing our live set for Bloodstock and dates we have with Skeletal Remains following the festival.
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
Someone covered in their own blood on the front row following I believe catching a boot in the face due to someone crowd surfing. To their credit, they didn’t move from the front row and the crowd got fairly wild.
What drink do you throw back to get yourself fired up before going on stage?
We drink from the unholy Chalice of Blasphemy, an occult potion that gives us the power of old school death fucking metal, then we let the music take over and do the talking.
Blasphemer: facebook | twitter | youtube | bandcamp
