Please tell us about the history of your band and its members.
Degrave started back in 2013 between myself and Clyde. We were the only two serious metalheads in our tiny school, so it only made sense. I was 15 at the time, and he was 17. We jammed around with different people for a while but, for the most part, nobody could keep up with the tempo of the music we were writing. We eventually hooked up with Jordan and Jeff, then released a full-length demo album in 2017. Now we're putting out our self-titled release this July 27th.
How would you describe your style? Which bands influenced your music?
I'd call it groove thrash. We write thrash metal, but we like to twist it and tweak it every so often. We jam out to everything from Deicide to ZZ Top, so it's kinda a melting pot. If you compiled all of our albums together it'd be a weird collection. Pantera, Thin Lizzy, Pink Floyd, Cannibal Corpse, Obituary, Suffocation, Canned Heat, Rick James, Hendrix, Motorhead, Testament, Megadeth, The White Stripes, GWAR, Slayer, Van Halen(not Van Hagar), Acid Bath, Rancid, Havok, Grand Funk, Diamond Head, Aerosmith, Zeppelin, and The Doors just to name a few. Somehow when all that is digested, Degrave comes out.
Why should a metalhead buy your demos/albums?
Cause it pure, straight from the soul, American thrash metal. What the hell else do they need?(laughs)
What have you released so far and how were your releases received by the public/media?
We have a live EP called 'Inceptive Sounds' from the first gig we ever played with that lineup of Degrave, and we have a full-length demo called 'Full Tilt'. Both of these were with Shane Jenkins on drums. They we're received fantastically by our fans, but never really made it to the media. 'Inceptive Sounds' is now out of print and 'Full Tilt' will be once we sell our current pile.
Do you play live as well? How's your live activity so far?
Absolutely! Playing live is the other half of the fun! We play as many live shows as we possibly can. There's always a steady influx of shows out there, and we try to play em all if possible. We haven't made it to far outside the Missouri circuit yet, but we're gonna start creepin' all around the midwest real soon.
What should labels/zines/promoters know about your band? Why should they be interested in it?
We're beyond dedicated to our thrash metal craft, and that's how it'll always be. Period. We don't compromise the music for anybody, we write it because we love it and our fans can feel that. They get it just as much as we do, if not more! It's music that moves a lot more than just the crowd.
What plans do you have for the near future as a band?
Keep on keepin' on! We're gonna start writing the next album in between playing all the shows we possibly can. Start the cycle all over again, ya know. We're gonna try to snag some more shows out of state as well, to spread the gospel of Degrave all around. And we're gonna drink... heavily.
Where can we listen to your band and where can we buy your stuff?
You can check out all things Degrave on our Official Website, www.degraveofficial.com. It's got our webstore, bio, gigs, music, pics, and so on. We're also all over social media. Slowly spreading around like an unwanted disease.
https://www.facebook.com/degravethrash/
July 2018