Interviews: Wrath Of Belial

On this new occasion, we had the opportunity to interview the Melodic Death Metal/Death Metal/Thrash Metal band Wrath Of Belial from Denmark. Check out the interview and follow this band on their FACEBOOK PAGE.

1. Where did you get the idea for the band name? Was it planned, or did it just happen organically?

Our band was rooted in another, more death-thrashy outfit, “Pariah Syndicate”, started by Kasper, Jonas, and some of our other friends and foes in 2006 or 2007. 

Our direction was more based in deathcore and death thrash (or WARCORE as we called it - maybe a new sub category for your zine?). We slowly gravitated towards a more death metal-based sound, and due to a change in personnel, we opted for a name change and a rebrand of the band. Jonas brought the name to the table, and everybody was hooked.

2. Why did you choose to play this genre?

Well, because playing Fast and Furious is a lot of fun! Everybody likes different stuff - HxC, Jazz, Post Punk, Prog, but something about Death Metal just pushes the right buttons. We all grew up listening to heavier music, so our natural music voicing gravitated towards death metal. Some of us play different stuff in other assemblies.

3. Did you know each other before forming the band?

Jonas and Kasper met in high school. Both were acquaintances of Anders’ sister. Later, after college, they started the band in Aarhus, Denmark - so yes. We know Richardt and Bent through the national metal music scene.

4. What is each band member's favorite band?

Tough one -here are some options!

Anders - Mastodon, Soundgarden, or Cannibal Corpse

Kasper - Job For A Cowboy, Protest the Hero, Anaal Nathrakh

Jonas - Aborted

Richardt - Wormrot, Disentomb, Tsjuder

Bent - The Unholy Trinity of Cryptopsy, Gorod, and Cytotoxin

5. Who or what inspires you to write songs? 

The all-encompassing negative bias in life - and the power of the riff! On the musical side, bands such as The Black Dahlia Murder, Aborted, Job For A Cowboy, Alterbeast, Mastodon, and even Agnes Obel have inspired the compositions of our songs, mixing hard-hitting death metal riffs with melancholic melodies. Lyrics are inspired by writers such as Nietzsche, Fjodor Dostojevskij, Carl Jung, Aleksandr Solsjenitsyn, among many others.

6. Where was your last gig?

That was before Covid-19 with our homies in Persecutor. A fun, small-town gig hosted by two crazy underground metal enthusiasts. We will finally hit some stages again soon with our new strong team.

7. Where would you like to perform in the future?

Everywhere possible - but Germany, Belgium,and  Poland would be fun! 

8. Which artist or band would you like to collaborate with?

I guess we like to pave our own road, but we would probably like to enlist the daemorph again for artwork!

9. Is there anyone you wouldn’t want to collaborate with?

That's classified!

10. Have any of you ever experienced stage fright? Do you have any tips for beginners on overcoming it?

Not in the literal sense - just be well prepared, know your shit and have a well written battle plan.

11. Which bands have influenced you the most?

Metallica, Aborted, The Black Dahlia Murder, Hatesphere, Cannibal Corpse, Mastodon

12. What's the weirdest thing a fan has ever asked you for?

Wet stage clothes, yikes!

13. What do you think of your fans?

The support from our audience means so much, so when a person comes and tells us that they really like the show or the record, it really motivates us to keep pushing and makes us really happy for a long time after, so I recommend everyone to do that to their favorite band, because it really means a lot. We shipped records to almost every continent - the metal community is strong and not bound locally!

14. What do you think of our site?

It’s awesome! Lots of interviews and underground stuff. You are keeping the fire alive, and thanks for bringing metal-related content to the people!

15. Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Keep up the good work - good webzines are under siege from the ubiquitous So-Me cancer.