By Kelley Simms
MOTOR CITY THRASHERS
Tony Asta , Battlecross (second from left)
Photo by Vince Edwards
D
etroit-area thrashers, Battlecross,
has been on a steady climb in the
metal community since its 2003
inception. Playing a brand of selfdescribed "Blue Collar Thrash Metal,"
Battlecross has a bright future ahead of
itself. Friends since high school, guitarists
Tony Asta and Hiran Deraniyagala created a bond and a solid foundation that led
to the formation of Battlecross' core sound.
On its killer third full-length release, Rise
to Power (released Aug. 21 via Metal Blade
Records), the band is firing on all cylinders. Joining Asta and Deraniyagala are
bassist Don Slater, vocalist Kyle
"Gumby" Gunther and drummer Alex
Bent. Battlecross will be hitting North
American stages this fall opening for
GWAR, who will be making a stop at
Concord Music Hall on Nov. 3. and Bada
Brew in Joliet in December.
IE: Detroit has always had a great rock ’n’
roll history, but there’s not too many
well-known thrash bands besides
Battlecross. How did you get known in
the Detroit scene?
Tony Asta: Hiran and I started the band
back in early 2000’s and we were on the
scene for a few years. We just had this
34 illinoisentertainer.com november 2015
drive to get out of the state, honestly. After
playing the same places for so long, we
wanted to venture out. We had this drive
to make something of ourselves and write
the best music that we can, and it just
translated. Pounding the pavement and
having a great fan base has really helped
make a name for ourselves in the metal
community.
Writing is really important when you’re
trying to do something dynamic, and
that’s what makes it more heavier at
times, or more melodic at times. If it’s the
same all the way through then it may get
a little washy. So that’s important to me
and that’s what keeps me interested in the
song.
IE: The new album Rise to Power is consistently good on all tracks. What was
your mindset while writing this material?
Tony Asta: Our mindset through the writing process was keeping an open mind.
But also sticking to our guns as far as kicking ass. It has to make your lip curl, make
you head bang and make you want to
drive (your car) faster! That’s the number
one thing we try to do. Writing the second
album (War of Will), there was a lot more
pressure, but writing this album, Rise for
Power, I think we put all that aside and
were confident and knew what we were
going to do and tried to write the best
album that we could. We just had the attitude of being confident but also not being
afraid to try new things.
IE: The track “Spoiled,” which you had a
hand in writing the lyrics to, was inspired
by the dependency on modern technology.
I take it there was plenty of lyrical ammunition for this song?
Tony Asta: The gist of what I was trying to
get at is having so much information and
so much media at your disposal that it’s
almost numbing and distracting because
now our culture is spoiled by it. If you
turn back just a few years ago, imagine
how much time it took to figure stuff out
before. Everybody and their mother is a
YouTube professional these days. If you
want to figure out anything you just look
it up on the Internet and they can find out
how to do it. And if they can’t, it’s freak
out zone. So that was the fuel for me that
inspired me to write the lyrics that influenced the song.
IE: Even though the band plays an aggressive style of music, there are some wellplaced melodies on every song. How
important is that?
Tony Asta: I think it’s pretty important
when it calls for it. I think that’s something I bring to the table more. Also, Don
our bass player, writes guitar riffs too and
he brings stuff like that to the table as well.
I think we get our straight up thrashing
from Hiran. The three of us take that and
put it together and come up with something that’s a nice balance or combination.
IE: Yours and Hiran’s leads and riffs are so
flowing and natural, they serve the song
well. What do you try and achieve with
your playing?
Tony Asta: It just has to be something
that’s memorable and that sticks in my
head. To find that sweet spot when we sit
down and write some riffs, and it’s really
inspiring. It’s easy to write a song when
it’s inspiring and it’s something that you
like. You’ll hear on the new album, Rise to
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