Bloodstock Bound: Shrike
As Bloodstock gets closer, we delve deep into the line up to find out more about some of the bands playing the New Blood and EMP stages at this years event.
Today we chat with Shrike
The Razor's Edge: Please introduce yourself and your band mates.
Shrike: Ste: HI I’m Ste and I’m the drummer, been playing for about 15 years. After about a year of playing I started my first band back in 2011-ish, but ultimately me and Liam leI to start Shrike which was around 2018 and here we are.
Liam: Howdy! I’m Liam, and I play guitar and do backing vocals for the band.
Danny: Name’s Danny, I play guitar for Shrike!
The Razor's Edge: How would you describe your sound?
Shrike: Ste: Blastbeats, technical riffs and beautiful vocal melodies, nestled nicely within about eight different genres
Liam: haha yeah, I think we’ve often thought of it as a blend of ambient, cinemaNc and orchestral soundscaping, woven in to us trying to retain homage to the influences that made metal so appealing to us in the first place. Namely melodic death metal, metal core and certain bits of prog metal. But we’re always evolving our sound anyway.
The Razor's Edge: How did you land your spot on the Bloodstock bill?
Shrike: We sent Simon over an email over applying to play and lo and behold, we got an invitation to play! Something we’re still wrapping our brains around and forever grateful for!
The Razor's Edge: What does playing at Bloodstock mean to you?
Shrike: Liam: Me and Ste have been coming to Bloodstock as punters since 2013 and has felt like a home to us ever since. It’s like our Christmas now we are adults haha. So to be playing it is an honour and privilege that is hard to put into words.
Ste: Bloodstock Open Air is a festival close to ours hearts and encapsulates everything we love about the genre. So to land a spot on the bill alongside some huge names that we’ve all collectively and individually followed since we started our love of the genre is insane! So a massive thank you to Simon Hall and the entire team at bloodstock for puttng us on!
Danny: This will be the biggest gig I’ll have played to date, and I’m so stoked to be on such a great lineup this year as well!
The Razor's Edge: For people who’ve never seen you live, what can they expect at Bloodstock?
Shrike: Liam: To put simply: riffs, blast beats, high energy, passion and raw emotion
Ste: Circle pits, as well as to be singing along to the choruses shortly followed by launching each other across the tent!
Danny: Prepare for a feast of melodic groove, intense riffage and all round good times!
The Razor's Edge: What day are you performing?
Shrike: We are playing on the Friday!
The Razor's Edge: What other bands are you looking forward to watching at Bloodstock this year?
Shrike: Danny: Trivium, Machine Head, Fear Factory, The Black Dahlia Murder, Static X.
Liam: This year’s line up is basically my Spotify wrapped haha. I’m parNcularly looking forward to all the headliners, Mastodon, The Black Dahlia Murder, August Burns Red, Rough Justice, Paleface Swiss, Kublai Khan, Rivers of Nihil and Heriot. I’m also looking forward to catching a bit of The Five Hundred who are headlining the same stage as us!
Ste: The lineup is incredible this year! Trivium, Mastodon, Gojira, Machine Head, The Black Dahlia Murder, Rivers of Nihil to name a very small portion!
The Razor's Edge: Playing the EMP Stage is just the first steppingstone in a bands journey. What’s next in your plans for world domination?
Shrike: Liam: We would love to go on a few tours after this to celebrate the release of our new album properly and see what we can do next year in terms of decent support slots and other festivals during the season!
Danny: For me, I’m looking forward to working on new music. This time getting some of my own flavouring on it, as well as producing it.
The Razor's Edge: Are you camping with the fans? Which campsite are you heading for?
Shrike: Liam: I believe we will be getting artist camping! However I have friends and family in Valhalla, so I will be checking in with those!
Ste: I’ll say now that I’ll be camping in the artist’s camp, but with quite a big crowd of heavy drinkers I know going, there’s every chance I may not quite make it back to camp!
Danny: I’m not sure if I’ll be camping with fans as we’re getting artist camping, but I do know quite a few people who are going so, I’m sure I’ll visit a lot of people!
The Razor's Edge: You’ve gotta keep hydrated at Bloodstock, what is your drink of choice for the weekend?
Shrike: Ste: I may get some grief for it, but Desperados and Rekorderlig. Desperados to keep the alcohol content high and the Rekorderligs go down like cordial on a hot day!
Liam: Cans of lemon Hooch are a perfect all-rounder I find. If you’re a bit hungover, perfect. If you’re too warm, perfect. Do they taste okay lukewarm? Yes. That being said, the Guinness tent in the arena will be getting bombarded by me also haha.
Danny: Jack and Coke, all day everyday!
The Razor's Edge: See you at Bloodstock in a few weeks!
Shrike: We cannot wait to see you all there! Lets party!
