Music

Exclusive Interview: Nick And Lech Of As Blood Runs Black

Published

13 years ago

March 26, 2011

Bloody-Disgusting has scored an exclusive interview with Nick and Lech of tech-metal band As Blood Runs Black. The guys are currently on the Atticus Metal Tour III with Born of Osiris, Darkest Hour, and The Human Abstract. They also recently released their sophomore album, ‘Instinct‘. Check after the jump for the exclusive interview where they chat touring, the new album, horror and, probably most importantly, Playboy.

How’s it going?

Going good, thanks man! How about yourself?

Doing quite well, thanks! So ‘Instinct’ came out last week. What’s the reaction been so far?

Nick: They’ve been amazing. I mean, we kinda knew that people would be interested in hearing what happened in the five-year span. We knew there was going to be some hype to it, but it exceeded our expectations. We just played the Cali-Metal fest a couple of days ago and had one the best reactions we’ve ever had. Makes us feel like we’re doing something right!

It’s been five years since ‘Allegiance’. How do you feel ‘Instinct’ expands upon the sound and attitude of the band?

Nick: Well, I mean, pretty much with five years of doing anything, you tend to get better at it. I could jerk off for five years and I’m gonna make myself cum no different. I’m trying to be funny but, in reality, everybody progresses in music. So, I’m better now than when I started at 17. So that whole gap allowed us to grow and added to our musicianship and styles.

We’re also older and wiser and realize that to keep this successful and keep this going we need to add on to that with our newer style, add in new elements and keep it relevant to the theme. A lot of shit has changed but we try to keep it similar in approach.

You guys got probably one of the greatest compliments when Playboy bunny Kylie Johnson listed As Blood Runs Black as one of her favorite bands. Be honest: how much of an ego boost was that?

[Both Nick and Lech laughing]

Lech: That made my dick go from four inches to seven inches. It was a blast.

Nick: Yeah, definite ego boost! At first, I thought it was a joke. My cousin Brad was like, “Hey dude, Playboy mentioned you!” and I was like, “Man, shut the fuck up! Get the fuck outta here! Quit pulling my leg!” Then, in our horny little minds we went to go see what’s up. There in the ‘Centerfold Interests’ was her and her musical tastes and we were listed. I mean, definite ego boost but I’m not here to stroke my own cock. If she wants to stroke it for me, that’s fine! [laughs]

[laughs]

For me, the coolest thing was that it was basically free advertising that would have cost millions of dollars. So many men read that magazine, ESPECIALLY the ‘Centerfold Interest’ because we want to see how we match up to hot individuals. It was fucking awesome.

Coming to the Atticus Metal Tour, how’s that going for you?

Nick: It’s been awesome and amazing. We get to see Born Of Osiris headlining, doing their thing. Darkest Hour were one of our big influences when we were growing up. Our boys from The Human Abstract are opening, which I think is fucking crazy. I think they should be a lot bigger things because they’re fucking phenomenal.

I just feel really lucky to be a part of this package. I got to meet one of the dudes from Atticus and it was just like a family thing. He hooked us up with some free gear and told us that now that we’ve been on the tour, we’re part of the family. It’s really cool.

Any crazy stories or situations arise?

Nick: We have an RV and me and Lech share the back bed. NO HOMO! Be sure you write that. No. Homo. At all. Anyways, I was hanging in the back, laying down and I guess our driver didn’t notice a roadblock coming up because he was looking at the GPS. So when he saw it, he had to brake and I fucking FLEW out. Like, luged out like the Jamaican Cool Runnings bobsled team almost to the drivers seat. It must’ve been 30 feet. I ate the most shit. I thought it was funny. I mean, I was hurt, of course, but that was pretty funny.

I know there is a European tour arranged for after the Atticus Metal Tour. What’s after that?

Nick: Kinda up in the air right now. We’ve got a couple of offers but we’re trying to do what’s right by ABRB. It might not be right for other people, but we want to be a bit more cautious about picking what we want to do because if we get something that we don’t fit on, we don’t want to be the sore thumb on the package. We want to be relevant to the package. We’d really like to do some international stuff. We had a blast in Australia. Maybe hit a new market like Indonesia or South America. So, we have a lot of offers but we want to make the right move, if that makes sense.

Coming to the Bloody-Disgusting section of the interview, how, if at all, do you think horror influences you or more generally, As Blood Runs Black?

Nick: Horror is one of my favorite genres of movies. I grew up on that. My uncle and I used to go watch horror movies. I think it influences us but maybe more indirectly. Like my favorite series is Halloween, Evil Dead, which was sick as fuck and another movie that isn’t as well known called Bloodsucking Freaks. I mean, naked bitches killing people and there’s even a black midget. What else do you need?

I mean, I don’t watch horror movies and then go right a tune but I remember we wrote a breakdown in ‘Legacy’ that sounded like a machine gun and I remember thinking of a hammer just pounding someone’s face in. [laughs] I don’t know, I’m just speaking out of my ass!

What are some of your favorite horror movies?

Nick: Any of the Evil Dead films. I kinda like Army of Darkness more because the first one was straight scary shit, the second was half breed comedy and horror and then the third one was hilarious. I thought that was so awesome. There are so many but the ones that come to mind are those three.

Alright! Well thanks so much to the both of you and best of luck!

Nick: Thanks a lot man!

Lech: Thanks dude!

JonathanBarkan

Managing editor/music guy/social media fella of Bloody-Disgusting

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Music

“He Walks By Night” – Listen to a Brand New John Carpenter Song NOW!

Published

2 weeks ago

April 9, 2024

John Squires

It’s a new day, and you’ve got new John Carpenter to listen to. John Carpenter, Daniel Davies and Cody Carpenter have released the new track He Walks By Night this morning, the second single off their upcoming album Lost Themes IV: Noir, out May 3 on Sacred Bones Records.

Lost Themes IV: Noir is the latest installment in a series that sees Carpenter releasing new music for John Carpenter movies that don’t actually exist. The first Lost Themes was released in 2015, followed by Lost Themes II in 2016 and Lost Themes III: Alive After Death in 2021.

Sacred Bones previews, “It’s been a decade since John Carpenter recorded the material that would become Lost Themes, his debut album of non-film music and the opening salvo in one of Hollywood’s great second acts. Those vibrant, synth-driven songs, made in collaboration with his son Cody Carpenter and godson Daniel Davies, kickstarted a musical renaissance for the pioneering composer and director. With Lost Themes IV: Noir, they’ve struck gold again, this time mining the rich history of the film noir genre for inspiration.

“Since the first Lost Themes, John has referred to these compositions as “soundtracks for the movies in your mind.” On the fourth installment in the series, those movies are noirs. Like the film genre they were influenced by, what makes these songs “noirish” is sometimes slippery and hard to define, and not merely reducible to a collection of tropes. The scores for the great American noir pictures were largely orchestral, while the Carpenters and Davies work off a sturdy synth-and-guitar backbone.

“The trio’s free-flowing chemistry means Lost Themes IV: Noir runs like a well-oiled machine—the 1951 Jaguar XK120 Roadster from Kiss Me Deadly, perhaps, or the 1958 Plymouth Fury from John’s own Christine. It’s a chemistry that’s helped power one of the most productive stretches of John’s creative life, and Noir proves that it’s nowhere near done yielding brilliant results.”

You can pre-save Lost Themes IV: Noir right now! And listen to the new track below…