It’s that time of year where we set out to interview as many of the Sophie, New Blood, and Jager bands as we can in the lead-up to one of the most anticipated festivals of the year, Bloodstock. Answering our questions here are Battle Born who play the New Blood Stage on Thursday.
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
Tom O’Dell, guitar and vocals: We’re all from various towns in the south, but the spiritual home of the band is probably Southampton – four of us met there, and it’s where the band was formed.
Chris Beattie, bass: I’m the common link between everyone in the band. Before meeting the rest of the guys in Southampton, I met Charlie [Lamacraft-Perrett, drums] back when we were teenagers. To think that we would be playing Bloodstock together nearly 15 years later is crazy.
How long have you been playing together as a band?
Tom: Battle Born’s existed in some form or another since summer 2018, but our live lineup was only completed at the end of 2019. We were all ready to play loads of shows… and then covid hit!
Jack Reynolds, lead vocals: Believe it or not, Bloodstock is very nearly our first performance! We’re managing to sneak in one warm-up show a couple of weeks before.
Where does the name of the band come from?
Chris: Our lyrics are all Skyrim-themed, so it made sense to choose a mighty Nordic name to tie the theme together. We threw a few options around, but Battle Born was the one that stuck!
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
Tom: We’re a power metal band at heart, but our debut EP drew a few comparisons to heavy/traditional metal too. We combine the hefty gritty riffs of bands like Manowar with the synthy sparkle of Finnish power metal, all wrapped up in anthemic choruses and dumb lyrics about steel, brotherhood and glory.
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What’s your live show like? Why are people going to watch you instead of another band?
Jack: Our first show isn’t yet under our belts, but we’ve been rehearsing like crazy. Expect something polished and explosive in equal measure.
Have you been to Bloodstock before? What did you think?
Jack: I’ve made the pilgrimage many times. Bloodstock is always brilliant. Lots of festivals talk the talk about being both wholesome and heavy, but Bloodstock is the only place I’ve ever seen a family making daisy chains while Mayhem play in the background.
Which M2tM region did you win, or did you come through other channels?
Jack: We actually reached out to Bloodstock directly, not really expecting to get a slot for 2021. We were surprised and excited when they offered us a set on the New Blood Stage, alongside some seriously talented bands.
Can you put into 10 words or fewer how it felt when you realised you were heading to Bloodstock?
Jack: A real “level up” moment. Bring it on!
Chris: I can’t believe it! I’m so excited, I can’t even count!
What sort of setlist can we expect?
Tom: We’ve polished the tracks from our debut EP which released last year, and made sure they’re ready to blow the audience away. We may also have a couple of newer surprises too…
Which other bands do you most hope you’re not squished up next to so you can see them play?
Tom: I’m very keen to see Fellowship, another New Blood band – both of us arrived on the scene at the same time, so it’ll be great to see how they are live!
Jack: Yeah we definitely can’t miss Fellowship. I’m also excited for Primitai – they’re great guys and their show is always brilliant. And that new album is a knockout.
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What are you working on at the moment?
Jack: Our debut album! We started work on it very soon after the EP came out. We began with about 60 songs entering the arena; they’ve been tested by the fire of battle, and about a quarter have emerged victorious. We’re still not sure which will make the cut, but at this point there are only brilliant options to choose from!
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
Chris: I still vividly a Bowling for Soup show from 10 years ago, where they had some huge models of sheep on the stage. They were proud of the fact that these things were anatomically correct, and proved it by taking an inflatable dick and shoving it up its arse!
What drink do you throw back to get yourself fired up before going on stage?
Tom: Finest Black-briar mead, of course. None of that Honningbrew filth.
Jack: Stamina potions. When you see our show, you’ll know why!
Battle Born: official | facebook | instagram | spotify | bandcamp | youtube
