WARPATH             

       

The Metal Pit's featured unsigned artist is the band WARPATH from the United Kingdom

Metal Pit:  Welcome to the Metal Pit bros, glad we finally had a chance to get together.

Pete: Hey there, yeah glad to be here and thank you for taking the time to ask us these questions.　

Rich: Thanks man, we’re looking forward to answering everything. 

　
Metal Pit : I guess the first question on my mind is with the success of your debut CD "Damnation" and the huge buzz that seems to follow this band, how the hell are you guys still unsigned?

Pete: Hah! We honestly don't have an answer for that, but if we had a pound for every time we were asked that, we wouldn't need a record label as we'd be rich! We have had interest off quite a few major labels but as soon as we reply asking to know more details and conditions we never hear back from them, so your guess is as good as ours on that one.

　
Metal Pit: What exactly is it that the band expects from a potential label?

Rich: We would expect them to work as hard as we do, pretty much 24/7 commitment to the band’s promotion and to the fans. Good distribution, tour support, TV and radio exposure, etc. Strong communication and the same vision between the band and the record label is a must. 

　

Metal Pit: If I were a record company exec, how would you try to sell Warpath to me?

Pete: I don't think we'd need to. The music, fan base and world wide accolades we've gotten really do speak for themselves and answer that question.

Rich: Just take a look at our reviews and the comments and support we get daily online. 

　
Metal Pit: Well if it was up to me the band would be signed today just on the strength of "Damnation" alone, you guys really put out a brutal CD of Thrash Metal that you should be very proud of.

Pete: Thank you very much! "Damnation" is definitely the album I would want to listen to.

Rich: Thanks! We appreciate it. That means a lot to us to hear that.

　
Metal Pit: How did the band come to be?

Rich: I formed the band in 2003 in my hometown in Wales, UK. Gareth joined the band soon after and we put out a few demos and played up and down the country to build the bands reputation and experience. After a few years, James and Pete joined the band and we recorded the ‘Damnation’ album. 

　
Metal Pit: Can you tell us a little about the guys in the band and what each of them brings to the Warpath team?

Rich: Sure. Pete is the lead guitarist, does most of the radio interviews and all round milf hunter. Gareth is the bassist and handles all of the important website stuff. James is the drummer and brings his death metal drum influences and general weirdness and insanity. 

　
Metal Pit: I just read somewhere that the band is going to be featured on "Rock Band 2", how freaking awesome is that?

Rich: It’s great. We’re very pleased with it. The track “Life Unworthy of Life” is now available to play on there and we’re working on getting more tracks included. It’s a great opportunity for us.

Pete: I know huh! We are all so stoked that is has gone onto such a widely noticed game like Rock Band 2 and are not only so pleased with ourselves but also the fan basis world wide we can reach that way is phenomenal.

　
Metal Pit: Do you guys get to play a lot of Rock Band and are you any good?

Pete: No, I don't play any form of video games.

Gareth: I don't play video games either, but when I have the chance to play Rock Band I'll let you know how badly it goes!

Rich: I play video games occasionally when I have the time, which isn’t too often. I’ve never played Rock Band though. I’ll have to pick up a copy sometime, maybe over Christmas.

　
Metal Pit: Who were some other bands or musicians that inspired you to form your own metal band?

Rich: Megadeth (Dave Mustaine), Metallica (James Hetfield), Guns N Roses (Axl Rose), Marty Friedman and Jason Becker.

Pete: Iron Maiden has always been my biggest influence and is the reason I play guitar so Dave Murray and Adrian Smith are definitely two of my biggest inspirations. Next to them I think Doug Aldrich, Glen Drover, Jeff Waters, Tony MacAlpine are some of the best guitarists in the world and influence me incredibly.

Gareth: Any form of success can inspire me and I see lots of that in artists like Miyavi, Mike Patton and a phenomenal bassist called Giorgio Terenziani. My own style was initially influenced by Geezer Butler, Cliff Burton and Nobuo Uematsu, and more recently by Steve DiGiorgio, Dave Ellefson and even The Mad Capsule Markets. I also think that Metallica's origins have been hugely influential on us as a band.

　
Metal Pit: What is your overall opinion of the Thrash Metal genre in 2010?

Pete: Well the year is only one quarter of the year through so it is hard to say really, but to be honest the genre has not really inspired me for a while, which is why we push to write the most technical, aggressive and fastest thrash metal. I am however really looking forward to the new Annihilator and Testament albums.

Rich: A lot of the newer thrash metal I’ve heard doesn’t interest me. The last Testament CD was awesome though and can’t wait to hear their next CD.

Gareth: There's definitely a strong diversity of bands out there somewhere, but it seems that most exposure is given to those which sound identical. Fortunately it feels like live music is really on the rise these days, particularly with giants Megadeth, Testament, Metallica and Slayer on tour.

　
Metal Pit: It seems like Thrash kinda went underground for a little while but now is back with a vengeance, do you agree?

Pete: In a sense yes. It's always been here like all genres of metal, with the bigger names carrying the torch while some bands did go underground or off the radar so to speak. But I think half of this "new wave" of thrash bands is pure copy cats pretending to be the likes of Exodus or Overkill and are running around like it's still 1987 and loosing track of what the whole point of being in a band is really all about.

Gareth: There are plenty of artists backing the genre's presence today, but the serious following it needs is currently dispersed across the web and confined to parts of Asia and Eastern Europe. Attempting to mimic the genre's past has done little to reinvigorate the British thrash metal scene/graveyard.

Metal Pit: "Damnation" was originally released in 2008 and sold out immediately, that had to be a pretty cool surprise for the band?

Rich: Yeah we were especially pleased with that. Great way to kick off the album’s release and proved there’s a strong demand for the music!

Gareth: It basically confirmed to us that metal fans across world want something fresh, so no real surprise there. It certainly makes us proud to see such sales continue into our current phase of song-writing for the next album.

　
Metal Pit: The CD cover art is pretty cool, does that tie in with the music on the disc, kinda the apocalyptic Damnation of us all?

Rich: Yeah it’s definitely meant to tie in with the music. It represents a lot of the ‘Damnation’ lyrics and themes; money/greed, religion, politics and the conflict and wars that those subjects cause. 

　
Metal Pit: Some of my favourite tunes on the CD are "Damnation", "Expendable Forces" and "Infernal" but there is no filler on this disc and each tune really stands out on its own. Do you guys have any favs you like playing live?

Pete: Again thank you for the kind comment! I often change in mood of which songs I prefer to play live, right now "Damnation", "W.M.D." and "Hostile Takeover" are my favourites but they all rock!

Gareth: I'm glad that you find each track to stand out on the album as I find the same playing them back-to-back at live shows. At recent shows, my favourites have been "W.M.D" and "Expendable Forces".

　
Metal Pit: Speaking of playing live the band has toured pretty extensively in Europe and even had a spot on the Wacken festival with Slayer. That had to be a dream come true for the band. How did the guys in Slayer treat you?

Pete: It was a heavy metal dream come true! We played with some amazing bands, to some amazing fans in a country that’s gave us some truly awesome classic metal bands!

Rich: Everyone there was so cool to us and we can’t wait to go back there! It was an incredible show, a real highlight in the bands history.

　
Metal Pit: Who are some other bands you would like to share the stage with in the future?

Pete: Testament and Annihilator for me!

Rich: Metallica, Megadeth, Testament.

Gareth: X-Japan would be amazing, or how about Polkadot Cadaver! 

　
Metal Pit: Any plans on a major tour of Canada and the U.S.?

Pete: Nothing confirmed at the moment, but we would love to tour all of the U.S and Canada! That would be awesome, but I think I’d run away when we get to Toronto and no-one would ever see me again, I love that city.

Rich: We’d love to play all over Canada and the U.S. It’s just down to the promoters.
　

Metal Pit: Warpath seems to be a band that has taken full advantage of the internet and all it has to offer up and coming bands. What is your opinion on the digital age of Metal?

Gareth: We've used the web extensively to promote ourselves so it always puzzles me when other bands put minimal effort into their digital exposure. Common sense applies though: online content must be relevant to the real-life creation of music while using Twitter to tell fans what colour socks you're wearing is completely pointless.

Rich: Hah! It’s true. Who the hell cares about what someone is currently eating or doing? We use the net and social networking sites to promote the band every single day. It’s vital.

　
Metal Pit: Do you think more and more bands today are taking control of their own music and production responsibilities instead of relying on the record companies?

Pete: Some of them definitely are yes. Not all of them do it to the full of their advantage but I do see it becoming more the done thing to do so.

Gareth: Yes, in the sense that today it's easier for any dedicated musician to reach into the production process independently. But beyond the recording process, few people want to explore the more complex tasks of selling their work and promoting themselves further, so record labels still retain their status as gatekeepers.

Rich: We do everything ourselves and so far haven’t needed to sell our souls for a shit record deal, but unfortunately, many bands today are still too inept or lazy to work things out for themselves so they’ll continue to be taken advantage of. 

　
Metal Pit: Where can fans find out more about the band and buy a copy of "Damnation" and other merchandise?

Rich: The album and merchandise is available worldwide from our store at www.warpath-online.com/store . It’s also available from the major retail stores (HMV, Amazon) as well as iTunes, The End Records (USA) and Rock Stakk Records (Japan). 

　
Metal Pit: Is there anything you would like to add to this interview?

Rich: Thanks to everyone for reading, keep supporting metal, and if you like a band, buy their official merchandise!

　
Metal Pit: On behalf of myself and the Metal Pit, We want to thank you for spending time with us today. This band definitely has the talent to go as far as it wants to go and I for one predict big things for Warpath in 2010 and beyond. We wish you the best of luck brothers.

Pete: Thank you again so much for the kind words and awesome questions, it’s been a blast! Metal Pit and all its readers’ rock! We hope to see you all on the road soon!

Rich: Thanks for taking the time to interview us! We’re glad you like our music and look forward to seeing you on tour one day!

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Warpath Website

Warpath Myspace page