Bloodhunter have returned with a new album that shows a more relaxed, confident band, willing to explore new paths without losing the aggression that has always been part of their identity. While staying true to their death metal roots, they incorporate melodies, atmospheres and influences that add another dimension to the songs. With special collaborations and clearly a tremendous desire to go further, this is also a cornerstone album.
M.I. - Would you like to describe your experience in the collaboration of Venom's 45th anniversary? It was quite a lineup!
Personally, being in a band like Bloodhunter, after many years fighting and touring in China and even in Japan, paving our way, they asked me if I wanted to participate in a song with him, and of course I said yes.
Then, only at the beginning of this year did I receive an email from an agent, asking me if I would like to join in the 45th Venom’s anniversary. There were a lot of people, a lot of worldwide metal musicians from Behemoth, Destruction, Celtic Frost, Mayhem, Sodom, and me!
I am deeply thankful, because it was a great experience, in which I had the chance not only to show my talent, as well as to meet such incredible people. These were the bands that I grew up with.
M.I. - It's your first record with a non-Spanish label. How far is the experience going?
It’s a record that we’re loving it, we poured our hearts into it. There was a moment when we finished the previous record, and then a few days later we thought it was necessary to start working on new material.
Dani Arcos, the founding member and guitar player, said that we shouldn’t write down more songs until we have a solid album in our hands. Nevertheless, when we write our own songs, they will make part of a new upcoming album. After coming up with the writing, themes, it’s time to put it into the hands of a label. We made up our minds to invest with ROAR!, and for us this was our pivotal moment to achieve the international market. This was something that was missing in our previous records, since we were heavily focused just in Spain. We wanted Bloodhunter to be known worldwide and with this label we went to places that we have never dreamed about.
M.I. - We have a few important guest musicians from different countries. How was your experience working with all of them?
Something that I always love about Bloodhunter is having a few guest musicians, since the first album.
Both Laura and Fernando are very, very talented, very lovely people and it was very easy to work with them. Culturally speaking, we felt also that connection with them, especially when we talk about sharing the same peninsula, and the relationship between Portugal and Galicia. For us it was definitely a dream come true, having such versatile and soothing voices. We wanted a melodic and not standard voice, and Laura filled the gap.
With Fernando there’s that intensity and somewhat of an interlude, a slow part. We thought it would be amazing to have a voice like that in this album, a deep and leading voice, and at the same time very mysterious.
M.I. - It seems like an album that doesn't follow the traditional ways. Aside from death metal, we have elements of prog and rock in songs such as “Code Aeternum”.
Yes, you are right. All of the Bloodhunter members come from very different musical backgrounds. Guillermo, our other guitar player, comes from hard rock. He’s a guitar professor; he has always been on many hard rock projects. Both Dani and Adrián are the same, and when I came to Madrid, I started to get to know the metal scene.
Once, I went to a rock bar and Guillermo was there playing. We never thought that he would be interested in playing in a death metal band. He had never listened to extreme metal, it was something that he was not much into, but when we started to interview him, we asked if he could send us an audio of him singing. Then, it was the perfect combination where he could play the guitar and do some vocals too.
He has been with us for eight years, and if you don’t have different tastes, the band eventually dies out. I love extreme metal, but I don’t listen just that. In the previous record we decided to have a Flamenco influence and a bit of latino rhythms. In the end, it’s important to have an identity but also to allow the band to go with the flow and bring other musical styles.
M.I. – “The Path That Never Ends” is one of my favorites, and Laura’s voice allows the song to elevate to a whole new level. Who came up with this song and why Laura in particular?
This music was composed by Dani, and sometimes Guillermo gives an idea or two, but in this case, it was just Dani.
He decided to incorporate Laura’s voice. As mentioned before, it was the right choice for us due to Laura’s voice. The previous record was denser and more complex. It required more listens, in order to fully appreciate it. In this album, probably due to the way we produced it, we allowed ourselves to go with the flow, not overthinking. He wanted something simple, which was also possible with Laura, a different voice. There are a lot of excellent vocalists, but Laura has something that connected with me and Dani and gives a new aspect to Bloodhunter.
M.I. – Would you like to recommend three bands or musicians that you have been listening to lately?
Of course! My Spotify is very chaotic. I have listened countless times to Moonspell’s new album, and it was amazing that they have connected once again with goth music; the new album of Melissa Boony, which is the vocalist of Ad Infinitum; and my last choice might surprise you, but it’s Rosalía’s “Lux”.
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Listen to Bloodhunter, on Spotify
Questions by André Neves
