Hi, first off all I just want to congratulate you with your debut album “Purgation”.
I’m very satisfied with it! How do you feel about it?
Rob: Yeah were very pleased with the album! We wanted to make a real blasting, fast, heavy as fuck Death Metal Album and I think we achieved that! It’s a great introduction to the band but there’s still a lot more to come.
How has “Purgation” been received by the media?
Rob: We’ve been overwhelmed by the response it has received so far! It has had great coverage across the UK and Europe so far with a lot of killer reviews. It’s really satisfying having great responses not only from the press but from the Death Metal scene across Europe.
It also helped signed us a deal with Metal Blade for the U.S, Canada, Japan and Australia which is really fucking exciting. It is being released in these territories August 19th so were awaiting the response from their press anytime now!
How did you get your name TRIGGER THE BLOODSHED?
Rob: Well we started off with no real aspirations for the band just the one goal of playing the music we love. As things progressed we started getting shows and needed a name and we really wanted to choose a name which would let everyone know what kind of music to expect from us! Trigger The Bloodshed was suggested and I think it ticks that box nicely, I mean we’ve never had any indie kids turn up to our shows, thank fuck.
Which bands from then and from nowadays have their influence on your music?
Rob: We have been very lucky hat we have been able to tour with and have tours coming up with some of our biggest influences, Dying Fetus, Suffocation, Cryptopsy and Meshuggah! Other big influences for the band are bands such as Behemoth, Necrophagist, Decapitated and Nile.
Who has produced and mixed the album?
Rob: The album was produced by Mark Daghorn at Red House farm and mixed by Karl Groom. It wasn’t the most conventional producer/mixer but I think it worked out for us! It allowed us to try techniques we hadn’t thought of and create a real crushing album. Obviously there are things we will be doing differently on our next album but there’s nothing we regret on Purgation.
The cover artwork isn’t very “Death Metal” to me... do you agree?
And does it have any deeper meaning?
Rob: I think there’s too much emphasis on Gore in Death Metal at the moment and a lot of it is without meaning or any purpose. Our album does not concentrate on these themes so we didn’t want to put someone with their head cut off or something along those lines as it just wouldn’t have suited the album. The album focuses mainly on a lot of the scum we have come across or read about in the world today and is written metaphorically about a man who carries out his own Purgation on these people. The place on the front and the inside is meant to symbolise where this guy began this purgation.
If you have to pick ONE song that you think best sums up your album, what
would it be and why?
Rob: Impregnable Miscreation. This is the band’s favourite song as it’s just full of solid riffing, blasting drumming and a relentlessly heavy sound!
How healthy do you think the Death Metal scene is right now?
Rob: I think the Death Metal scene is in really healthy shape at the moment. With bands like Behemoth hitting the charts in the US with their latest release and then bands such as Job For A Cowboy and others pushing the genre into the mainstream through their popularity the scene has been and will continue to grow! The amount of Death Metal Bands is growing at such a fast rate that there are Death Metal shows every night and with tools such as the internet to promote these shows and bands it’s a lot easier to check out new bands, be it at their shows or simply on line via myspace/pure volume or other music sites.
What tasks presently lie ahead for you?
Rob: Well we’ve got a lot of touring coming up until the end of the year starting now with the mighty Bleed From Within, then were off supporting See You Next Tuesday around Europe and directly after we are heading off main support to Meshuggah across Europe! We are then recording our follow up album to Purgation in October, which we’re really fucking excited about! Its almost all written now and is a big step up from Purgation, expect all the blasting and heaviness from Purgation, a lot more technicality and shredding, better structuring and killer vocals from new vocalist Jonny Burgan. We then end the year on tour with Cryptopsy and Beneath The Massacre across Europe!
Let's speculate - you have been granted a free slot on a tour of your own choice - who would be your ideal touring partners?
Rob: Suffocation, Dying Fetus, Behemoth, Nile and Decapitated. Sadly this will now never be possible, but that would definitely be one of the heaviest shows ever to take place!
Any last words for our readers?
Rob: Keep slaying, keep it Death Metal and make sure you get out and pick up a copy of Purgation from the 22nd August and get down to see us this August/September with See You Next Tuesday and Meshuggah.
Rob Purnell
