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Jerod Boyd Of Miss May I (Interview)

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Metalcore band Miss May I may have struck a goldmine with the name of their last album, Rise Of The Lion. The quintet from Troy, OH have been fighting and clawing their way to the top of the game, steadily releasing one album after another, each doing better than its predecessor. They’ve also toured relentlessly, sharing the stage with acts such as Whitechapel, Parkway Drive, Killswitch Engage, Pierce The Veil, and more, not to mention appearances at Rock On The Range and the Rockstar Mayhem Festival.

Horror fans might know their music from Saw VI, which saw their song “Forgive And Forget” appear on the soundtrack.

The band is currently on tour with August Burns Red and Northlane and we caught up with drummer Jerod Boyd to discuss the future plans for MMI, including details on their upcoming fifth album, as well as his love of gaming.

Bloody-Disgusting: How are you doing?

I’m good man! How are you?

BD: I’m doing really well! I hear tonight is gonna be a blast. A lot of people have been telling me that the shows and the setlist for each band has been spot on.

Yeah, we’re having a blast! The shows have been really awesome, better than expected. We’ve been doing a lot of these radio festivals and nu-metal sorta tours lately, which I guess would be the best way to describe it. You know, like Five Finger Death Punch and we did Mayhem Festival.

Now that we’re doing this tour, we’re back to the fanbase that we had in the very beginning. Not younger fans, I guess, but now that we’ve done all those other tours we have these older fans that come out rather than the typical, and I hate to say it this way, the “scene crowd”, you know what I mean? We wanted to touch based with them and tell them, “We’re still here. We’re not going anywhere.” We were out there picking up new fans and doing things like that rather than sticking in the same place and staying there forever. We needed to break out and become part of the actual metal community.

BD: You said that it was like coming back to the fans at the beginning. What were their reactions after that period?

It was mainly just last year because we did a lot of overseas stuff as well, doing those other festivals like Download Festival, Graspop, Rock Am Ring, all over. So, it was a bunch of out of the country stuff and that obviously required us to not be touring in the States. Now that we’re back here again, I can’t really remember our fist tour State tour, besides Mayhem, which is silly.

It seems like the fans are totally okay with it because it’s been a year and they still remembered us and enjoyed the new stuff. The set brings new songs, and old songs, and we’ve got songs from every album. Yesterday, we were finally just like, “Cool, this is the set we need to keep doing.” We’d been changing the set every day, testing things to see which would work best and the original idea seems to be the good one [laughs].

BD: You spoke about a lot of festivals you were on, both foreign and domestic. Do you see that happening again this year in the summer?

It really just depends on what we get offered for this summer. I can say that we have things planned but I can’t exactly say anything right now. But we are definitely staying busy. I can say that it will be something within the States, although that’s not saying that we can’t go to Europe or something like that. We just have to see what’s offered.

BD: Do you see a difference in the audiences in Europe versus the ones in the States?

Well, a regular show and a festival show have almost a completely different feel. I mean, when you’re at a festival it seems like almost everyone is there just to have a blast. Sometimes when you play a venue show, let’s say you’re headlining, maybe half the crowd might know who you are and half the crowd might now. That’s when you think, “Aw, darnit!” But when you go play a festival, everyone just seems to want to see music and experience it and have a blast. Most of the time, they’re drunk anyways [laughs], which is fun! Why not go to an outdoor festival with your buddies, get drunk, and then slam around and crowdsurf!

BD: You stated that there are plans that you can’t go into detail about yet. What future plans can you state openly?

Well, we’re going to be going in to record our fifth album and I can’t say who with or anything like that. However, we’re really excited, we have probably over 20 songs written for this album. We may not put all 20 on there but we always like to create more music all the time. Let’s say we write a song that we all think is really good and then next month write a song that we all think is even better. Then we go back to the other one and think, “Man, it’s not as good as this one here.” This way we have options and can say we wrote a ton and we get to pick out the best of the best stuff.
Those are our plans coming up. We’re still writing every single day and throwing out ideas. But how we are is that we like to work together as a team, so a lot of our writing gets done when we’re not on tour. A hint of that is after Mayhem we took a three month break. We did play Knotfest in California and Japan and then we did a little run and that’s all we’ve done besides write write write write write. So people might have thought, “What happened to Miss May I?” But it’s us trying to prepare for the next album, the next chapter of Miss May I.

BD: What do you think that next chapter is going to sound like? What should fans expect?

We’re definitely going back a little more to the heavier sound like from our first album. But on top of that we’re going to try and incorporate larger choruses, like “Dawn” off of our new album and also “Refuse To Believe”. And maybe “Hey Mister”, off of At Heart. We’re really just trying to get the real “raw” and “brutal” feel back into it, maybe some breakdowns that people will be able to pit and dance to. We’ll definitely have some nice some circle pit style riffs. We want people to be having fun the whole time.

BD: So it’s writing for the whole audience? The entire Miss May I crowd?

Exactly! And always how Miss May I have written is that we like to pretend that we’re playing live on the CD. Sometimes we don’t like to overproduce things. Sometimes we like to just go in there and say, “This would be sweet live! Whatever’s coming next is going to be super fun!”

jerodboydphoto

BD: I’ve heard a rumor that you are a fan of horror video games! Is there any merit to this?

Of course! I’m a huge fan of horror games! I’m a fan of games in general but I do really enjoy some horror games.

BD: Tell me some of the ones that stand out to you.

If we wanna really go back, the first one that I played was Resident Evil for Playstation 1. It was amazing and it got me hooked. I was super scared of it, actually. My dad bought it and I was so scared because of the opening cinematic. I was maybe 7 or 8 when he was playing it. I wanted to see more, even though I was scared. Always been a fan of those games.
Now, with the new generation, I have a Playstation 4, I’ve been playing this game called Outlast. I thought I’ll try it out and it’s one of the most terrifying games I’ve ever played. That game is really fun just because they took a whole new spin on it. Your guy doesn’t have any weapons. All you have is a camera, which has a light, but that light will run your battery and you’ll be stuck in pitch black. So you’re in this insane asylum with all these monsters and you have to find things and run and hide under beds and in closets and lockers and stuff like that until these guys leave, so that you don’t alert them. All this while trying to find out how to get out of this insane asylum, because all these doors are somehow locked up.
I remember playing it in pitch black because I wanted the full experience. I remember, right at the beginning, there’s a guy in a wheelchair and he’s all messed up. So I slid against the wall thinking, “Okay, I’ve played enough horror games. This guy’s gonna hop out.” I walked by and I was thinking that it’s coming, it’s coming, any second now, and there was nothing. I walked into the next room and there’s a TV with static and a bunch of crazy guys sitting watching it. I saw a button that I had to push, or something like that, and I thought, “Duh! I’m going to push this and they’re going to freak out. Classic scenario!”
So I push the button and hide in the back. I start to come out and they’re all still watching the TV. So I keep hugging the back wall and go out the door, thinking to myself, “Okay! I guess I’m fine!” Totally forgot about the guy in the wheelchair. Tried to run past him and he suddenly jumped on me, screaming “Help me!”. That was the only time while playing a horror game that I actually screamed. I was just so scared! [laughs]
Then there’s The Evil Within, which is a great game. I haven’t beaten it yet, but I’ve been really enjoying playing it here and there.
Then, I don’t know if you can count it or not but Diablo III has been one of my favorite games. I always played Diablo when I was younger and then when III was coming out I was counting the days until its release. I love it. I don’t know if you can count it as a full horror game. I know that it takes place, at times, in a sort of hell environment but it’s a little gruesome persay but it’s not like The Evil Within or Outlast, where anything could pop out at any second and I’ll scream.

BD: I remember when Diablo II came out and my friends came over with their computers and we had a LAN party. By the end, there were pizza boxes stacked to the ceiling!

[laughs] We did the same thing! My neighbor got me into it. He brought his computer over with his buddy and we’d all play around. I played a Paladin and it was awesome. Until everyone started hacking.

BD: Jerod, thanks so much for talking!

It was a pleasure! You be safe and have a good one!

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Exclusives

Brazil’s Fantaspoa Film Festival Announces Second Wave of Titles for Epic 20th Edition This April

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Azrael SXSW 2024
Pictured: Samara Weaving in 'Azrael'

Brazil’s Fantaspoa film festival is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, and the festival is breaking numerous records, presenting an impressive total of 114 feature films, 22 of these as World Premieres, marking the largest number of feature films in Fantaspoa’s long history.

The final selection of feature films for Fantaspoa’s highly-anticipated 20th edition has been exclusively presented to Bloody Disgusting, so read on for everything you need to know!

The festival tells us this week, “With a diverse selection, the feature films screening at Fantaspoa XX have been divided into seven distinct competitive categories: International, Ibero-American, National, Documentary, Animation, All-Nighter, and Low Budget, Great Films. These categories promise audiences a variety of cinematic experiences, from the fringes of horror and fantasy to the depths of the human imagination.

“In addition to feature films, Fantaspoa will screen 123 short films, totaling 237 participating works, making this edition of the festival the largest in its history.

“The stunning lineup of competition titles includes the International Premiere of E.L. Katz’s SXSW charmer AZRAEL and the World Premiere of The Butcher Brothers’ new Devon Sawa-starring thriller CONSUMED, and Fantaspoa is also proudly presenting a diverse selection of special screenings, including Demián Rugna’s recent Argentinian hit WHEN EVIL LURKS with the writer/director in attendance. The fest will also feature special screenings of two Argentine films, 2014’s JORGE & ALBERTO VERSUS THE NEOLIBERAL DEMONS, Fantaspoa’s first original production which is celebrating its tenth anniversary, and TRENQUE LAUGUEN, which was selected as the best film of 2023 by Cahiers du Cinéma.

“Fantaspoa XX will also have the honor of presenting a special screening of Robin Hardy’s classic British folk horror film THE WICKER MAN (1973) in the presence of the director’s sons, Justin and Dominic, who will be also attending the festival for the previously-announced World Premiere of their stunning new documentary, CHILDREN OF THE WICKER MAN, which offers a very unique perspective on the lasting legacy of this cinema masterpiece.

“Among the confirmed guests for the festival’s second wave of films are Alejo Rébora and Daniela Jimenez (7 Lives), Paulo Caldas (Atmosphere), Jaco Bouwer (Breathing In), Karim Lakzadeh and Arash Jooyandeh (Dark Matter), Ryan Ward and Mackenzie Leigh (Daughter of the Sun), Nando Martínez (Fantastic Golem Affairs), Mike McCutchen and JJ Weber (A Game in the Woods), Mario Mayo and Jaime Arnaiz (I’ll Crush Y’all), Roger Elarrat (I, Nirvana), Mike Hermosa (The Invisible Raptor)Gonzalo Quintana and Hernán Quintana (Jorge & Alberto Vs. The Neoliberal Demons), Benjamin Pfohl (Jupiter), Gabriel Papaléo (Liminal Space), Igor Bastos (Motherboard), Armando Fonseca (Remind), Julio Cesar Napoli (Road to the Mouth of Hell), Gonzalo López-Gallego (The Shadow of the Shark), Máncel Martínez (Shit Happens and Miracles too), Guto Parente (A Strange Path), Juliana Muras (Trenque Lauquen), Kenichi Ugana (Visitors – Complete Edition), and Demián Rugna (When Evil Lurks).

The 20th edition of Fantaspoa takes place between April 10 and 28, 2024, and is presented by the Ministry of Culture, Fantaspoa Productions, and Instituto Ling, with sponsorship from Crown Embalagens, America Embalagens, and Banrisul.”

Below is the full second wave of feature films to screen at Fantaspoa XX:

  • 7 LIVES (dir. Alejo Rébora. 2024, Argentina, World Premiere)
  • ALBERT PYUN: KING OF CULT MOVIES (dir. Lisa D’Apolito. 2023, United States, International Premiere)
  • ANNA’S FEELINGS (dir. Anna Melikyan. 2023, Russia, Latin American Premiere)
  • ANOTHER CURSED MOVIE (dirs. Alberto Andrés Fasce and Mario Gonzalo Varela. 2023, Argentina, Brazilian Premiere)
  • ATMOSPHERE (dir. Paulo Caldas. 2023, Brazil/Germany, Regional Premiere)
  • AVIVA (dir. Boaz Yakin. 2020, United States, France)
  • AZRAEL (dir. E.L. Katz. 2024, United States/Estonia, International Premiere)
  • BA (dir. Benjamin Wong. 2024, United States, International Premiere)
  • BABY ASSASSINS 2 BABIES (dir. Yugo Sakamoto. 2023, Japan, Latin American Premiere)
  • BEYOND THE INFINITE TWO MINUTES (dir. Junta Yamaguchi. 2021, Japan)
  • BREATHING IN (dir. Jaco Bouwer. 2023, South Africa, Latin American Premiere)
  • CLARICE’S DREAM (dirs. Fernando Gutierrez and Guto Bicalho. 2023, Brazil, Regional Premiere)
  • THE COMPLEX FORMS (dir. Fabio D’Orta. 2023, Italy, Latin American Premiere)
  • CONSUMED (dir. Mitchell Altieri. 2024, United States, World Premiere)
  • DARK MATTER (dir. Karim Lakzadeh. 2023, Iran, Latin American Premiere)
  • DAUGHTER OF THE SUN (dir. Ryan Ward. 2023, Canada, United States, Brazilian Premiere)
  • DEMIGOD: THE LEGEND BEGINS (dir. Chris Huang Wen-Chang. 2022, Taiwan, Latin American Premiere)
  • DIE NIBELUNGEN: KRIEMHILD’S REVENGE (dir. Fritz Lang. 1924, Germany)
  • DIE NIBELUNGEN: SIEGFRIED’S DEATH (dir. Fritz Lang. 1924, Germany)
  • EIGHT EYES (dir. Austin Jennings. 2023, United States/Serbia, Brazilian Premiere)
  • ENCOUNTERS (dir. Dmitry Moiseev. 2023, Russia, Latin American Premiere)
  • ENTER THE CLONES OF BRUCE (dir. David Gregory. 2023, United States, Latin American Premiere)
  • THE FANTASTIC GOLEM AFFAIRS (dirs. Juan González and Nando Martínez. 2023, Spain/Estonia, Latin American Premiere)
  • THE FUNERAL (dir. Orçun Behram. 2023, Turkey, Latin American Premiere)
  • A GAME IN THE WOODS (dir. Mike McCutchen. 2024, United States, World Premiere)
  • THE GLASS HOUSE (dir. Taras Dron. 2023, Ukraine/Cyprus/Romania/Germany, Latin American Premiere)
  • THE HANDS OF ORLAC (dir. Robert Wiene. 1924, Germany, Austria)
  • THE HYPERBORIAN (dir. Jesse Thomas Cook. 2023, Canada, Brazilian Premiere)
  • I’LL CRUSH Y’ALL (dir. Kike Narcea. 2023, Spain, Brazilian Premiere)
  • I, NIRVANA (dir. Roger Elarrat. 2024, Brazil, Regional Premiere)
  • THE INVISIBLE FIGHT (dir. Rainer Sarnet. 2023, Estonia/Greece/Finland/Latvia, Latin American Premiere)
  • THE INVISIBLE RAPTOR (dir. Mike Hermosa. 2023, United States, Latin American Premiere)
  • JORGE & ALBERTO VERSUS THE NEOLIBERAL DEMONS (dirs. Gonzalo Quintana and Hernán Quintana. 2014, Argentina/Brazil)
  • JUPITER (dir. Benjamin Pfohl. 2023, Germany, Latin American Premiere)
  • KIM’S VIDEO (dirs. Ashley Sabin and David Redmon. 2023, United States, Regional Premiere)
  • THE LAST SPARK OF HOPE (dir. Piotr Biedroń. 2023, Poland, Latin American Premiere)
  • LIMINAL SPACE (dir. Gabriel Papaléo. 2023, Brazil, Regional Premiere)
  • M (dir. Vardan Tozija. 2023, North Macedonia/Croatia/France/Kosovo/Luxembourg, Latin American Premiere)
  • THE MONSTER WITH MANY NOSES (dir. Abigail Schaaff. 2023, Spain/France, Latin American Premiere)
  • THE MOOR (dir. Chris Cronin. 2023, United Kingdom, Brazilian Premiere)
  • MOTHERBOARD (dir. Igor Bastos. 2023, Brazil, Regional Premiere)
  • THE MUTATION PROTOCOL (dir. Marcelo Leguiza. 2024, Argentina, World Premiere)
  • THE OTHER SHAPE (dir. Diego Felipe Guzmán. 2022, Brazil/Colombia, Regional Premiere)
  • PANDEMONIUM (dir. Quarxx. 2023, France, Brazilian Premiere)
  • REMIND (dir. Armando Fonseca. 2024, Brazil, World Premiere)
  • RESTLESS WATERS, SHIVERING LIGHTS (dir. Ángeles Hernández. 2023, Spain, International Premiere)
  • ROAD TO THE MOUTH OF HELL (dir. Julio Cesar Napoli. 2024, Brazil, World Premiere)
  • SATRANIC PANIC (dir. Alice Maio Mackay. 2023. Australia, Latin American Premiere)
  • THE SHADOW OF THE SHARK (dir. Gonzalo López-Gallego. 2024, Spain, Latin American Premiere)
  • SHIT HAPPENS AND MIRACLES TOO (Dir. Máncel Martínez. 2024, Colombia, World Premiere).
  • THE SLEEPING WOMAN (dir. Laura Alvea. 2024, Spain, Latin American Premiere)
  • A STRANGE PATH (dir. Guto Parente. 2023, Brazil, Regional Premiere)
  • THE TENANTS (dir. Eun-kyoung Yoon. 2023, South Korea, Latin American Premiere)
  • TRENQUE LAUQUEN (dir. Laura Citarella. 2023, Argentina, Germany)
  • VISITORS – COMPLETE EDITION (dir. Kenichi Ugana. 2023, Japan, Latin American Premiere)
  • THE WAIT (dir. F. Javier Gutierrez. 2023, Spain, Latin American Premiere)
  • WAKE (dirs. Thom Arizmendi and Austin Parks Stewart. 2024, United States, International Premiere)
  • THE WEIRD KIDZ (dir. Zach Passero. 2023, United States, Latin American Premiere)
  • WHEN EVIL LURKS (dir. Demian Rugna. 2023, Argentina)
  • THE WICKER MAN (dir. Robin Hardy. 1973, United Kingdom)

Head over to the official Fantaspoa website to learn more.

Devon Sawa in ‘Consumed’

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