Please tell us about the history of your band and its members.
Bleed The Freaks was formed in northern California in 2008 by former Misery band mates and friends Mike Roberts (guitars) and Jamey Knight (bass). Through trials and tribulations we completed the current lineup that includes Will Rule (formerly of Tyrant Sin) on vocals and Kenny Urrea on drums. We worked hard and long to create the crush groove metal sound that we have today, and released our debut album, All Is Lost, earlier this year.
How would you describe your style? Which bands influenced your music?
It is definitely melodic heavy metal. We describe it as "Crush Groove Metal” because the riffs are very much groove oriented. We take the sounds from old school rock and classic metal and mix that with new inspirations of sounds from today. The vocals are very melodic and our singer comes from the old school where you can understand all the lyrics. We are always keeping it heavy but with much feeling.
Why should a metal head buy your demos/albums?
We believe that our sound is fresh and new. We have that powerful sound and depth that metal heads relate to. This album is eight songs and none are filler songs. It takes you back to the classic days of metal where albums were good all the way through, not like today where a record has fourteen songs and you only like a few. Metal heads will love our record top to bottom.
What have you released so far and how were your releases received by the public/media?
We released a video for the song ‘All Is Lost’ earlier this year, and then released the whole cd (also called All Is Lost) a few months later. So far we have had great overall response. Interviews and reviews are starting to come in and radio has started paying attention as well.
Do you play live as well? How's your live activity so far?
Yes we love to play live. However, there are not many clubs in bay area left to play and finding diverse bands like ours to do shows with has been a challenge. When we do play shows we get a great response, but sometimes promoters put us on a bill with bands not our style and those shows are sometimes not as good.
What should labels/zines/promoters know about your band? Why should they be interested in it?They should know that we have a sound that appeals to metal fans as well as fans of commercial rock. It is very edgy and aggressive, yet melodic at the same time. We have worked hard at the arrangements and songwriting to make sure the album is perfect. Bleed The Freaks may be a newer band but we all have lots of experience from past groups and we are very seasoned players that are ready to take this to the next level.
What plans do you have for the near future as a band?
We have a very busy year planned for 2013. We really look forward to getting overseas to present our music to the world. We will be shopping for a deal soon and hope to get a chance to play the festivals in Europe this next year. In addition to that we working towards writing new material for next album, and also working on a second video. It will be for the song "Blind Eye.” The future is very busy but we are ready to work and make it happen.
Where can we listen to your band and where can we buy your stuff?
You can check out our website www.bleedthefreaks.com and also look for us on YouTube. We are also on all the social media outlets – Facebook, MySpace, Reverbnation, etc – so find us there as well. You can buy the album at CD Baby, ITunes, and Amazon. Of course you can buy the record at our live shows and hopefully we will have major distribution soon as well.
November 2012