Please tell us about the history of your band and its members.
Crucible of Hate really started in late 2015 when Donny Phillips got his first 7-string guitar. Riffs started coming and he teamed up with Dave Miller, who had played drums in their currently defunct thrash metal band. Some songs started to come together after a few jams and Donny put out the feelers to find some other members. I (Dan Rivera, vocalist), just happened to be looking for a band to join as a vocalist in December 2015. Some mutual friends hooked us up and we all began to gel nicely. After a few lineup changes we got Pete Rensch on board to play second guitar, whose style complements Donny’s perfectly. We parted ways with our original bass player and I took up bass duties as well. Many fun shows around Ohio have been played, including a few opening slots for national headliners (Immolation, Cavalera Brothers, Scar Symmetry, and Arsis). We completed writing a full album’s worth of songs early this year and hit the studio in spring 2018 to record the album.
How would you describe your style? Which bands influenced your music?
We play groove-oriented melodic death metal. There's a lot of melody, catchy hooks, and some progressive moments. As far as influences, we have diverse tastes amongst the four of us, which I believe keeps the music interesting. Carcass, Gojira, Opeth, Behemoth, Tool, Meshuggah, Slayer, Metallica, Maiden, to name a few.
Why should a metalhead buy your demos/albums?
Because they’re heavy as shit, catchy, well-written songs; they’re well-produced; and the lyrics are creative, clever, and actually saying something.
What have you released so far and how were your releases received by the public/media?
We released a 2-song demo that we recorded at The Recording Workshop in Chillicothe, Ohio back in Spring 2017. It got a great response from our fans, though we didn’t push it out there to where it got a lot of media response.
Do you play live as well? How's your live activity so far?
Absolutely. As mentioned above, all of our shows thus far have been in the Central Ohio area. We put on a pretty intense, fun, and heavy show (or so we’ve been told). After opening for The Cavalera Brothers on their Roots tour, a fan told me that we stole the night and blew the Cavaleras away. I’ll never forget that.
What should labels/zines/promoters know about your band? Why should they be interested in it?
They should know that we are committed to writing good songs and producing music that is heavy, unique, and sounds incredible. The combination of catchy and “groovy” will get a lot of people’s attention.
What plans do you have for the near future as a band?
We’ll release our album, and play more shows. Specifically, we hope to branch out beyond Ohio and play neighboring states, thus bringing the music to more people. We already have a gig booked in Lexington, KY in November, and more of that will naturally follow. Otherwise, just to keep doing what we're doing, improving our craft, gelling as musicians and friends, and just having fun playing music.
Where can we listen to your band and where can we buy your stuff?
For now, check our bandcamp site (https://crucibleofhate.bandcamp.com), but our full album will be available on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, and other major streaming services. And if you look hard enough on YouTube, you might find us there too. 
September 2018