Interview with Heavy Friends Records!

I recently spoke with Sara and Steve, the evil geniuses behind Heavy Friends Records. This new metal label is the home of Destroyer of Light, who appeared on the first Bong Hits From the Astral Basement comp. We talked about their future plans, their need for bands, and the worst possible scenario for heavy metal.

Heavy Planet (HP): Talk a little about the process of forming your own record label. What is the most difficult part?

Heavy Friends Records (HFR): Well, we are heavily involved in our metal scenes, both in Denver and Austin, and we share a common love of doom, sludge, stoner, thrash, and black metal. So, we decided to form a record label to help support the killer bands in our respective locations. The most difficult part is getting all the finances together, but equally as well, taking care of all the legal stuff.

HP: What formats are you going to release (tapes, vinyl, cds, digital)? Is there any format you won't put out?

HFR: We have a couple future projects that will be released on vinyl, and have plans to work with all formats. But as record collectors, we are leaning more towards the vinyl.

HP: Besides your roster, what will set Heavy Friends apart from other metal labels? Are you going to release colored or otherwise limited edition vinyl?

HFR: As a start, will focus primarily on the bands from Austin, TX and Denver, CO , which is the one thing that may set us apart. And yes, we do plan on doing some limited edition vinyl because everyone loves cool artwork, packages, and etc.

HP: What is your current roster and how many bands do you hope to add?

HFR: As of right now, Destroyer of Light from Austin, TX is our first band, but also, we have a few different projects with a couple bands for 2014, exciting news coming soon!

HP: Are you taking demos and how can bands submit their tunes to you?

HFR: Yes, we will gladly listen to any demos sent our way. Our requirements are you must be in the sub-genres of doom, sludge, stoner, thrash, or black metal. We accept demos and bandcamp links, and you can send them to heavyfriendsrecords@gmail.com.

HP: What type of bands are you looking for, soundwise? What would the "lightest" band on Heavy Friends sound like?

HFR: Like I stated above, mainly stoner, doom, sludge, thrash, and black metal. The “lightest” band would sound like Purson/Witchcraft.

HP: Are you going to focus on putting out music or do you have ideas for other types of media you'd like to release? Any ambition to be the next Apple Records?

HFR: We have discussed working with artists that do artwork for metal bands because they deserve as much attention as the bands themselves. Their visions should be promoted and publicized. Also, we are planning to film and distribute a couple mini-documentaries, details coming soon. Haha, no, we don’t want to be the next Apple Records.

HP: If you could sign one band, from any era, who would it be and why?

HFR (Steve): Man, that’s a tough one. Well, I would have signed Pentagram in the 70s because, that material is so killer, and I wish it would have seen the light of day back then.

HFR (Sara)- Hawkwind from 1972, when they released Doremi Fasol Latido.

HP: What would the world sound like if Tony Iommi had ALL his fingers cut off in that accident?

HFR (Steve) - The world would sound like a bunch of whiny grown music nerds wondering why there isn’t a song called “Into the Void.”

HFR(Sara) - A lot of sad kittens…meowing all the time.

HP: You both hail from different scenes Denver and Austin, respectively, who are the best bands in your scenes?

HFR: As far as Austin, we got Widower, The Unmothered, Communion, The Well, Lions of Tsavo, The Blood Royale, Ditch Witch, Sans Soleil, Sabbath Crow, etc. and etc. For Denver, there’s Speedwolf, In the Company of Serpents, Low Gravity, Khemmis, Deer Creek, Weaponizer, We haven’t nearly touched on all the killer bands in our individual scenes, but these are the ones that stick out at the moment.

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Video Premier of Destroyer of Light's "Forbidden Zombi Ritual" with an Interview Thrown in For Good Measure

Since their appearance on the original Bong Hits From the Astral Basement, Austin's Destroyer of Light have slowly and steadily, in true zombie fashion, overrun the underground metal scene. Blending Candlemass wail with well placed death growls, Destroyer of Light bridge the gap between traditional metal and the more extreme sub genres, while wisely never going full cookie monster. I spoke with Steve (guitar/vox/mastermind) about the lineup changes, touring plans, and their new video, which makes its world premier at the bottom of this page.  

Justin- Can you tell me about the lineup change? Have you found a new bassist?

Steve- Well, the line-up changed happened because we didn't see eye to eye in what it is to be a touring musician. This is a business to us as we want to get to the point that we can make money on tour and invest a lot into this band. Nothing against Mark, he is a great bassist and hope he continues to play music in other projects, we are still his friends. However, we are entering our second year as a band, and want to take things further than we did since our inception in 2012. As far as a new bassist, we have tried out a couple of guys, and while we haven't made any confirmation on a new bass player, the search has been going well. And I expect that we will be back playing shows by February.

J- Tell me about the new EP. How do you compare it to the previous release?

S- Bizarre Tales Vol. 2 was recorded at the same studio as the Self-Titled, Yellow Dog Studios in Austin, TX. The engineer, Matt Meli, really liked working with us on the first EP, and he wanted to record us again. This time though, we were able to take more time to make sure that we got everything to sound the way we wanted. Some of these songs we wrote way back when we first started, and then a couple of the songs were written right before we decided to record in the studio. On this album too, it features more material that was written more so by Keegan, and then there is a song that was also written by Mark. Where on the first record, I wrote most of the material. So, it's cool because this EP shows how diverse we can be as a band, and presents a different side to us than the S/T. Most of the lyrics are still the same, as they are fictional tales of horror, sci-fi, and the Greeks.

J- The video is cool as hell, who did the animation and put it all together?

S- Thanks! Well, the guy who made the video is Erik Bredthauer, and we posted on our Facebook page looking for someone to do animation for us to promote our new single. He contacted me, and said that he had never done this for a band, but does these kind of projects for work. And as a fan of the band, he wanted to help us out and have fun with the project. So, it was really cool that he wanted to take time out of his day to help us get a pretty cool animation to go along with this song. What we were looking for was a Tales From the Crypt comic style kind of animation. As most of my lyrics delve into horror, and this song is about Zombies, we thought it would be perfect to do that kind of match. I am really happy with it, and can't wait to premiere "Forbidden Zombi Ritual" to the world. The record has been done since October; so, it'll be great to get this out.

J- What are your touring plans and how soon before you get on the road?

S- As of right now, we are discussing when we will be back on the road, but we are going to shoot for early April. First, we need to solidify our new line-up, practice through our new setlist, and another thing we are really looking to do before we tour is release our new EP on vinyl. So, we will be trying to find ways to put out this vinyl because the artwork is fantastic and it would look really good. Plus, the more mercy we can sell on the road, the better.

J- Anything else you want to add?

S- Lastly, I would like to thank everybody for the support so far, we don't plan on stopping anytime soon. If anything, we plan on coming through your town more and more, and have plans for more releases, etc. I hope you enjoy the new song, "Forbidden Zombi Ritual." You can find us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/destroyeroflight), Twitter (dolaustindoom), Instagram, and band camp (www.destroyeroflight.bandcamp.com). Thank you again, and we will see you soon in your town! Cheers!

And now that you are up to speed on the happenings in the Destroyer of Light camp, please enjoy the premier of their new video, "Forbidden Zombi Ritual". Duuuude.

EP Review: Destroyer of Light by Destroyer of Light

When I lived in Toledo, Ohio, I rested my head fewer than fifty paces from a vinyl shop- RamaLama Records. I could wake up, roll out of bed, and get into that  record store before my hangover kicked in. It was glorious. I was spoiled. Then I moved to Kalamazoo, Michigan, and my vinyl connection melted into the proverbial sunset.

But, before I escaped from the Buckeye State I scoured apartments in the Zoo, looking for a shack close to a record store. I couldn't  find any places as close as I'd become accustomed to, but I did find a decent shop, and when I walked in and bought Trouble's Run to the Light the manager talked to me for thirty minutes. I'd found my home away from home. My third place.

That store is Greenlight Records, and the manger is Chris, and during one of our frequent conversations he suggested I give a listen to a band of Kalamazoo expats who now dwell in Austin. Destroyer of Light.
Destroyer of Light play heavy doom with a hint of death. They boast mostly clean vocals with a smattering of bowel shaking death growls that are used to season the tunes. These extreme vocals work amazingly well when paired with the at times Messiah Marcolin like clean vocals that are the norm on the album .

The album kicks off with the "single", or at least the tune a video was made for, Greet Death and it is a great summation of what this band is all about- heavy doom riffing, creepy clean vocals, and scare your dog death growls. A helluva way to kick things off. Next up is The Virgin, a Rosemary's Baby tale about giving birth to Satan. The tune starts out with feedback and builds and builds to a funeral stomp with cough syrup vocals that drip slow and clean. A chorus works its way between the riffs, then more of those codeine calls before the death growls pop up to remind you how evil this ditty is, least you'd forgotten. The tune ends with the whole coven coming down to the studio to sing back up on the chorus. Cool. So Divided could start a whole new genre: protest doom. Current and eternal evils are discussed and I'm reminded of all those great message songs Sabbath put out so many years ago. Coffin Hunter rises next, and you can guess what this tune is all about. There is a solo buried in the mix around three minutes and forty seconds in that's worth checking out, it tries and tries to rise above the sludgy dirge but is soon silenced by death growls. The album ends with Asteroid and I've included a live clip here so I'll spare you my stuttering description. Destroyer of Light are collecting funds to put out some vinyl, so visit their Bandcamp page- if you're so inclined.

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New Band To Burn One To: DESTROYER OF LIGHT

Heavy Planet presents today's "New Band To Burn One To"...DESTROYER OF LIGHT!

Band Bio:

2012 was the year that Destroyer of Light formed in Austin, TX. DoL is a big fan of the heavy riff and making sure that it is emphasized and incorporated. Each member brings a unique element to the band comprising of Steve (guitar/vocals), Keagan (guitar), Mark (Bass), and Penny (Drums). Together, they plan to be a powerful force in Texas music scene! The power of the riff will compel you!



Thoughts:

"You guys had me at the first riff! Straight from the hotbed of Austin, Texas's amazing music scene comes Destroyer of Light. Mixing doom and sludge with a bit of psychedelia thrown in for good measure, these fellas trounce mightily through the murky fog with a snail's pace. Combining pain felt vocals with an occasional death growl, these monarchs of gloom encapsulate a raw and simple approach to music and that is to write heavy songs with good riffs and have a hell of a good time doing it. Destroyer of Light, indeed."

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