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Interview with Hemoptysis
February 2009 by Metal Mark |
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Hemoptysis are a thrash band from Tempe,
Arizona who formed back in 2007. I recently had the chance to talk
to them and learn more.
Please introduce everyone in your band and
tell what instrument everyone plays.
Masaki Murashita, vocal/guitar
Jack Fliegler, lead guitar
Sunao Arai, bass
Travis Thune, drums
Tell us a little about the history of your
band.
Masaki: Travis and I jammed in early 2007 and got together a few
months later with a guitarist we used to have. It took at least six
months to find our bassist, Sunao. We had a hard time finding a
singer. A lot of guys contacted us, but most of them never even
showed up for an audition. We found a singer named Anthony
Bartinelli and he was with us for about a couple of months and wrote
lyrics for few songs, but we parted ways because he wanted to
succeed in boxing. After he left, Travis and I started looking for
another singer, but we had so many flakes and almost gave up on
finding one. I started singing to fill the void and move forward
writing songs. We all started to like how it sounded and stuck with
it. This past summer we went through some lead guitarist changes and
lucked out by finding Jack.
Who are your musical influences?
Masaki: I am a huge Megadeth fan, and as you can probably see, Dave
Mustaine is my biggest influence. Mostly I have many influences from
old school metal bands such as Slayer and Iron Maiden, but also I
listen to all sorts of Metal.
Travis: I am influenced at my core with those same kinds of thrash
bands but I have branched out to all sorts of bands like Hypocrisy,
Morbid Angel, Death, Cannibal Corpse, Deicide and a list of bands a
mile long.
Sunao: I do listen to lots of music, not only metal. As I was
developing my Bass style, I studied Zeppelin, Jaco, early Metallica,
and Suicidal Tendencies and lots of other bands.
Jack: I take things I like from every form of metal and try to
puzzle-piece it into our music. I’m a huge fan of the
Norway/Finland/Sweden sound. Some examples would be bands like
Children of Bodom, Kalmah, Amon Amarth, Equilibrium, Finntroll and
many more. I’m also a huge Thrash/Death fan and am heavily
influenced by bands like Metallica, Slayer, Death, Atheist,
Entombed, Sodom, and countless other bands.
Your band name is the term for coughing up
blood I believe. Why did you pick that particular name?
Masaki: Travis picked it up.
Travis: My wife is a pharmacist who specializes in infectious
diseases so she started throwing out these medical terms at me.
Hemoptysis sounded cool and had an awesome, very metal definition,
so we went with that. |
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Guitarist, Jack Fliegler just came on a few months ago to replace
Brian Bieganski who left. How is Jack working out and what he has
brought to your band?
Masaki: He is doing a great job. Jack and I have different music
backgrounds and influences and it fits well together. Sometimes his
badass ideas blow me away! He brought a good spice to us and I am
really enjoying writing songs with him. Our music got more vivid and
a tighter sound since we got Jack.
Travis: We were worried we wouldn't be able to find a replacement as
good as Brian, but we totally lucked out in finding Jack in only a
month's time and he is even better than Brian. Sorry, Brian, if you
are reading this, but it is true. Jack is technical in his playing,
but also has a lot of feeling in it that complements our music so
well.
Sunao: He is great. He is not only playing fast but has melody in
his solos. And he has some cool ideas when we write.
Is there much of a metal scene in Tempe,
Arizona?
Travis: There is a decent metal scene here that seems to be growing.
It seems kind of small, but there is starting to be some great metal
bands coming out of here again like they did in the late 80's.
Who are some of the best metal bands in your
area?
Masaki: Vehemence
Travis: Job For A Cowboy, Sacred Reich, Flotsam and Jetsam is still
here, I think, and many other up and coming bands.
Jack: My favorite band from here would have to be Abigail Williams
although they’ve relocated. We have a great Deathcore scene as well
with bands such as Job for a Cowboy and Knights Of The Abyss… Not
too big on that genre however.Have you
played many shows outside of your home state? If so then where have
you played?
Masaki: Not yet, but we would love to play some shows in other
states when we have opportunities. I’d love to play some shows in my
home country, Japan and Canada where I used to live.
Travis: We were offered a show in Mexico, but we turned it down.
Sunao: Hope we’ll be able to go to other states soon and also in
other countries such as my home country of Japan!!
Jack: Hopefully California will be calling our name in the future.
What is your band doing that is different or
that sets you apart from other thrash bands going today?
Travis: I think most bands start learning a bunch of covers and then
end up actually ripping off the sound or format of those songs. Some
bands will even go as far as to say they want to do a song that
sounds like Slayer's "The Antichrist." We were never big on covers.
We learned a few songs loosely in the beginning just to warm up
with, but our songs don't sound anything like those covers. Each of
us had a musical style going into this band while other bands might
develop their styles while in their band. We have a unique sound.
The new stuff we are writing with Jack seems to be even more refined
and unique because usually Masaki will come up with a riff that is
classic Hemoptysis and Jack will then dress it up with his unique
melodic but brutal touch.
Sunao: Most bands are trying to be some band already out there, but
I think we are going the opposite direction. All of us are
influenced by different sounds and when we mix them up, we get our
sound!!
Jack: I’ve noticed that many local metal bands focus on being heavy
and pretty straight-forward. I’d like to think that our sound is a
bit more colorful and exciting compared to some acts I’ve heard
locally. Others have told me this as well which is great.
In what areas do you think that you need to
improve on?
Travis: We need to improve on writing lyrics a little. Masaki and I
have been doing it since Anthony left, and we are getting better
almost every song it seems.
Jack: I’m not yet fully satisfied with my live performance, I’m
still working on playing accurately while moving around and
interacting with the audience.
What are you currently listening to?
Masaki: The Absence. They are awesome!
Travis: I have so many CDs in my truck but Death is the band that
I've been listening to the most lately. Their last three albums,
mostly. At The Gates and some old thrash stuff too.
Sunao: I’ve just borrowed one of Travis’ Soulfly CDs the other day
and I’m listening to it on my I-pod.
Jack: Old Kalmah records!
Have you had any label interest? How important
is it to you to get signed at this point?
Masaki: We have not approached any labels yet. We want some more
reviews of our CD before we do that, but it is very important to get
signed and it means a lot to us. |
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It
is very early in the year so what are your band is goals for 2009?
Masaki: We want to record a full-length record, get more fans and
play bigger shows.
Travis: Yeah and we have three songs written for that CD plus two we
are almost done with, two songs that are in their infancy, and
numerous ideas for other songs. I know I have a lot of ideas for
song lyrics, and no Masaki, they are not all anti-Christian, or
about killing, although those subjects will be covered a lot!
Sunao: Yeah, and since we have Jack now, it’s gonna be one bad ass
CD!!
Jack: Sunao said it! With me it will be the best record ever! Ha ha
but on a more serious note, we’re still trying to refine our sound
and ultimately record one badass full-length.
Pick the band from the following pair that you
prefer and tell why you picked them.
Fueled by Fire or Municipal Waste
Masaki: Municipal Waste.
Travis: I'm not familiar with Fueled by Fire, so I'll go with
Municipal Waste even though I have yet to hear their stuff that I
heard was thrash.
Dark Angel or Death Angel
Masaki: Dark Angel!
Travis: Dark Angel without a doubt. It's harder, faster thrash and
it has Gene Hogland! Hell yeah!
Jack: Dark Angel by far. Darkness Descends is a killer record!
Morbid Angel or Obituary
Masaki: Morbid Angel!
Travis: Morbid Angel all the way, man! Pete Sandoval is a god and
Trey Azegthoth is incredible! They are one of my favorite bands of
all time!
Testament or Exodus
Masaki: This is a hard question! I love them both a lot, but I'd say
Exodus. I think Gary Holt is one of the most underrated guitarists.
Jack: Testament by far for me. Exodus can shred but Testament has
been putting out great records since the beginning and Alex Skolnick
is the man!
Travis: Easy, Testament. They always have great drummers playing for
them, most recently from Slayer and Death, plus they have great
guitar hooks that I love.Is there anything
else that you would like to say about your band or your music?
Masaki: Keep checking us out and supporting us! We are Hemoptysis!
Travis: Give our music a shot. Our EP is just $5 for five songs.
We're not making money off it really. The next CD is in the works
and it will be so fucking awesome! There is one riff that Masaki has
come up with that just blows me away. It always brings a fiendish
smile to my face because it is so wicked and cool. I can't wait to
see where he and Jack take it.
Sunao: Check us out on Myspace. We got some cool songs and if you
like them, come to our shows and buy our CD!!
Jack: Travis and Sunao pretty much summed it up. Just check us
out, tell us what you think, come to a gig or 2 and if you like it,
buy our CD and a shirt to support us. We truly love our fans and
hope to make many new friends in our conquest for playing around the
world and keeping true metal alive. Oh and one more thing, it’s
pronounced Huh-MOP-ti-sis. ha ha
www.myspace.com/hemoptysismetal |
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