"Our goal is to get people moving" said First Blood's vocalist, Carl Schwartz. "When we started the band in 2002, we just wanted kids, at the time just our friends…we just wanted to provide a soundtrack for everyone to basically go off." Carl really wanted to see the audience having a good time at First Blood shows. They are currently on the road with Napalm Death, Exodus, and Hatebreed as part of the Monsters of Mayhem tour. "It's pretty crazy touring with [Napalm Death]," said Carl, "They've been my heroes since I was 19." Carl said he feels lucky to have the opportunity to watch Napalm Death give it their all every night. Carl found inspiration in watching Hatebreed and Napalm Death perform because of their stage presence. "They always crush it, they always sound awesome," Carl said in reference to Hatebreed's live show, "[Hatebreed's vocalist, Jamey Jasta] can really get the crowd pumped up. For us as a band starting out, it's always inspiration to see other bands getting people motivated. Napalm Death have been doing this for 20 something years, and they still come out with the same intensity on stage every night." On the road, Carl was impressed by "anyone who is receptive to what [he says] on stage." Being a fairly new band, [they] "love it when kids come up to [them] after the show and say, 'You were awesome. I've never heard you before. I picked up your c.d.'"
First Blood attributed their success to Trustkill records. "They've been pushing our new album and pushing us as a band", Carl said. "They've been keeping us on tour all the time, which is what we need."
New to Trustkill, First Blood's debut album, Killafornia, was deemed "[o]ne of the greatest hardcore releases in years" by Decibel. Carl felt that was "a huge overstatement", but he was flattered nonetheless. When recording, First Blood never aimed for a particular sound, although all reviews have labeled them as hardcore or metal. "We just want to have a crushing sound. That's never going to change," Carl pointed out. "We're all into hardcore, we all listen to various metal bands and thrash. We try to incorporate everything into it. I don't think we want to be one particular style, but at the same time we don't want to go crazy and do all sorts of weird things. There's definitely a comfort level we have. Whatever comes out comes out." As a band, First Blood was happy with the way the new record turned out.
2008 Woodie Awards
Be the first to comment on this story