It’s that time of year again, when in the run-up to Bloodstock we endeavour to interview every band gracing the Sophie Lancaster, New Blood and Jägermeister stages from 8th – 11th August 2019. This means you’ve got a chance to read up on all your favourite bands set to play over the weekend and decide which new ones you’ll want to check out.
As ever, we’re predicting some horrible clashes because, true to form, there are some great bands across all three stages so you should start planning who you want to see.
Our thanks to all the bands for taking the time out to answer our questions!
Death By Ki – New Blood Stage, Friday
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
We are from a small town, nestled within the South West of England in Somerset.
How long have you been playing together as a band?
We have been jamming together since we were about 13 but we have been Death By Ki since around 2010.
Where does the name of the band come from?
As a lyricist I (Josh Ayerst) have always been drawn with child-like fascination to the idea that no matter how great or invincible we sometimes believe we are as a race we are always at the mercy of the world that surrounds us. And no matter how beautiful it can sometimes be it can also be terrifying. Ki was the Goddess of Earth in Ancient Sumerian mythology. Our main concept of our songs generally revolve around our age-old plight of existential threats in the world we live in and so I think Death By Ki encapsulates that quite well.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
We started playing music together through our shared love of the raw power of 80s thrash – with riffs around every turn and mind melting solos. We started the band before we could play our instruments and we honed our crafts as a single unit. And as time has passed, we have become more and more influenced by the modern metal that came out during the mid 00’s and onwards, which has resulted in a fusion of the two styles that appeals to a perhaps more diverse demographic of metallers!
What’s your live show like? Why are people going to watch you instead of another band?
After spending such a long time together as a band and as childhood friends we are a tight unit with a wall of sound. If you enjoy your thrash then you will no doubt be able to relate to our songs that fly along never dropping below 210bpm, but if you are more partial to other styles, well you are never that far from a staccato-led groover to take you off guard! Not many people stand still at our shows!
Have you been to Bloodstock before? What did you think?
I have indeed been to Bloodstock as a fan and I loved every minute of it. Nowhere else have I seen such close camaraderie and respect between so many different types of people within our world of heavy music. It makes you proud to be part of the scene.
Which M2tM region did you win, or did you come through other channels?
We won through the Somerset region against some amazing competition of whom I hope to play more shows with again in the near future.
Can you put into 10 words or fewer how it felt when you realised you were heading to Bloodstock?
I can’t believe we finally fucking did it!
What sort of setlist can we expect?
We don’t have many ballad style songs as such anyway, but shows like this you’ve just gotta load the setlist up with bangers! There will be fast bits and there will be stompy bits. We’d love it if people checked us out and banged a head or two!
Which other bands do you most hope you’re not squished up next to so you can see them play?
We’re playing the Friday. I really hope I can make it over to check out Soulfly on the main stage. I’m just glad that Anthrax and The Wildhearts are on the following day so I know I can be at the front for those guys, beer in hand!
What are you working on at the moment?
We’re currently knuckling down at rehearsals getting some new stuff written so that we can release a new batch of songs and book a couple of tours following the release.
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
Probably something we shouldn’t talk about here! I remember playing a show and some other black metal band had bought a pig’s head with them and it was doing it’s rounds in the pit for a while. I thought it was plastic until I touched it after the show!
What drink do you throw back to get yourself fired up before going on stage?
We used to always toast Jagermeister shots before hitting the stage, so either that or just a casual beer maybe!
